Wagner Animal Shelter counts noses – ‘No Kill’ status retained in 2019

The year 2019 at Front Royal’s Julia Wagner Animal Shelter was a busy one in terms of intake – 1,216 animals from dogs and cats to rabbits, horses and a couple of pigs – and fundraising, more than $200,000 including $22,000 from the revived Waggin’ for Dragons boat race last August, and $80,500 from its annual donation program, the Save the Paws Alliance.

Shelter Manager Kayla Wines also reported 887 adoptions completed and 200 lost animals returned to their owners in her Community Impact Report at year’s end – though the shelter’s two big ol’ pigs are still there, she noted.

Pigs need loving homes too – well-dressed Petunia is one of two pigs currently housed at the Wagner Shelter. Credits: Fireplace heater backdrop/AirPac, Photos/Franzi Lee Photography, Flowers/Carper’s Weddings and Events

A highlight of her report, although relegated to the penultimate paragraph, was the shelter’s protection of its “no kill” status in 2019, a milestone emphasized by Humane Society of Warren County Executive Director Meghan Bowers at a recent “Yappy Hour” event. Also, Bowers said registrations for the shelter’s major fundraiser, the August boat race, are already being taken (wagginfordragons.com/team-registration) and sponsorships are well in hand for the upcoming Polar Plunge into Culpeper Lake February 1 at the Northern Virginia 4-H Center in Harmony Hollow (contact the shelter at 635-4734, area code 540, for sponsorship information).

Bowers, who completed her first year on the job in December, also reported a joint partnership with the Middleburg Humane Foundation and the “For the Cats’ Sake” group in Front Royal to address Warren County’s cat over-population issue.

Meanwhile, a leap into the 21st century by the shelter was reported by Wines. The shelter on January 1 opened an online store through a website called Bonfire. The store features one of a kind HSWC merchandise including shirts, tote bags, coffee mugs and so on.

Wines took a practice shot with Bonfire towards the end of last year. “I believe there is a little something for everyone (at the store),” she said. “Each product has a different slogan or quote on it, some funny, some more serious… to include the importance of spay and neuter, fostering, or volunteering.”

Above, Petey competes with Petunia for best dressed adoptable pet; below, Peaches and Graham the cats seem more skeptical of the ‘best dressed’ competition.

The return of the weekly “Yappy Hour” at East Main Street’s ViNoVa last September has also resulted in $1,615 being donated to shelter operations, Bowers said. The event is held each Friday, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Izzy, Raeven and Rain, respectively, display varying levels of interest in the ‘best dressed” adoptable pet competition.