friends-of-russell-county-animals

Alternatives to Surrendering Your Pet

friendsofrussellcountyanimals@gmail.com (Charlene Farthing) — Wed, 07 May 2025 19:44:42 GMT

At Friends of Russell County Animals, we understand that life can present challenges that make keeping a pet feel overwhelming. Before surrendering your pet to a shelter, please consider the following compassionate alternatives:

Option 1: Giving Up a Pet to the Animal Shelter (Last Resort)

Animal shelters in our region—such as the Russell County Animal Shelter (https://www.russellcountyva.us/161/Animal-Shelter) and Tazewell County Animal Shelter (https://tazewell.dogrescues.org)-are sadly overcrowded, underfunded, and often operating beyond capacity.

If surrendering your pet is unavoidable, we encourage you to take the following steps:
• Vaccinate your pet: This protects them from disease in a high-risk shelter environment.
• Spay or neuter your pet: Altered animals are more likely to be adopted and less likely to reproduce if they are not adopted.

* Keep your pet until there is space. Call the animal shelter and ask if you can keep your pet until space is available at the shelter.

* Please remember that public shelters are limited in capacity and may face the choice of euthanizing your animal. Please ensure you've done all you can before surrendering a pet to your local shelter.

FRCA offers free spay/neuter for pets being to the shelter surrendered to a shelter.
If you are considering this option and need help altering your pet before surrender, please contact us. We want to give your pet the best possible chance at adoption.

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Option 2: Rehome Your Pet Directly

If you’re unable to keep your pet but want to avoid the shelter system, consider rehoming through trusted friends, neighbors, or online tools. One free, safe, and reputable platform is:

Rehome by Adopt-a-Pet – This service helps connect your pet with loving families while giving you control over the rehoming process.

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Option 3: Contact an animal rescue to take your pet

Friends Russell County Animal does not accept cat, dog, bird, or small animal surrenders. The rescue may not be within the Southwest Virginia region, but transportation may be possible with the help of our local animal shelters. They work with rescues and transport shelter pets to them weekly.

Homeward Trails Animal Rescue (link https://www.homewardtrails.org )

Friends of Homeless Animals (link: https://foha.org)

Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation ( link https://www.lostdogrescue.org )

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Option 4: You May Just Need a Little Help

Before giving up your pet, ask yourself: “What do I really need right now?”
Often, it’s not that you want to rehome your pet—you may just need temporary support.

Friends of Russell County Animals offers a Shelter Intervention Program to keep pets and families together whenever possible. We may be able to help with:
• Emergency or urgent veterinary care
• Basic wellness care
• Spay or neuter assistance
• Pet food or essential supplies
• Guidance or creative problem-solving

If you’re struggling, please complete our assistance application and a team member will follow up with you directly.

Keeping pets at home

friendsofrussellcountyanimals@gmail.com (Charlene Farthing) — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 23:04:50 GMT

At FRCA, we believe that pets are family. Yet, for many low-income pet owners, keeping their beloved companions healthy and at home can be a challenge.

With your support, we’re helping families like these receive the essential services they need—spay/neuter procedures, vaccinations, and urgent veterinary care—so that pets can remain safe and loved in the homes they know.

Providing support for pets in need is more than just lifesaving; it’s life changing. By reducing the need for shelter surrenders, we’re giving pets a chance to stay with their families and, in turn, helping our shelters focus resources on animals truly in crisis. For every pet who remains in their home, space is freed up in the shelter for others, and the risk of shelter overpopulation—and ultimately euthanasia—is reduced.

With your continued support, we can offer low-income pet owners the resources they need to care for their pets, ensuring more animals stay out of the shelter system and remain with the families who love them.

Oakley the cat

friendsofrussellcountyanimals@gmail.com (Charlene Farthing) — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 10:00:59 GMT

“Linda” lives by herself with her cat, “Oakley”. Oakley is her constant companion and has brought her joy and comfort in her most challenging days. Oakley showed up at her doorstep a few years ago, looking hungry and scrappy. Linda took him in without a doubt.

But with a tight budget and bills always looming, Linda admitted she could not afford to get Oakley neutered. She worried abo ut his safety every time he slipped outside.

One day, Linda learned from her neighbor about Friends of Russell County Animals, who offered free spay and neuter services. She filled out an application and to her delight, Oakley was scheduled in a few weeks. On the day of Oakley’s appointment, Linda bundled him up in his old carrier and brought him to the clinic. She felt a mix of relief and gratitude, knowing the procedure and vaccines would keep Oakley safer and healthier.

Afterward at home, as Oakley rested on her lap, Linda could not help but tear up as she spoke. “It wasn’t just about the surgery- it was about the kindness of strangers who made it possible”. Thanks to the generosity of others, Linda could provide her friend with a longer, healthier life. That day, Linda felt the goodness of a community looking out for one another and was deeply thankful for the gift both she and Oakley had been given.

Two puppies in need

friendsofrussellcountyanimals@gmail.com (Charlene Farthing) — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 10:00:59 GMT

Jessica is a single mom of two energetic kids, always doing her best to provide for them on a tight budget. Life is a daily balancing act, but one morning on her way to work, everything changed. She found two little puppies huddling under a bush near her apartment complex, shivering and scared. Her heart melted at the sight, and without hesitation, she scooped them up, deciding that, for better or worse, they would be part of the family.

The kids named the pups “Fudge” and “Hershey”, and though it was a squeeze, they all loved their new companions. But as the weeks went on, Jessica started to worry. The puppies needed vaccinations, and they also needed to be neutered. She knew these costs could be steep, but sadly realized after a call to a clinic, that this was way out of her budget.

She heard from another mom about a local nonprofit, Friends of Russell County Animals, that offered assistance for vet services for pet owners in need. She reached out, a little nervous but hopeful. When they called back with an appointment, Jessica felt a wave of relief she hadn’t known she needed. The staff at the clinic treated them like family, which helped ease the time away.

As she watched her kids play with Fudge and Hershey that evening, Jessica was filled with joy. Not only had her family loved these pups, but the kindness of others had made it possible to give them the care they needed. That night, Jessica lay awake, feeling overwhelmed with thanks to the people who understood the impact of simple, thoughtful support for a family like hers.

Treatment for serious pet health challenges

friendsofrussellcountyanimals@gmail.com (Charlene Farthing) — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 10:00:59 GMT

Nothing can be more stressful and emotionally devastating than facing an emergency with a beloved pet. Pets may be the only source of emotional stability and source of joy that individuals and families living in poverty possess. It can be devastating to have to face the choice of weighing the love for a pet and its care against potential ruin.

This was a reality for “Rick”, a U.S. Army veteran, whose dog “Lady” developed sudden paralysis from Lyme’s Disease.
Because of your compassion and generosity, Lady is healthy today and received the medication and veterinary care she urgently needed. She also received lifesaving vaccines and free spay and neuter.

Pet-owner support programs play a critical role in preventing companion animal suffering and surrender to shelters. Our organization’s core programs (spay/neuter, veterinary assistance, and outreach) keep families in need together. You can help by donating today.