The Animal Welfare League of Arlington is inviting the community to its equivalent of a baby shower this weekend.
“Spring is baby season,” the organization said in announcing a “We’re Expecting!” community event on Saturday, which gives the public a chance to “learn about the incredible work that goes into caring for kittens and baby wildlife at our shelter.”
“You’ll get to meet some of our tiniest residents, hear about the challenges and rewards of baby season, and discover how you can help support these adorable animals,” shelter officials said.
Activities at the “kitten and baby wildlife shower” will take place from 10 a.m. to noon at the league’s facility at 2650 S. Arlington Mill Drive. The family-friendly event is slated to include educational activities, opportunities to meet baby animals, and more.
Admission is free, with no tickets required, but attendees are asked to RSVP and to bring a gift for the animals or order something from the organization’s Baby Registry.
Each year, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington takes in hundreds of orphaned kittens and injured or displaced baby wildlife. This event will help ensure AWLA has the supplies and resources needed to give these fragile animals the best chance at survival, officials said.
It’s been about three months since the AWLA’s new president and CEO, Lauren Lipsey, began her new role.
“Her vision aligns beautifully with our mission,” the organization’s board chair, Tim Denning, said when the announcement of Lipsey’s hiring was made.
Lipsey succeeded Sam Wolbert, who earlier had announced plans to depart the local area. His last day with the organization was Dec. 15.
ARLnow asked Lispey what her organization’s biggest challenge is at the moment, and what the best opportunity may be. Her thoughts:
As with many other organizations in our area, we are anxiously anticipating potential impacts of actions at the federal level that could increase demand for our pet support services and increase animal intake as a result of owners surrendering their animals. We are prepared to help mitigate this need, but two-thirds of our budget comes from individual donations, and we are also concerned about what funding levels will look like as our community bears the impact of recent actions.
As there is great need for pet-support services, such as food and other support, already, this is also our greatest opportunity as we grow programs to enhance the service we provide to community members. So, like many, we will be keeping a close eye on how the local economy evolves, as it will have great bearing on our operations in the coming months and years.
For the 2024 calendar year, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington reported the adoption of 240 dogs, 1,271 cats and 202 small companion animals. The “positive outcome rate” was 89% for dogs, 97% for cats and 96% overall.
The average length of stay for animals at the shelter was 14.5 days for dogs, 6.4 days for cats and 24.6 days for companion animals.
At the end of the calendar year, the shelter’s population was 33 dogs, 80 cats and 14 companion animals.
