The Glastonbury of Beer Fests, or Who is This Joe Strummer They Keep Talking About?

July 12th, 2025 | Posted by KMdirector2* in Animal Welfare | Feel Good Story | Humane Pennsylvania | Uncategorized - (Comments Off on The Glastonbury of Beer Fests, or Who is This Joe Strummer They Keep Talking About?)

Written by Karel Minor, Humane Pennsylvania President & CEO (and aging Punk!)

A funny thing happened on the way to bringing back Humane PA’s Pints for Pups (PfP) after an 8-year break.  It kind of became something else.  PfP had always been a big, fun party with lots of drinks, food, and live music.  But the pause meant that we didn’t have to be just a repeat of last year’s event, only in a different spot with a different band.  It can be what it always wanted to be when it grew up.  A tiny Glastonbury of Beer Festivals!

In case you don’t know about the Glastonbury Festival, it’s a big music festival in the English countryside.  Music, art, pleasant weirdos, and very cool tents.  Think Burning Man but with less pretension and rolling, green fields.

This year’s PfP is being hosted at HPA’s very own Ruiz-Murphy Dog Park in Birdsboro.  It has green, rolling fields aplenty.  We decided to book two bands from the early days of PfP, the fabulous Americana of The Youngers, who first played in 2008, and the OG Brit rockabilly of Dibbs and the Detonators, who first played in 2009.  Wow, did we have not just a band but a mini-festival? HPA events always bring out nice folks who bring their dogs and are generally more humane than the average punter (to steal a Brit term).  These days, nice people seem to be the weird exception and not the rule, and we welcome them.  Pleasant weirdos? Check!

But it all clicked when we were planning to prepare for rain and sun, and I remembered we had a big bunch of giant multicolored sun umbrellas to go with the big sail cloth and tarps we usually hang to give shade and cover from the sun or rain.  I thought, “This is starting to look like Glastonbury more than Pints for Pups.”  Eureka!  This was exactly the vibe at the very best years of PfP – parklike settings, space to spread out, and being not just a nice way to support Humane PA’s mission but a big fun party with a few hundred of our pleasant friends and a band (or two!) we love.

Photos from past Glastonbury Festivals

In other words, Pints for Pups is the Glastonbury of Beer Festivals!  And if it’s Glastonbury, it wouldn’t be complete without Strummerville, Joe Strummer’s village of tents where people hung out around a bonfire after the show.  So, we are inviting you to participate in the inaugural Strummerville West.  Bring your pop-up tent, some extra chairs, and a blanket to set up around the small bonfire.  Hang out during the event and then head to your tent when we light up the fire at 9:00 PM, when PfP wraps up.  Everyone loves a fire, and you can enjoy some relaxation and conversation with friends.  At least until we kick you out at 11:00.  Look, we may all be pleasant weirdos, but we aren’t jobless freaks – we all have stuff to do in the morning, right?

 

Photos from past Pints for Pups Festivals

If you haven’t yet, buy your tickets now.  Everyone gets a complimentary PfP glass, over 75 varieties of beer, wine, and booze to sample, a full cash bar for full pours and mixed drinks, food trucks and vendors to shop, and live music.  Buy or upgrade to VIP tickets and get extra stuff like VIP only tented table seating, food truck vouchers, and full beer pours.  Did we mention you can bring your friendly, leashed, well-behaved dog?

Better yet, go nuts and become a business or individual sponsor of the event to get recognition benefits, extra VIP tickets, and know you’ve done just a little bit more to help animals than the other pleasant weirdos around you.  Hey, we’re not above playing on ego if it saves a life.  But if you’re OK with not saving more puppies and kitties and just want to do the bare minimum, that’s between you and the pet you have to look in the eye.

C’mon, all this and you can bring your dog?  What else do you need – a limo, and we pay you to come?

Is a week out a little late to decide we’re the Glastonbury of Beer Fests?  Sure.  But Glastonbury started out in 1970 when 1,500 people saw T. Rex headlining.  In 1971, 12,000 tickets saw David Bowie headlining.  Last year, 200,000 people saw The 1975 and Olivia Rodrigo.  Which people had the better story to tell?  Get in on the ground floor this year and get the t-shirt to prove you were there and heard of it first.  Next year, you might not be able to get as close to the stage!  Does anyone have Olivia’s number by any chance?  I’d kinda like to have her play.

The slightly less tiny Clash homage shirt designed by Adrienne Trafford for HPA!

My tiny 13 year Clash tee (still worn by my daughter!)

Postscript:  OK. What’s the deal with all the Joe Strummer?  Well, we really like him.  OK, again.  Well, I really like him, I have since I was 12. “What would Joe Strummer do?” might be as much a guiding principle as any at HPA.  He saw and called out injustice, especially against the most powerless, but was realistic that it took work, not just songs and slogans.  Sounds a little like HPA, right?  At his core, “He was very humane,” as Steve Diggle of The Buzzcocks said of him after he passed away in 2002 from an undiagnosed heart defect.  The last thing he did before he died suddenly on his couch at home?  He had walked his dogs.  Am I not going to make homage HPA t-shirts, dedicate our live music events to his memory, or name one of a kind project like the soon to be under construction Joe Strummer Memorial Garden & Turtle Nirvana after him?  As if.

I happened to start working at Humane PA in 2002, the year Joe died.  It’s not going too far to say that his legacy is not only his music, but what it inspired and resulted in through the work of HPA.  They say not many saw The Clash live in England, but they all started a band.  I was lucky enough to see The Clash play.  I say the same is true in America, except we all started a charity and tried to improve the world.

That’s why I’m always yammering on about Joe.  I’m sure you’ll bear with me, as one pleasant weirdo to another.

Share

Did America Become a “No Kill” Nation and No One Noticed? Or Did No One Care?

September 12th, 2024 | Posted by KMdirector2* in Animal Rescue | Uncategorized - (Comments Off on Did America Become a “No Kill” Nation and No One Noticed? Or Did No One Care?)

Written by Karel Minor, Humane Pennsylvania President & CEO

A drowning man may be forgiven for not reflecting on the size of the body of water in which he’s drowning. After all, drowning in the ocean, a lake, or a bathtub is still drowning. The volume of the body of water is irrelevant when you’re inhaling it and trying your best to survive.

But let’s say this proverbial man is in a bathtub and that bathtub has been draining steadily, yet he’s still crying out that he’s drowning. Suppose we say to him, “Hey, buddy, there’s only four inches of water in that tub. Try lifting your head up,” and he responds, “Last year there was two inches, so there’s twice as much water now, and it only takes an inch of water to drown!” Would we be wrong to wonder why he insists on drowning, splits statistical hairs, and engages in pedantry over methods and means of drowning, rather than acknowledging that he’s very definitely flailing in a puddle, not in an ocean?

I think this is an apt metaphor for what has happened this year in animal sheltering. You’ve probably seen the headlines screaming that shelters are overrun and facing massive percentage increases in intake. Many of these headlines resulted from press releases of shelter data that showed double-digit percentage increases in shelter intake and euthanasia (note that “percentage” was twice emphasized). According to the news, and many, many voices in animal welfare, shelters are drowning in an ocean of animals and that ocean has become profoundly deeper- just look at that double-digit statistical increase over three years ago!

I’m here to tell you that those statistics are true. But the narrative they imply is a lie.

Someone clever once said there are three kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies, and statistics. And the heavy use of statistics over numbers, and in a vacuum of context, is often a good indicator of which kind of lie it is. In May 2007, I posted a blog under that title announcing that HPA (then Berks Humane) would be the first sheltering organization in Pennsylvania to post its raw shelter intake and outcome data. I made the case that animal shelters were then using statistics to make their circumstances and outcomes seem better than they were.

Today the opposite appears to be the case. The broader sheltering community is using carefully selected statistics with carefully chosen time spans to make things appear worse for shelters than they are. These statistics are often taken from the Shelter Animals Count reporting, the largest publicly available aggregation of intake and outcome data. They reported that in the first half of 2024, “live outcomes” outcomes for approximately 3.8 million cats and dogs entering shelters was 91% for cats and 90% for dogs.

Sorry, did I bury the lede? Allow me to scream that like it should be screamed, “Fewer than 10% of shelter cats and dogs died in shelters making America a No-Kill nation!” Why isn’t that the headline? If this had happened ten years ago, or in 2007 when I warned of squishy statistics hiding bad news, I feel like we’d have had an explosion of positive press. Instead, we get told of all the ways animals are worse off.

Here’s the deal: All of these statistics are compared against the aberrant intake numbers that occurred during COVID when shelters essentially closed their doors to the public (and, no, it was NOT a huge number of adoptions that led to empty kennels covered by the press, it was caused by locked doors). That precipitous 2020 decline took a couple of years to rebound back up by 2023. But 2023 was lower than the numbers pre-COVID. In fact, the number of animals entering shelters and dying in shelters has been on the decline for the past 50 years, from shelter deaths of 15 million or higher to only 850,000 in 2023. If that’s the case, why can anyone be claiming double-digit increases, and what do I mean by “only” 850,000? That seems like a lot of dead animals.

That’s one of the problems with success and one of the problems with the arbitrary 90% save rate defining no-kill status promoted so heavily by some national groups. First, if we want to know if 90% is no-kill, don’t ask the 9 out of 10 animals that lived, ask the one that died in a shelter. I bet that one feels like it wasn’t a no-kill shelter. The definition of “No-Kill” has always come with troublesome baggage. How do we define killing and what’s real euthanasia? When we were drowning in an ocean of dead shelter animals, we could be forgiven if we didn’t quibble over percentages while we tried to tread water. But now we are in a bathtub arguing over what counts as drowning and still clinging to the old press terror tactics our industry has relied on for decades.

Second, numeric success can fuel statistical failure. Saving 90% of a million animals might be considered no-kill, despite 100,000 dead animals. But what happens when the number drops really low? What if only two animals enter a shelter and one is euthanized? That’s a 50% euthanasia rate. It’s also 99,999 fewer than the one that achieved 90%. I know what community I’d rather live in.

We see these games played with crime statistics on the news. We have historically low crime so any blip of a low number yields large percentage increases or decreases. But numerically it’s not relevant. The whole, good, picture is lost in the statistical trickery. Is that a lie? It might depend on intent, it might be due to ignorance, or it might be lazy journalism. You decide.

To be clear, some parts of the country are much worse off than others. And if you are a euthanized animal or the victim of a crime, your rate of death and crime are 100%, and big pictures or long-term trends are cold comfort.

No-kill advocates used to berate “open-admission” shelters for their high intake and euthanasia rates and compare them against their artificially low managed intake numbers and low euthanasia rates that came courtesy of screening out problematic animals. Now “open-admission” shelters are using statistical variation to berate no-kill shelters for not doing enough to help them handle their tsunami of incoming animals. Both play games with semantics, definitions, and statistics and neither narrative has ever been truly and fundamentally honest. No-Kill shelters have always employed some measure of intake management. And open-admission shelters have never taken in every single animal presented to them. Do “Sorry, no ID, not our municipality, it bit within the last ten days, we can’t reach the owner, etc.” ring a bell?

I believe both sides of this argument suffer from the same problem of lack of imagination and inability to see the forest for the trees. An arbitrary 10% death rate is assuredly not no-kill. But a few percent up and down variation off a historically low number is not drowning in animals and certainly not a return to 1970/80/90/2000 numbers. Instead of agreeing that we have made amazing progress as an industry and a nation, but we still have work to do, we keep fighting the same battles, using the same tired and outdated arguments. Only now it is “open-door” shelters using statistics to make things look worse than they are and no-kill shelters under fire for Pollyanna claims of success while standing on a pile of dead animals.

We should not accept that any level of death in shelters is OK, even if most people can agree that some may be unavoidable or even appropriate. Sometimes euthanasia is the right choice to prevent suffering but it’s certainly not successful. We also shouldn’t pretend that every shelter death is unavoidable or appropriate. Some shelters are just bad at their jobs. Now no-kill shelters are trapped by a definition of success that doesn’t ring true to the real world. Open-door shelters are trapped in an existential crisis. What do all these shelters do when there are 90% fewer animals entering shelters than 50 years ago?

Humane PA saw this March of Dimes moment- when the problem you combat is solved- coming nearly two decades ago and we started to expand what we did to include a myriad of ways to help animals and people other than just being the dump for community animals. We have a small fraction of the intake and shelter death we did twenty years ago, but it’s still not zero. Others can and have found new directions and approaches of their own. Many still cling desperately to rigid, old models, and will survive for a while. Some organizations may, and probably should, dissolve.

Metaphors are useful because they allow a person to “get” your point via a example that is more universally understood or experienced without having to engage in extensive exposition and explanation.  If I may be forgiven beating this drowning metaphor to death, if shelters were people and they were drowning, what might they do?  If someone was swimming with other people they might call for- and accept- help.  If someone found herself in a rip current, she might change her approach, stop trying to swim back to shore, and instead swim across the current until the rip current subsided and her old swim strokes were once again effective.  Sometimes one might find himself not swimming, but being carried away in deadly floodwaters.  But floods are rare and they are transient.  We should never claim every swim is in a flood, any more than we should mistake a bathtub for an ocean.  And finally in this tortured metaphor, if people can’t swim, maybe they should stay out of the water.

Unlike English poet Stevie Smith’s “larking chap”, most shelters aren’t drowning, they’re waving.

 

Share

February is Spay/Neuter Awareness Month!

February 20th, 2024 | Posted by Maggie McDevitt in Animal Health | Animal Welfare | Healthy Pets | Healthy Pets Initiative | Humane Pennsylvania | Humane Veterinary Hospitals | Uncategorized - (Comments Off on February is Spay/Neuter Awareness Month!)

Spay/Neuter Awareness Month: The Benefits of Spaying and Neutering Your Pets

Written by Humane Pennsylvania Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr. Alicia Simoneau 

Thursday, February 23, 2024, is World Spay Day, and Humane Pennsylvania is observing the holiday by speaking on the benefits of spaying and neutering your pets. Companion animals not only help us stay happy and healthy, but they are like members of our families. They must receive necessary medical care so that we can enjoy as much time with them as possible. Maintaining your pet’s well-being can be achieved through preventative measures such as regular veterinary exams, vaccinations, antiparasitic medications, and spay/neuter procedures.

Humane Pennsylvania’s Healthy Pets Initiative aims to provide access to affordable veterinary care for all pet owners and their furry companions. Our primary focus has been preventative care to avoid future illnesses, especially those with substantial price tags. We proudly announce that Humane Pennsylvania now offers affordable spay and neuter procedures at our Freedom Center for Animal Life-Saving and Lancaster Center for Animal Life-Saving.  Spaying and neutering your pet is another way to prevent future medical problems while decreasing the number of homeless pets entering our shelters.

What Does it Mean to Spay or Neuter Your Pet? 

Spaying and neutering are surgical procedures that will prevent your pet from reproducing. These procedures are usually performed at six months of age and under anesthesia with appropriate pain medication. Spaying is an abdominal surgery in which the female reproductive organs, including the uterus and ovaries, are removed. Neutering means removing both testicles through a small incision at or above the scrotum.

What are the Medical Benefits of Sterilization?

Spaying or neutering your pet doesn’t just prevent unwanted puppies or kittens, but it also has many medical benefits. Dogs and cats spayed earlier in life are less likely to develop mammary cancer. In addition, this procedure will prevent ovarian cancer and life-threatening infections within the reproductive tract. These illnesses are painful, and treatments can be very costly. Spaying your pet will also avoid high-risk pregnancies or birth complications that require emergency care. Neutering your pets can prevent prostate issues and testicular cancer.

Sterilization can reduce or eliminate unwanted behaviors such as urine marking and aggression. Unneutered male dogs and cats are more likely to roam, putting them at risk of getting lost or hit by a car.

How does Spay/Neuter Help our Community? 

Controlling the population of unwanted dogs and cats in our communities can save lives! Shelters like ours do our best to offer every animal a warm bed, a full belly, and the necessary medical care to ensure the best quality of life. Unfortunately, the more homeless animals in our community, the harder it is for us to help each one find the homes they deserve. Spaying and neutering companion animals keep them safe, healthy, and at home with you – the caretakers who love them.

Humane Pennsylvania’s Affordable Spay/Neuter Clinic is now taking appointments every Tuesday in Reading and every Thursday in Lancaster, and offers sterilization packages that include vaccines, microchips, and antiparasitic medications. Providing this high-quality, low-cost option for surgery will decrease the number of homeless pets in our community and our shelters. In addition, spaying and neutering your pets will prevent future costly issues such as uterine infections, cancers, and behavioral problems. For more information or to make an appointment, please visit our website: Affordable Spay/Neuter – Humane Pennsylvania (humanepa.org)

Share
Share

BIG Changes Are Coming to Lancaster County!

August 15th, 2023 | Posted by CCadmin1* in Animal Rescue | Animal Welfare | Cat Lovers | Healthy Pets | Healthy Pets Initiative | Humane Pennsylvania | Uncategorized - (Comments Off on BIG Changes Are Coming to Lancaster County!)

Written by Karel Minor, Humane Pennsylvania President & CEO

Humane PA is very excited to share details about our next steps to deliver the most impactful services to animals and people in our community! The needs of animals and the community have rapidly changed a great deal in recent years. In the last 20 years, the number of animals entering Humane PA shelters has declined by over 85%. Shelter euthanasia has declined by 99%. These numbers reflect national statistics.

What worked in the past for animals and people is no longer needed at the same scale. It also means that some things we couldn’t do in the past because of space or resource limitations can be done now. Humane PA is focusing on three major service and quality expansions to best serve the needs of today’s animals and people.

  1. Targeted Free Roaming and Feral Cat Sterilization: While spaying/neutering was highly effective in reducing overpopulation stemming from house pets, the limited and scattershot approaches for feral and free-roaming cats have not been as successful. That’s because sterilizing a few cats from this colony and a few from that colony leaves plenty of cats behind to breed. Humane PA is now taking a different approach, based on data and models with proven success. Since February, under the leadership of free-roaming cat whisperer, Alex Young, our Healthy Pets Initiative staff have been working directly with caretakers of colonies ranging from a half dozen to a hundred cats. One colony at a time, we have been sterilizing 100% (or as close as possible) of partner-managed colonies. By sterilizing every single cat in an extremely short time frame, we ensure there are no new litters, avoid boom and death cycles, and make it possible to effectively intervene when one or two new cats move into a colony.

This targeted approach means the same number of sterilizations results in a dramatically improved overall reduction in breeding. So far we have successfully assisted fifteen colonies achieve full sterilization!  Since free-roaming cats account for a significant portion of the kittens entering our care or needing fostering, we hope and expect to see a further reduction in incoming kittens in the coming year. For the test of this approach, all colonies have been in Berks County and sterilized at the Reading Campus. Our goal is to expand this program into Lancaster and begin identifying colonies for enrollment in this invitation-only partnership in the coming year.

2. Awesome Cat and Critter Adoption Center Upgrades: 15 years ago, the Humane League of Lancaster County had a bold vision for a new cat adoption center. They even got cool artist renderings painted (see the picture below)!

But 15 years ago, it was a very different world. Far too many cats were still coming into shelters and, unfortunately,  the project never began. Until now. Humane PA has taken that original plan and expanded on it. We will be creating the adoption center our cats and the community deserve and we hope it will serve as a new standard for all shelters.

Cats have always gotten the short end of the stick. Before they came to a shelter they could roam their entire house, even the entire world if they were indoor/outdoor cats. However, in shelters, they get stuck in tiny cages. If they were lucky they got somewhat bigger cages and group rooms, but even these were smaller than ideal or lacked enrichment and mental engagement. The new cat adoption center won’t quite give them the world but it comes closer. Cats suited for group housing will have large and bright spaces with windows to the world. Cats needing to be housed alone will get triple-sized, multi-compartment caging to move around in. Research has long shown that more space for cats decreases stress, and less stress makes for healthier, happier, and more adoptable cats.

Critters will be getting an upgrade, too! They will be getting more and improved species-specific space in the new adoption center. Renovations begin in the next few weeks and we will be opening the new center within a couple of months. We are incredibly excited to finally fully realize the dream of an even better place for cats and critters to spend time while they wait for a new home.

3. Boarding Services: Over the years, the Lancaster kennel expanded to house what was once many thousands of dogs entering the shelter every year. In the past few years the number of dogs entering our shelters, and shelters nationwide, have plummeted thanks to expanded placement options, access to vet care and sterilization, and changes in our collective expectations around pet ownership. But even as options have expanded, huge gaps in services have appeared. This is especially true in the area of pet boarding. Prices have skyrocketed, often putting long-term or day boarding out of reach for many. It has become standard for boarding facilities to screen out which clients they will accept, turning away animals that don’t like play groups or have special needs.

We heard this loud and clear in a recent survey of our supporters. Over 90% of respondents said they thought there needed to be more affordable options. Over 60% of respondents told us that they had faced barriers of some type that prevented them from accessing, including cost or the health or behavioral challenges of their pets. Humane PA knows that some of these pets might end up in shelters if owners can no longer access routine boarding services. Humane PA also knows that there are few or no boarding options regularly available for emergency response, domestic violence victims, those facing health crises, and police dogs.

That’s why we began renovations to our Lancaster kennels and will soon be offering boarding services to accommodate many of these needs. Like our veterinary services, these services will be made affordable and accessible, with the ability to provide additional discounts for those in need. Although we expect to offer the type of boarding which is typical these days, we will also offer boarding services for animals who don’t do well in play groups or need quieter and calmer conditions, as well as police dogs, pets with special needs, pets requiring emergency boarding, and critters and some exotics. These populations are increasingly underserved or completely unserved. Renovations will also allow us to continue to house some of our own dogs and offer limited dog adoption services.

We know these are big changes. While the improvements for cats may resonate with you as improvements in scope and scale, the boarding services may feel very different or even alien to what is perceived as “animal sheltering”.  Although we had the kernel of an idea over a decade ago, since then several organizations around the nation have pioneered boarding programs to address the new needs of their communities to great success. These services are needed and they make a difference, whether it’s the pet of an adopter or a police dog of an officer needing to travel, the cats of someone displaced by fire, the dog of someone who is admitted to the hospital with a heart attack, or the pets of those trying to flee domestic violence

Like all the things we do for people and animals, we can do these things better and for more animals with the support and time of great volunteers like you. We look forward to sharing our progress with you and we hope that you’ll embrace these innovative steps to address today’s and tomorrow’s needs of animals and people.

 

Share

February is Spay/Neuter Awareness Month!

February 23rd, 2023 | Posted by CCadmin1* in Animal Health | Animal Welfare | Healthy Pets | Healthy Pets Initiative | Humane Pennsylvania | Humane Veterinary Hospitals | Uncategorized - (Comments Off on February is Spay/Neuter Awareness Month!)

Spay/Neuter Awareness Month: The Benefits of Spaying and Neutering Your Pets

Written by Humane Pennsylvania Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr. Alicia Simoneau 

Thursday, February 23, 2023, is World Spay Day, and Humane Pennsylvania is observing the holiday by speaking on the benefits of spaying and neutering your pets. Companion animals not only help us stay happy and healthy, but they are like members of our families. They must receive necessary medical care so that we can enjoy as much time with them as possible. Maintaining your pet’s well-being can be achieved through preventative measures such as regular veterinary exams, vaccinations, antiparasitic medications, and spay/neuter procedures. 

Humane Pennsylvania’s Healthy Pets Initiative aims to provide access to affordable veterinary care for all pet owners and their furry companions. Our primary focus has been preventative care to avoid future illnesses, especially those with substantial price tags. We proudly announce that Humane Pennsylvania now offers affordable spay and neuter procedures at our Freedom Center for Animal Life-Saving.  Spaying and neutering your pet is another way to prevent future medical problems while decreasing the number of homeless pets entering our shelters.

What Does it Mean to Spay or Neuter Your Pet? 

Spaying and neutering are surgical procedures that will prevent your pet from reproducing. These procedures are usually performed at six months of age and under anesthesia with appropriate pain medication. Spaying is an abdominal surgery in which the female reproductive organs, including the uterus and ovaries, are removed. Neutering means removing both testicles through a small incision at or above the scrotum. 

What are the Medical Benefits of Sterilization?

Spaying or neutering your pet doesn’t just prevent unwanted puppies or kittens, but it also has many medical benefits. Dogs and cats spayed earlier in life are less likely to develop mammary cancer. In addition, this procedure will prevent ovarian cancer and life-threatening infections within the reproductive tract. These illnesses are painful, and treatments can be very costly. Spaying your pet will also avoid high-risk pregnancies or birth complications that require emergency care. Neutering your pets can prevent prostate issues and testicular cancer.

Sterilization can reduce or eliminate unwanted behaviors such as urine marking and aggression. Unneutered male dogs and cats are more likely to roam, putting them at risk of getting lost or hit by a car. 

How does Spay/Neuter Help our Community? 

Controlling the population of unwanted dogs and cats in our communities can save lives! Shelters like ours do our best to offer every animal a warm bed, a full belly, and the necessary medical care to ensure the best quality of life. Unfortunately, the more homeless animals in our community, the harder it is for us to help each one find the homes they deserve. Spaying and neutering companion animals keep them safe, healthy, and at home with you – the caretakers who love them.

Humane Pennsylvania’s Affordable Spay/Neuter Clinic is now taking appointments every Tuesday and offers sterilization packages that include vaccines, microchips, and antiparasitic medications. Providing this high-quality, low-cost option for surgery will decrease the number of homeless pets in our community and our shelters. In addition, spaying and neutering your pets will prevent future costly issues such as uterine infections, cancers, and behavioral problems. For more information or to make an appointment, please visit our website: Affordable Spay/Neuter – Humane Pennsylvania (humanepa.org)

Share

How to Support the Animals on Change A Pet’s Life Day (January 24th)

January 16th, 2023 | Posted by CCadmin1* in Adopt A Shelter Cat | Adopt A Shelter Pet | Animal Welfare | Cat Lovers | Healthy Pets | Humane Pennsylvania | Humane Veterinary Hospitals | Uncategorized - (Comments Off on How to Support the Animals on Change A Pet’s Life Day (January 24th))
Written By: Humane Pennsylvania Media Specialist, Maggie McDevitt

Every year on January 24th, animal lovers and advocates everywhere celebrate Change A Pet’s Life Day, which is a special day for encouraging people to adopt shelter pets and raise awareness in the community about vulnerable animals in need. In fact, Humane PA is hosting a four-day fee-waived adoption event in celebration of Change A Pet’s Life Day, generously sponsored by Fleetwood Bank and Summit Advisory Investment Banking.

There are many ways to celebrate and change a shelter pet’s life for the better. Although adoptions are encouraged, and many shelters including Humane Pennsylvania do reduce adoption fees to celebrate, you don’t necessarily have to adopt a new pet every year to make a positive impact on Change A Pet’s Life Day.

Here are seven ways you can support Humane PA and improve a shelter pet’s life on Change A Pet’s Life Day.

Adopt, Of Course!

Many shelters and adoption centers, including Humane PA, have reduced or waived adoption fees for Change A Pet’s Life Day, so it’s an excellent time to look into adopting! Check out our Adoptable Pets page, or visit your closest Humane PA adoption center to see what dogs, cats, and critters we have available for adoption.

Foster a Shelter Pet

Fostering a shelter pet is a great way to make an impact on an animal’s life. Adopting is a big commitment, so it’s natural to feel unprepared. If you aren’t in the right position to adopt just yet, you can foster a Humane PA shelter pet instead. Foster families provide a life-saving second chance to animals in need. Foster animals can range from puppies and kittens too young to be put up for adoption, those recovering from surgery, animals who find it difficult to adjust to the shelter, etc.

As a foster volunteer, you are not financially responsible for the animal. All vet care and supplies are provided by Humane PA and there is always a staff member available to help with questions. Fosters also help other animals by freeing up shelter space and resources, so new intakes can get the care they need and have a better chance at finding a forever home.

More information about fostering a shelter pet, including our foster application, can be found on the Foster Care page of the Humane PA website.

Make a One-Time or Monthly Donation

When running a shelter, costs tend to add up quickly. As a non-profit, we rely on donations from animal lovers everywhere so we can take care of as many animals as possible. By donating to Humane PA for Change A Pet’s Life Day, you are ensuring that animals in need receive food, medical care, vaccines, microchips, and everything else they require to live a happy and healthy life in their new home.

A bonus? Most donations to the shelter can be written off on your taxes!

Volunteer Your Time

Our Berks and Lancaster shelter campuses are always in need of volunteers to help walk dogs, clean kennels and attend to the animals while they wait for their forever homes. Volunteering your time helps the shelter care for all the animals they look after, and it benefits the animal to get some much-needed socialization, which helps the animal become a better candidate for adoption. Volunteering makes an immense difference in the lives of animals waiting to find their new families.

You can learn more about becoming a Humane PA Volunteer and other available volunteer opportunities here!

Raise Awareness

Help Humane PA spread the word about Change A Pet’s Life Day, and our fee-waived adoption event happening from January 21st to January 24th at both HPA adoption centers in Berks County and Lancaster County.

Spread the word to all your friends, and make our upcoming adoption event a fun way to touch base with the people you care about for a good cause. The animals will appreciate it, and you’ll get even more people involved.

Share Your Story

A simple way to encourage others to make a difference in an animal’s life is to share your own story. Where did you meet your animal? Were they adopted from HPA? Was it love at first sight? What were the hardest obstacles? How has your pet changed your life for the better and vice versa?

Showing the positive impact your pet has brought into your life is a great way to show others the benefits of having a pet. You’ll be helping to encourage adoptions, and it’s an easy opportunity to brag about your pet, which is something we pet lovers are always obliged to.

Change Your Pet’s Routine

You may have already adopted a pet of your own, and that’s always the first step in changing an animal’s life for the better. However, you can always make changes to your pet’s lifestyle and ways to improve your own bond with your pet.

Try teaching your pet some new tricks, or get into a new exercise routine, while utilizing the Humane PA Danielle Ruiz-Murphy Dog Park. Find ways to connect with your pet on a deeper level. Time for a check-up? Bring your pet to one of our Humane Veterinary Hospitals, Affordable Walk-In Clinics, Pay-What-You-Can Clinics, or Affordable Spay/Neuter Clinics to make sure your pet is happy and healthy, as part of our Healthy Pets Initiative.

Making positive changes to your pet’s routine will also have you double-checking your own wellness.

In what ways will you be making a difference for Change A Pet’s Life Day? Do you have a life-changing adoption story to share? Let us know in the comments!

Share

World Rabies Day Is September 28th – Protect Yourself AND Your Pets!

September 28th, 2022 | Posted by CCadmin1* in Uncategorized - (Comments Off on World Rabies Day Is September 28th – Protect Yourself AND Your Pets!)
By: Alexandra Young: Community Outreach Programs Manager

Rabies has been found in ancient literary works dating back as far as 300 B.C., including a paper by Aristotle.[1] Rabies is a viral disease that infects the nervous system, which leads to horrific symptoms and causing great fear worldwide. Even in very early days, it was clear that the virus was carried via saliva (and brain tissue), and humans were susceptible to catching it through animal bites. Bats and skunks are mentioned most often in history, but dogs have also been noted as an ever-present species that carries the virus.

Early symptoms in humans may be flu-like. But later, more unique symptoms include[2]:

  • Agitation
  • Anxiety
  • Confusion
  • Hyperactivity
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Excessive salivation
  • Fear brought on by attempts to drink fluids because of difficulty swallowing water
  • Fear brought on by air blown on the face
  • Hallucinations
  • Insomnia
  • Partial paralysis

The Rabies Vaccine and Treatment

The origin of the word rabies is debatable. It could come from the Sanskrit word “rabhas” (to do violence) or the Latin word “rabere” (to rage). The ancient Greeks called rabies “lyssa” (violence), in reference to the symptoms.

The French chemist Louis Pasteur created the first rabies vaccine for humans in the 1880s after conducting several experiments with chicken, cattle, dogs, and rabbits. His animal studies showed promise, but he wanted more time to purify his vaccine before trying it on himself. When a 9-year-old boy named Joseph Meister was bitten at least 14 times by a rabid dog on July 6, 1885, a local doctor told the family that Pasteur was their only hope.

After consulting with several doctors who said the child was a “dead boy walking,” Pasteur agreed to treat him. Joseph received 13 inoculations in 11 days and made a complete recovery. The word leaked out and patients came streaming in the world over. At the time of Pasteur’s death nine years later, more than 20,000 people had been given his post-exposure prophylactic (PEP) vaccine.[3]

Even with the news of Pasteur’s treatment spreading like wildfire through word of mouth, pets were not routinely vaccinated against rabies until the 1920s, when vaccinations were developed for a variety of domesticated animals.

Why Vaccinate Your Pets Against Rabies?

Today in the United States, most of our pets are vaccinated against this contagious and deadly virus. Usually, people don’t think too much about it anymore and it gets downplayed, which can be dangerous to us and the animals we love. Currently, cases of rabid cats outnumber those of dogs, and wild animal cases involve mostly raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats. One must be extremely careful with bats since they rarely look sick, but they can squeeze through very tiny openings in our homes and expose us and our pets to this deadly disease.

How Rabies Is Diagnosed

The only way to definitively diagnose rabies is through a direct fluorescence antibody (dFA) test.[5] Samples of brain tissue are processed in a very specific way (including being refrigerated during shipment), and the test must be performed by a state-approved laboratory. Therefore, this test can only be done on animals after they have died or been humanely euthanized.

A veterinarian may be able to make a clinical diagnosis on a living animal, based on history, symptoms (drooling, agitation, loss of motor functions, confusion), environmental conditions, and lifestyle/risk factors. But early stages of rabies can be confused with other medical conditions that have similar symptoms.

PREVENTION is the key to avoiding heart-breaking situations. Furthermore, those not working in the animal welfare industry may not realize that there is no way to test an animal (wild or pet) for rabies unless it is deceased.

 

Don’t take this unnecessary risk with your family and beloved pets. Contact Humane Pennsylvania (humanepa.org) or our Humane Veterinary Hospitals (hvhospitals.org) today to discuss the different ways you can access affordable basic veterinary care.

[1] https://www.news-medical.net/health/Rabies-History.aspx

[2] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/rabies/symptoms-causes/syc-20351821

[3] https://www.tuckahoevet.com/post/a-history-of-rabies

[4] https://www.tuckahoevet.com/post/a-history-of-rabies

[5] https://www.smalldoorvet.com/learning-center/medical/rabies-in-dogs

Share

Love Your Pet by Making Your Plans this Make-A-Will Month

August 25th, 2022 | Posted by CCadmin1* in Uncategorized - (Comments Off on Love Your Pet by Making Your Plans this Make-A-Will Month)

One meaningful way to show up for the people and animals you love is to make a plan for them in your will. August is National Make-A-Will Month, and you can start the month off on the right paw by creating a plan for the future.

Humane Pennsylvania is proud to help make this important task more accessible to our caring community and all those who need to write a plan. Make-A-Will Month offers a moment to take stock of the people and causes we love and make sure their futures are provided for when we are no longer able to care for them.

Write my will today

Creating a legal will is an opportunity to craft intentional plans that protect your loved ones and eternalize the values that have guided your life, like compassion and caring for animals in need. Legacy support is an easy way to be a part of the solution for years to come.

And, contrary to popular belief, writing your will doesn’t have to be expensive, time-consuming, or scary. This free online tool from our friends at FreeWill makes the process quick and easy, allowing you to complete your will in just 20 minutes from the comfort of your home.

If you don’t have an up-to-date will, we invite you to use FreeWill to create your plan this month, and to consider including a legacy gift for Humane Pennsylvania. It’s an easy way to make your mark — in a good way!

If you have already created a lasting legacy with Humane Pennsylvania, please fill out our online form to let us know about your gift! We would love to thank you for supporting area animals in such a powerful way.

Take Control of Your Legacy

 Why should you make a will?

No matter your circumstances, every person who is 18 or older needs a legal will in place to plan for the future and make a lasting commitment to the people and causes that matter most to them. Writing a will is a vital part of protecting your loved ones — including your animal companions — and making a plan for how your assets are to be distributed.

Why use this free estate planning tool?

Making a will doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive, but many people avoid the task because they assume it will be. Our friends at FreeWill make the process easy, intuitive, and free. In less than 20 minutes your will can be completed and ready for your signature. You don’t have to submit any sensitive personal information, and you’ll finish with a PDF of your will that is valid in all 50 states.

Why should you begin your legacy with Humane Pennsylvania?

Creating a legacy with Humane Pennsylvania is a powerful way to transform the lives of animals and their caretakers, for generations to come. It represents your lasting commitment to saving animal lives and being part of the solution — today, tomorrow, and forever.

If an immediate cash gift isn’t right for you, or if you want to make a profound long-term investment in the welfare of area animals, we encourage you to consider including a gift to Humane Pennsylvania in your will. Your support would mean so much!

Get started creating your free will today.

If you have questions about FreeWill or planned giving at Humane Pennsylvania, please contact Lauren Henderson Pignetti at 610-750-6100 ext. 211 or lhenderson@humanepa.org.

 

Share

July Is Pet Hydration Awareness Month

July 18th, 2022 | Posted by CCadmin1* in Uncategorized - (Comments Off on July Is Pet Hydration Awareness Month)

July Is Pet Hydration Awareness Month!

It’s the middle of summer. The sun and humidity are high, the sweat is pouring, and those wavy mirage lines are floating above road surfaces. We’re bombarded by heat warnings reminding us that if we don’t drink enough water we can become dehydrated, develop heat stroke, or even end up in the hospital. And the same goes for our pets.

How can you tell if your dog or cat is dehydrated? How can you make sure your pet gets enough water every day? What are the signs of a pet drinking too much water?

The general rule for water consumption for dogs and cats is one ounce per pound of body weight per day. If this need isn’t met — or too much is lost due to the heat — dehydration occurs.

Some signs of dehydration in dogs and cats include:

  • Loss of appetite
  • Lethargy
  • Sunken, dry-looking eyes
  • Panting
  • Dry, sticky gums
  • Dry nose
  • Vomiting
  • Skin stays up when you gently pinch and pull up on it (tenting)

There are several ways to make sure your dog or cat is getting enough water every day. 

Feeding them canned food, which is about 70% water, can make a big difference.

The water bowl is also an important factor when it comes to water consumption. Stainless steel bowls are best, as they delay the growth of bacteria, and they should be cleaned daily to make sure there is no build-up of bacteria. 

Make sure the bowl isn’t near your cat’s litterbox and that it’s out of direct sunlight. If your cat likes to drink out of the faucet or has trouble drinking out of a traditional water bowl, consider a water fountain.

For dogs that spend time outside, a sprinkler system may be beneficial (just let the hose run for a bit first, to flush out the hot water that sits in the tubing). 

Don’t offer your dog ice cubes or ice water, especially after playing outside. They can shock the stomach and cause a life-threatening condition called bloat. Instead, you can offer them chilled, pet-safe fruits and veggies for a moisture-filled treat.

Some pets can’t get enough of the pool, garden hose, or river water — which can provide lots of entertainment, but also some serious health problems.

Water intoxication can cause a deficiency of sodium, which can lead to neurological issues like seizures or incoordination, or gastrointestinal problems such as bloating, vomiting, excessive drooling, or even troubled breathing.

When should you seek veterinary care for dehydration or heat stroke? If you notice any of the signs listed above, get your pet into the shade or an air-conditioned area. You can apply lukewarm or cool water to their paw pads. Soaking a wet towel in lukewarm or cool water — not icy! — and draping it over the body can also help bring down their temperature.

If your pet isn’t back to its usual self after 30 minutes, call your vet. If your pet is dizzy, disoriented, struggling to breathe, vomiting, or having diarrhea with blood, call your vet or go to a veterinarian ER!

Just remember — if it’s too hot for you, it’s too hot for them! Be safe, be well, and stay hydrated this summer.

Share

Why We Walk For The Animals

May 4th, 2022 | Posted by CCadmin1* in Uncategorized - (Comments Off on Why We Walk For The Animals)

For the last 44 years, Humane Pennsylvania has hosted the Walk for the Animals event with one goal: to continue building the best communities anywhere to be an animal or animal caretaker.

What started as a simple walk around the block for the Humane Society of Berks County has turned into one of the region’s oldest and largest events that directly support community members and their pets across Berks and Lancaster Counties, and beyond! Our Walk for the Animals attracts thousands of participants every year and is supported by local businesses, generous sponsors, animal lovers, and friends across the nation.

This year, we made one big change: we moved this year’s Walk date from the fall to the spring. After a long winter inside, we’re excited to see everyone shed their coats (no pun intended… okay, maybe a little) and enjoy the fresh spring air — all in the name of raising funds for animals in need! The date change has definitely presented its own challenges, but we are confident this switch will ensure the event’s long-term success.

Walkers like you help raise funds and awareness to improve the lives of abandoned, abused, and neglected animals and allow the organization to provide affordable, high-quality resources to animal caretakers in need of assistance with their loving pets.

In the last 10 years alone, the organization has raised over $1 million through this annual event! In those 10 years, Humane Pennsylvania has also become a leader in animal welfare and has paved the way with innovative approaches and programs, due in part to the funds raised from the Walk.

This year’s event, the 45th annual Performance Toyota Walk for the Animals, will be hosted at the beautiful Jim Dietrich Park in Muhlenberg Township.

The recently renovated park offers a spacious and inviting environment for family members and friends (two-legged and four) to roam around and enjoy the various festivities being held on the day of the Walk: a mile-long walk along the river, unique handcrafted goods from local vendors, a VIP beer and wine garden, live music by Dibbs & the Detonators, dog contests, and more!

During the planning of this year’s Walk for the Animals, Karen Linder, Charitable Giving Coordinator of presenting sponsor Performance Toyota, shared:

“Performance Toyota is excited to partner again with Humane Pennsylvania on their Walk for the Animals. Their cutting-edge approach to animal welfare in Berks and Lancaster Counties has a huge positive impact on the lives of animals and the caregivers who love them. We are proud to support Humane Pennsylvania’s courageous and compassionate dedication to providing lifesaving services to the animals in their care.”

This community-wide, family-friendly event is FREE and open to the public!

Join us on Saturday, May 7, 2022 at Jim Dietrich Park, located at 4899 Stoudts Ferry Bridge Road, Reading, PA 19605, for a fun-filled day supporting animals in our care and throughout the community.

There is no cost to attend the event and walk with your pups; however, registering as a participant allows us to raise more funds for animals in need.

Unable to Walk in person this year? Become a virtual walker! Visit https://bit.ly/45thAnnualWalkForTheAnimals and help Humane Pennsylvania make a difference today!

Share