More Than a Shelter: How the Fredericksburg SPCA Builds Community, One Bond at a Time

Every August, animal shelters across the country take part in national campaigns designed to find loving homes for animals waiting in shelters and rescues. Maybe you’ve heard of “Clear the Shelters” month or have seen advertisements in the past. Locally– and running from August through October– the Fredericksburg SPCA is participating in The Rescue Effect, which is the ASPCA's national adoption campaign focused on increasing adoptions and engaging the public. The ASPCA provides grants to participating shelters and rescue organizations to help cover adoption fees and support operations with many organizations hosting fee-waived adoption events. 

This year, the Fredericksburg SPCA was awarded one of the ASPCA grants and will be hosting six fee-waived adoption events (two per month) from August through October. For the organization, the initiative extends their own mission, one rooted in the belief that saving animals also means supporting the people who love them. 

"The Fredericksburg SPCA strives to be more than an animal shelter," says Von Young, Director of Communications & Marketing. "We are a community resource dedicated to strengthening the bond between people and their pets." That philosophy shapes everything the organization does, from emergency pet food assistance to low-cost veterinary care, all designed with one goal in mind: keeping families and their pets together whenever possible.

Young's path to animal welfare wasn't a straight line. Growing up, veterinary medicine and marine biology seemed like the only ways to build a career around animals — and neither fit. A love of photography, a childhood spent smuggling stray cats past a patient mother, and later a career photographing weddings and events eventually led to a job with a D.C. and Los Angeles company that partnered with animal rescues. From there, the pull toward nonprofit work became impossible to ignore. This July marked Young’s nine-year anniversary with the Fredericksburg SPCA.

Much of that journey, Young says, was shaped by former Deputy Director Dalia Salah, who created the organization's People Empowered Through Support (PETS) Program. "She replaced judgment with compassion, championed trauma-informed care and resilience, and led with courage and conviction at a time when fear and tradition often drove the conversation," Young recalls. That mentorship still guides the way the Fred SPCA approaches its work today — with empathy first, and judgment nowhere in the equation.

It's a mindset that pushes back against a tired stereotype in animal welfare. "There is a common joke in animal welfare that people get involved because they 'love animals and hate people,' but that couldn't be further from the truth at the Fredericksburg SPCA," Young explains. Without the humans — the fosters, volunteers, donors, and pet owners doing their best in hard circumstances — there is no animal welfare at all.

That's part of why national adoption events like the ASPCA’s Rescue Effect resonate so strongly with the organization's broader mission. August isn't just about emptying kennels for a month; it's about widening the door to compassion and giving overburdened municipal shelters some breathing room. The Fredericksburg SPCA prioritizes intake and transfer support for District 16 communities, including Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg, Stafford, King George, and Caroline County, and serves as a placement hub during natural disasters and large-scale cruelty cases across the region and beyond.

As Young puts it, "Adoption is not the only way to save lives. It takes a village." Adoption is one piece of that village-building — a chance for the community to step in now, open their homes, and make space for the next animal in need.

The work isn't without its lighter, more heartwarming moments. Young remembers a Valentine's Day "puppy party" fundraiser, where a stern-looking company executive turned out to be quietly grieving his late dog — until a puppy at the event reminded him of her. He submitted an adoption application before the party even ended. Years later, his wife became the Fred SPCA's Executive Director. "It's a story that has always stayed with me of unexpected healing, connection, and the quiet ways animals find their way into our lives when we need them most," Young says.

Beyond potentially finding a new family member through sponsored adoption events, the community can look forward to the Fredericksburg SPCA's biggest fundraiser of the year: the 11th Annual Fur Ball Gala, themed "A Fairy Tail Gala," set for August 22, 2026, at the Fredericksburg Convention Center. Tickets and sponsorship details are available at fredspca.org/furball, and organizers note the event sells out every year.

For those looking to get involved beyond adoption, opportunities abound. "Don't be afraid to get involved," Young says, "there truly is a place for everyone in animal welfare" — whether that means fostering, volunteering, donating supplies, or simply showing up to an event.

This fall, as shelters nationwide clear space for animals in need, the Fredericksburg SPCA invites the community to be part of the solution — proving, once again, that it truly does take a village.