IMPORTANT!!

The zoning officials in Arlington and Fairfax Counties have cited AFH volunteers for keeping foster dogs in their homes. The citations do not claim that there are too many dogs, or that the volunteers don't have a right to keep dogs. The claim is that, since the dogs are associated with a rescue group, they are considered to be "for commercial purposes". Commercial uses are prohibited in residential districts. If the dogs were not rescue dogs, there would be no problem.

The fallacy in this logic is that the fosters are volunteering their homes and their time to house these dogs. There is no compensation provided by the rescue to the foster. The fosters are performing a volunteer activity for their "own personal use and enjoyment". If the Counties are successful in classifying these volunteer activities as commercial in nature, then they will be establishing a precedent that can be used against any foster provider in the County, and potentially in the state. Since most, if not all, rescue groups rely on foster homes to house their animals, that could effectively put rescue in Virginia out of business.

By extension, if they are successful in classifying this type of volunteer activity as commercial - where does the boundary lie? The Girl Scouts rely on volunteers to staff their Girl Scout Troops and to sell their cookies. Is that really any different? It is a volunteer service provided to a non-profit organization - exactly what Arlington and Fairfax are trying to classify as "commercial".

We cannot allow these citations to stand. It is imperative that we win the appeals associated with these cases.

Please see our press release for more information -- and thank you for your continued support!