Urgent Message from the Washington Humane Society:

Thank you to Tara deNicolas of the Washington Humane Society for sending this.  Please do read and hopefully, take action:

On Friday the Washington Humane Society (WHS) received an urgent call asking for our help in caring for some of the nearly 700 dogs who were rescued recently from an inhumane dog breeding operation uncovered in Tennessee.
As the only open-access shelter in Washington, DC where no animal is ever turned away, we bear a heavy responsibility to the people and animals of the District. On a typical day, we take in an average of thirty three animals. As we fulfill this commitment, we also bear a responsibility to the greater national sheltering community. WHS wanted to make room for as many dogs as possible from the puppy mill and today will be taking in fifteen to twenty of the dogs rescued from the puppy mill to our private shelter on 7319 Georgia Avenue, NW.
Our dedicated staff, volunteers and medical team are working now to prepare the shelters and line up foster homes. We will be ready to care for these dogs who have been through so much in their lives, and thanks to donations made to WHS’s special Sophie’s Fund, we are prepared to attend to any special medical needs these dogs may have as soon as they arrive.

In addition to stepping forward to care for these dogs, we will offer our WHS National Capital Area Spay & Neuter Center for 2 free days of spay/neuter surgery to any of the dogs rescued from the puppy mill that are being cared for by various rescue groups in the Washington, DC metro region. Because the drastic pet overpopulation problem is the root cause of animal abandonment, neglect, and suffering, WHS makes every effort to ensure that as many dogs and cats as possible are spayed and neutered. The WHS National Capital Area Spay & Neuter Center – the only one in DC - serves animals being adopted, returned to owners, and animals belonging to members of the public.

If you, too, would like to find a way to help these dogs and the other animals in our care, please click here to make a donation, or consider becoming a foster parent. WHS will be holding an open Foster Parent Orientation on Wednesday, July 2nd at 7:00 p.m. at our 1201 New York Avenue location. Please contact our Foster Care and Rescue Coordinator, Kate Zapf, at 202-723-5730 (ext. 149) or kzapf@washhumane.org for more information.