Humane League of Lancaster County • The Best Place to Find a Best Friend

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions):

What do I need to bring with me if I am surrendering a pet?

If you are surrendering a pet, please contact your veterinarian and get any of your pets medical records. Having a dog or cat's vaccination and medical history is important in helping the staff know how to properly care for your pet throughout his stay. Due to privacy concerns, many veterinarians will not release medical records to us over the phone, so it is important that you bring them with you!

When surrendering a pet, please allow for appropriate time to fill out paperwork. We will have a brief questionnaire that we ask you to fill out regarding the pet's behavior, routines, and likes/dislikes during his time with you. This will help us to better match your pet with an appropriate home.

The Humane League operates on donations only. If you are surrendering your pet, please consider making a minimum of a $25.00 donation. This will go directly towards the cost of providing for the animals in our care.

How are you funded?
The Humane League of Lancaster County is a private, nonprofit organization. Our shelter is funded by our members, who support the organization with their annual membership fees, by donors, sponsors, and fundraising events. The shelter receives minimal compensation for housing and caring for municipal strays from throughout the county, which does not meet the costs of feeding, vaccination, housing or treating the thousands of strays received each year.

How long do you hold strays before they are available for adoption?
The Humane of Lancaster County holds stray dogs a minimum of three days before they are evaluated for adoption, this is one day longer than the 48 hours state law requires.

Cats which show signs of ownership (neutered, declawed, wearing a collar) are held overnight prior to being evaluated for adoption. There is no law requiring that unidentified cats be held prior to being evaluated for adoption.

Adoptable dogs will be available to the public on the third day. We make every effort to return animals to their owners before making them candidates for adoption. If the animal is microchipped or is wearing identification such as a license or tag, the owners are notified by telephone. If this warrants no response, a certified letter is sent to the owner. The animal is not available to be assessed for adoption until 10 days after a certified letter has been sent.

Can animals that are still in the holding period be handled by the public?
Animals that are still under the holding period restriction are not yet considered the property of the Humane League. Until the animal is released from the holding period the owner is the only person who can grant permission to handle the animal.

What is the process for adopting an animal?
Prospective adopters fill out an application at the front desk. An Animal Care Team member will review the application, to determine if the applicant meets our adoption guidelines, to find out what information the applicant needs to be a successful pet parent, and to determine if the applicant and pet are suited. Once approved, the adopter will meet with the animal and have a chance to get to know him or her as an individual. We encourage the whole family, including other dogs, to come and meet with a new pet.

Once a good match is made, the adopter will sign the adoption contract, and pay (no checks are accepted) for the adoption. The adoptor will be provided with an information packet, and if the animal has not yet been spayed or neutered they will be advised to pickup the animal once the surgery has been completed, or they will receive a certificate covering the basic spay or neutered fee. All pets adopted from the shelter are microchipped prior to leaving the shelter, providing them with a permanent form of identification.

Aren’t puppies and kittens too young to be spayed or neutered?
The Humane League of Lancaster County has been performing spay neuter surgeries on animals weighing more than two pounds for over three years. The procedure is endorsed by the American Veterinary medical Association, The American Humane Association, the American Kennel Club, the Cat Fanciers Association, many state and local veterinary associations, and an increasing number of local animal shelters. Studies of animals that have undergone pre-pubescent surgeries show no adverse side effects. Younger animals recover more rapidly from both the anesthesia and the surgery. Certain undesirable behaviors (roaming, marking territory etc.) may also be prevented.

How long do you hold shelter and foster care animals available for adoption?
Once an animal has gone through the required holding period, it will be put up for adoption if it is friendly and healthy. Once in the adoption room or in foster care, there is no set holding period or time. The animal will stay in the care of the shelter as long as the animal is healthy and there is space available.

How do you define adoptability?
It is the policy of the Humane League of Lancaster County to adopt out friendly, healthy pets. Sick or injured animals are held for the appropriate period to be claimed. If not claimed, they may be placed in foster care, if that option is possible and the best choice for the animal. Animals that pose a risk to public safety for reasons of health or temperament are humanely euthanized.

What is a Placement Assessment Test?
All dogs adopted through the Humane League of Lancaster County must first be given a placement test. Animal Care Team members will go through a set series of activities with the dog to determine what sort of personality it has, to better match the dog with a prospective home. This helps adopters make a good match when selecting their new best friend, and helps us understand the needs of each dog as an individual.

What about euthanasia?
The Humane League of Lancaster County believes that euthanasia is a last resort for our animals. There is no time limit to how long a healthy, social adoptable animal can spend in our shelter, but as an open-admission facility we receive animals who are not adoptable due to health or temperament, and there are times when a treatable animal cannot be cared for due to limitations such as the expense of the care and our ability to provide the care necessary for that animal. We are combating these issues through our Foster Care program, in which animals can recuperate outside of our facility, and our BARC program, which helps our animals maintain a high quality of life while in our shelter and increase their adoptability.

As an open admission shelter there are times, particularly during the summer months, when due to the high number of incoming animals available space is a factor which must be considered. During these difficult times, euthanasia of healthy, social animals may be necessary to accommodate the influx of animals.

Euthanasia is accomplished in a painless and humane method endorsed by the Humane Society of the United States. There is a great deal of compassion applied throughout the process. The staff who perform euthanasia are trained and certified, and perform the procedure in an environment as peaceful and stress free as possible.

What about no-kill?
The Humane League of Lancaster County has committed to providing a safe place for every animal, regardless of its health or temperament. However, for a shelter to be a true haven for lost or unwanted animals and provide a comprehensive service to the public, its doors must be open to all animals. A shelter that turns away an animal being surrendered, or asks someone to keep the animal until space opens up at the facility, risks losing that animal to abandonment or some other cruel fate. Similarly, a shelter that cannot accept an animal found running at large or rescued in a cruelty case is not acting in the animal's best interests.

Shelters exist, first and foremost, to protect animals. Euthanasia of shelter animals to make room for others is a tragic necessity that prevents animal suffering. An organization that cares for homeless animals but doesn't accept every animal may be doing admirable work as an adoption center or a limited-access refuge, but it isn't providing the full complement of animal sheltering functions needed in every community. A facility that doesn't accept every animal can supplement an animal shelter, but it can't substitute for one.

While we may not be able to find every animal a new, loving home, all animals are treated with respect and compassion while in our facility. This is in line the with suggested guidelines for shelters established by the Humane Society of the United States: (a national organization with whom we are not affiliated and who does not support our organization financially)

The Humane League of Lancaster County is an independent non-profit organization for the prevention of cruelty
to animals and the care of stray and unwanted animals. We are a 501(c)3 IRS Approved Charity.

2195 Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster, PA 17602
(717) 393- 6551 | Fax (717) 295-1391 | E-mail: info@humaneleague.com

Shelter Hours | Privacy Statement | Terms of Use | E-mail: Webmaster

Copyright © 2005 Humane League of Lancaster County, All Rights Reserved.