Two Mount Vernon Residents Charged with Failure to Provide Adequate Care to Animals

Carl Piper, 57, and Phyllis Piper, 56, of Alexandria, were each charged with five counts of duty of owner.

Two Mount Vernon residents were arrested and charged with failure to provide adequate care to pets on Sunday. Fairfax County Animal Control officers were initially called to the 8300 block of Brockham Drive in Mount Vernon at 10:55 a.m. Saturday to check on the welfare of cats. The officers returned several times. On Sunday, the officers made contact with the homeowners and five cats and four turtles were seized and transported to an animal hospital, according to a daily crime report issued by Fairfax County Police. Carl Piper, 57, and Phyllis Piper, 56, of Alexandria, were each charged with five counts of duty of owner (failure to provide adequate care) and one charge of unfit owner.

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Animal Control Officers Rescue Owl in Mount Vernon

Senior owl taken to a rehabilitation center in Falls Church.

Fairfax County Animal Control officers fielded calls from dozens of concerned Mount Vernon residents who saw an owl exhibit erratic behavior last week. Animal Control officers responded to the Richmond Highway and Sacramento Drive intersection last week to investigate the reports of the owl, who was flying wildly linto cars, signs, and buildings. On Friday morning, officers were able to rescue the owl, who was perched on a wire 20 feet high. The rescue took an hour and succeeded with the help of citizens, patrol officers and the fire department; officers threw towels up at the owl, who landed on a parking lot and was netted.  The owl was very ill and malnourished, with one eye missing and the other covered in cataracts; his ability to hunt…

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Cane the Pit Bull is Making a Full Recovery

The Friends of Fairfax County Animal Shelter announced they have raised enough money to cover injured pit bull's medical expenses.

Police: Dog Locked Inside Hot Vehicle in Mount Vernon

The dog was transported Thursday to a veterinarian where he was treated, released, and brought to the animal shelter.

With temperatures soaring up to 100 degrees outside Thursday, Fairfax County Animal Control officers responded to a call of a dog locked inside a hot vehicle in the 8100 block of Fordson Road at 2:45 p.m. The dog, an eight-year-old Shih Tzu, was transported to a veterinarian where he was treated, released, and transported to the animal shelter, said police spokesperson Lucy Caldwell. The dog’s owner, a 16-year-old male, was served with an "unfit owner" petition. This is the third report of pets being left in hot cars this week, Caldwell said. One incident occurred in Fairfax, and the other occurred in Reston. Animal Control responded to the Reston Town Center for a report of a dog inside of a hot vehicle at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. The dog was a…

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Animal Control Makes Progress Trapping Feral Cats

So far, Fairfax County Animal Control has trapped 11 cats, including two kittens.

Fairfax County Animal Control is making headway in trapping feral cats in a Mount Vernon neighborhood. Animal Control officers set traps in late April in response to reports from residents that a large number of feral cats were living in and around the 8300 block of Central Avenue. So far, officers have trapped 11 feral cats, two of which are kittens, said Lucy Caldwell, Fairfax County Police Department spokesperson. Fairfax County Animal Control uses the trap, neuter and return (TNR) program. To date, more than 4,200 animals have been spayed or neutered with feral cats comprising nearly 45 percent of the total animals going to the low-cost clinic. “Typically, the process is, we have barn homes and farms volunteer to take feral cats, and …

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Animal Control to Trap Feral Cats in Mount Vernon

Infestation of feral cats reported after 2011 animal hoarding case.

Fairfax County Animal Control will set traps for feral cats in Mount Vernon today. Animal Control officers are setting traps in response to reports from residents that a large number of feral cats are living in and around the 8300 block of Central Avenue, according to Fairfax County Police Department spokesperson Lucy Caldwell. In June 2011, Animal Control officers discovered 23 carcasses of cats and kittens and some cats that were still alive at a residence in the 8300 block of Central Avenue, said Caldwell. Barbara Cason, 66, was charged with three counts of animal cruelty. “I don’t know the precise number but it is a problem in that area,” Caldwell said. “Animal control will try to take care of the problem. We’re working with zoning and…

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