After seeing and hearing about the death and abandonment of thousands of pets in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, animal lover, Ines De Pablo knew she had to do something to help. "The situation there was so poorly managed and so many people had to leave their animals behind," said De Pablo. "Even people with service animals had to leave them behind."Calling on her background in crisis and emergency management, De Pablo set out to develop pet safety and first aid products and educational programs that would help prevent the same thing from happening in the future when disaster strikes. "…

Have you ever seen a dog smile? Or better yet, a dog that smiles while getting a bath? There is such dog, Cacau, a 6 year old chocolate lab, one of the happy customers who frequents Bark 'N Bubbles in Herndon. Co-owned by Pam Ahart and Dani Weng, the self and full service dog wash has been keeping Herndon area dogs clean and happy since opening its doors in 2008. Other locations include Ashburn, Fairfax, and the most recent location in Leesburg.Roughly 60 percent of customers wash their own dogs in the jacuzzi-size tubs while the other 40 percent sign up for everything from the "Bare Bones" …

Since its inception in 1997, Fancy Cats Rescue Team has found homes for over 11,000 cats. The Herndon-based organization, founded by Cathy Awad, works with more than 100 volunteers to rescue cats at local shelters that would otherwise be euthanized due to space limitations or other factors. A few factors that increase chances for euthanasia are older cats or those with special needs that may have more difficulty getting adopted. That's where Ronda Dalton comes in. For the past two and a half years, Dalton—a radio frequency engineer who volunteers with Fancy Cats Rescue Team as a foster mom …