‘Laundry List’ Does Include Laundry — and Hugging Bunnies How does the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria (AWLA) manage to show dozens of dogs and cats to potential adopters, create special treats for the animals, answer the phone, keep up with mountains of laundry and so many other tasks every week? The secret: Volunteers! A recent calculation determined that the …
Animal Shelter Volunteers: They Do It All
‘Laundry List’ Does Include Laundry — and Hugging Bunnies How does the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria (AWLA) manage to show dozens of dogs and cats to potential adopters, create special treats for the animals, answer the phone, keep up with mountains of laundry and so many other tasks every week? The secret: Volunteers! A recent calculation determined that the …
From the Desk of Stella Hanly: Animal Welfare Before the AWLA
For 75 years, the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria has been a resource to our community. From housing homeless animals to reuniting owners with lost pets, assisting wildlife in need, creating families and helping them stay together, the AWLA has been here for you. Read more about our journey below from AWLA from AWLA Executive Director Stella Hanly. The dawn …
Celebrating Pit Bull Awareness Month This October
October is Pit Bull Awareness Month, as if we needed another reason to talk about the many wonderful pups who come through our doors at the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria! Whether you love them for their smiling faces or their resemblance to happy hippopotamuses, talking about “Pit Bull” dogs can be tricky since ”Pit Bull” is not actually a …
Celebrating a Friend
It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share today that the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria has had to say good-bye to our most famous resident, our Artist-in-Residence, and, most of all, our friend Rico. Those of you who follow the AWLA online or in-person may know that Rico came to us in September of 2018. His giant …
Emergency Preparedness…for Your Pets!
With the potential threat of COVID-19 across the United States, now is a good time to revisit your emergency planning, not just for your human family but also for your pets. Emergency plans can make a difference in a variety of crises, whether they are health-related, a natural disaster or even personal. Make sure you have planned ahead for your …
The Animals Helped Thanks to You
The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria is proud to operate the Vola Lawson Animal Shelter, a shelter named after a former City Manager who was a champion for animals, just like so much of our animal-loving community is today. As part of our contract with the City of Alexandria, we offer this open-access shelter to help any animal that comes …
Click – Treat – Adopt
Stop by the shelter on any given day, and you might hear a distinct clicking noise, followed by the sounds of happy pups, kitties and even rabbits and rats enjoying a quick treat before their next click. Clicker training is part of the AWLA’s positive reinforcement training for shelter animals, but it’s more than just rewarding Buddy for his excellent …
Turtles 101
As an open-access shelter, the AWLA sees a lot of different animals besides dogs and cats, and we want to make sure every pet owner has the information they need to care for their new furry, feather or scaled friend. Turtles can make great pets who will be your fast friend for a lifetime, which for them is up to …
Sabra Shares About FeLV
From time to time, you’ll see special notations on the enclosures of cats at the AWLA. Special diet Please approach slowly — I’m shy FeLV+ Some of these notes are pretty self-explanatory, but the last one seems like it could be a secret code. FeLV (Feline Leukemia Virus) is an infection that only affects cats, but as veterinarians continue …