Animal Welfare League of Arlington VA, Inc.

The Animal Welfare League of Arlington strives to be a recognized leader in animal sheltering with the highest standards of compassionate animal care. The League welcomes any animal from Arlington County regardless of age, behavior, or medical condition and, when space allows, also accepts animals from other jurisdictions, private rescue groups, and other animal shelters. AWLA reunites lost pets with their guardians, adopts pets into loving homes, and provides community services to educate and enable owners to keep and care for their pets.

AWLA offers a variety of services to enable owners to keep and care for their pets including: low-cost or free spay/neuter surgery vouchers, rabies vaccination and microchip clinics, pet food assistance, emergency veterinary assistance grants, and free temporary safekeeping of pets in times of crisis. The League also addresses the problem of pet overpopulation by spaying/neutering every shelter animal before it is made available for adoption and any cat brought in through the shelter's Community Cat program (formerly Trap-Neuter-Return). AWLA prevents space- and resource-based euthanasia by partnering with shelters and rescue groups to transfer animals from over-populated areas and accommodates these additional animals by means of a strong foster care network. AWLA's veterinary and animal care staff provide exemplary medical care for all shelter animals and volunteers and staff provide daily enrichment activities to reduce stress and prevent boredom while animals await adoption.

The League was the first animal welfare organization in Northern Virginia when it was founded in 1944 and its long service to the community has resulted in good relationships with Arlington County government, local veterinarians, businesses, and other shelters and rescue groups. It has a highly qualified professional staff and a team of dedicated and capable volunteers who provide exemplary care for the animals and a loyal donor base whose contributions allow AWLA to provide exemplary care, above and beyond basic sheltering and medical services. League staff also seek out grants and fundraise for several restricted funds that enable the shelter to help animals in need of special veterinary or behavioral attention, without which the animal might not be deemed adoptable.

For 80 years the Animal Welfare League of Arlington has saved the lives of tens of thousands of animals and placed them with new, loving families. In the last decade the League has made great strides in improving its positive outcome rate, raising it from 76% in 2010 to 97% in 2023. AWLA has expanded and adjusted its facilities to better house the animals in its care; built a veterinary suite to be able to provide quality medical care, especially spay/neuter surgeries, in-house; created a behavior assessment and modification team to work with problem animals and provide enrichment to all shelter residents; expanded its foster program to accommodate hundreds more animals each year; established a neo-natal kitten nursery to save the lives of this most vulnerable, and savable, shelter population; and continually improved upon and added to the services it provides to the community so that everyone may enjoy the love of a pet.