Programs, Services & Recognitions

The Humane Society of Berks County offers a wide variety of programs and services in order to improve the health and welfare of the animals of Berks County and beyond, as well as their people.  This is a partial listing of the these programs and services.

Homeless and Unwanted Animal Intake:  The HSBC is an open admission shelter and accepts and shelters any owner surrendered domestic animal with no waiting periods and without turning any animal away.

Veterinary Services for Adopters and the General Public:  The HSBC provides high quality veterinary care to the public, as well as to the animals in our direct care.  HSBC Veterinary Hospitals is accepting new clients for both its Reading Hospital and Douglassville Center.

Cruelty and Animal Law Enforcement:  The HSBC provides enforcement Pennsylvania's animal cruelty laws within the entirety of Berks County, as well as being authorized in Montgomery and Chester Counties. 

Pet Lost and Found Services:  The HSBC provides lost and found pet reporting services via internet, telephone, or in person for thousands of pets each year, as well as reuniting over 400 lost pets directly housed by the HSBC with their owners.

Adoption Services:  The HSBC provides adoption services for thousands of homeless animals each year.  The HSBC's award winning, nationally modeled adoption programs have helped lead to ever larger numbers of animals adopted into new forever homes.

Low Cost Sterilization, Vaccination, and Microchipping Services:  The HSBC provides low cost sterilizations for nearly 2,000 animals each year, as well as low cost vaccinations and microchipping services to thousands of publicly owned pets.  Many of these pets would not receive any preventative vaccinations or sterilizations without the HSBC's low-cost programs.

Emergency Pet Sheltering Services:  Through the HSBC's PetNet Program, the HSBC offers emergency sheltering to the pets of domestic violence victims, victims of catastrophic illnesses, or personal catastrophe.

Berks County Animal Response Team (Berks CART):  In 2005, the HSBC was appointed lead agency to create and implement the first Berks County Animal Response Team.  The Team serves as an extension of the Berks Emergency Management Agency to focus specifically on animal response and rescue in the event of emergencies.

Humane Education Services:  The HSBC's education program reaches thousands of children and adults each year through direct program offering and innovative partnerships with other agencies,such as the Berks County Library system.

Euthanasia Services:  The HSBC's highly trained staff offers compassionate end-of-life services for pets at the request of owners, as well as cremation services.

NOTE:  The Humane Society of Berks County provides no animal control services.  Municipal animal control services are provided by the State, local municipalities and the Animal Rescue League.  Stray animals should be taken to your authorized municipal animal control provider as they are contracted, paid, and authorized under PA law to enforce PA animal control laws.  The Humane Society of Berks County is only authorized to enforce PA animal cruelty laws, not local or state animal control laws or ordinances.

This is only a partial listing of the Humane Society of Berks County's programs and services, read more

If you require specific services, please contact the HSBC for assistance.

Recognitions and Awards

The Humane Society of Berks County is extremely proud of the programs and services it has created in order to help animals and people in a proactive manner.  We are also gratified that our hard work has received significant recognition both in Pennsylvania and nationwide through awards, board memberships, and invitations to present at national animal welfare conferences.  Selected recognitions include:

Humane Society of the United States: Workshop presenter invitation (Karel Minor, Executive Director, & co-presenters Damon March, Operations Director, and Pam Keeler, Zero Gravity Design), HSUS Animal Expo, Orlando, FL (2008)

American Humane Association: Workshop presenter invitation (Karel Minor, Executive Director, & co-presenter Joan Brown, President, Humane League of Lancaster County), AHA National Conference, Washington, D.C. (2007)

Federated Humane Societies of Pennsylvania: Elected to seat on Board of Directors (Karel Minor, Executive Director), 2007

Pennsylvania State Animal Response Team: Appointed to seat on Board of Directors (Karel Minor, Executive Director), 2007

American Humane Association: Best Industry Practices Award for HSBC Free To A Great Home Emergency Adoption Program, 2006

Berks County Animal Response Team: Appointed Coordinating Agency for Berks CART, 2006

American Humane Association: Panelist invitation (Karel Minor, Executive Director), AHA National Conference, Chicago, IL, 2006

Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government: Recognition for Governmental Innovation for the HSBC PetNet program 2005