The Charlottesville-Albemarle area has been served for over 100 years by the Charlottesville Albemarle SPCA (CASPCA), which was founded in 1914 and then located in the Market Street livery.
Many local residents remember the first official location, founded in 1956, off of Woodburn/Rio Road, on eight acres, that was transformed out of a chicken coop. Sally Mead, who started work as executive director in 1967 and was dedicated to the facility until her death in May 1989, became the local face of the SPCA.
The current facility – at 3355 Berkmar Drive – opened in September 2004. It’s very close to that previous location and is on six acres, which provides plenty of space for walking trails.
Rummage Sale
Another local and eagerly anticipated favorite event, the SPCA Rummage Sale, has taken place in various locations around Charlottesville since 1940 – it used to be THE event to look forward to every year, with lines forming hours earlier than the start time and people vying to be the first to spot special treasures.
After a particularly successful sale in 2005 it was decided to open a more permanent location on Preston Avenue in 2007, where it was until recently.
The SPCA Rummage Sale now has a brand new location in Seminole Square at 199 Zan Road in the old Downtown Athletic building. Hours are 10 am – 6 pm daily and donation drop-off hours are 10 am – 5 pm daily.
Mission & Services
CASPCA’s mission, according to their website, is to “advance the compassionate treatment of animals by providing sheltering, medical care, and behavioral services for dogs and cats; promoting permanent, caring homes; and furthering education and outreach.” And their vision is “Healthy animals in caring homes.”
Services offered at CASPCA are: dog training classes, pet therapy, pet cremation, working with behavior problems, microchipping & rabies, spaying/neutering, compassionate care clinics, licensing, volunteer opportunities, and foster care.
No-Kill Facility
Our local SOCA is a “no-kill” facility, and has been since 2006. According to the latest Winter 2016 issue of “Whiskers and Tales,” the CASPCA receives no funding from the ASPCA or Humane Society of the United States. It just celebrated its 10th year as a no-kill facility – which means a “shelter saving both healthy and treatable dogs and cats.”
For the past ten years it has found homes for more than 30,000 animals, reunited over 6,500 lost pets and spayed and neutered more than 50,000 animals. Since 1956, the CASPCA has served as the pound for Charlottesville and Albemarle County so it takes in animals other shellers might turn away.
CASPCA has a successful foster program that has helped the no-kill initiative greatly as many animals get stressed in the shelter environment while waiting for medical treatment or to be adopted.
According to the website, “The CASPCA publishes statistical information under nationally recognized guidelines known as the Asilomar Accords. The Asilomar Accords were developed in August 2004 by a group of animal welfare leaders for the purpose of building bridges across varying philosophies, developing relationships and creating goals focused on significantly reducing the euthanasia of healthy and treatable companion animals in the United States. The collection and publication of this data is sponsored by Maddie’s Fund®.”
For 2015, the live release rate was 95% – a rate of live outcomes for cats and dogs maintained for the past three years.
Because the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA contracts as the local animal control facility and is the only facility in the community, the CASPCA Live Release Rate is the rate for the Charlottesville- Albemarle community.
The CASPCA has maintained a better than 90% community-wide save rate while providing lifesaving medical care to more than 16,000 animals. “To honor this commitment, we provide medical care for the animals in residence awaiting their forever homes. Our clinic is staffed by two full-time veterinarians, two certified veterinary technicians and five veterinary assistants.
“Every animal that comes through our doors is thoroughly evaluated by one of our clinic personnel. We provide a wide range of veterinary services including, but not limited to, general wellness exams, spay/neuter, vaccinations, full dental care, testing for diseases/viruses, treating skin diseases and allergies, to caring for and treating the more complicated and life-threatening conditions, such as heart defects, repairing broken bones, performing amputations and treating glaucoma medically or even with eye removal, if necessary.
“Every day the CASPCA vets are challenged by medical needs of our resident animals. With funding provided by the Maddie’s Fund, we are able to continue this life-saving work.”
Bow-Wow-Walk
The SPCA holds fundraisers each year, in addition to the Rummage Sale and Critter Ball.
The Third Annual Bow-Wow-Walk is set for Saturday, April 30, with 8:30-9:45 am registration and a 10 am start time. It is $35 to register,
The Bow-Wow-Walk is a K-9 2.5K to support the animals and life-saving programs of the CASPCA. The walk begins at Lee Park and winds through Charlottesville’s historic downtown mall neighborhood before returning to Lee Park for a post-walk festival.
It features human and doggie entertainment, canine competition, treats for humans and pups, and a pack of animal-friendly sponsors. – See more at: http://caspca.kintera.org/faf/
New Executive Director
Jackie Bright is the new Executive Director as of February 22, according to the latest newsletter. For the past five years, she has served as Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Blue Ridge.
In her role, Bright will oversee day-to-day operations, including animal care, animal intake, adoptions, education, training and counseling programs for pet owners, as well as the management of pound services for the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
For more information about CASPCA please call 434-973-5959 or https://caspca.org/ .
Another resource to look at is Virginia Animal Rescue – you can post photos and stories of pets that need to rescued and/or adopted – it has information on the shelters around the state and a blog that lists animals – http://animal.rescueme.org/
