Can’t you just feel Alexandrians’ affection for animals? Walking down King Street and seeing the water bowls set out for dogs. Passing by dog parks filled with families running and playing with their pets. Seeing bins set out at stores to collect items for rescued animals. Everywhere we look there is evidence that we are a community that loves our pets.

We could easily conclude that all of the animals in Alexandria have everything they need to be happy and healthy.

Sadly, some Alexandrians cannot afford basic care for their pets. That’s why we have created a program to help with the cost of spaying/neutering, so critical to controlling local cat and dog populations. We can now offer Virginia residents who meet our income requirements a spay/neuter voucher. The $75 fee for cats or $195 for dogs is a deep discount from the market rate for these services in Northern Virginia.

Our seven participating veterinary hospitals have provided 1,000 vouchers for spay and neuter surgery. With the purchase of a voucher, pets will receive a pre-surgical exam, fluids and monitoring during surgery, an e-collar, and pain medication for at least five days. Our Animal Control Officers now have these vouchers with them when they go into our community, and they give them out to pet owners who need them.

I’d like to thank Del Ray Animal Hospital, Fort Hunt Animal Hospital, Gunston Animal Hospital, Hayfield Animal Hospital, Hybla Valley Vet Clinic, NOVA Cat Clinic, and Town & Country Animal Hospital for their generous participation in this program.

We have also worked to find ways to make our humane education program accessible to more children. This year we are working with the non-profit organization Community Lodgings to provide summer camp to students from Alexandria City Public Schools who would otherwise not be able to afford our summer camp at the shelter. If you would like to help provide a scholarship to a child to attend this camp, visit AlexandriaAnimals.org/campscholarship.

These two exciting programs are at the core of AWLA’s purpose. Our improved spay/neuter assistance program helps financially strapped pet owners provide the care their pets deserve. Our partnership with Community Lodgings brings humane education to young members of our community who would otherwise not be able to attend our summer camp. As always, we continue to work to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our services, and we welcome your ideas and feedback.

Sincerely,
From the Executive Director

Megan Webb
Executive Director