Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation

19 years. More than 40,000 lives saved.

Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation was founded in 2001 to provide an alternative to breeders and pet shops, to make it easier for  people to adopt rather than shop, to save as many lives as possible. 19 years later we are still going strong, looking to the future and giving the animals our absolute best.

In the fall of 2018, we made a momentous decision to purchase a kennel building in Falls Church, VA. We had rented the building in order to have space to help dogs and cats from areas impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Maria and Irma and our intention was to be there just through the hurricane season. 

By January of 2018, we knew we had found a new home and set out to find a way to stay. An integral part of our decision was the overwhelming support of volunteers who gave their time day after day to walk, socialize and care for dogs and cats. We wanted our dogs and cats to be where those amazing people were and we're so excited we could make that happen. 

Lost Dog has always been committed to helping animals who otherwise would not have a chance. We help pregnant moms who need a safe, warm place to birth puppies or kittens, and we make sure their offspring are socialized, spayed or neutered, properly vaccinated, and healthy overall before adoption. We help old dogs and cats who need a soft place to land for their golden years. We help animals with broken limbs and previously untreated medical conditions. And we help animals who are healthy and friendly and just need a new place to call home. 

During the global Coronavirus pandemic of 2019-2020, many shelters and rescues had to close their doors. We were fortunate to be in the position to open ours even wider—all while adapting to new safety, foster, and adoption procedures and a changing world. We proudly tripled our intake, foster, and adoption rates since the Coronavirus pandemic hit the United States and have adopted out 1,350 animals and placed 1,906 animals in foster care since March 1st, 2020.

Our work depends on donations. Adoption fees cover the very basics, but do not provide funds for dental surgeries, treatment for sick animals, or heart worm treatments. They don’t cover the cost of care for animals who have to stay with us for months before they are ready for adoption and they don’t put gas in the vans that take our adoptable animals to six adoption events per weekend. 

Our volunteers do so much to save lives and we need your help to keep doing it. We do our part by keeping costs as low as possible. Our only paid staff works directly with the animals at our kennel facility. All of our administrative work is done by volunteers and all of our adoption events are volunteer-run. The overwhelming majority of our budget is allocated to medical care for animals.

If you can help us by donating any amount at all, we’ll have the resources we need to keep adding to 40,000 lives saved and counting.