Animal Welfare League Of Alexandria Alexandria, Maryland

Happy new year!???? Thank you for helping me find my fur babies????‍⬛♥️ I love them dearly and can’t express my gratitude for you guys! Hope all the little ones at the shelter find their forever home!

They're amazing. They've helped my neighborhood with two injured strays and got them furever homes. Don't forget you can donate to them using smile.amazon.com!

Dropped off crafts for kittens and cats. Their website as a list of volunteer opportunities that kids can do from home.

The manner in which in-person appointments are scheduled is a disgraceful sham at best, to be charitable. Moreover, at the time of the appointment, the pets for which the belated appointments were made are no longer available!

After my Sophie passed away, I was left with a lonely heart. I was ready to visit the Alexandria Animal Shelter. I scheduled an appointment. Upon arrival the dog I wanted to see was adopted. So I remembered a little one called Waverly. Phen (staff member) brought Waverly to me. Well that was a match! Phen helped me thru a quick adoption process and she helped heal a lonely heart. A Big Thanks to Phen and Jean at the Alex Animal Shelter. The scheduling visit and adoption process went great. BTW my little girl has a new name ( Cookie) . Sincerely Frank and Cookie

We adopted an amazing dog here. The description the shelter provided of her personality was very accurate.

I'm so thankful that I adopted my cat from the Animal Welfare League! Their visitation appointment process is simple and I was able to meet a few cats during my time. The staff is friendly and they guided me to a cat that matched my personality after only having a short interaction with me. They love those animals and it's evident. I visited and took home Luca all in the same afternoon. The adoption process is easy and efficient. The staff does a great job with telling you everything you need to know. Luca has adjusted wonderfully and I'm so happy to have him. The animals they have are great so I recommend popping in if you're considering adopting a cat. Thanks AWLA!!

Thank you to AWLA for such a seamless process in adopting Ginger! I've had Ginger for 3 days now and she's become my best friend <3 AWLA answered all my concerns and provided me with several resources about having a new pet in the home. Ryan was super helpful and I could tell he was very passionate and caring about his job. I am so excited to finally have a companion and would highly recommend adopting from AWLA! Not only do they have amazing customer service they also truly take care of the animals in their shelter.

It has been almost 3 month since they picked me as Gizmo’s mom. The staff was so kind I helping me find the right fit. He is such a joy I am truly blessed. I can not thank them enough for filling the hole in my heart after our other dog passed. His antics bring a smile to everyone we meet.

Update: He's chillin like a villain in his new home You can tell when people are passionate about what they do, and the staff at AWLA genuinely cares! The facilities were clean and each cat was very well taken care of with a bunch of enrichment! Excellent experience! I adopted a cat (or rather he adopted me) and I couldn't be happier!

Great shelter! Take care of animals, clean, safe, and quick adoption process.

I adopted a kitten from here and he is absolutely the best. Judging by how warm and outgoing he is, they treated him very well during the time he was there. If you are looking at animals, this should be the first place you look.

The adoption process at this facility was awesome. It ran smoothly and the staff was amazing! I wanted a dog from a shelter versus a new puppy and had such a difficult time with other shelters being closed due to the pandemic or not having any available dogs, I was getting ready to give up and decided to try one more time. So glad I did because I now have a brand new buddy in my adorable 7 year old Chihuahua. Thanks for the amazing service you provide for the community and most importantly to the animals!

Great caring people, simple adoption process, new family member!

I had a great experience adopting from this shelter. The process was so easy, informative and trustworthy! Also, Jean was so helpful and great and made the whole process quite wonderful. Love this place.

Good people with a good mission, just be sure to make an appointment because of the Plague.

I have had Zina about two weeks now. When I got her, she was very shy with me, other dogs and afraid of thunder. That lasted less than 24 hours. She strains at the leash to approach other dogs . I raised my bed 8" to make her a "safe space" cave and I use a thunder shirt. On day two, our five AM walk encountered the neighborhood fox sitting in the road. Zina went berserk lunging at the fox who was about 20' away. The fox just sat there watching me struggle with this crazy dog. I had to DRAG her home with the fox following us all the way! She does not like any of the treats I have; chicken strips, beef sausages, Milk Bones, Charlie Bears , even reluctantly taking hot dog pieces. Training would be easier if I could find a treat she likes. All in all, she requires additional training but she is not aggressive ,except in a friendly way and appears to have a loving personality. My new companion and I are doing fine. THANK YOU!!! .

We recently adopted Liam (previously known as Shadrach) from the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria. We couldn't have made a better decision. They provide you with all information you need regarding their health, training and how to get them acclimated to their new environment. The animals there are well taken care of and clearly loved by the staff. The meet and greet rooms are also very cute and provide a stress-free environment to meet in. We're extremely happy we adopted Liam from the AWLA and we love him very much!

An extremely efficient and thorough adoption process! The consultation was great for preparing me for the adoption of a new cat and I am extremely pleased with the service

Update: Shortly after writing this review, staff reached out to me to apologize and discuss the issue. I greatly appreciated the effort. It saddens me to have to give three stars because the actual adoption process was quick, easy and well-supported. Staff were friendly, accommodating and answered our questions. My issue is what occurred after we adopted our sweet pup. While going over our dog's medical history, staff failed to mention that our dog had been neutered the DAY before we adopted him. The only reason I found out was because I read through his entire medical history once we took him home (something adopters really shouldn't need to do since staff is supposed to go over everything prior to adoption). They also never informed us of the aftercare required for a newly neutered dog. He was never even given a cone to wear after the procedure. Their nonchalance about the neuter led me to believe that he was basically healed and there was nothing we needed to do regarding the procedure. Wrong. Now I know that it was simply a rush job. His sutures ended up opening back up and were irritated and bleeding. We emailed staff about it and no one responded. We called and they told us they were unable to support us in any way despite being the ones to conduct/supervise the procedure. When all is said and done, we will have paid for three vet visits and endured a three-week long headache because this organization failed to support us, inform us and prepare us for what should have been a simple procedure with simple aftercare. If you plan on adopting here, be sure you thoroughly go over everything BEFORE you adopt because they might ghost you after they get your payment like they did with us.

We adopted a puppy and he is an amazing addition to our family! Animal Welfare League clearly took a lot of care with this puppy before he was ready for adoption. He was the runt of the litter and was weaned too early by him mom, so a human foster family gave him dropper feedings and took him to a lot of vet visits to get him on track with eating and growing. He is the best puppy ever and we are so grateful to have him.

A few days ago, I brought home Bindi from the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria. I can't speak highly enough of the experience -- from the first call to the facility, where I learned about Bindi and the process for scheduling a virtual meet-n-greet, to the actual pick-up. Bindi is a very shy and fearful Pekingese mix who was transferred from a rescue in Florida after being surrendered to a high-kill shelter. The staff met her behavioral needs by keeping her in an office instead of the general population and provided a comprehensive behavioral and medical review for me and my vet. The staff was very accommodating, knowing I was traveling two hours from Delaware, and had Bindi and all of her paperwork ready to go on arrival. They haven't let Covid-19 get in the way of doing their good work -- safely! The folder of information is invaluable, and I can't believe how many high quality treats/food they provided, along with the calming medication Bindi is taking. I have been active in the animal rescue community for years, and I was very impressed with the knowledge, professionalism, care and organization that the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria and its staff provided. Thank you very, very much for facilitating the welcome of this beautiful new soul into my home!

We adopted a pair of rats from AWLA, and the adoption process was very painless and supportive! I can't speak much to the facility itself, since COVID procedures meant that everything was done with minimal contact, but what we saw over video call during the remote meeting looked very clean and spacious. The staff were also very helpful through the process, providing us with all the information we needed to get started with a type of pet we haven't had before and pointing us in the direction of small animal-specialized vets. We're really appreciate of everyone there for getting us matched up with our new rats - they're in great health, and they fit right in at home!

I recently adopted a puppy from the shelter. This is the second time, though it's been many years. They have really improved the process. I was able to go in, meet with the puppy I was interested and within an hour, took him home. The staff were so helpful and the process is quick and easy!

AWLA's adoption procedures are quick, convenient, and uncomplicated, even with COVID precautions. They did a great job of getting me information about my dog's medical history and temperament and of answering all of my post-adoption questions. Would definitely recommend!

Very helpful and efficient in the adoption process; I was able to adopt a cat with no hassle. They've adapted very well to the pandemic, and adopted very responsible precautions and measures for safety, which is very appreciated. Definitely recommend if you want to adopt a pet.

The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria paired me with a perfect dog for our family! It all began with foster sleepovers. I requested small to medium sized dogs and unfortunately only big dogs were available. However, they contacted me and gave me information about a senior dog who fit the rest of my description. She was what I consider a bigger size of medium, but she was PERFECT! We fostered her a few times and kept falling in love with her! We quickly realized we didn't want her to go back to the shelter! The staff at the shelter were amazing throughout the foster and adoption process! I just want to thank everyone at the shelter and especially Kimberly, who was so helpful throughout it all!

Awesome place to Volunteer. Practicing safe practices.

Thank you to AWLA for such a seamless process in adopting Ladybug. I have had Ladybug for two weeks now and she's become our best friend.AWLA answered all my concerns and provided me with excellent resources about having a new pet in the home. Ryan was super helpful and I could tell he is very passionate and caring about his job. I am so excited to having a companion and I would highly recommend adopting from AWLA. Not only do they have amazing customer service they truly take care of the animals in their shelter. Ladybug is the sweetest dog ever, she is a happy dog and she loves to smile a lot, we gave her nickname (SMILEY) . Thank you again Ryan for an excellent service and giving me all the resources. Love Ladybug and family

9/23/20 - Response to AWLA - Firstly, I did call when I recaptured the kitten and you guys gave me a 30 minute runaround of basically not wanting the kitten to come to AWLA because you just assumed it was a feral even though the kitten still comes to me. A feral doesn't do that. So no, I won't be calling again because I don't want to waste my time. You said if the kitten "allows" to us to scan him/her, he/she can stay. The kitten is scared and doesn't like the cage so I know it probably won't go near other strangers right now. And you said if it doesn't allow us to scan, then it would be MY responsibility to take it to a vet for spay/neuter/release program as if I'm the owner. Thanks, but no thanks to your no help. First review: If you find a stray/lost kitten/cat in Alexandria, good luck because Animal Welfare League of Alexandria won't help you. I found the kitten at Hoffman Town Center all on its own. I assumed it was abandoned/lost because it was really random finding a cat in that area. I captured it with a box and food. Since it was after hours, and saw on their website that I needed an appointment, I brought the kitten home. I left in the garage, letting it go. Anyway, I did book an appointment and my dad opened the car garage and the scared kitten ran away. Didn't like the cage. Anyway, it still kept coming to my patio to get food, and would come close to me. So it seems to be familiar with humans. Anyway, I took my time capturing it, and caught it with my dad's animal trap. I called the the shelter, and the manager gave me the runaround for like 30 minutes on the phone. He thinks the kitten is feral. I asked well can you just scan the kitten to see if it belongs to anyone? He said, yea... only if it allows us to come close. Basically, he didn't want the kitten to come at all. I'm just been trying to get this cat to their home, or get a home. It's still young. And basically, he wanted to give me information to a vet to go ahead and get it trap/neuter spray/release. I gave up. And now contacting rescues on my own for this kitten. (I can't have any animals because my dad lives with me and has severe asthma and other health issues.) Really disappointing. I thought this process was going to be easy. This my first time ever finding a stray animal. And this is going to be my last. Because it's really eye-opening how animal shelters, especially Animal Welfare League of Alexandra doesn't give any care to lost/found animals in the city of Alexandra, and basically you're on your own finding the cat their owner/rescue.