Why We Launched DC Watchdogs

We’re proud to launch DC Watchdogs, a new, independent observer of the DC animal sheltering system to ensure that DC animals, staff, volunteers, and community members get the services they need from the city and the organizations operating here. This has been — and will continue to be — a large undertaking. One we’re doing on top of our day jobs. 

So, why did we launch this organization? In many ways it’s incredibly simple — we want better for the animals in DC’s shelter system and the people who love them. But the path to DC Watchdogs was also incredibly complicated and at times frustrating. 

As a group of current and former Humane Rescue Alliance (HRA) volunteers and staff, we put our spare time, energy, and resources (and often money) into helping animals at HRA’s two shelters. 

We know the animal shelter is never going to be a great, idyllic place to be — kennels are no replacement for homes and real human interaction, and animals are stressed in even the best run shelters. 

However, what we saw was often upsetting and in violation of HRA’s own standards of care. Dogs were not walked twice daily like HRA says they are — in fact, many are not taken out of their kennels at all during the day (or for multiple days).

We also found that dogs were euthanized with little to no notice over minor behavioral problems. Dogs who we spent time with one week with no issues were gone the next week over “aggression” that was really just frustration. 

We know we can’t save every dog, but the frequency at which dogs were euthanized without a strategic, targeted effort to address these behavioral problems through enrichment to keep them busy, extra walks or yard time to burn off energy, or a push to get them into foster homes became greatly concerning. 

We also had concerns about the conditions frontline staff were dealing with, facing consistent staff shortages that made an already difficult job even harder. 

So, we did what HRA asked us to do. We brought these concerns to their attention. 

We were consistently ignored, told we were being “too emotional,” that dogs were being walked twice a day (they were not), and that we needed to trust them (blindly it seemed). 

We don’t expect five star, luxury accommodations and care for the animals. But we do expect the basics - clean kennels, walks, enrichment and medical care.

In March 2023, HRA’s population grew exponentially and dogs were housed in small crates in a windowless warehouse for weeks on end. We were ignored again when we raised concerns about the conditions which dogs were being held in. 

We continued to speak out and instead of hearing our concerns and suggestions to fix things, working to do better, and pushing themselves to a higher standard - HRA terminated us and several other volunteers.

It became clearer than ever that HRA leadership was not interested in improving the conditions at their shelter or hearing feedback. They just wanted us to go away. 

We aren’t going anywhere. While we wish this group didn’t need to exist, the animals and the people in DC’s shelter system deserve better. 

We are cautiously optimistic now that Brandywine Valley SPCA (BVSPCA) is taking over the animal care and control contract and we hope that under BVSPCA’s leadership, DC’s shelter can provide a safe haven for animals and much-needed services for the public, including public, low-cost spay and neuter clinics, something HRA still claims is “suspended due to COVID” (as of December 2024).

But we have to make sure that these changes happen. We’re also not taking our eyes off HRA, which will continue to operate as a private shelter, responsible for caring for and housing surrendered animals, and will remain responsible for Humane Law Enforcement, as well as DC’s oversight of animal control and care. 

We want to see the shelter ecosystem in DC work for everyone. We want BVSPCA and HRA to succeed and thrive. We’ll give them kudos when they deserve it, but we’ll also use our platform to speak out when things aren’t working right. 

The DC community deserves a shelter and services that reflect the vitality of this great city and are accessible to all its residents, and we’re here to make sure that happens.