News & Announcements
SUMMER DOG DAYS! We are inundated with larger dogs right now taking up a lot of space in foster and at our Adoption Center. So we’re offering dogs 50 lbs and over for just $25 adoption fees. That’s right…for just $25 you can come meet your new best friend…and take all the extra money you save to go buy treats and PUPsicles.
Help us get these awesome dogs into loving homes so we have the space to save more. Spread the word – from Saturday June 15 through July 31st…all dogs over 50 lbs have adoption fees of just $25!
Come meet some of these big pups at the Homeward Trails Adoption Center, 11116 Fairfax Station Rd, Fairfax Station, VA on Saturdays and Sundays between 10 AM – 4 PM.
Here are just a FEW of the cuties available:
CORA – Cora is an active, playful girl. She loves to be held and snuggled! She does get nervous around strangers so she will do better in a single family home vs apartment as those elevator encounters can be nerve-racking. She is super smart, fun girl who is housetrained and would love a family who can go to training with her, exercise her and let her bloom into the confident girl we know she is inside!
LILLY – is a beautiful dog who does well with a loving, patient gentle person and she loves treats.
SHAYNA – recently had puppies who are now on to their homes so it’s her turn. She’s doing well at the adoption center. Is sweet to other dogs and with people.
And we have lots and lots more……come meet these great dogs!
Cora
Lilly
Shayna
In May, HT took its first group trip to Guanica, Puerto Rico where we have been operating since 2015. Thanks to the tremendous outpouring of support on World Spay Day with over $7,000 raised, we ventured to Guanica with staff and volunteers to provide Trap Neuter Release (TNR) to 100 cats. It was an intense week with long days and busy nights, but in such a short amount of time we were able to save SO many lives!
This trip was the official launch of our GuaniCARES program – (Guanica CompanionAnimalRescueEducationSterilization)! It was a week of 17 hour days but we left having achieved even more than we set out to thanks to our dedicated volunteers, staff, veterinarians and you!
Our goal for the week was to TNR 100 cats. Months in advance we set up plans with three local veterinary clinics, our GuaniCARES staff and our wonderful on-the-ground cat lovers, Eliana and Tonito. You might remember our story about Eliana and Tonito from our earlier visit this year. They are an elderly couple who feed and care for more than 100 community cats every evening, spending their retirement money every month on the cats. Their dedication is endless and it was amazing to work side by side with them each evening to fan out in their neighborhood and watch the kitties come running as they arrived in their broken van to feed. We would quickly set our traps and sit back, allowing the kitties to explore and investigate what was going on. Eliana was crucial in our efforts, helping to identify kitties that we trapped who were nursing and thus, needed to be released and trapped at later dates.
Our days started at 5 am with volunteers headed out to set traps for kitties that feed in the morning to supplement those we trapped the evening before. We then would go in all directions, taking them to the vet and then arriving back late each morning to prepare for that night’s trapping and to head into the field to care for the homeless dogs and puppies we would find.
We ventured into fields where we treated and fed dogs with mange. We visited homes of locals who had asked us for food or supplies. We handed out our GuaniCARES dog collars that we brought along to encourage community members to put them on their dogs to identify them as “owned”. We visited our vets to drop off and pick up not only the cats we brought them but injured and sick animals we found each day needing immediate assistance.
We ended up keeping a group of 6 kittens and one friendly mom who had no care takers. One of the kittens had been hit by a car and had a broken leg – a common peril of being a street animal in Puerto Rico. These adorable kitties will arrive in the DC area soon for adoption!
Our days would normally end around 11 pm with us all dirty, exhausted but invigorated by the progress we made each day. And then we would rise again to do the same the next day!
Support our rescue efforts in Puerto Rico
A location of 25 cats… all of whom we neutered. YAY!
Our trapped kitties resting post surgery and awaiting their release.
Roger, a local neighbor who helped us catch a family of kittens to neuter. After their return, he gave them lots of cuddles!
Volunteer Meagan with some of the adorable puppies we rescued
The team heading out for an evening of trapping
Volunteer Jay with pup Stanley. He found Stanley right when we arrived in town and will be fostering him when he comes to DC next week.
This poor kitty was suffering from a massive infected wound. After neutering him, he was provided with medication.
Eliana and Tonito, hosting us before we head out to feed and trap.
Releasing cats who were sterilized the day before
Join us on Thursday evenings, May-July, for FREE concerts on The Loop at Market Common Clarendon from 6:30pm – 8:30pm. Support Homeward Trails Animal Rescue by purchasing beer or wine served by Heritage Brewing Co. during the concerts on The Loop. Bring your pup and enjoy beer, wine and great music while supporting Homeward Trails!
Thursday evenings
May 2 – July 25
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Market Common Clarendon
2800 Clarendon Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22201
Enjoy a relaxing yoga session surrounded by puppies, and feel your stresses melt away. Adoptable Homeward Trails puppies who will be running around, doing puppy things, or just sleeping during your class. Feel free to participate in the yoga class, or just spend your time playing with the puppies. Whatever you feel like. A portion of each registration will go to support Homeward Trails.
Class is lead by a licensed yoga instructor and is appropriate for beginners to advanced practitioners. Please bring your own yoga mat and blocks, as these will not be provided on site. Please be prepared for puppies to act like puppies…they bark and go potty like cute puppies do! Class will start on time, so feel free to arrive a few minutes early. Class will last 30 minutes with the final 15 minutes for you to play with the pups (45 minutes total).
Preregistration is required. All sales are final and non-refundable unless the class is canceled. You may transfer your registration to an alternative participant. All participant must sign an exercise waiver at the event.
Parking: Please park on the street and not in the Caring Hands Animal Hospital parking spots. The Caring Hands Animal Hospital spots are reserved for dog and cat patients. We are grateful to Caring Hands for allowing us to use their facility.
Please email doodlebugdogwalker@gmail.com if you have a party of 4 or more people for a discount code.
To get your tickets click here
Puppy Yoga
Caring Hands Animal Hospital,
2601-A Wilson Blvd – A
Arlington, VA 22201
Wed, August 14th 2019 – 6pm & 7pm sessions
Wed, Sept 18th 2019 – 6pm & 7pm sessions
Wed, Oct 16th 2019 – 6pm & 7pm sessions
Wed, Nov 13th 2019 – 6pm & 7pm sessions
Wed, Dec 4th 2019 – 6pm & 7pm sessions
Barley Mac is teaming up with Homeward Trails, a local non-profit, no-kill rescue center for cats and dogs. Please join us Sunday, July 15th from 4-7pm for specialty cocktails and treats! Adoptable dogs on site! Monetary and/or supply donations for Homeward Trails preferred. We’ll see ya there!
As you have all seen and generously supported, HT has been working hard to assist the dogs of Puerto Rico by covering medical care for them as well as transport off the island to adoptive homes here for over three years. This has been a rewarding experience as we have taken more than 290 dogs over this time, We have participated in both small and larger transports. Each fuzzy face that has arrived represents an amazing story of survival.
Most of our partnering has been with the The Guanica Animal Rescue Project (GARP), an amazing group that was founded by Lynn Descoteau who moved to Puerto Rico from the US and was quickly overwhelmed by the number of animals needing help. She had to do something and contacted HT more than 3 years ago to partner. Her efforts have been instrumental in saving the lives of so many animals. She is a hero on the ground!
However, as we all know, transferring animals is only a small part of the solution to a much larger problem. Transporting off the island alone will never solve the growing problem. While we continue to bring dogs to the US, the population of homeless dogs is growing, made worse by so many pet owners abandoning the island after Hurricane Maria and leaving their pets behind. And thus, we have decided that the time to further invest in this area and these animals has come.
Starting on April 1st, Homeward Trails will be opening a branch in Guanica, Puerto Rico, the community in which we have been working for the last three years. What will this mean?
We will continue with working the GARP founder under the umbrella now of HT. We will also be working in partnership with with several veterinarians in the area including our long-time partner, LaSuissa Vet Cinic. We are also very excited to have the support of the Guanica Mayor, who has officially invited Homeward Trails to Guanica to partner with his office and our vet partners to provide TNR (trap, neuter, return) programs for cats, ongoing transport for adoptable dogs, low-cost vaccines and spay/neuter for owned animals and community outreach programs about humane care of animals.
We will have a full-time staff person on the ground in Guanica overseeing the animals we rescue and preparing them for shipment here. We will be increasing the number of transports we do in order to continue moving dogs off the island. We are SO grateful to the Animal Welfare Institute who has donated funding to purchase a transport van which will make larger transports possible!
We will be implementing a targeted TNR program for cats. No one is talking about the cats and it’s heartbreaking to see all the homeless kitties who continue to multiply. We are thrilled to announce that we have received a donation of 20 traps which will be used to trap cats for TNR and dogs who are n need of prompt medical treatment.
We will be working in conjunction with our partners to host community events where we will offer low-cost vaccines, education on TNR and humane animal care, and volunteer recruitment! We will be providing community outreach to residents including information on vaccines, spay/neuter, humane care of community animals and ways to get involved and assist our efforts.
We also hope to begin offering hands-on volunteer opportunities for HT volunteers to travel to Puerto Rico to participate in these activities! There is SO much work to be done and we can’t do it without you.
So much to do and we are SO excited to get started on this next phase. We are kicking off this program with a two-day fundraising event on February 26th and on 27th to celebrate WORLD SPAY DAY! For every $50 donated a cat will be spayed/neutered. Please consider a donation of any size to help us save kitties.
***We will post an announcement with the link to donate on Feb. 25th. Every dollar will make a difference and save lives.
Join us on this new and exciting mission to alleviate suffering and bring long-term solutions to the animals of Puerto Rico who desperately need us. LET’S DO THIS HOMEWARD TRAILS!!
