The Montgomery County Animal Care and Adoption Center's Return to Home program received a Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) 2022 Achievement Award.
In 2021, the staff at the Animal Control and Adoption Center (ACAC) implemented a new program to assist with the challenge of reuniting lost pets with their owners. Along with their typical social media campaign related to lost and found pets, the staff at the ACAC, in collaboration with the Animal Control Department, also rolled out an
online lost and found reporting system. The new system allows for lost or found pets to be reported 24 hours a day, with photos of the pet, and connects directly to the shelter software used by the ACAC, streamlining the process and alerting everyone much faster.
The new Return to Home program has resulted in an 88 percent return rate over the last year, a significant increase from the 70 percent return rate experienced in when the ACAC first opened in April of 2017.
The 2022 Achievement Award for the ACAC's Return to Home program was presented at the Sept. 26, Montgomery County Board of Supervisors Meeting. Pictured here from left to right are: Montgomery County Board of Supervisor Member Darrell Sheppard; Montgomery County Board of Supervisor Member Todd King; Montgomery County Board of Supervisor Vice Chair Mary Biggs; Montgomery County Board of Supervisor Chair Sherri Blevins; VACo Director of Government Affairs Katie Boyle; Animal Care and Adoption Center Director Eileen Mahan; Montgomery County Board of Supervisor Member April DeMotts; Montgomery County Board of Supervisor Member Sara Bohn; Montgomery County Administrator Craig Meadows; and Montgomery County Board of Supervisor Member Steve Fijalkowski.
VACo received 100 award submissions in 2022. The VACo Achievement Awards is a competitive program open to local government members of the association.
Learn more about the ACAC at
montva.com/departments/acac.
Learn more about the VACo Achievement Awards at
vaco.org/county-profiles/achievement-awards/.