Animal shelters around the Fredericksburg region are seeing a surge in the number of animals being surrendered or abandoned forcing the facilities to reach—and stay at—maximum capacity.
It’s a nationwide trend, according to the Shelter Animals Count National Database Survey, which estimates that in 2023, 6.5 million dogs and cats entered shelters and rescues across the country.
“We see the trend of animals being surrendered going up and the number of adoptions going down,” said Lauren Hopkins, manager of the Stafford County Animal Shelter. “It’s like we adopt one animal out and another two pop up surrendered or abandoned and we can never catch up.”
Shelters that saw mass adoptions during the pandemic are now seeing owners surrendering their pets as people return to a schedule that doesn’t include the time or finances to care for a pet.
“Here we are three years later, these puppies are grown up or the adult dogs are seniors now,” Hopkins said. “And they aren’t vaccinated or had the chance to socialize with other animals, so it is causing problems. Not to mention the breed or weight restrictions that apartments and homes for rent are putting in place along with high pet fees or deposits. It’s causing people to have to choose between feeding their family and ensuring they have a roof over their head or the animal.”
But hope has not run out for the Stafford County Animal Shelter just yet. Help arrived in the form of the Corgi Clay Art Center, founded by former University of Mary Washington adjunct art professor Debra Balestreri.
Balesteri is drawing on her fundraising experience to help the shelter with an event she calls Bowl-a-Rama, to be held Aug. 31 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Corgi Clay Art Center, located at 15 Tech Parkway in Stafford.
“I worked with the Fredericksburg SPCA when I lived in the Fredericksburg area. Then we moved to Stafford,” Balestreri said. “Since the Stafford Shelter is run by the county, they don’t get a lot of extra funding or support. They are unable to fundraise themselves, but we can fundraise for them.”
Teachers and students in her summer camps are creating 500 ceramic stoneware bowls for sale, with a portion of the proceeds going to the animal shelter. Each bowl is $15 and they are available in a number of styles and sizes.
“We will have all the bowls that we made set up outside on tables for the attendees to view and see which ones they like,” Balestreri said. “When they purchase the bowls, we can either gift wrap it for them or we can wash it out for them to purchase ice cream from Bad Monkey Ice Cream, a soft-serve truck out of D.C. that will be outside the gallery in their food truck.”
To further entice attendees to support their local community and animal shelter, Balestreri also announced she will pay for the ice cream for the first 20 people who arrive at the fundraiser.
“We will allow everyone inside as well to view the gallery and see the other art pieces we have available, and my consignment pieces will be switched to an animal theme for August just in time for the Bowl-a-Rama,” Balestreri said.
She said the shelter may bring a few animals out to greet visitors as well as an animal control officer. “It’s going to be a great day to come support the local animal shelter,” Balestreri said.
When Balestreri decided to open up the Corgi Clay Art Center, she borrowed the name from her other business, Corgi Clay.
“The name Corgi Clay comes from the fact that I have been a lover of the corgi breed for decades and have owned both Cardigan and Pembroke Welsh corgis,” Balestreri said. “I own three corgis and being a corgi-owner is being a lover of all things corgi, so I decided to name my pottery brand after my favorite breed. Occasionally, I do also place corgi images on my pottery as well and all my Corgi Clay products are stamped with my trademarked logo of my Cardigan Welsh corgi, Loki, so that customers know they are getting a 100% original Corgi Clay functional pottery work.”
Debra Balestreri’s three corgis (left to right), Loki, Brisby and Ripley. (Photo courtesy of Debra Balestreri).
Corgi Clay offers classes and workshops throughout the week, plus consignment space for artists to display and sell their artwork with monthly rotations. It also holds a “Send a Vet to Class” program in honor of Balestreri’s father, a veteran who died in 2021.
“It’s a sort of pay-it-forward program supportive of the military and the benefit of art therapy to veterans,” Balestreri said. “We run the contest on Instagram and someone can simply comment with their military affiliation and they’re put in the drawing to win a free class with our gallery. It’s important to show what we at the Corgi Clay Center are about and where our values lie.”
