Pennsylvania SPCA - Helping Find Homes For Homeless Animals

The Pennsylvania SPCA’s mission is to help prevent cruelty to animals, to rescue animals, find homes for animals, and help with the pet overpopulation issue. They have an Adoption Center and Veterinary Hospital which are both conveniently located at 350 E. Erie Avenue in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania SPCA Adoption Center is open Monday through Sunday and has many rescued homeless cats and dogs who are available for adoption. Prices for adopting an animal range from $50 to $125 depending on the age and type of pet. Adopting a pet at the Pennsylvania SPCA ensures that you are rescuing a pet in need and your adoption fee includes a spay/neuter, microchip, id tag, collar, vaccinations, and free clinic care for three weeks. The Adoption Center also has lost and found services and accepts reports of lost pets 24 hours a day. The Veterinary Hospital provides medical care and emergency services for your pet. They can provide referrals if your pet needs any additional or specialized care that they can not provide at their hospital. The hospital makes every effort to ensure that all animals that are brought in are being well cared for. They reserve the right to report any suspicious injuries or signs of neglect to the Pennsylvania SPCA. Appointments are necessary and the hospital is open Monday through Saturday.

Aside from the Adoption Center and Veterinary Hospital, the Pennsylvania SPCA also offers training and behavior classes for dogs. The training and obedience classes all utilize the positive reinforcement technique and prices range from $10 to $55. There are classes offered that consist of only one session. These classes address issues that are common with dogs such as housebreaking, walking, and getting your dog to come to you. There are also two six session classes, one for puppy kindergarten and the other for adult training. The Pennsylvania SPCA also has Canine Good Citizen training classes and testing. The CGC training preparation class is $75 for six class sessions and the price also includes taking the CGC certification test at the end of the class series. There is also testing available without training at $25 and pit bulls and pit bull mixes are tested for free.

The Pennsylvania SPCA also does animal cruelty investigations. They encourage anyone who has information of animal abuse, cruelty or neglect to contact the PSPCA directly so that these cases can be investigated. Finally, volunteers are always welcome at the Pennsylvania SPCA and they accept applications year-round. Volunteers must be 16 years of age and must commit to a minimum of six months of volunteer work. A variety of positions are offered for volunteering depending on your interests and experience. If you are interested in learning more about the Pennsylvania SPCA and their services or to volunteer, you can visit their website at www.pspca.org or call (215) 426-6300.