Local dog rescue partners with brewery for a day of pups and pints in Chantilly

Chantilly-based nonprofit dog rescue organization A Forever Home Rescue Foundation and hip local brewery Mustang Sally’s have teamed up to bring together man’s two best friends: beer and dogs.

Mustang Sally’s (14140 Parke Long Ct A-C) will host a dog adoption and fundraising event on Saturday, Sept. 9 in collaboration with Forever Home, according to a Facebook post.

In honor of the event, Mustang Sally’s will brew a one-of-a-kind beer that will be on sale just for that day. Its name will be chosen by Forever Home, which is currently collecting submissions from the public that can be sent to patti@aforeverhome.net by Saturday (July 22).

Once the beer is named, Forever Home plans to create a web page where community members can pay a small donation fee to enter their dog’s picture into a prize drawing for the chance to have their pooch’s face featured on the label of the specialty beer.

All proceeds from the contest will go back to the dog rescue, though Forever Home representative Patti Stinson noted that exact details have yet to be “finalized.” After submissions close, Forever Home will choose its top five pictures and leave the final choice up to Mustang Sally’s.

For every four-pack of beer sold, Mustang Sally’s will donate a portion of the sales to Forever Home, Mustang Sally’s spokesperson Eric Javage told FFXnow. Javage also hinted that the limited beer would likely be a hazy IPA because “everyone likes a good IPA.”

In addition, event attendees will have the opportunity to meet and apply for ownership of Forever Home’s foster dogs on site. Stinson says Forever Home’s goal is to process all paperwork and send each dog home with its new owner within a week of an application submission.

For Mustang Sally’s, this joint initiative joins a long lineup of what Javage affectionately dubs “Yappy Hour” events. Just around the corner on Saturday, July 22, Mustang Sally’s will host a similarly structured dog adoption event with local animal rescue organization Mutt Love.

Javage, the proud owner of a rescue dog from Fairfax County Animal Shelter, told FFXnow that he has made it Mustang Sally’s mission to partner with at least one new local animal shelter every month.

Unsurprisingly, then, Stinson credits Javage for initiating the partnership and being “fabulous” in handling most of the leg work setting up the event.

Javage plans to continue using the brewery to “give out more brand awareness” to small, community-oriented organizations around Northern Virginia, he says.

“Our big vision is to use Mustang as a vehicle to help the community,” Javage said.

Based on past successful dog adoption events at Mustang Sally’s, he anticipates the uniquely crafted beer selling out within a few hours and hopes to see some dogs find their forever homes.

“I’m excited to pet some dogs and help out with the community,” Javage said. “…We’re all about being playful and having fun at the brewery.”

“We’re very excited about our new friendship with Mustang Sally’s, and we’re happy to be meeting their customers who come out,” Stinson echoed. “We’re looking forward to a successful event and getting some homes for our dogs and hopefully bringing on some new volunteers as well.”

Though the event remains a lighthearted, fun community gathering, Stinson stressed the importance of pet adoption, saying she has seen immense spikes in the amount of abandoned animals going to rescue groups across the country. Just recently, the county animal shelter reported an uptick in surrendered pets, especially dogs.

Stinson warned that shelters are taking in more dogs than they can handle, leading to shuttered doors and compassion fatigue.

“We easily get anywhere from 50 to 100 emails every single day from shelters just literally begging us for help,” Stinson said. “…I have been in rescue for 30 years, and I can honestly say that this is probably one of the worst times that I have ever seen…for people abandoning their pets.”

Stinson encourages local residents and attendees of the upcoming September event with Mustang Sally’s and Forever Home to consider fostering or adopting a pup in need.

“The amount of lives we can save is directly tied to the amount of foster parents that we have, and you can never have too many fosters,” Stinson said. “…If you want to save a life, sign up as a foster.”