Throughout the years, and especially in 2023, the ARL has experienced significant overcrowding in our cat, dog, and rabbit populations. Overcrowding is detrimental to shelter animals’ well-being for various reasons: high populations mean animals are with us longer, leading to elevated stress, overwhelmed shelter staff, increased costs, and a bottlenecking in an already fragile system of animal flow.  

Stress is the leading cause of disease and unwanted behaviors in shelters. Simply put, the shelter environment isn’t suitable for long stays, making it critical to prioritize every possible means to move animals along their journey as fast as possible. High-yield adoption days have become less and less frequent, and as the ARL continues to evolve in our no-kill initiative, we have embraced partnerships with like-minded agencies to move animals through lifesaving regional transport when population levels become critical. 

There is considerable research to prove that transporting animals to other rescues and shelters exponentially increases lifesaving across the board. Sometimes, an animal needs a change of venue with a fresh set of potential adopters. Moving animals between shelters when one agency is near capacity while another has room is efficient and allows each of us to maximize our limited resources for the neediest animals in our care.  

Within the last month, thanks to renewed partnerships with agencies like Brandywine Valley SPCA, Humane PA, and St. Francis Animal Rescue in NJ, the ARL was able to transfer out 46 pets during times when we neared zero capacity. Transport is not only recommended by national organizations like Best Friends but is a best practice nationwide to drive down the unnecessary euthanasia of thousands of adoptable pets from oversaturated areas. Read more here for a great article from Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends: https://bestfriends.org/stories/julie-castle-blog/dog-and-cat-transports-save-lives  

While the ARL is not yet an agency that is able to transfer adoptable pets from other agencies, we are extremely grateful for those organizations that are willing to partner with us during times of need. Our commitment remains to the animals in need throughout Berks County, of which there are many, and we will continue to seek all available options for live outcomes to drive down the time animals spend awaiting homes. A special thank you to all our progressive partner organizations and the volunteers who make this transport possible.