About Us

Volunteer Services for Animals (VSA) was the first organization in the United States dedicated to helping cats and dogs in municipal animal shelters, places formerly thought of as a dead end for the unfortunate animals there.

Since 1979, Volunteer Services for Animals has assisted in municipal animal shelters in Rhode Island cities and towns, providing adoption outreach services, companionship and medical assistance to animals waiting for new homes. Over the years, VSA helped improve conditions and the standard of care at the shelters. Most animal shelters now provide veterinary care for sick animals, and inoculations against rabies and distemper. VSA brought down the euthanasia rates by promoting spay/neuter and adoptions, but euthanasia of healthy, adoptable cats and dogs is not yet eliminated because there are still more homeless animals than there are homes.

We haven't confined our efforts to the shelters. VSA helps companion animal owners with medical emergencies, and spaying or neutering. We advise and support the efforts of people who want to rescue a stray dog or cat, or want to help a feral (wild) cat. Our volunteers provide foster care to homeless animals, and put a lot of effort into finding them good, permanent homes. VSA provides pet food, when donated to us, to people caring for feral and stray cats, and to low-income people caring for dogs and cats. This allows people to keep their animals and to help more strays.

VSA promotes local and statewide legislation helpful to animals. We helped pass legislation that animals adopted from municipal or private shelters must be spayed or neutered. We collaborated with other humane groups to ban the gas chamber in all municipal and private animal shelters in Rhode Island. We worked to pass much-needed mandatory cat spay/neuter legislation. We worked for passage of the law that prohibits convicted animal abusers from having, or living with, pets for up to ten years. VSA continues to suppress efforts by RI DEM to bring back the use of steel-jaw leg hold traps.

Going forward, we know we must focus on the severe overpopulation of companion animals, especially cats. We must educate the public about the tragic results of not spaying and neutering companion animals, and we must find the funding to assist people with the high cost of this surgery. People must learn of the cruelty of abandoning their pets in the streets when they move away or have too many to care for. Local ordinances limiting the number of animals a person can own, or making it illegal to help a stray or abandoned animal will not stop the overpopulation. We all know people who have only the "correct" number of pets because they abandon or give away all their unwanted litters of kittens and pups. We also know people who have more animals than the local ordinance allows because they rescue the homeless ones; however, their animals are all well cared for and spayed or neutered. They are not adding to pet overpopulation and they are not a nuisance to the neighbors because they are responsible pet owners.

Another concern is the proliferation of "bully breed" dogs, used in fighting by cruel and unscrupulous people. Pounds are filled with dogs that are sweet and trustworthy dogs that will never find a home because they are tainted with the reputation of dogs that have been misused by criminals. Bad people must be prevented from owning these dogs, and we must restore these dog breeds to their previous status as family pets. A few reliable experts are now volunteering to evaluate the temperaments of dogs in the shelters, and to provide obedience training to unruly dogs of any breed. These experts can help distinguish the trustworthy dogs from the irretrievably damaged dogs, so that the trustworthy ones have a chance at adoption.

VSA has worked hard, and has made many positive changes for animals. To keep moving forward, though, we need the support of animal lovers and responsible citizens like you. You can call VSA for help if you know of an animal in need. Also, you can make a donation to Volunteer Services for Animals, either to provide funds for animals in need throughout Rhode Island or to one of our chapters.

You can support VSA's work into the future by remembering us in your will. Your bequest will be spent according to your wishes. Please contact VSA at 401-273-0358 for more information on including Volunteer Services for Animals in your estate planning.

Please view our animals on Petfinder.com.