DPFL Joins Brandwyine Valley SPCA
Let Them Play: DPFL Joins the Brandywine Valley SPCA Family
The Brandywine Valley SPCA is proud to announce a strategic affiliation with Dogs Playing for Life (DPFL), the nationally recognized program dedicated to transforming shelter dog care and enrichment through guided group play and training. The move unites two pioneering forces in animal welfare and marks a defining expansion of BVSPCA’s growing footprint.
Dogs Playing for Life, founded by nationally recognized and award winning canine training and behavior expert Aimee Sadler, has spent more than two decades proving that shelter dogs given the chance to play are happier, healthier, and far more likely to find a home. DPFL has pioneered the “Every dog, Every day!” model working with shelter partners to implement supervised large dog play groups where dogs get out of the kennel, have fun, and show the world their true personalities. For adopters who already have a dog at home, DPFL’s playgroup programming showcases shelter dogs who are social, playful, and ready for a new family, making them far more likely to find homes faster.
“I founded Dogs Playing for Life because I believe every dog deserves the chance to be seen for who they really are by improving the quality of their life while sheltered. Joining forces with BVSPCA means our mission doesn’t just continue — it accelerates. With their reach, their resources, and their commitment to the highest standards of care, we can bring this model to shelters in every corner of the country. Dogs live to play…and now even more will play to live!” – Aimee Sadler, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Dogs Playing for Life
Dogs Playing for Life (DPFL) is a national leader in shelter dog care and training, tackling the critical challenges dogs face in sheltering environments with a hands-on, innovative approach. Founded by Aimee Sadler, DPFL teaches shelters how to implement daily playgroups — giving dogs the individualized attention, exercise, and social connection they need to thrive. Through seminars, hands-on coaching, virtual training, and mentorship programs that are cultivating the next generation of animal welfare’s canine caregivers.
“This affiliation is a natural next chapter for BVSPCA and a powerful one for the entire animal welfare field. DPFL’s reach — 448 partners, 46 states — aligns with our mission to lead and elevate animal welfare at a national level. Together, we can bring the best practices we’ve developed in our shelters directly to DPFL’s incredible network and give every dog in their program the kind of world-class care and greatest chance to find the loving home they deserve.” – Adam Lamb, Chief Executive Officer, Brandywine Valley SPCA
For BVSPCA, the affiliation solidifies a national footprint already spanning three states and the District of Columbia. For their shelter network, the affiliation brings direct access to DPFL’s trainers and out-of-kennel enrichment expertise — elevating care and implementation of best practices for dogs across all of BVSPCA’s facilities. For DPFL’s 448 shelter partners, the affiliation unlocks access to BVSPCA’s evidence-based, award-winning shelter programming — a model widely regarded as a national best practice in open-admission, no-kill care.
About the Brandywine Valley SPCA
Brandywine Valley SPCA continues to act as a national mentor for animal welfare organizations in progressive initiatives and programs, collaboration, embed programs, disaster preparedness and response, emergency response strategies, and matching adopters with shelter animals locally and across the country. The nation’s largest adoption events, the BVSPCA-led Mega Adoption Events held in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Texas, have led to more than 22,000 adoptions over the last decade.
BVSPCA’s mission goes far beyond shelter walls — addressing the root causes of animal homelessness through its strong adoption programs, outreach, low-cost veterinary services, sterilization, education, and cruelty investigations and animal protection work. At the heart of it all is a core belief that every companion animal deserves a safe, loving, and secure home.