SFC Virginia Animal Rescue

SFC welcomes all adopters via our Adopters Welcome policy. Historically, adopting a pet was a very frustrating process. Many old-school shelter policies were designed to prevent adoptions judged as likely to fail. They were also supposed to prevent pets from being turned back into the shelter. However, the policies created barriers that often kept good potential adopters from adopting, and caused many to feel unwelcome or that the process was overly cumbersome.SFC uses the Humane Society of the United States Adopters Welcome approach. This approach welcomes community members, encourages them to work with our team to find the best fit for their home, and adopt. Adopters Welcome enables us to find more great homes for our animals without unnecessary judgment. Instead of trying to rule out potential adopters, Adopters Welcome focuses on finding good homes through discussions. Our fosters and volunteers talk to potential adopters in a positive and respectful way, while learning about their attitudes and intentions. Additionally, this often leads to foster parents serving as a resource throughout the life of the adopted pet and beyond.Adopters Welcome is based on data and studies that prove that returns and abuse cases do not increase when adoption restrictions are lifted. And, while SFC wants every adoption to be the perfect match, we do not view returns as failures. Instead, we use the information to learn more about the pet so we can better match them with future adopters. With so many animals needing homes, using an approach that tries to engage potential adopters rather than reject them makes sense. By welcoming adopters and removing roadblocks, SFC Virginia is proud to be a rescue that welcomes everyone.