If you follow us on Facebook, subscribe to our email newsletters or regularly check out our web site, you know what the ARL had been dealing with this week, and for the past couple of months. We have had four dogs come into the shelter with broken legs. Two we know for sure were victims of terrible abuse; the other two came into our stray building with no information.

When we get an injured animal, the costs to treat it place an enormous strain on our resources. The cost to diagnose and treat a broken limb can be in the thousands, depending on the severity of the injury. And that does not include physical rehabilitation after the break has healed.

The ARL has the Noel Medical Emergency Fund, named for our Executive Director's dog Noel. Harry adopted her after she was brought into the shelter by police. She was found in the middle of Route 724 and had been hit by a car. Donations came in for her care and the Noel Fund was established. Any animal (dog, cat, critter or farm animal) who needs medical care is treated and the payment comes from the Noel Fund.

As you can imagine, with having four injured dogs over the past couple months to treat, the Noel Fund has been depleted. As news of the most recent arrivals, Diamond and Olivia, has spread, we are asking for donations to help build the fund back up again. Please consider donating, even a little bit will help. Our on-line donation form can be found here: On-line donations

Or you can mail a check to the ARL at P.O. Box 69, Mohnton, PA 19540

Thank you for helping us through this very trying time, and please send good thoughts that this trend of dogs with broken legs stops now.

Did all of you see the news on Tuesday about a man in Philadelphia who shot and killed his neighbor because the neighbor allowed his dogs to defecate on his lawn without picking it up? Here’s the story: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Man-Killed-Over-Dog-Dispute-Cops--139318818.html

What a sad, disturbing story and unfortunately reflects the growing lack of compassion and consideration in our society.  The murdered man certainly was the victim but if he had been a good neighbor, not allowed his dogs to run loose and cleaned up after them, his life would have been spared and his baby would still have a dad. The murderer obviously has an anger problem and also lacks compassion. That was a human being you just killed. I’m grateful that he didn’t shoot the dogs too. Animals seem to be caught in the middle of stories like these, the innocent victims.

The stray cat problem raises the ire of many. Countless neighbors have to deal with stray cats who have been left to roam and breed by uncaring owners. The cats are using their gardens as litterboxes and can be a general nuisance. The cats are not to blame – where else are they to go?  A story about a woman and her daughter who feed stray cats was in the news recently because the neighbors objected to so many cats hanging about. We can see both sides of the problem. As animal lovers, we hate to see stray animals starve. But if I was one the neighbors, I’m sure that I wouldn’t be too happy either. The issue has gone to the local government and as of this writing, has not been resolved. Everyone who feeds or rescues stray cats will be interested in the outcome.

Wouldn’t it be nice if people would all work together for a solution instead of looking to the government to intervene or worse, fighting is out? Nothing is resolved by violence. Unless you live on an isolated farm, you will have neighbors and you will eventually have an issue to work out. Please don't put the animals into the middle of the problem which is really just a symptom of other underlying issues. For the sake of the animals, come together for a solution. Everyone will be happier as a result.

As you may be aware, the ARL takes in most strays from Berks County and many surrounding counties as well if their shelters turn them away. We get thousands of strays each year. We attempt to locate the owners for every stray who comes into our shelter. Sometimes we’re lucky and can return them to their owners. And many times, we locate the owners but they sadly do not come back for their lost pets. And then there are so many strays who we cannot locate their owners. We check the pets for ID tags, licenses and microchips, and we also have a file of lost pet reports that are checked when each stray comes in. All of this is very time consuming but worth it if we can reunite pets and their families.  And it also saves space in the shelter for more pets if we can return the animals quickly to their owners. So we take this process seriously.

Over the past couple of months, we had two noteworthy incidents of lost dogs coming into the shelter with very different endings. Back in the fall, a lost dog was turned into the ARL. We scanned the dog for a microchip and it had one!  Interestingly, the owner’s address was in Florida. Florida? How did this dog get to Pennsylvania?  We called the owners but they had moved.  We were able to track down the owners through perseverance and by luck found that they owners had moved to Berks County a month earlier. We contacted them and they came for their dog! It was a joyous reunion!

The other incident happened just last month. A stray dog came into the ARL with no license, no ID, and no microchip. We checked our lost pet file and had no information on this dog. She was a very nice dog and was quickly adopted after we held her for the legal 48 hours. Her new owners had recently lost their 17 ½ year old dog and fell in love with this homeless dog. More than two weeks later, her previous owners contacted the ARL with a lost dog report. We were saddened to tell them that their dog had been here and was adopted to a new family.  We contacted the new owners to find out if they would be willing to give the dog back. They already loved her and were very bonded, and did not want to give her back. And they had no obligation to do that either. This is a very sad and difficult situation for everyone. We feel bad for the previous owners and can also sympathize with the new owners. The ARL cannot be faulted in this situation either. IF the dog had a microchip, the ending would have been very different.

Both of these stories illustrate the need to microchip your pets, ensure that they are always wearing ID and a license (if it’s a dog). You never know when your pet may escape through your fence, out your door, or get lost for other reasons. We love reuniting pets and families!

We all know that animal shelters can be very stressful places for pets who are accustomed to living in a nice home, or who had been freely roaming outdoors. Shelters can be noisy, crowded and loaded with unpleasant smells associated with other animals. The animals are confined to small spaces and often have to share their “room” with other animals. Can you imagine living like that? You would be stressed too!

At the ARL, we have researched ways to decrease stress for the animals, especially cats who can be very susceptible. Cats are more likely to succumb to stress by not eating or grooming themselves and having a lower immune system resulting in illness.  

Here are just a few of the things that the ARL is doing to decrease stress for the cats while they live at the ARL:

1.       Cats love high places. No matter if they are alone in a cage or in a colony with other cats, they still enjoy sleeping on an elevated bed. Thanks to several generous donators, the cats at the ARL now have Kuranda beds in their cages! It didn’t take long for the cats to take to their new beds. And, of course, the four colonies have shelves where the cats can lie “above it all.”

2.       Minimize moving cats from cages too frequently. When cats are taken out of their spaces every day for cleaning or to just rearrange the space, it places stress on them. Imagine yourself if you are staying at a hotel and you are told to pack up and move to a new room every night! It wouldn’t be a nice, restful vacation, would it? Cats like to be around familiar smells, their own scent, and each time they are moved, their scent must be re-established. Keeping them in the same space helps them to relax.

3.       Cats love to hide! In our cat colonies, we have added easy-to-clean hollow cubes and boxes that cats can use to get away from it all. And even just a blanket that a cat can hide under helps!

4.       Playtime! All cats need exercise and time to play. Each cat is given “recess” out of the cage to run around and play. We have a large variety of toys to increase their stimulation and reduce boredom.

5.       Ability to be alone. That’s certainly not a problem for those cats in individual cages but for those living in the colonies, it’s almost impossible to find solitude. We’ve installed doors in each colony so that the cats can freely come and go outside to the ledge.  Some love it out there where it’s quiet and others prefer to be inside to watch what’s going on.

Regardless of what we do for the animals, they will always be stressed when they are not in a nice, loving home.  The ARL works with several cat rescue groups to find adopters and foster homes. Plus, cats are now a part of the ARL’s Grey Muzzle Foster Program. Please consider being a foster home to a homeless kitty!