Story By Uriah Kiser
Photos By Mary Davidson
STAFFORD, Va. — When a woman surrendered her cat to the Stafford SPCA, the burgeoning animal rescue organization also helped her flee an abusive spouse.
“When she brought the cat in, she told us she just wanted to give it up. But we found out she needed to get way from someone who was beating her, and then we sat here on the floor and cried for two hours straight,” said Stafford SPCA Director of Operations Lori O’Pry.
The shelter charges a $29 surrender fee plus $50 month until the cat is placed into a good home. The woman gave the SPCA $20 and never returned, but with the help information provided to the woman by the SPCA, at least the woman and the cat were able to find better homes, said O’Pry.
Every animal in this rural SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) facility has a story. Some were abandoned at the facility’s driveway, some (like three dogs that arrived Saturday) have been flown in from animal shelters from other states, and others have been rescued by police in homes were their owners were abusing them (sexual abuse in at least one case).
The SPCA is run by two full-time employees: Its founder, William Hoyt, a now retired gun-toting Marine and gym owner, who is also an outspoken advocate for animals, and O’Pry, who discovered animal rescue while working to catch pedophiles at a private investigation firm in Hawaii.
“We would not be able to do what we do without the volunteers we have, because we work seven days a week, 16–hour days, and there’s no way we could pay someone and get the same kind of work we get from a volunteers who have a passion for helping animals,” said O’Pry.
The shelter charges relatively very little for their services, and Hoyt notes “no one gets into the animal rescue business to make money.”
Owners who surrender their dogs are asked to pay $49, and in turn the animal is vaccinated for rabies, checked for heartworms as well as other medical checkups. All of the animals here are kept until suitable homes are found, and unlike the Stafford County Animal Shelter, no animal is ever put to sleep.
“There was a dire situation in this area and we needed a no-kill shelter in Stafford. We actually save the county money by operating. For every animal that gets euthanized, we can actually take that animal off of their hands and save them the cost of putting that animal to sleep,” said Hoyt.
Hoyt is a hard-charging conservative with the unfitting desire to recycle and save the environment. And while not a bleeding-heart activist, he’s adamant about giving homeless animals a voice.
His current 18-room facility for more than 30 years served as a nursing home. When he bought it in 2008 with the intention of converting it to an SPCA, he found sheets still on beds and molded food still inside refrigerators.
Since then he’s sunk $500,000 into building, which sits on 10 acres of land, and says he’ll continue to meet requirements set forth in his conditional use permit that requires lighting improvements in the parking lot, improved storm drainage, and separate business offices.
Boy Scouts are scheduled to come to the property for improve walking trails on five wooded acres of the property.
His office on Jefferson Davis Highway (U.S. 1), about four miles away, makes it more challenging for would-be adopters to make appointments to come and see animals at the facility, he added.
Prior to opening the facility, Hoyt was met with opposition from those who live nearby who feared the shelter would be too loud. Now two years into building the organization, Hoyt plans to continue raising money for the cause to pay for pet food, supplies, rescue equipment and just about everything else his organization will need to survive. He’ll also continue posting animals’ pictures and profiles to pet adoption websites in an effort to find them permanent homes.
Hoyt says his relationship with the county’s animal shelter is improving, though he says they could have more accommodating operating hours more fitting to would-be adopters (the county shelter is closed Sunday and Monday and is open from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday – Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday) as well as utilizing online services to help adopt-out pets.
“Someone has to be here to defend these animals, because they’re not able to speak up for themselves,” said Hoyt.
