[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13822]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     IN CELEBRATION OF THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF FAIRFAX COUNTY'S 50TH 
                              ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. DONALD S. BEYER, JR.

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 8, 2015

  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and congratulate 
the Humane Society of Fairfax County for reaching the grand old age of 
50, and, perhaps more impressively, for spending those years caring for 
the animals of Virginia's 8th District.
  The Humane Society of Fairfax County was established by concerned 
citizens in 1965 in order to pursue the three-fold mission of promoting 
humane education, preventing all forms of cruelty to animals--both 
domestic and wild--by every legitimate means available, and assisting 
the community with all matters pertaining to the welfare of animals.
  In furtherance of this mission, the HSFC provides numerous different 
services for both the animals and people within its community. The HSFC 
accepts and cares for all animals in need--dogs and cats of course, but 
also birds, rabbits, gerbils, and more. They care for animals that have 
been given up by their families and for animals from overwhelmed and 
kill shelters. They help military families that have special needs in 
regard to caring for their animals and they provide emergency medical 
treatment for animals from families that wouldn't otherwise be able to 
afford such care. They provide spay and neuter services for community 
cats and run a pet food pantry to assist families during financial 
difficulties.
  They do all of this, which would be impressive enough on its own, and 
yet the HSFC goes even further--they have made a conscious decision not 
to simply fix the problems that come their way, but to also seek out 
unaddressed problems and resolve them. They have been involved with 
legislative issues such as ensuring adequate shelter and veterinary 
care for animals and stopping the operation of rodeos and circuses. 
They employ investigators that, for over 40 years, have investigated 
thousands of cruelty and neglect cases. Finally, they have assisted 
with the Deer Spay Project for the past 2 years.
  I hope I have made it as clear to you as it is to me that the Humane 
Society of Fairfax County is an outstanding, upstanding organization 
that has done more than can here be described for the animals and 
families in their community. I thank them for their valuable work and 
wish them many more happy anniversaries to come.

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