Date: Saturday, November 1, 2025
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: FCAS, Lorton Campus, 8875 Lorton Road, Lorton, VA
Get ready for a heartwarming celebration of pets, families, and community at Fall Fur-ward! This free, family-friendly event is your chance to see how Fairfax County’s animal services are evolving, while enjoying a full day of fun, learning, and connection.
Here’s what you can look forward to:
• Enjoy seasonal crafts and face painting
• Create your own souvenir button!
• Meet Fairfax County Animal Services Officers and explore their rescue vehicles
• See police motorcycles, a fire truck, and an ambulance up close!
• Enjoy yummy treats and seasonal activities for all ages
• Make free Child ID Cards with the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office
• Meet adoptable pets ready for their new homes
• Connect with our partners from Pender Veterinary Center, Friends of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter, Adopt-a-Bird Network, and the Office of Emergency Management
Bring your family, friends, and neighbors for a day filled with learning, laughter, and hands-on fun. From meeting officers and exploring rescue vehicles to making crafts and greeting adoptable pets, there’s something for everyone to enjoy at Fall Fur-ward! Admission is free, and everyone is welcome!
 Join us for the next class in Fairfax County’s Winter Wildlife Series with A.E.R.O. This session, Renesting and Reuniting Baby Animals, will teach you how to safely return young wildlife to their families when intervention is needed, and how to tell when it isn’t. You’ll get hands-on practice, listen to expert presentations, and participate in a Q&A with seasoned wildlife rehabilitators.
Date: Thursday, November 6, 2025
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: FCAS, Michael R. Frey Campus, 4500 West Ox Road, Fairfax, VA
Registration is required.
We encourage participants to attend all sessions in the series to gain a comprehensive understanding of wildlife rescue and care.
When Zamboni arrived at our shelter on December 27, 2024, he was shy but willing, for all of his 94 pounds, he met people with soft eyes and hesitant posture. Over time, he showed who he was outside the kennel: calm during Power Hours, responsive on leash, and affectionate in quiet moments.
Yet his path to adoption stretched far longer than most. On October 4, 2025, after 281 days in our care, Zamboni, now Grizzly, finally found a home. That long wait may feel extraordinary, but it’s part of a troubling national pattern.
Across the U.S., dogs are staying in shelters longer now than ever before. In 2024 alone, Shelter Animals Count reported increases in length of stay among dogs of all sizes, even as shelter intake numbers eased. Large dogs, in particular, often remain the longest.
Researchers and shelter leaders call this a “capacity crisis”: more animals entering and fewer leaving, making shelters increasingly overburdened. Even when adoptions are strong, they don’t always keep pace.
So, when we think of Zamboni’s long stay, we don’t see a failure—we see a call to action. He waited through seasons, hope, frustration, and small kindnesses from volunteers, staff, and foster families.
 |
|
He reminded us how essential every bit of support is: more volunteers, more foster homes, more visibility for long-stay dogs, and more community awareness that adoptable doesn’t always mean quickly adopted.
Zamboni didn’t just leave the shelter on October 4th, he carried with him the work of everyone who believed in him. And in a time when dogs all over the country wait in kennels far longer than they should, Zamboni's homecoming is something to celebrate.
|
|
When Hobbes first arrived at the shelter, he made his feelings very clear. Huddled in the back of his cage, ears pinned, eyes wide and mouth open in a warning hiss, he was a cat on high alert. His kennel card even bore a big handwritten “Caution” note. For a 10-year-old orange tabby suddenly uprooted from the home he’d known, the shelter was an overwhelming place.
But the Fairfax County Animal Shelter has a special program for cats like Hobbes: our Office Cat Program. Cats who are especially stressed in the busy shelter environment are moved into staff offices, where they can decompress in a quieter, homier space.
|
|
 |
For Hobbes, the transformation was striking. Within days of settling into an office, the snarls and swats gave way to cautious curiosity. Instead of hiding, he began stretching out on the desk, watching staff work, and eventually hopping onto laps for gentle pets. The same cat who once looked ferocious behind kennel bars was suddenly showing off his soft side, batting around cat toys, chirping for attention, and walking across keyboards as staff attempted to work.
Over the past six years, one staff member alone has hosted more than fifty cats through this program; that's about one cat every six weeks. Most of them were struggling with behavior challenges tied to stress, fear, or frustration in the shelter setting.
|
A quiet office gave them space to decompress, show their true personalities, and practice positive interactions with people. Some also had medical needs that required closer monitoring, and being in an office made it easier to keep an eye on both their health and their comfort.
That’s the beauty of the Office Cat Program: it allows us to see the real cat, not just the fear response triggered by stress. And when adopters come to meet them, they get to experience the calm, confident version of the cat.
Hobbes is just one of dozens of success stories. From shy seniors to overwhelmed kittens, each office cat reminds us why this program matters. It gives them a chance to breathe, to adjust, and to show who they truly are. And behind every transformation is a team effort—staff who make space in their offices, the care team who supports them daily, volunteers who share time and enrichment, the Pender Veterinary Centre team who ensure their health, and Friends who help fund medical needs.
It takes a village, and sometimes that village starts with a small office and a simple act of care.
 Friends of FCAS Support Gigi & Tasha
When ten-year-old Gigi and her lifelong companion Tasha arrived at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter in May, they had already weathered major changes. Their owner had fallen seriously ill, and the pair suddenly found themselves in unfamiliar surroundings after ten years in the same home.
Both dogs needed care, Gigi with severe skin allergies and dental disease, and Tasha managing age-related incontinence. But from the start, it was clear they still had plenty of love left to give. Gigi was timid but sweet, often seeking comfort from Tasha, while Tasha, ever the nurturer, stayed close, ready with a reassuring tail wag.
They were soon taken in by a foster family who helped Gigi’s skin heal and Tasha’s playful spirit return. Over the following weeks, the household learned their routines: Gigi preferred concrete patios over grass and carried her beloved squeaky pickle toy everywhere, while Tasha lived for tennis balls and gentle games of fetch.
After caring for Gigi and Tasha, watching them wait, and seeing what they’d endured, their foster family made the easiest decision of all, they adopted them both. Thanks to Friends of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter (FFCAS), the transition was made even smoother. Friends covered Gigi’s senior exam and dental, and provided each dog with a $500 Senior Pet Credit at Pender Veterinary Centre, along with a fee-waived adoption.
That support meant peace of mind for the family and continuity of care for Gigi and Tasha, allowing them to stay together and settle into their golden years, Tasha with her squeaky toys and Gigi with her steady comforts.
Thank you, Friends, for helping Gigi and Tasha and countless other pets like them!
|
The Fairfax County Animal Shelter provides walk-up, first-come, first-served vaccine and microchip clinics for dogs and cats. These clinics make essential preventive care more accessible to pet guardians. No appointments or pre-registration are required; visitors can attend during clinic hours.
Locations alternate between:
Fairfax Center Fire Station 40, 4621 Legato Road, Fairfax, VA 22030
Fairfax County Animal Shelter - Lorton Campus, 8875 Lorton Road, Lorton, VA 22079
Upcoming Clinics:
Wednesday, Nov. 5, 9 to 11 a.m.
Fairfax Center Fire Station 40
4621 Legato Road, Fairfax, VA 22030
Friday, Nov. 21, 9 to 11 a.m.
Fairfax County Animal Shelter - Lorton Campus
8875 Lorton Road, Lorton, VA 22079
Services & Fees
Rabies vaccine: $20
DHPPi (dogs only): $20
FVRCP (cats only): $20
Microchip: $20
Fairfax County dog license: $10
What You Should Know
- Clinics are walk-in only; no appointment or registration needed
- All clinics are cash only
- Dogs must be on fixed (non-retractable) leashes
- Cats must arrive in secure carriers
- Only a limited exam is done to confirm eligibility; these clinics are not for full medical diagnosis or treatment
- Bring your pet’s vaccination records if available; doing so may allow the staff to issue 3-year vaccines rather than default to 1-year
- Microchips implanted through these clinics will be registered (at no extra cost) through 24PetProtect. You’ll receive an email to complete registration
|
