Animal Shelter

Many northern Virginia public animal shelters – including the Fairfax County Animal Shelter and the Animal Welfare League of Arlington – are reporting much higher than usual numbers of small animals in their care. The Fairfax County Animal Shelter has so many rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, parakeets, and other small animals that shelter staff have needed to expand into the shelter’s lobby, training room, and cat holding spaces in order to accommodate all the small animal enclosures.

“Rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, and birds are all wonderful companions. If you are thinking about adding a small pet to your family, our knowledgeable team of staff and volunteers will happily assist you with finding a match that works best for you,” says Reasa Currier, Director of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter.

To help promote small animal adoptions, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington and the Fairfax County Animal Shelter are hosting adoption events this Sunday, June 26. Adoption fees at both shelters will be waived for all small animals, including rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, rats, hamsters, small birds, ferrets, and other small animals. Normal adoption process and requirements apply.

The Animal Welfare League of Arlington’s event is from 12-4pm, walk-ins welcome and no appointments required; the shelter is located at 2650 S. Arlington Mill Dr, Arlington VA 22206. For available pets and adoption info: www.awla.org/adopt/small-animals/ 

The Fairfax County Animal Shelter’s event is from 12-5pm, walk-ins welcome and no appointments required for small animals; the shelter is located at 4500 West Ox Road, Fairfax VA 22030. The first five adopters will receive goodie bags with supplies, courtesy of the Friends of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. For available pets and adoption info: www.fairfaxcounty.gov/animalshelter/adopt

Celebrate Clear the Shelters 2022 at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter!

The Fairfax County Animal Shelter is excited to join NBC4 to host a Clear the Shelters adoption event! We will open our doors for an in-person, fee-waived adoption event for all pets on Saturday, August 27 from 11am – 5pm. Our animal shelter is located at 4500 West Ox Road, Fairfax VA 22030. 

This year’s Clear the Shelters adoption event couldn't come at a more critical time. With the animal shelter and foster homes at capacity, we need adopters! We have nearly 200 pets who want to join your family right now, including cats, dogs, guinea pigs, birds, and rabbits. 

Visit Fairfax County Animal Shelter | Animal Shelter to see which pets are currently available for adoption. We encourage you to continue to visit our website to learn more about our adoption process, including adoption requirements. Additionally, FCAS staff and volunteers will be available to answer questions about available pets to ensure you find the best match for your family.

Following a Humane Society of the United States' investigation of Petland Inc, a retail pet store located in the City of Fairfax, 17 rabbits were surrendered to the City of Fairfax Animal Control. The City of Fairfax contacted the Fairfax County Animal Shelter (FCAS) for assistance with all the rabbits, and we readily agreed to take them in. Yesterday afternoon, FCAS staff went to the Petland location to transport them back to the shelter to assess each rabbit and provide any necessary care.

Shelter staff prepared in advance to have comfortable accommodations set up for the rabbits. Upon intake, each rabbit was weighed, given our standard parasite prevention package, and set up in housing in same-gender pairs or trios. Today, foster families will welcome these rabbits into their homes to give the rabbits time to decompress and get some much needed TLC. We expect that the rabbits will be available for adoption in two to three weeks’ time, and encourage people to follow us on Facebook for updates: www.facebook.com/FairfaxCountyAnimalShelter.

Related, the shelter will be hosting “So You Want to Adopt a Bunny,” a free workshop designed to give potential rabbit adopters or existing owners the resources and information they need to properly care for their pet rabbits. “People don’t always realize that rabbits can be fun and sociable little companions,” explains Katherine Zenzano, Humane Educator at FCAS. “However, they are not less responsibility because of their smaller size. We want to make sure that adopters have all the information they need to make sure they have a healthy, happy bunny and that they themselves feel confident in their decision to adopt.”

The workshop will be hosted at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter on Sunday, April 14^th at 2pm, in the shelter’s training room. The shelter is located at 4500 West Ox Road, Fairfax VA 22030. No RSVP is required. Adoptable bunnies will be on hand at the workshop. The adoption fee for a rabbit is $15 which includes: spay or neuter, initial deworming, and a certificate for a free vet exam. Animals currently available for adoption can be viewed at www.petango.com/FairfaxCountyAnimalShelter.

As community members begin planning July 4th celebrations, the Fairfax County Animal Shelter would like to remind residents to keep the comfort and safety of pets in mind. Festivities - including fireworks and other commotion - can be extremely stressful to pets, which can lead to pets escaping and becoming lost. There is usually an increase of stray pets coming in to the Shelter following the July 4th holiday. Here are some tips to help pets stay safe and comfortable during the July 4th holiday:

• Leave pets home and inside during festivities. Fireworks can be terrifying, even to pets who normally do well around crowds and noises.
• Provide a safe space. A blanket-covered crate or a room with a comfy bed in a hidden spot can provide your pet(s) with a sense of security. A pet-proof interior room without access to the outside is best.
• Keep them busy! Provide enrichment activities to distract them, such as long-lasting treats or a frozen peanut butter-filled Kong.
• Play music. Soothing music can both calm pets and help drown out the noise of fireworks and parties.
• Collars and microchips! Make sure that your pets are wearing collars with ID tags and are microchipped, and make sure the information is updated and accurate, just in case your pets do escape and get lost.
• Stay home with them, if possible. You're the best security blanket!

"It's vital that pet owners plan ahead to help their pets feel as safe and calm as possible on July 4th and through the weekend, when festivities may continue. The Shelter is prepared for a large number of stray pets, but we hope that by sharing this information, all pets will stay safely in their homes," says Dr. Karen Diviney, Shelter Director. "In the event that a lost pet is brought to the Shelter, they will be safe with us, and we will have a staff person at the Shelter for limited hours on July 5th so pet owners can reclaim their pets."

The Shelter will be closed July 4 and 5 for the holiday. Normal hours resume on Saturday, July 6. For more information about the Shelter, including open hours and more, please visit: www.fairfaxcounty.gov/animalshelter. For information on what to do if your pet becomes lost, please visit: www.fairfaxcounty.gov/animalshelter/lostandfoundpets.

It's Spring Fever at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter, and our shelter pets want to get adopted in time to help their new families with spring cleaning and go on springtime hikes! To help achieve that goal, every weekend in April adoption fees are waived for all pets six years and up.

The Fairfax County Animal Shelter’s dog kennels are full! In an effort to free up space, and with Independence Day on the horizon what better time to give some great pups their freedom in new forever homes? For the rest of the day, Tuesday, July 3, all dog adoptions are free. The shelter is open until 7 p.m. tonight.

Because of the capacity issue, owner-surrendered dogs are not being accepted at this time. Any owner surrendering their dog will need to set up an appointment to do so. Email the shelter at animalshelter@fairfaxcounty.gov or call 703-830-1100 and leave a voicemail, and staff will get back to you as soon as possible.

The shelter is closed for Independence Day and reopens on Thursday, July 5, with IndePUPdence Days. All dog adoptions are just $17.76 through Sunday, July 8. That’s right, Sunday! Beginning this week the shelter will be open on Sundays for adoptions only, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information on adoption from the Fairfax County Animal Shelter go to www.fairfaxcounty.gov/animalshelter/adopt.