The Louisa Community Animal Response Team is a non-profit all volunteer team! Join! LCART is actively seeking new members! We will train you.
Based in Louisa, VA we serve Louisa and surrounding counties to provide mobile equipment and staff to shelter pets during disaster evacuations and support animal welfare. We are based in the Louisa, Virginia area. Email: [email protected] for more information.
03/01/2025
Please don't surrender your dogs... if you need help with veterinary costs, please check out these organizationsns and talk to your vet and local rescues-
📣 New eligibility criteria announcement! To help more people and pets who are struggling financially, we've increased our annual household income criteria. Pet owners with an annual household income of less than $35,000 are now eligible for funding (increased from less than $25,000). If you're interested in funding from the Farley Foundation, speak to your veterinarian.
02/26/2025
online training opportunity if you'd like to learn about emergency Pet Sheltering.
02/21/2025
If you or someone you know has been impacted by the recent flooding in Virginia, help is available. You can now access free disaster cleanup services through the Crisis Cleanup Hotline.
📞 Call 276-258-0029 for assistance with cleaning up your home or property.
This hotline connects you with volunteer organizations that can assist with things like debris removal, mucking out homes, and more.
For more information, visit https://www.crisiscleanup.org/
Spanish version available in the comments
02/20/2025
Avian flu in Fredericksburg and Loudoun wild birds.
02/18/2025
Sounds like a great way to spend a chilly snowy evening and support this great cause that support the Louisa County Animal Shelter. Yum! Thank you Tim's at Lake Anna!
Seafood?! I'm in! Don't forget that February 28 - March 2 you can swing by Tim's at Lake Anna to Eat for Pete! A portion of sales will be donated to our animals when you dine there. It will be a great way to celebrate the end of this crazy month of weather!
02/16/2025
Keep SW VA in your thoughts. They are flooding again. 😢
02/15/2025
LAST CALL for our next Pet First Aid and CPR class! Registration closes February 27 for our Saturday March 1 class!
Our experienced instructors teach this class. It is from 9 AM to 5 PM at the Betty Queen Center Rec Room in Louisa, VA. Our comprehensive class will teach you a variety of prevention and treatments such as choking and artificial respiration, treating harmful algae exposure, and CPR. You'll get hands-on practice with practice dogs and cats!
Sign up today!
02/14/2025
Many heated buckets have caused barn fires - please be careful in this cold weather.
Please note, there are updates on this post on our page. If you would like the whole picture, the first addresses folks questions and the second is the amazing response from Farm Innovators. Worth the time to read.
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So scary!
The ups and downs and daily challenges of life on a working farm certainly keep us on our toes.
It goes without saying that there are daily twists and turns when it comes to running a sanctuary, especially in Winter, but the other morning we certainly did not expect to find this. Oh boy! We are sooooo lucky!
Frigid Northern New England temperatures mean frozen water buckets even in the barn (an absolute no for animal health) and so, like so many other farms, we have long used heated flatback buckets to provide our Rescues the “warm” water the need to stay hydrated. We have never had even the hint of a problem, even in my many years of farm chores long before Tomten - that is until this.
Known for keeping water ice-free during below zero conditions, these buckets have a built in thermostat, a hidden heater (it is in the walls of the bucket) and a storage area for the cord (we run the cord out of the stall through a hole to a plug that sits directly on the other side of the wall).
Of course, we are well aware they are plugged in and we check the plugs constantly as well as handle and get our eyes on the buckets regularly when anyone is in the stalls. These buckets are dumped daily, not to mention they are topped off several times a day and if anything looks off they are immediately replaced. But in this case, there was nothing to see until morning when we walked in the barn. Thankfully, the bucket had been topped at night check and we suspect the water is what led to a charred wall and not a full out barn fire. Thank goodness! Likewise our outlet did its job and shut itself off as well as flipping the circuit breaker for the entire aisle. Phew.
Wren, who was in that stall is thankfully fine although I am certain, a little leary of her bucket now and as for us, we’ll we are just sighing with relief and we are all so ready for Spring.
Update- our electrician has been here and our outlets are fine, up to code and worked as they should.
02/08/2025
More helpful details on your microchips. Aregardless of the company now is a good time to go online and check your registration to make sure that it is current with your contact information and that you also enter several backup contacts in case you are unavailable or your contact information has changed.
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT - Long read, but worth it. Please note, any pet microchipped by All About Animals Rescue is not affected.
Time to check your pet’s microchip registration. It’s easy to do.
IF YOUR PET IS REGISTERED, THE SITE WILL RETURN WHAT COMPANY THEY’RE REGISTERED WITH. Pro Tip - Good idea to double check the contact information listed for you in the registry. Out of date phone numbers or emails mean the microchip can’t help your pet get back home. Update your contact information with the registry.
IF NO REGISTRY IS FOUND, YOUR PET’S MICROCHIP WON’T HELP YOUR PET. YOU MUST REGISTER THE MICROCHIP.
DON’T KNOW YOUR PET’S MICROCHIP NUMBER? Any veterinary clinic, animal control or shelter can scan your pet for free and provide you with the number. Pro tip – use your phone to take a picture of the microchip number on the scanner. No room for error with what someone writes down.
NEED YOUR PET MICROCHIPPED? Any veterinary clinic can microchip your pet and walk you through registering the microchip.
All About Animals Rescue can microchip your pet anytime during our walk-in wellness hours or during spay/neuter for just $25. We use HomeAgain microchips. Registration is free with free contact updates for life.
We can also scan your pet at no charge should you not know your pet’s microchip number or are unsure if they have been microchipped.
Check your microchip registration records to make sure your pet is not registered with this company!
01/18/2025
A good reminder! And remember, never use an extension cord with a space heater!
🗣️🗣️For those using heat lamps. Here are just a few tips and things to consider to help keep your pets warm safely🗣️🗣️
1. Purchase a quality heat lamp.
2. Use lamps that are enclosed with a heat
lamp guard.
3. If using a lamp outdoors, make sure the
lamp is labeled for outdoor use.
4. Use high-quality bulbs. Low quality bulbs
with thin glass can shatter.
5. Periodically check to make sure that the
bulb is tightly secured in the socket.
6. Avoid using bulbs over 250W.
7. Clear cobwebs and dust from the lamp
mounting area.
8. Secure the lamp to a panel using chain or
a heavy duty heat lamp clamp. It’s a great
idea to double-secure the lamp. For
example, if you are using the lamp clamp,
also tie a rope or chain to the actual lamp.
Recommended distance from the lamp to
ground or is 20”.
9. Make sure the lamp is secured high
enough that animals cannot reach the
fixture or the cords.
10.Plug your heat lamp into an Arc Fault
Interrupter breaker which will trip if the
fixture sparks.
11.Keep a fire extinguisher nearby in case a
problem arises.
12.Install a smoke alarm that can be heard to
help alert you of a fire.
13.Never lay a heat lamp on a flammable
surface.
14.Never put a water bowel or bucket under
the lamp. Water and electricity are not
friends and if the lamp or frayed cord
comes into contact, someone could easily
get electrocuted.
01/16/2025
Hmmmmm - we guess be careful out there and don't assume a caregiver knows what they are doing!
Imagine coming back from vacation to find your pet has been accidentally given Ozempic rather than insulin by your pet sitter. Find out how this happened to multiple diabetic pets in this month’s edition of Toxin Tails:
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On August 23, 2011, the Governor of Virginia declared a State of Emergency for the Commonwealth when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook the region, its epicenter originating in Louisa County. The Louisa Community Animal Response Team (LCART) was formed in response to this disaster to provide immediate volunteer response for companion animal emergency sheltering, either stand-alone or co-located with human sheltering. Today, LCART maintains certification as an volunteer community animal emergency response team (CART) through the Virginia State Animal Response Team, is supported by the County of Louisa as a statewide mutual aid response resource, and maintains qualifications and a Mission Ready Package as a FEMA Type 2 Small Animal Sheltering Team for statewide and nationwide deployment. We have deployed to provide companion animal sheltering in local emergencies in Louisa County and Greene County, Virginia, and in 2018 were deployed to provide co-located animal sheltering for a State-level human shelter in a hurricane emergency.
We currently maintain two fully-equipped mobile response trailers that contain all of the equipment needed to house up to a hundred dogs, cats and fowl in cages. We also have two large “DRASH” military-style portable shelters that can house approximately 50 animals each in cages. We also have a variety of equipment suitable for other animals such as horses, livestock, rabbits, etc.
Our Team Veterinarian, Dr. Melinda McCall, is a critical and valuable member of our team and provides ongoing training, advice, and on-scene services as needed.
Because of our volunteer commitment, training, experience, and ready equipment, we are also regularly called upon to assist law enforcement, animal control, and fire and emergency service organizations with animal neglect, abuse, hoarding and illegal fighting cases throughout Virginia. For example, in 2017, LCART assisted the Virginia Animal Fighting Task Force and local law enforcement agencies in ex*****on of two search and seizure warrants in a criminal cockfighting case. LCART constructed an emergency shelter and assisted incident vets and law enforcement personnel in gathering, documenting and caring for over 450 fighting roosters, hens and chicks.
In 2017, LCART assisted the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office and Animal Control with a hoarding situation. LCART deployed a large team to the incident location to assist in triage and rescue of over 571 animals spanning 19 different species. The team constructed a large, complex emergency animal shelter at the Louisa Fairgrounds to document and care for the animals. For a total of 22 days, LCART volunteers provided 24/7 medical and daily care for the largest animal hoarding case in the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As a result of this deployment, LCART and its Team Veterinarian received awards from the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association.
As an organizational Response Partner, our highly-trained deployment personnel have deployed with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (ASPCA) in Wisconsin, Ohio, Tennessee as well as South Carolina and Florida to assist with disaster relief efforts.
We believe prevention is the best disaster response! We regularly attend area public events to build support and awareness of our mission, and to educate animal owners on animal care and emergency preparedness. We provide training and public information to citizens of all ages in pet first aid and CPR, emergency companion pet sheltering, and emergency and disaster preparedness for animals of all types.
JOIN NOW! Our volunteers are provided with all the above training and a wide variety of other training in order to be qualified and ready resources in any emergency, disaster, or animal abuse or neglect situation. We are actively seeking committed volunteers to join our group! We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations and member expenses are fully tax deductible. HELP NOW! We love our citizen and business partners and appreciate all of your amazing support over the years! If you are interested in supporting us in any way, please contact us at [email protected].
The Louisa Community Animal Response Team is a non-profit all volunteer team! Join! LCART is actively seeking new members! We will train you.
