Lynchburg Humane Society Blog

We have been operating the Pittsylvania Pet Center for a short 8 months. We have been very transparent from the beginning that we will operate as a no kill facility, which means we do not euthanize healthy or treatable animals and do not euthanize for space, reserving euthanasia for terminally ill animals or those considered a danger  to public safety. We will not apologize for that or change our views on that. We do not let animals suffer. We have also found ourselves in a situation where some of the community is already angry about the new facility being built. However, the building is there and we are now here to help the community with their pets,whether they need to surrender their pet or they find a lost dog wandering the streets in need of help. We have taken in several owned pets that needed veterinary  care that the person could not afford. The point being, we are here for the community. And with the large increase of intake we see that the community does...

We are so proud of all the wonderful support this community has given the pets in the area.  Because of many factors, including the resource of the new Pittsylvania Pet Center, we have seen 714 fewer pets lose their lives to euthanasia in Danville and Pittsylvania in 2017 compared to 2016. That is something to celebrate! The Pet Center not only saves lives, but it also helps place a higher value on the pets who reside in the region. We provide help to pets and to the people who love them.   Since July 1 st 2017, 639 stray and 515 owned dogs and cats have come into the Pittsylvania Pet Center. Of those, 892 went into homes through adoption, original owners reclaiming their pets, or by transferring them to another organization for placement. The PPC only had to euthanize 14 pets since the beginning of July, giving them a 98% save rate at this time.   These are just numbers; I want to tell you about a dog who was recently surrendered by his owner at the age of...

The Pittsylvania Pet Center would like to clear up some misinformation that has been floating around out there. Yes, we take in stray cats. No, we don’t take in healthy feral or wild adult cats; we instead offer free spay/neuter services and a free rabies vaccine. We do accept  mothers (both expecting and nursing), as well as unhealthy or injured cats of all types. If you have a healthy cat suddenly show up on your property, we might advise you to leave it alone and allow it to find its way home. This is because 66% of lost cats will go home if left alone, but only about 2% will find their way home if they are brought into a shelter. If it is unhealthy or injured, you should certainly bring it to the Pet Center so we can nurse it back to health.   Why do we promote Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR)? The old ways of catch and kill are not working. There are still too many cats in the area living around food sources, and it is time we look at a different way of controlling the...

It’s the time of year when we reflect on what unfolded in 2017. It was a big year, especially since we started  managing both the Appomattox and Pittsylvania County shelters. I must admit  that taking on two shelters in one year, on top  of starting our No Kill Virginia initiative, was a little much at times. It caused the staff to be stretched thin, and there were a number of major challenges. Now that 2018 is here, we are glad that we have gotten over many of the bumps in the road, and we are ready to tackle any others that come our way. The Lynchburg’s Center for Pets took in 4,119 pets in 2017; that is 138 more than last year. We were able to help bring 638 pets to safety from at-risk shelters, and we found new homes for 3,188 pets.   In Pittsylvania, we had 1,075 pets come into the center between July 1 st and December 31 st . We had a save rate of 98%, with 742 pets being adopted into new homes, or being returned existing homes after they were ...

Recently, Paulette Dean with the Danville Area Humane Society wrote a letter to the Board of Supervisors of Pittsylvania County to justify their low save rate, and to place the blame on others. We know change is hard, especially when an organization opens up just down the road with very different policies and philosophies. The new Pittsylvania Pet Center offers the community a choice on which organization they want to help them with their pets. DAHS claims that they are seeing an abundance of pets from the county, which is contributing to their high euthanasia rates.  In 2017, DAHS received 811 fewer animals, and euthanized 649 fewer than in 2016. They euthanized 2,057 pets in 2017, which includes 93% of all the cats they took in; 1,599 in total. The new Pittsylvania Pet Center received in 1,084 pets and only euthanized 12 total since opening on July 1 st 2017. Which facility would you take your pet or found pets if you had a choice; the shelter that saved 98%, or the she...

I feel so proud and blessed by all the great work this organization and community has accomplished since 2009. Because of the success from so many hard working people, I have been given the privilege to work with and get to know THE top leaders in this field. Leaders such as Tawny Hammond, Brent Toellner, Marc Peralta, Alice Burton, Denise Deisler, Dr. Ellen Jefferson, Holly Sizemore, Kate Hurley and so many more that I would run out of room if I listed them all. Having access to top progressive thinkers has afforded our organization the opportunity to grow and change, and to do things better. When you know better, you do better. We have progressive policies and philosophies that are influenced by so many top minds in this field. We learn and change as new information comes our way, and when we face adversity, we can call upon many to help problem solve or gain insight on how they do things; collaboration at its finest. I bring this up because in this field, it is hard for peop...

Sometimes when adopted pets go home, a few days or weeks later they become ill.    Some adopters may become angry with us because they feel like we should have discovered the illness, even if it didn’t present itself to us when the pet was here at the center.   It was only after it was home and the adopters noticed some issues resulting in the pet going into distress that we become aware of the medical condition.    This is a story that plays out many times a year.   Often times the adopter wants us to reimburse them the cost to treat the pet.      Most of the pets that come to us have unknown medical history.   However, from the moment they enter our center, they receive an exam, vaccinations, treatment for worms, fleas and ticks, and if a problem presents itself during the exam, they get more extensive medical treatment and diagnostic testing.   We work hard to get them healthy so they can be adopted.   Everything ...