The Rappahannock Animal Welfare League (RAWL) is a rescue organization based in Rappahannock County, Virginia. RAWL is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation that manages the daily operations of the Rappahannock County animal shelter. Partial funding is provided by Rappahannock County, but the majority comes from people like you who love animals! We provide an energetic adoption program that finds loving homes for the dogs in our care. We seek to rehabilitate and adopt every dog. We also have annual rabies clinics and spay/neuter education programs. RAWL has made a deep and abiding commitment to saving pet lives and we depend on your donations to fulfill our mission!

Our mission is to rescue unwanted, abandoned or neglected dogs in Rappahannock County, to relieve suffering, and to help each animal become healthy and happily re-homed. Our mission is difficult and costly, and we need all the help we can get.

RAWL believes that no animal should be homeless. Our goal is a world where there are no unwanted pets. This is possible through educating people about the importance of spaying and neutering, community outreach programs, and the adoption of our animals by loving people like you.

RAWL’s day-to-day management and operations are overseen by our Shelter Director, Patti Want, who works closely with her staff and the RAWL Board of Directors to help ensure that the shelter accomplishes its mission in a professional and exemplary manner.


  • Playtime at RAWL