In an ongoing effort to provide better customer service and animal care at the Animal Rescue League of Berks County, effective August 1, the shelter has begun taking appointments for community members who wish to surrender their pets. According to Tom Hubric, executive director of the Animal Rescue League of Berks County, this managed intake process will reduce waiting times for those looking to drop off an animal, allow the shelter to better manage kennel space to reduce overcrowding during peak intake times, and allow dedicated staff to better understand the animal’s unique needs to find him or her a permanent home.
“The Animal Rescue League will continue to be an open-admissions shelter, which means we do not turn any animal away for any reason for those who live in Berks County,” Hubric said. A scheduled and managed intake will allow the shelter to focus on adoptions rather than intakes during peak business hours, and to help reduce overcrowding at the shelter when kennel capacity is filled, he said. The primary reason for the change in the shelter’s admissions procedure, however, is to provide better customer and animal care: “Switching our intake process from a drop-off-whenever-you-want model to a by-appointment-only model, will allow our staff to work more effectively as they can to plan and prepare for each individual animal’s arrival, and so that they can provide that animal with individualized attention during the intake process to learn more about how to best place the animal once he or she is in our care. This process will also reduce waiting times for both the person surrendering their pet, as well as those in the shelter looking to adopt.”
Owner-surrendered animals represent about 18 percent of the ARL’s intakes this year, which is estimated to be about 5,000 animals. This percentage of owner-surrendered animals is slightly greater this year despite the shelter taking in the same amount of animals as in years past. Hubric attributes the owner-surrendered animal percentage increase to the Push P.A.W.S. no-kill initiative that began at the start of 2018. “It’s an anticipated outcome of becoming a no-kill shelter,” he says. “People feel better about surrendering their animals knowing that we won’t euthanize them for space.”
To surrender a pet, people should call the ARL during business hours at 610-373-8830 to schedule an appointment. Please be advised that same-day appointments may not always be available, but the shelter will do their best to intake a pet as quickly and conveniently as possible.
The Animal Rescue League of Berks County is an open admissions shelter providing animal control, care and placement for the unwanted, lost, ownerless and abused animals of Berks County.
