When Crystal Wood and Kim Larimer co-founded Canines & Kitties Rescue in 2022, between them they had already spent decades volunteering with other organizations. But they saw a need and an opportunity to do more.
Today, the all-volunteer nonprofit they established in Chantilly places adoptable dogs and cats with carefully matched individuals and families. One key to their success is the organization’s foster model: each animal lives in a home, not a shelter, while waiting for adoption.
“We really get to know our animals,” Wood explained. “We know their day-to-day schedule. We know what they like and what they don't like. Typically, we can tell you, if they're in a home with children, if they love those children—or if they don't.”
That kind of deep knowledge helps match adopters find pets and ensure the animal has the best chance of staying with their new family for the long term. Fostering also can be a gateway to pet adoption and is a great way to support Canine & Kitties in its mission to help animals.
“One really important thing for anyone who’s considering adopting a pet is to understand what type of pet is going to work for you and your household,” Wood said. She encourages families to have honest conversations about their lifestyle and the amount of time they can commit before adopting—especially if children are involved. Understanding each animal’s temperament and teaching children how to interact safely and respectfully with pets also are important parts of the process.
“You have to be mindful that these are animals,” Wood said. “We’re bringing them into our homes, and they don’t understand what we’re saying to them. A lot of people have certain expectations, and they expect a dog or cat to fall in line with what they had envisioned. But we have to be open-minded and adaptable to change if we’re going to bring a pet into our home.”
Wood advises parents to prepare children for a calm, thoughtful introduction to a new pet. She recommends giving new pets space, teaching children to use quiet voices, and committing to respect the animal’s designated rest areas, like a dog bed or crate. “When the animal is there, everybody just kind of leaves it be,” she said. “It should have a safe space.
“You have to understand that that animal doesn't know you,” she added. “It doesn't know where it's at or its environment, and it needs a little time to adjust. You don’t want to overwhelm your new pet.”
That’s especially true for rescue animals, who may have come from difficult circumstances before their rescue.
Wood also recommends online resources like those produced by the nonprofit Your Dog’s Friend, which offers free training videos focused on positive reinforcement that can help families ease a new pet’s integration into the household.
“And it’s good to prepare kids that, hey, we have to stick to a routine: as soon as we get up, we have to let the dog out. Then it’s feeding time, and we’re going to measure the food out,” Wood said.
She also urges parents to remember that the responsibility ultimately lies with the adults. “For everybody’s safety, having that adult as primary caregiver is important,” she said.
Wood also recommends not letting children under age 16 walk the family dog alone. “Not because your dog is bad, but you just never know what they’re going to walk into out there,” she said.
Ready to add a furry friend to your family? Canines & Kitties holds monthly adoption events in rotation among Pet Supplies Plus in Sterling, PetSmart in Dulles Landing, and PetSmart in Frederick, Maryland. They also recently partnered with Mount Purrnon Cat Café and Wine Bar in Alexandria to expand their reach with adoptable cats. The “cat room” is upstairs, with comfy chairs and couches. “When you start to look around, you will see in every little nook and cranny, there's a cat,” Wood said.
“It has really changed our ability to save a lot more cats,” she said of the Mount Purrnon partnership. “In years past, we were doing maybe 50 cats a year, and we’re thinking this is probably going to at least triple that number.”
With no physical shelter, Canines & Kitties relies entirely on a network of 50 to 75 foster homes—including Leesburg Lifestyle publishers Heather and Doug Steele—as well as dedicated volunteers and donations.
“We are 100% volunteer-run,” Wood said. “No one gets paid anything to help this organization run. That’s a big deal for us, because when people donate their money, we can say this is 100% directly going to animals.”
There are several ways you can help:
· Foster a dog or cat while they wait for a forever home
· Volunteer to help with transportation, adoption events, or administrative support
· Make a monetary donation
Learn more at caninesandkittiesrescue.org.
“We really get to know our animals,” Canines & Kitties co-founder Crystal Wood says of the nonprofit organization's foster model, which places animals in homes while they await adoption. “We know their day-to-day schedule. We know what they like and what they don't like.”