Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Visitors walking down the halls at the Washington Animal Rescue League Wednesday afternoon were greeted by dozens of cats and dogs behind glass dogs eager to play and be petted. These animals are among the 60,000 served each year by the Washington Humane Society and Washington Animal Rescue League. The two groups are now merging so they can help more animals through services including rescue, adoption, low-cost veterinary care and spaying/neutering, and animal control.
“This has not been done in any other major U.S. city where you take all of the programs that touch the lives of animals and people and put them under one roof in the hands of one team, and we have got that now in Washington, D.C.” said the new organization’s CEO Lisa LaFontaine.
The two organizations will work together to offer services and figure out the the solutions to problems including animal homelessness and abuse. One of the District’s biggest animal-related problems is an overpopulation of unfixed cats breeding faster than rescues can find homes for them.
To help alleviate the cat overpopulation, the Washington Humane Society offers low-cost spaying and neutering. “Seeing those animals come and go every day and knowing that we’re helping them and helping their people brings me so much joy, and this [the merger] is going to make what we do so much better,” said Sara Spendelow with the National Capital Area Spay and Neuter Center.
The merged organization, which has yet to be named, also aims to offer more services for people who struggle to afford veterinary care for their animals.
“This partnership, and this one family that we’ve created has so much promise,” LaFontaine said.
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