Sunday marked the first day of National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week and our area police department's Animal Control Bureau staff and volunteers want to highlight the importance of the county's animal shelter.

"The Prince William County Animal Shelter is proud to serve our community by providing our many services," said First Sergeant Dawn Harman, manager of the Bureau in a press release. "But we can't do it without the support of our community's residents and businesses."

Our local area shelter offers many services to assist animals and people alike as the organizationd controls runaway dogs, resuces injured animals and returns lost pets to their owners and helps assist animal adoption into loving homes.

In 2009, 2,003 animals where adopted from the Prince William County Animal Shelter of which 1,008 were dogs and 814 were cats.

How can you help the Prince William County Animal Shelter? You can donate anything from pet food to cheap horse rugs, or simply make a cash donation to help with the running costs. We really appreciate your help.