The Prince William Animal Advisory Committee Update
The Prince William County Animal Advisory Committee is 2 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
- Currently designing a Pets 2 Veterans special adoption program
- Creating a welfare 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. And, we are delighted to announce that they have had zero euthanasias since Jan. 1, 2012.
Prince William’s First Dog Park is coming soon:
We are continuing to pursue the realization of a Dog Park located on the Shelter property and are very close to accomplishing this goal. Lowe’s in Woodbridge has graciously donated the fencing needed to enclose the property, Cindy’s Lansdscape Services has designed and built steps into the hillside for ease of access, Doody Calls is furnishing the Sanitary stations, the water fountains have been donated and we are now waiting on County approval and installation of the fence to complete this project. I know there are a lot of dog owners who will be very happy to have a local dog park to go to and this one will be quite nice. LUCAS is accepting donations for the Dog Park on behalf of the Shelter and we will soon be offering Memorial/Dedication Benches for those interested in making that type of donation.
This is an exciting time for Prince William County citizens and their pets and I’m honored to be a small part of it.
The purpose of the Animal Advisory Committee (AAC) is to promote animal welfare and encourage responsible pet ownership through various programs, classes and special events that will assist Prince William County in providing the best possible animal welfare services in the community and improve the operation of the Pr. Wm. County Animal Shelter. The AAC scope is limited to matters relating to domestic household pets only.
I am so grateful to my County Supervisor, Maureen Caddigan, for the opportunity to serve on the Animal Advisory Committee and look forward to all the wonderful accomplishments we have yet to achieve and continuing to help companion animals in PWC.
A Huge Thank You to PWSPCA for providing the funding to the Pr. Wm. Cty. Animal Shelter to purchase Shelter specific database software which will improve spay/neuter compliance, be accessible to Animal control Officers in their mobile units, increase visibility of shelter pets through expanded on-line promotion, and assist the county staff in tracking cruelty and hoarding cases.
