Over 40 dogs found at Broadway home in ‘devastating’ condition
Original story written by Mair Famet. Read it here.
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, Va. (WHSV) – More than 40 dogs were found abandoned after their owner passed away, in what some are calling “devastating” conditions at a property in Broadway on Thursday. The incident prompted an emergency response from the Rockingham-Harrisonburg SPCA.
The organization rescued 15 of the most critically ill and injured animals from the scene. Many of the dogs were suffering from severe mange, internal parasites like tapeworms and other untreated medical issues.
“The dogs were obviously not in the best condition,” said Huck Nawaz, executive director of the RHSPCA. “A lot of them are suffering from significant neglect, outstanding medical needs, and we’re still assessing the situation as they come into our care.”
Nawaz said this is just the beginning of the rescue effort. The RHSPCA plans to return in the coming weeks to remove the remaining dogs and provide care. Due to limited space in the shelter, the organization is relying heavily on foster homes to take in the animals, many of whom require intensive medical treatment or are pregnant.
“All of these guys are coming with outstanding medical needs, and several of them are pregnant as well,” Nawaz said. “So we will need foster homes and the financial support to take the best care of them, we will.”
The rescue has placed a major strain on the RHSPCA’s resources. Their emergency medical fund, the Have a Heart Fund, is now critically low, despite a recent boost from the Great Community Give campaign held just weeks ago.
The RHSPCA is urgently seeking both foster families and donations to help cover the cost of ongoing treatment and recovery for the animals. Those willing to help can apply to foster or make a donation on the RHSPCA’s website.
Copyright 2025 WHSV. All rights reserved.
RHSPCA urgently seeks foster homes and donations after rescuing over 40 dogs Broadway Rescue Dogs Follow Up (5/12/2025)
Original Story written by Mair Famet, featured on WHSV. Read it here
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) — The Rockingham-Harrisonburg SPCA has rescued 52 dogs from a severe hoarding situation in Broadway after their owner passed away, following a series of ongoing recovery efforts that began last week.
On May 11, RHSPCA staff returned to the property and removed eight additional dogs, bringing the total rescued to 52. The animals are currently receiving medical care and behavioral evaluations. Once stabilized, they will be placed into foster homes to begin their recovery journeys.
“Most of them have never left the property where they were found,” said Huck Nawaz, RHSPCA Executive Director. “It’s a scary place to be for dogs that have never been off a leash or known human affection.”
The dogs were found living in unsanitary and overcrowded conditions, with many suffering from severe health issues and psychological trauma. RHSPCA staff set up a temporary shelter off-site to provide immediate care due to the main shelter now operating beyond capacity.
Thanks to community support, nine dogs had already been placed in foster homes as of Monday, but many more remain in need. The RHSPCA is urgently seeking both foster families and financial donations to support ongoing medical care, food, and supplies.
“We’re actively working on identifying medical and behavioral needs to then place them into foster homes,” Nawaz said. “We especially need fosters who can house these dogs separately from their own pets, so each one can receive the attention and recovery they deserve.”
The organization also needs material donations, such as wire crates and leashes, to help transport the animals.
To foster a rescued dog, visit: https://rhspca.org/foster/
To donate, visit: https://givebutter.com/zt1qGl
Rockingham-Harrisonburg SPCA to host ‘March Madness’ event for fee-waived adoptions
Article from WHSV, read more here
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) – The Rockingham-Harrisonburg SPCA (RHSPCA) is inviting the community to participate in a “March Madness” fee-waived adoption event on Saturday, Mar. 29.
The event follows the success of a similar adoption drive on March 8, during which 23 animals found homes. This time, the shelter aims to place 37 pets with new families.
“One of our long stay, dogs that had been here forever, [was] adopted, so we were thrilled about that,” Director of Engagement for the RHSPCA Aaron Cleveland said. “We’re trying to celebrate that success with March Madness and give someone [a] long stay dog that has been here for a year or more”
Adoption fees will be waived for adult dogs and cats.
The adoption event will take place from noon to 6 p.m. at its shelter, located at 2170 Old Furnace Road. For more information and to preview adoptable animals, visit www.rhspca.org/adopt.
RHSPCA waiving dog adoption fees due to shelter being over capacity
Original article on WHSV, read it here.
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV)—The Rockingham-Harrisonburg SPCA is over capacity and hopes to free up kennel space with a fee-waived adoption event this Saturday.
The shelter will extend its hours from noon to 6 p.m. on Mar.8 to help find homes for at least 20 dogs. Typically, the shelter operates from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Executive Director Huck Nawaz says adult dogs often get overlooked when puppies are available.
“When there are puppies available for adoption, the adult dogs get overlooked,” Nawaz said. “The puppies tend to go to foster care, leaving the shelter population unchanged.”
Interested adopters must visit the shelter in person, as online applications won’t be accepted for this special event. Available dogs can be viewed on the RHSPCA website.
Cheddar’s Second Chance: A Have a Heart Fund Success Story
Grilled Cheese Mania challenged their patrons to match their $500, and donate to Have a Heart Fund with RHSPCA. They did it! You can too…
January Shelter Scoop
Dear Friends,
We had a terrific month of adoptions with 164 cats and dogs finding new homes. This was great for our feline population which was reduced from 200 cats and kittens to 138 in shelter. However, we are continuing to see high dog intakes, a trend that unfortunately has carried over from last year. Pet ownership is becoming increasingly more expensive and for some the cost of care for their pet is getting out of reach.
We first started seeing an increase in dog intakes towards the end of 2021. It was apparent by the Spring of 2022 that this increase was not an anomaly, as national groups like Shelter Animals Count were also reporting increases in shelter intakes. This increase has been attributed to rising cost of pet ownership (cost of supplies and veterinary services), access to affordable pet friendly housing, and people returning to work as workplaces opened back up.
The reasons ascribed to the increase were consistent with what owners surrendering their pets to the RHSPCA shared with us. We also saw an increase in stray intakes and a reduction in dog reunifications despite the even heavier emphasis we placed on efforts to reunite pets with their owners. Not surprisingly, we did not see an increase in returned adoptions. This is because of the care taken when matchmaking pets with potential adopters by our staff and volunteers.
One major initiative for us this year is to reduce intake of animals to the shelter. Felines account for two thirds of all intakes to the shelter. Our Community Cat Voucher program was incredibly impactful last year and was directly responsible for the deferral of 80 feline intakes and the spay or neuter of 500 felines in total. In 2023 we plan to partner further with local groups to further reduce the number of free roaming community cats.
Intakes to the shelter can be reduced by providing resources to pet owners needing help. We will continue to provide medical and behavioral assistance to help pet owners keep their pets in the home and assist with finding new homes for those unable to keep them any longer. Dog intakes have continually risen over the last two years and we must proactively start addressing the concerns leading to this.
We expect to have these programs underway by July 1st of this year. I would love to hear from you if you are interested in supporting these two projects or if you would like to learn more about them. This is a big undertaking, one that I am confident will yield great results with the continued support of our donors, volunteers and staff.
Sincerely,
Huck Nawaz
December Shelter Scoop
Dear Friends,
As we bring in the new year, our 50th, I would first like to thank each of you that made our end of year fundraising campaign successful. Thanks to the generous support of donors we surpassed our goal of raising $75,000 and will enter 2023 with the financial support needed to build upon our success.
There was a lot to celebrate in 2022 but our greatest impact was made by saving the lives of over 3,200 animals. We ended the year with a live release rate of 94% last year. This was no easy task since we had 3,200 animals come into our care, an unprecedented increase of 600 animals over the year before. We are fortunate to have a supportive community full of volunteers, fosters, adopters and donors like you that share our vision for creating a community that values animal welfare.
Last year was our most impactful year to date. We found adoptive homes for 1,829 animals. Over 1,000 animals benefited from temporary placement in foster homes. Our dedicated volunteers donated 11,000 hours of their time and we helped reduce the feline overpopulation by getting 500 outdoor cats spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped.
This will be my fifth year with the RHSPCA and I am still in awe of the generosity and support of our donors and the dedication of our staff and volunteers. I am excited for us to further expand our programs and services this year as we continue to fulfill our mission of decreasing pet homelessness through advocacy and adoption. Together, we will make sure that our 50th year is our most successful year as we continue to proactively address the causes of pet homelessness in our community.
With gratitude,
Huck Nawaz
Don’t Buy into Animal Cruelty – Adopt Don’t Shop.
Pam Miller knew better than to purchase a puppy from a pet store. She knew that pet stores very often get the puppies from puppy mills and there was no way she was going to support such a thing. This is why when she was ready to add another dog to her family, she chose to adopt Arlo, a then six month old puppy who was rescued from a puppy mill in West Virginia. What Pam didn’t realize was the extent of the psychological trauma that dogs from puppy mills carry.
We Couldn’t Do It Without You
Your contributions make the difference for pets and people in our community.
Thank you for your support!
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