VIRGINIA BEACH — Emergency shelters here do not allows pets, unless they’re service animals. However, there is a pet shelter for residents whose zone has been evacuated.
The Virginia Beach Animal Care and Adoption Center on Birdneck Road will now serve as an onsite evacuation shelter for pets, after City Manager Dave Hansen declared a local state of emergency Tuesday.
The shelter will be open to the pets of Virginia Beach residents who live in a mandatory evacuation zone (not a voluntary evacuation zone). As of Tuesday, residents in Zone A are the only people eligible to drop their pets off, which is limited to cats and dogs only.
The care and adoption center is a shelter for pets only and is not set up as a shelter for humans. Residents would be dropping off their pets to be cared for by center employees.
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“We are encouraging people to have an emergency plan in place for their whole family, including their pets,” said Jessica Wilde, public information officer for Virginia Beach Animal Control.
Wilde said any shelter and adoption center would have limited space, and residents are encouraged to have a plan for their pets that relies on the shelter.
Check with friends, relatives, or others outside your immediate area. Ask if they would be able to shelter you and your animals or just your animals, if necessary. If you have more than one pet, you may have to be prepared to house them separately.
Use of emergency shelters, be it human or pet, should be used as a last resort and not part of a family’s disaster plan, according to the city’s website.
In a nutshell (Birdneck Road)
- Available only to Virginia Beach residents who are in Zone A under mandatory evacuation.
- Residents will be required to show picture ID with proof of address to utilize shelter .
- Only dogs and cats will be accepted.
o Owners will be required to sign liability waiver upon entry.
o Cats must arrive in a carrier/enclosure and dogs must be securely on a leash.
o Dog crates and appropriate cat housing will be available on-site.
o Bring medications, food, bedding/toys.
o Aggressive animals and those with known medical issues above the capabilities of the emergency shelter will not be accepted. Animals with known contagious diseases will also not be accepted.
- Owners must return to retrieve their pets within 12 hours of the closing of the shelters for humans.
- The emergency pet shelter will be available for animal intake the following dates/times:
o Wednesday Sept. 12, 2018: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
o Thursday Sept. 13, 2018: 9 a.m. through the duration of the storm event
- Call 757-385-7460 to discuss further details and ensure space availability. Space is limited and will be first come, first served.
o 15 dogs over 50 pounds
o 20 dogs between 20-50 pounds
o 20 dogs under 20 pounds
o 50 cats
Additional emergency pet shelter
For Virginia Beach residents who are relocating to a shelter and need boarding for a pet, the City is opening Landstown Elementary School, 2212 Recreation Drive, Thursday, Sept.13 at 8 a.m. Employees with the Animal Care and Adoption Center will be staffing this shelter.
- Available only to Virginia Beach residents who are relocating to an area shelter.
- Residents will be required to show picture ID with proof of address to utilize shelter.
- Intake times: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.Thursday and Friday
- Only dogs and cats will be accepted.
o Owners will be required to sign liability waiver upon entry.
o Cats must arrive in a carrier/enclosure and dogs must be securely on a leash.
o Dog crates and appropriate cat housing will be available on-site or bring your own.
o Bring medications, food, bedding/toys.
o Aggressive animals and those with known medical issues above the capabilities of the emergency shelter will not be accepted. Animals with known contagious diseases will also not be accepted.
- Owners must return to retrieve their pets within 12 hours of the closing of the shelters for humans.
- Call 757-385-7460 to discuss further details and ensure space availability. Space is limited (200 pets) and will be first come, first served.
