LUCAS is now part of the new

Prince William Humane Society

As a member of the Animal Advisory Committee, I have been working closely with the Prince William Animal Shelter for the last 2 years and during that time it became widely apparent that a non-profit organization dedicated to the Shelter and it’s programs and endeavors was greatly needed and necessary if changes were to be made. 

Under new direction over the past 2 years, the Prince William Animal Shelter has made amazing progress in improving both the living conditions at the facility and the care and treatment of adoptable pets in their care. They are diligently working on creating and implementing new programs designed to reduce the euthanasia rate and substantially increase the adoption rate with a goal of becoming a No Kill Facility by 2014.

Toward that end, Shelter personnel created innovative adoption programs designed to improve the lives of our senior citizens and veterans here in Prince William County.  These free adoption programs: Seniors4Seniors and Warrior Buddies offer those who otherwise would not be able to adopt a pet the opportunity to live much happier and loving lives with a pet of their choice.  And, in so doing afforded countless pets who may never have found that forever home a chance at a new life.  The only problem was that the Shelter had no money to implement these programs. They turned to LUCAS for help and we offered to pay the adoption and spay/neuter fees for the pets eligible for these programs and two new highly beneficial adoption programs were created.

We then started focusing on additional needs and concerns of the Shelter and determined that a new non-profit organization with the express purpose of assisting the Shelter realize it’s newly established possibilities and goals was necessary and warranted. Consequently, the Prince William Humane Society has been organized to serve as the umbrella organization overseeing the fundraising, management and implementation of the various programs and funds dedicated to seeing the Prince William County Animal Shelter into the 21st Century and creating a pet and people friendly environment that everyone can be proud of.  I am proud to announce that they have asked me to join their Board of Directors and requested LUCAS Cares Spay/Neuter Fund to become one of their programs. 

Our new website is www.PWHumane.org and we are located at 14807 Bristow Rd. Manassas, VA 20112.  Please visit our website and see all of our programs, news, events and progress.

The Prince William Animal Advisory Committee Update

The Prince William County Animal Advisory Committee is almost 3 years old and we are continuing to achieve amazing accomplishments which directly benefit our community and its pets.

In our first year these included: Improving the Spay/Neuter Compliance rate at the PWC Animal Shelter; Implementation of a Pet Redemption Program; Organization and implementation of Operation Safe Haven; Assisted in development of a comprehensive Feral Cat TNR program; Initiated a Shelter Volunteer Program and Improved public relations through our “Pet Tips” ads created for the Friday edition of the Potomac News.

Last years accomplishments by the AAC provided for improvements to the Shelter including: Assisting the PW Cty. Shelter to implement a Behavior Hotline which is accessible now through the Shelter’s website; Identifying and assembling the list of partnerships within the community’s rescue and animal welfare organizations; Implementing a new food service contract for the Shelter pets; and Assisting in the organization of a foster program for adoptable Shelter animals.

Shelter Improvements, Programs and News:

In addition to the accomplishments of the Animal Advisory Committee, the Shelter is making impressive improvements in many ways. These include;

• Hiring a Veterinarian to assist the Shelter with a Wellness Program
• Renovations to the cat and small animal area to provide more space and new cat “condos”
• Implementation of Seniors 4 Seniors special adoption program to promote the adoption of pets over 5 years old to pet lovers over 60
• Designing and implementing a Warrior Buddies special adoption program
• Creating a Poor Animals Welfare and Surgical Fund for indigent animal veterinary procedures
• Expanding their volunteer base and job opportunities
• And lastly, and most importantly, we are thrilled to announce that the Shelter is working diligently on adhereing to the Asilomar Accords, a collaboration of animal welfare groups in the U.S. toward the common goal of significantly reducing the euthanasia of healthy and treatable dogs and cats in this country. To that end, they have established a Euthanasia Management Team to implement strict guideline criteria for euthanizing animals, specifically limiting this to significantly aggressive animals or those with untreatable life threatening health conditions.

Prince William’s First Dog Parkis Opening  Oct. 27th during the Fall 4 Fur Adopt -a-Thon:

We have completed construction and are ready to open.  The Grand Opening will take place on Oct. 27th at 12:00 noon during the Fall 4 Fur Pet Adopt-a-Thon.

Lowe’s in Woodbridge has graciously donated the fencing for the property, Cindy’s Lansdscape Services has designed and built steps into the hillside for ease of access, Doody Calls has furnished the Sanitary stations, the water fountains have been donated by a private citizen and Boy Scout Steven Ryhard and his Scout Troop performed the fence installation. It’s been a lot of work and effort, but we’ve done it and I’m sure you will be thrilled with the result.  Please come out and have some fun in your new dog park.  Read the rest of this entry »