Virginia Beach SPCA

It is the mission of the Virginia Beach Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (VBSPCA) to create a more humane and responsible community by eliminating animal suffering while increasing human compassion. Founded in 1966, the VBSPCA takes in and cares for almost 2,500 homeless domestic animals each year, preparing them for the best possible adoption outcome. Our outreach and humane education programs serve almost 3,000 children each year through our Pawsitive Press quarterly newsletters, virtual Animal Hero Arcade on our website, Tale for Two reading programs in the shelter, virtual school presentations and shelter tours. As the only humane organization to hold a state and federal permit for the rehabilitation and release of wildlife, we take in nearly 400 wildlife animals annually and provide triage and referral to rehabilitation as needed. Our Low Cost Medical Clinic provides affordable spay/neuter services as well as routine veterinary care for over 6,500 clients annually.

We connect people and pets. As a trusted resource for our community, we create lasting adoptions, pr

Goal One: Adopt more animals into loving and lasting homes- Continue to raise funds for the Medical Miracle Fund for the animals of our shelter to ensure healthy and affordable adoption candidates at all times

Goal Two: Optimize the use of our current facility for operations. Explore and define the expansion of clinic services with 6 veterinarians and support of staff by adding renovated clinical or surgical spaces

Goal Three: Rejuvenate fundraising revenue with events and in-person engagements Hold events in person, such as our Puttin’ for Paws golf tournament this fall and our annual Gala next spring

Our veterinarians and vet techs participate in continuing education each year to maintain licenses; our executive team members participate in professional affiliations to include Association for Fundraising Professionals, PRSA, Association for the Advancement of Animal Welfare, and others. Our CEO is a member of the CIVIC Leadership Institute of Hampton Roads Class of 2021. Our shelter management participates in annual conference such as HSUS Animal Care Expo; our HR Manager just completed her SHRM certification. All staff undergo ongoing animal care certifications such as euthanasia training and attend one annual full staff training such as Compassion Fatigue.

We partner with Human Service organizations such as NAMI or the Housing Resource Center for activities that benefit their clients. We participate in advocacy and best practice collaboration with all shelter partners throughout Hampton Roads, both municipal and private. We offer humane education opportunities for the children in our community through classroom interaction, printed newsletters and our virtual Arcade game. We participate in Visiting Paws where we bring animals on visits to assisted living facilities in the area, bringing joy to the residents. We offer our signature events, Wags and Whiskers Gala and Puttin' for Paws Golf tournament as well as multiple community outreach events throughout the year to engage our community in supporting our mission delivery.

Throughout the pandemic, we remained open and fully operational for the care of the animals in our community. We required masking at all times and maintained social distancing by limiting numbers of guests in the building. We required appointments for visitation, adoptions, and intakes. We kept our clinic open but remain open with curbside service, allowing clients in the clinic only for euthanasia. We discontinued our in person humane education camps and programs, moving to innovative virtual platforms. We received a PPP loan (fully forgiven) to keep most of our direct animal care and executive staff, eliminating all non essential roles. We suspended all in person events and moved to digital marketing and virtual fundraising. We have been busier than ever with adoptions of animals as people found the comfort of a new companion in their homes during these difficult times. We removed the income restriction for our low cost veterinary clinic to include those that had been negatively impacted by COVID enabling us to serve more in the community by keeping their pets healthy in their homes. We have also taken on more emergency veterinary care and surgeries as the veterinary professional population has been diminished with several clinics closing or limiting their practices. Throughout all of the challenges of the past year, we have been able to adopt over 2300 animals, treat over 11,000 patients in some capacity, reach over 2500 children through virtual adaptation of our programs, engage volunteers with over 10,000 hours of service and continue to optimize space in our aging building so we can shelter, care, and connect animals with their forever homes. The external landscape only made our internal dedication to the animals stronger and our empathy for our community more robust.