For the first time in decades, a new group is overseeing the animal shelter program in D.C.
The flip of the calendar to 2025 means the Brandywine Valley SPCA is now in charge of animal care and control services in the District, assuming the same roles and responsibilities it handles in several other states around the region, too.
Brandywine Valley SPCA takes over the D.C. contract from the Humane Rescue Alliance, which had been on an all-out push to get dozens of animals adopted in recent weeks. Brandywine Valley SPCA’s CEO, Adam Lamb, said around 30 animals that weren’t adopted by New Year’s Eve have been turned over to his group and will be available for adoption from the animal shelter on the 1200 block of New York Avenue NE starting Thursday.
“We will be investing a lot into keeping the individual animals with their pet parents,” Lamb said. “We believe heavily that we need to keep an animal in a home, if at all possible, and we’ll be building tons of programs to be able to do that.”
He said about 93% of the animals taken in to their facilities have what he described as a “live outcome,” which means Brandywine Valley can be considered a no-kill shelter. They put a heavy emphasis on spaying and neutering, as well as what he called “mega-adoption events” that see upward of a 1,000 animals adopted in a two-day period.
His group aims to shorten the amount of time animals spend inside the shelters, too.
“We’re looking at each individual animal and the best possible way to move them through the sheltering system. That can be increasing our relationships with rescues within the District, outside of the District, as well — we have over eight different locations within Brandywine. So we oftentimes will look at animals that may not be doing well in a shelter environment, maybe in the District, and moving it to one of our locations in Westchester.”
His group is also adding more veterinarians to provide spay and neutering services, as well as other vet needs.
Lamb said it’s important for D.C. residents to offer up as much support as possible to make this new relationship work.
“It is vital that the community supports the work that we’re doing, because we will be taking in thousands of animals through this contract and partnership with D.C. Health,” Lamb said. “So we really do need people to step up and be a part of the lifesaving mission that we have. That could be everything from adoptions to fostering to volunteering.”
Anyone interested in adopting an animal, or needing help with animal control services, has a new number to call now. Locally, the number for Brandywine Valley is 202-888-PETS (7387).
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