WHO WE ARE

The Virginia Beach Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (VBSPCA) was founded in 1966 and is the only private, non-profit animal shelter in the Hampton Roads region to accept all companion animals, regardless of age, breed, health, or temperament. As an "Open Admissions" shelter, in contrast to "No Kill" shelters, we do not limit the admission of animals to only those that are highly adoptable nor do we turn away an animal based on health, age or temperament. 

Click here to read about some of our accomplishments over the past 40 years.

We are not funded by larger organizations such as the ASPCA or taxpayers.  As a private organization, we must rely on donations to allow us to continue providing vital services within the community. 

Click here for a list of our Board of Directors
Click here for a list of our Staff Members 

OUR MISSION

It is the mission of the Virginia Beach SPCA to create a more humane and responsible community by decreasing our tolerance for cruelty while increasing our capacity for compassion.

WHAT WE DO

We provide shelter and care to almost 4000 companion animals each year. We implement every available option to increase the adoption rates of the healthy and treatable animals in our care, and provide resources to ensure the successful outcome of adoptions:

We have adoption-friendly hours designed to accomodate most schedules. We are open 7 days a week and have extended evening hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Our adoption packages are designed to be extremely affordable and include vaccinations, microchip and spay/neuter.

Our foster network cares for orphans too young to survive on their own or thrive in a shelter environment. Almost 1100 animals a year enter our foster program.

In partnership with Petsmart, our cats are available at two Virginia Beach store locations.

We feature available animals at events throughout the community.

We hold several adopt-a-thon events and adoption incentive promotions throughout the year and regularly search for unique and innovative ways to promote our animals.

Animals are thoroughly evaluated for temperament, and behavior modification plans are carried out by trained staff.

Our adult volunteers come in to the shelter to walk dogs and socialize animals, improving their adoptability.

A current listing of our available animals can be seen on our website, Petfinder.com, Pets911.com, Adoptapet.com as well as almost a dozen other sites.

We are one of 58 shelters nationwide to participate in the Pets for the Elderly Foundation’s program that allows senior citizens to adopt a pet at a reduced charge.

New adopters attend an adoption class and have access to our online resources for common issues encounter by adopters, can attend our obedience training onsite, and are invited to our monthly Getting To Know Your Dog class.

We support wildlife conservation and provide guidance to the public regarding wildlife issues:

We are one of a handful of shelters in the nation equipped to care for wildlife onsite. Approximately 2000 orphaned and injured wildlife are received at the shelter annually.

Our Wildlife Program includes a network of licensed wildlife rehabilitators, wildlife transporters/rescuers, and referral line volunteers.

We provide advice to the public regarding wildlife conflicts with the goal of finding solutions that promote coexistance.

The Virgina Beach SPCA Low Cost Medical Clinic provides affordable spay/neuter services as well as routine veterinary care to households earning less than $45,000 per year.

The "Neuter Scooter" provides mobile, low-cost spays and neuters to neighboring communities that would otherwise not have access to affordable veterinary services.

Our education program reaches over 28,000 local students annually through its Compassion Classroom, Wild Workshops, and Listening Ears, which received the Virginia Reading Association 2006 Literacy Award for its innovative approach of using companion animals to serve as listeners for reluctant readers at local schools.

The HOPE Program provides pet food and discounted veterinary care to qualifying pet owners who risk losing their pets due to recent economic circumstances.

The CARE Fund was established so that we could provide specialized medical treatment for animals who would have once been considered untreatable by many shelters.

Created as a resource to keep families and pets together during a crisis situation, the Temporary Foster program is designed to temporarily house animals for owners while they are living in battered women’s or homeless shelters.

Our Disaster Response program and fully equipped disaster trailer allows us to respond and participate in rescue situations, whether it be a hurricane or puppy mill raid.

We remain involved in legislation that affects animals, and have been active in everything from local ordinances affecting waterfowl populations to state legistation regarding puppy mills.