LOVEPAWS was founded as an animal intake prevention program to help keep pets in homes and out of shelters. To do this, we offer various types of assistance to pet owners including our pet food pantry and our re-homing service. We help find new homes for pets whose owners cannot keep them but do not want to surrender their pet to the shelter. While our focus is on Prince George’s County, MD, we offer these services to the entire DC Metro area. Our scope and mission has grown quickly since we were founded in 2019 and we now pull dogs and cats from open-admission, high-intake shelters in MD, VA and other Southern states. This has expanded our rescue to be able to save dogs and cats of all breeds. Our expanded mission is to save the lives of abandoned dogs and cats and place them in loving and permanent homes. While we are a non-breed-specific rescue, we are a pittie-friendly rescue that has a soft spot for the pit bulls at the Prince George’s County animal shelter. They face the heartbreaking reality of the county’s pit bull ban which makes them unavailable for adoption to the public. We are committed to stepping forward whenever we can and wherever there is the greatest need. LOVEPAWS is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We are an exclusively foster-based rescue with our foster network spanning MD, DC, and VA.
1. To be eligible to adopt a LOVEPAWS animal, you need to be at least 25 years old. 2. If you would like to learn more about one of our rescue animals, please fill out our online application using the cat and dog adoption application buttons on this page. Completing the online application is the first step and will provide us with the initial information we need but does not obligate you to adopt in any way. 3. An application processor will contact you, or you may call or email the person listed in the animal’s bio for more information. Note: We are a 100% volunteer-based organization; therefore, a team member will contact you as soon as possible but it may take up to 3 days. 4. If applicable, we’ll call your veterinarian to ensure that your current/previous pets have been spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and well cared for. For renters, we’ll check with your landlord to verify applicable pet policies, and if you are adopting a dog – whether there are any size or breed restrictions.Once you have spoken to us about the pet you are interested in, and if you would like to continue with the adoption process, arrangements will be made for a virtual home visit. The purpose of the home visit is to ensure that the rescue animal will be living in a safe environment, as well as to support the adoption process. All members of the home must be present for this. 1. Next a meet and greet will be arranged with you and the pet. For dog adoptions, all resident dogs must be at the meet and greet. Meet and greets for cats will be done in the foster’s home. Note: We review applications in the order in which they are received. We focus on matching the right animal to the right family to ensure successful adoptions. Our goal is to place these pets into homes where they will be safe and loved forever. We require adopters to meet our adoptable pets in person, and therefore give preference to applicants in the metro Washington, DC area, but will consider out of area adopters on a case by case basis.