On their own initiative, these three lovely young ladies, (left to right) Flora, Maria, and Megan, held a bake sale to raise money for HART. They raised a little over a hundred dollars! Additionally, they asked their friends and neighbors to sign a petition against animal cruelty.

All of the HART kitties and doggies thank you!!!

More...

Thanks to the generosity of one of our supporters, every donation of $100 or less received by Midnight, September 15, 2010 will be matched dollar for dollar, up to a grand total of $3000 in matching donations.

That means your gift of $25 actually earns $50 for HART!  Your generous donation of $100 will earn $200 toward the rescue, housing, medical care, and adoption of HART dogs and cats.  September marks our 20th year of saving lives – your donation to help us save more would be the best birthday gift of all!

This match applies to any of our donation programs:
Sponsor Hope
Sponsor-A-Pet
General Donations

More info...

Our new sponsorship program will help us rescue even more dogs and cats from high kill shelters.  These dogs and cats are in desperate need of our help. For many of them, HART is often the last or only resource.

Details...

HART relies on the kindness of volunteer foster families to care for the vast majority of cats that are in our care until they find their "forever" homes.  We often get donations of cat food which we share with our fosters, but are in great need of clumping cat LITTER at this time!  If you would like to help us out by donating cat litter, please stop by one of our Cat or Dog Adoption Events to drop off your donation.  Thanks in advance if you can help!

See our entire Wish List.

Merrick Pet Care, Inc. is recalling all lots of its 10 oz "Beef Filet Squares" for Dogs and "Texas Hold'ems" pet treats because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

Read the Press Release.

DOUBLE the number of lives you help save!  An Angel HART supporter has offered to match, dollar for dollar, the first TWO Dogwalk teams to raise $1500 (per team) in pledges!  Sign your team up for our Dogwalk and start filling up your pledge form!  TEAM registration forms are available here.

Even if you can't make it to the Dogwalk, you can be an Angel too, and match the funds that one of our 3 Top Dogs bring to the Walk.  Please contact Dawn Costa to be an Angel too!

HART got an emergency call this Monday, August 2, asking for our help with 28 Chihuahuas living in a hoarding situation in Southern Virginia.  All of the dogs were scheduled to be seized on Tuesday by animal control, who indicated that if they were not spoken for they would be destroyed as soon as they got to the shelter.

Details, and how you can help...

Procter & Gamble is voluntarily expanding its recall to include veterinary and some specialized dry pet food as a precautionary measure because it has the potential to be contaminated with salmonella. No salmonella-related illnesses have been reported.

Read the Press Release.

The 2011 "For the Love of Rescues" Calendars are now available for pre-orders!

The calendars are $15 each plus shipping.  $10 of each calendar sold is donated to HART.  When ordering, be sure to pick us  on the drop down list - we're listed as "H.A.R.T. - VA".

HART has 9 alumni dogs featured in the 2011 calendar: Alex, Flake, Gipper, Lucky, Milo & Riley, Peanut, Penske, and Rooney!

Order your calendars today!  They make a great gift!

The calendars will ship in early September.

We are seeking the loan of equipment to help us produce a video to promote our new Sponsor Hope donation program.  The person who will use the equipment is experienced and has a degree in filmmaking.  We anticipate we will need the equipment for just a couple of sessions.

• Ideally, a prosumer video camera (combo of professional + consumer). Here are some examples: http://reviews.cnet.com/best-pro-semipro-camcorders/. Other than that, any newer video camera would do. We also definitely need a tripod that works with the camera.
• a decent microphone to capture good sound quality. Since we'll be getting sound bites from people, we want a lavalier mic, which we can clip onto someone's shirt. Here are examples: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Lavalier-Mics/ci/1470/N/4291085974.

If you can help, or would like more details, please contact Charlene.

The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is voluntarily recalling two specific lots of its prescription renal dry cat food as a precautionary measure, as it has the potential to be contaminated with salmonella.

Read the Press Release, which lists the lot codes affected.

Details...

Thank you to Peggy at the Artful Gift Shop in Vienna for hosting our first DOG WASH!!  The proceeds went to help with the North Carolina Rescue.  It was a great event (just a bit hot...ugh!) and we washed at least 90 dogs!!  Thank you to Holden Kushner from 106.7 The Fan  (weekdays from 10-2 on the Mike Wise show with Holden Kushner) for promoting our event and for coming and washing dogs!!  It's not too late to donate!  Sadly, Ann, the hoarder, has already begun to re accumulate animals.  We will do the best we can with the animal legal defense fund but the odds are against us...

Donate Your Items Through Our eBay Fundraiser!
Simply bring items you would like to donate to iSOLD It. Be sure to specify HART as the beneficiary of the eBay sale when you check your items in. iSOLD It’s experts will handle the rest, including photographing and describing the items on eBay, answering bidder questions, collecting payments from buyers, as well as packing and shipping the items. Then iSOLD It will mail HART a check! 

* iSOLD It is looking for items with a possible value of $50 or more.

More info...

Ever want to donate something that you know HART could use?  Here are a couple ideas...

http://www.ejackofalltrades.com/m-027-4-12in.html  slip leads, great for adoption events and transports

http://www.joespetmeds.com/flea-control/frontline-plus.htm  frontline

http://www.joespetmeds.com/heartworm-medication/heartgard-plus.htm   heartworm preventative

Questions? Contact Nancy.

Feline’s Pride is announcing a voluntary recall of Feline’s Pride Raw food with ground bone for cats and kittens, Natural Chicken Formula, Net Wt. 2.5 lbs. (1.13 kg., 40 oz.) produced on 6/10/10, because it may be contaminated with Salmonella. People handling raw pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the raw pet food or any surfaces exposed to the product.

Read the FDA Notice.

On June 11, 2010, representatives from HART and Friends of Homeless Animals (FOHA) drove to central North Carolina to help an elderly woman who found herself overloaded with cats and dogs. As the primary care taker for another elderly woman in the community, she no longer had sufficient time to care for the animals. Upon arrival, we discovered conditions were much worse than we anticipated...

More info, and how you can help

United Pet Group, Cincinnati, Ohio is voluntarily recalling all unexpired lots of its PRO-PET ADULT DAILY VITAMIN Supplement tablets for Dogs due to possible Salmonella contamination. 

The product was sold nationally at various retailers.  The product comes in 100-count white plastic bottles with a light blue label, and UPC code 26851-01800.  These products are being removed from retail stores and consumers should immediately stop feeding these supplements to their pets.  The affected products are those with expiration dates on or before "06/13". The expiration date can be found imprinted vertically on the right side of the product label.

Read the FDA Notice.

Natural Balance Pet Foods, Inc., of Pacoima, CA, announces a voluntary recall of Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Chicken Dry Dog Food with the "Best By" date of June 17, 2011, in 5-lb. and 28-lb. bags because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

Read the FDA Notice.

Check out the HART Facebook page!  And recommend it to other animal lovers too!

The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is voluntarily recalling specific lots of its Iams canned cat food in North America as a precautionary measure. Diagnostic testing indicated that the product may contain insufficient levels of thiamine (Vitamin B1), which is essential for cats. Cats that were fed these canned products as their only food are at greater risk for developing signs of thiamine deficiency. 

Read the FDA Notice.

For every harness purchased HART will receive 100% of the retail mark up.  Try them out!

THE BEST DOG HARNESS IN THE WORLD!

• STOP YOUR DOG FROM PULLING
• FRONT LEADING, CHEST ATTACHED
• NOW YOU LEAD YOUR DOG
• GIVES YOU MORE CONTROL
• EASY ON/EASY TO USE DOG HARNESS
• GREAT HARNESS FOR DOG TRAINING
• VETERINARIAN APPROVED
• ENDORSED ASSOC PET RESCUE PROS
• 3M REFLECTIVE SAFETY MATERIAL
• MADE IN USA
• 100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEE

Purchase your Walk Your Dog With Love harness today!

Fairfax County Police Alert:

Police and animal control officers responded to the 15000 block of Olddale Road, Centreville around 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 26. Two dogs became ill and died after ingesting a tainted substance resembling a meatball that was placed in backyards.

Residents in this neighborhood are encouraged to keep a close eye on their small children and pets, and to scan their yards for any unusual substance. Do not touch the item and contact police if anything unsual is found at 703-691-2131.

News Channel 8 report

WTOP report

NBC Washington report

Our new Dog Application not only looks better, it is easier to use!  The application is separated into 5 easy-to-navigate sections.  As you complete the application, additional relevant questions will be displayed based on your responses. 

Once you submit your application, a printer-friendly version of your completed application is available, and a copy is emailed to you as well.  Be sure to bring one of these with you to the adoption event!

A pdf version of the Dog Application is provided for those who prefer not to complete it online.

Huge thanks to the talented Meg and Mark for designing and implementing this polished, professional Dog Application!  Great job, guys!

Atlas was an outside dog his whole lonely life. At eight years of age, Atlas probably never knew the warmth of a home or even the comfort of dry bedding. We suspect that he never felt the kind touch of a person. As awful as this is, his plight got much worse over the winter....   Read the sad story of Atlas and how you can help!

Our local animal control officers got a call recently about a starving dog.  When they arrived at the address they could not see a dog in the yard and could not get an answer at the door and they left.  The call came again and with further probing they found a small chain link pen with no cover in the overgrown yard covered with  bamboo and virtually invisible and impassible to most.  When they finally convinced the human to answer the door, he told the officers that during the winter the bamboo fell over and made it impossible to get to the pen. When asked how they were caring for and feeding the dog, they admitted that every few days they would throw food in the direction of the pen over the bamboo.  Did I mention that this home runs an in home commercial child day care????

Poor Atlas may once have been a grand being but his current state is tragic.  He is skinny and weak; filthy and covered with sores.  Atlas is a pit no other rescue would have touched him.  Thank you Fairfax for telling us about him and thank you so much Jill for agreeing to foster him.

Nature's Variety has expanded its voluntary recall of Chicken Formula Raw Frozen Diets for dogs and cats to include the "Best If Used By" dates of 10/29/10 and 11/9/10 because these products may be contaminated with Salmonella.

Read the Press Release or the FDA Notice.

RSS feeds are a great way to get the latest HART news without having to check our website! You can subscribe to the feeds in your browser, Outlook or a news aggregator like Google Reader.

• Announcements
• Newly Arrived Cats
• Newly Arrived Dogs

See all our RSS Feed options.

Nature's Variety has initiated a voluntary recall of their Chicken Formula Raw Frozen Diet for dogs and cats with a "Best If Used By" date of 11/10/10 because these products may be contaminated with Salmonella.  The only products affected are limited to chicken medallions, patties, and chubs with a "Best If Used By" date of 11/10/10.  No other Nature's Variety products are affected.

Read the Press Release.

The great Snow-vacuation during the Snowpocalypse of 2010... or ...The Great Dog Bailout of 2010...or just another day in the life of a rescuer. . . and why every one who cares about homeless dogs and cats is essential, and why we need you right now. . ..

Read the whole story and see the list of our generous supporters!

Thank you to all who came out to suport the dog wash at Bark and Bubbles of Fairfax on Jan. 17.  With your help we washed 39 dogs and raised over $500 for the animals!

The U. S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use Merrick Beef Filet Squares for dogs distributed by Merrick Pet Care with a package date of “Best By 111911” because the product may be contaminated with Salmonella.

Read the FDA Press Release.

Many of our most frequently-used pages (Dog and Cat Lists and Searches, Announcements, Adoption Days, Upcoming Events and New Arrivals) are now available in a mobile friendly version!

Simply click "Mobile Website" at the top of any page to view our mobile features.

We welcome volunteers age 13 and up to assist at our Cat Adoption Events!

Volunteers under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

If you can help out, please email Kelly for Chantilly events and Kim for Sterling events.

Pet Carousel has initiated a recall of all Pig Ears and all varieties of Beef Hoof pet treats because the products may be contaminated with Salmonella. The problem was discovered after FDA testing found positive results for Salmonella in pig ears and beef hoof products. Read the FDA Press Release.

On 11/8/09, HART took in 37 dogs and puppies from a puppy mill in the mid-west. Many of them, particularly the adults, were in very bad condition from years of horrific neglect.

A FOX News Story aired the next evening, describing the rescue effort as well as the awful conditions of puppy mills.

For all the details, including photos of the rescued dogs, updates on their progress and info on how you can help, please see our Puppy Mill Rescue page.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is issuing this health alert to warn consumers not to use Pig Ears and Beef Hooves pet treats manufactured by Pet Carousel because the products may be contaminated with Salmonella. See FDA News Release and PetSmart Facts for more information.

Check out Holden Kushner on WJFK 106.7 from 6-10 PM weeknights!

His on-air promotion asked folks to donate food to our shelter cats and dogs instead of showing support or disdain for Michael Vick during the Redskins vs Eagles Game Monday October 26th.

Holden collected about 20 bags of food and a listener donated a Michael Vick, Virginia Tech autographed game jersey that he will auction on eBay and give HART the proceeds! Holden has invited our own Nancy Tarr on the air with him next week to talk about HART!

For more information, visit Holden Kushner's page on 1067thefanDC.com.

All Pet Detail pages on the HART website now display a link that allows you to easily post a link to the pet on the Twitter social networking website. With a few clicks, you can get a link to a pet in front of all of your followers on Twitter! The link that is displayed on Twitter contains the title "Check out Fluffy from HART!" and a link to the pet. When a Twitter member follows the link, they are taken to the HART website and the Pet Detail page for that pet. This great new feature will help more HART pets find their forever homes!