06/19/2025
🚨🚨 WE NEED YOUR HELP! 🚨🚨
As the only animal shelter in Washington County, MD, HSWC cannot and does not turn away stray, neglected, or abused animals found within the county. We are fully committed to saving lives and giving animals the opportunity to heal, grow, and find forever homes, but we need YOUR HELP to do it!
As of the close of business yesterday, the breakdown of animals in our care is as follows:
Within the shelter:
🐈: 191 cats and kittens
🐕: 59 dogs including 8 on an extended quarantine
🐍: 1 snake
🐹: 2 guinea pigs
Total: 253
In foster care:
🐈: 332 cats and kittens
🐕: 8 dogs
🐹: 4 guinea pigs
Total: 344
Yesterday, only 4 animals (all cats) were adopted, and 14 animals entered the shelter. We need your help!
If you've considered adopting, please do so now. We're currently offering half off adoption fees on ALL of our cats and dogs through the end of June. To view our NORMAL adoption fees, visit hswcmd.org/adoption-fees. All animals come spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped. To answer a few frequently asked questions:
✅ Yes, we do allow out-of-state residents to adopt!
✅ Yes, you can adopt a dog without having a fenced-in yard!
✅ Yes, you can take your new pet home the same day (provided that they are spayed/neutered already).
✅ Yes, foster-to-adopt can be discussed as an option for some animals!
✅ Yes, you can (and should) bring your dog in to meet any dogs you're interested in! No appointment required.
Due to space, not all of our adoptable animals are in our adoption rooms. Some may be in foster, or in other rooms in the shelter where staff can bring them out to meet you. To see ALL of our available animals, please visit hswcmd.org/adoption-gallery. The gallery is updated every 15 minutes. There are no appointments needed to meet any animals who are currently at the shelter. Just stop in Monday through Saturday 10am-12pm and 1pm-6pm (Wednesdays 1pm-6pm).
Looking for something with a shorter-term commitment and completely free of charge? Consider being a foster! We are ALWAYS in need of more fosters -- especially for kittens and large dogs! Fosters are required to live within an hour's drive of the shelter (13011 Maugansville Road in Hagerstown MD) and be able to bring their fosters in to the shelter for vet appointments as needed. We've outlined the process for you to get started over at hswcmd.org/foster-app. Please be sure to follow all steps as you'll need to complete forms that come to your email before you can bring an animal home. HSWC will cover the cost of all supplies (including food, bowls, toys, crates, whatever you need!) and veterinary care while the animal is in foster. Fostering saves lives and frees up space for the animals who arrive every day!
Are you a rescue organization that has some space available? We would love to partner with you! Please complete the form at hswcmd.org/rescue-partnerships to get started! We are able to transport!
Other ways to help:
🐕: Full kennels equate to higher stress on the animals, and pent-up energy can negatively affect their adoptability. Help them out by walking some dogs! Create an account, sign up, and take your initial dog-walking training all from home by visiting the link at the bottom of the page at hswcmd.org/volunteer!
🛒: Donate items from our wish list or make a direct monetary donation! Visit hswcmd.org/wish-list to shop our Amazon wish list or visit hswcmd.org/donate-now to make a monetary donation to the shelter. Anything helps!
🐈: Adopt a working cat! If you've got a business or area that could benefit from some natural pest control, consider adopting a working cat! These are cats who are not suitable to a life as a house cat but, for one reason or another, are unable to return to their original outdoor spot. Working cats are free to adopt and come spayed/neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, and ear-tipped. Visit hswcmd.org/working-cats or email [email protected] to inquire.
Whew, that was a lot! 😅 If you've made it this far, thank you! We know that the people in our community are compassionate and care about animals, and we are so grateful that we can count on you to help in our lifesaving mission. Thank you for your ongoing support. Let's get some animals out of the shelter and into homes!
