Written by: Humane Pennsylvania CEO & President, Karel Minor
Last year, Humane Pennsylvania made some huge leaps forward. Our veterinary services expanded by opening HPA’s Healthy Pets Walk-In Clinic in Berks and Lancaster. This unique, no-appointment wellness option, priced at 40% of standard pricing, opened a door to pet caretakers for accessing vet care who were not served by existing veterinary options. It proved overwhelmingly popular, and we quickly expanded and filled!
In Berks County: Every Wednesday, 9 AM – 5 PM and Every Friday, 9 AM – 1 PM at the Freedom Center for Animal Life-Saving, 1801 N. 11th St., Reading, PA 19604, Phone: 610-921-2348, [email protected]
In Lancaster County: Every Thursday, 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM, at the HPA Lancaster Campus, 2195 Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster, PA 17602, Phone: 610-921-8387 (VETS), [email protected]
Beginning in 2023, HPA unveiled affordable and accessible, all-in-one spay & neuter services in Berks County. We also began testing a new approach to sterilizing feral cat colonies that focuses intensive efforts on entire colonies at once (much more to come on that in the future!).
We still have more to do, and much of our effort will be directed at HPA’s Lancaster facilities and services. Through the end of 2023, volunteers and the public will see some changes at the Lancaster Center for Animal Life-Saving and the adoption and veterinary services offered at that campus. Some of these changes will be big and permanent. Some changes will be temporary and will allow us to begin renovations and program expansion within the campus. These changes will include:
- A reimagining of the quality of care, breadth of programs, and major housing renovations for cats, critters, and exotics.
- Renovation and rehab of dog kenneling and a filling of service gaps identified by dog caretakers, our staff, and volunteers.
- Expansion of signature HPA programs like Spike’s Pet Pantry and the Healthy Pets Initiative into Lancaster.
- Expansion of HPA’s more accessible and affordable spay & neuter services and feral cat colony services.
Some of these improvements are coming very soon! New spay & neuter services and feral cat colony caretaker outreach will begin at the Lancaster campus around April 1! Renovations to the cat, dog, critter, and exotic animal housing will start, and the full introduction of Healthy Pets Initiative programs will be ongoing throughout the year. New service options designed to fill service gaps will be introduced as these programs are developed, and the facility is properly outfitted.
Some of these new service options may include PetNet emergency board expansions; services in support of HPA’s partnership with the American Red Cross and PA State Animal Response Team; and new program options to help caretakers of dogs, especially those with special needs that may impede 
their ability to access services.
What does this mean for the community, volunteers, and staff? Ultimately, it means better services, options, and facilities to serve animals and people better. However, in the short term, it means Humane PA will be operating almost all dog adoption & intake services at its newly renovated and rebuilt Berks County campus.
We will be asking the public to contact HPA’s Reading campus for those services for much of the remainder of 2023. Doing this will allow us to make critically needed improvements more quickly, economically, and with less stress on our animals and people. Unfortunately, that also means there will be minimal dog care volunteer opportunities for a short time at HPA’s Lancaster facility. All current and new dog volunteers will be invited to schedule shifts in Reading using HPA’s new Better Impact Volunteer App. Cat and critter services and volunteer opportunities will remain unchanged but may be subject to occasional disruptions due to renovations and program expansions.
The inconvenience of the work we are doing in the coming months will result in better outcomes for animals and better access to HPA’s exceptional
services and programs for years to come. We will be updating the community regularly through newsletters and social media. We will also be re-introducing HPA’s Welcome Waggin’ tours in April to offer you a behind-the-scenes look at the work we are doing to better serve animals and people!
We appreciate the understanding, support, and patience of our volunteers and the community as we take the next big steps to building the best communities anywhere to be an animal or an animal caretaker.
The concept of the Walk-In Clinic grew out of HPA’s pioneering Healthy Pets Initiative, which provides meaningful access to veterinary care for all in need. This clinic was made possible through the visionary generosity of the Giorgi Family Foundation and Jay Rosenson, in memory of Eileen Rosenson. Their leadership is helping HPA build the best communities anywhere to be an animal or animal caretaker.
without an appointment — and it’s designed to serve more community members at an affordable price point of only 60% of normal veterinary hospital rates.