n LOUDOUN
4 | n POLITICS
VOL. 8, NO. 17
8 | n EDUCATIONY
12 | n OBITUARIES
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County Sees Surge in Dogs Needing Homes BY RENSS GREENE rgreene@loudounnow.com
Loudoun County has another population looking for homes in record numbers: dogs. On Wednesday, Loudoun County Animal Services issued a call for help after seeing the number of dogs coming into the shelter more than double. From Dec. 6 to March 6, the shelter took in 210 dogs, compared to 93 over those three months a year before. Even the department’s new state-of-the-art facility is at capacity, and a county that usually helps relieve overcrowded shelters in other jurisdictions is now struggling to find enough homes for its own pets. Loudoun County Animal Services Director Nina Stively said most of those dogs have never been to the shelter before. That shelter seems to be another result of people scraping to get by amid increased financial stress since the COVID-19 pandemic. “Housing is definitely the biggest issue, and I think that goes hand in hand with the economic situation right now,” Stively said. People are struggling to afford to properly care for their pets, or they are having to relocate to rent in a new place where the landlord doesn’t allow pets. Surrenders of cats are also up, but they are also being adopted out quickly, so the shelter isn’t backing up with cats looking for a home, she said. But dogs can be particularly difficult to house. “It’s incredibly challenging for people to navigate that, and especially if you have children or you need to be near public transportation, your options get very limited really fast with dogs,” Stively said.
23 | n PUBLIC NOTICES
24
MARCH 16, 2023
First Parents Through New Title IX Office Want Changes BY ALEXIS GUSTIN
agustin@loudounow.com
surrendering their pet are first offered other resources, like information about the pet food pantry provided by Loudoun Hunger Relief, or whether the dog might be able to go directly to another home or a breed rescue. And the first goal for Loudoun Animal Services is always to keep families together, she said. “If we can work it through, if we can help them get a couple of free dog training sessions and we can provide them with a crate or talk to them about how to get
Jason and Tumay Harding are frustrated at the way the Title IX office in Loudoun County Public Schools has handled their daughter’s case and they want change. They were one of the first cases to go through the new Title IX office after it was revamped last March after two sexual assaults were committed by the same student at two different schools in 2021. The changes included drafting new policy, hiring two Title IX investigators and a full time Title IX Coordinator. Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities at schools that get government funding. “The heart of Title IX is to reduce or eliminate any barriers to education caused by sex discrimination,” Division Title IX Coordinator for Loudoun County Public Schools Christopher Moy said. He said it applies to all employees, students and anyone associated with the school division. Its job is to provide for the “prompt and equitable resolution of student complaints alleging sexual harassment” and must meet definitions outlined in regulation, according to the division’s Title IX
HOMELESS DOGS continues on page 33
TITLE IX continues on page 32
Renss Greene/Loudoun Now
Oscar, an estimated 12-year-old dog, waits for a new home with his longtime inseparable friend Felix. They came to the Loudoun animal shelter together.
Crises and displacement for the human part of a family can have an impact at the shelter, which does more than just get animals ready for adoption. “We are getting animals from people who are also in serious crisis,” Stively said. “Just this week we’ve had five animals come in as part of our safe haven program for domestic violence victims. So those are five animals that we are not going to turn away, and they’re going to go back to their families, but that’s five kennels, that’s five animals that need daily care, and that gets very complicated.” People who contact the shelter about
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