AVAILABLE  Dogs like Zoey |
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Humane Society of Greene County
183 Jefferson Road
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We are quite proud of our ten years of service as a shelter for animals in Greene County. We have many cats and dogs at our shelter facility, and you are welcome to come to see whether we have the right pet for you. We are open Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday from 12:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
If you come to see us, you will discover that we offer far more than just a stray animal in a cage waiting to be sent out the door. We have legal requirements and educational goals, and, since we love animals, we feel a great responsibility to keep them happy, healthy, and adoptable. Here is what we do.
To begin with, the shelter accepts stray or unwanted animals found in Greene County.
Each day we try to walk every dog in our care. We also groom as many animals as we can each day. Every dog and cat that we offer for adoption has proved its friendliness with people, because it has interacted with our staff and with visitors. Of course, we feed and water each animal, and we will bathe any animal before we give it to a new owner. We give all our pets toys to play with, all cats have a soft blanket and often a soft toy. We try to give our pets choices of toys.
The Humane Society strongly urges pet owners to continue to care for their pets, but in emergencies we may be able to assist. If you need to make use of the shelter facilities, please call us to see what can be done. You may be put on a waiting list for an empty kennel.
Our shelter is always full, so we cannot open our doors to every animal in our county. Pet owners must realize that we cannot guarantee that we will be able to find a good home for their unwanted pets, even though we devote most of our resources to this effort.
If you capture a stray animal, or lose your pet, we urge you to call the shelter immediately. We have assisted many owners in recovering their pets in Greene County. The best way to ensure that you will find your lost pet is to have a personalized tag attached to the pet's collar, with your name and telephone number on it. To get an order blank for a personalized tag, go to any pet shop or veterinarian, or come to our shelter.
If you see a stray dog in the same area for several days, but you are unable to trap or secure it, please call the Dog Warden at (724) 451-8278. Only dogs are captured, and this is the job of the Dog Warden.
As soon as a dog or cat arrives at our shelter, it is vaccinated against distemper. Cats are tested for feline leukemia prior to adoption. We offer canine parvovirus (parvo) tests upon request, and we will not allow a dog out of our shelter if we have an outbreak of this virus.
If a dog stays at our shelter for more than ten days, we give it a rabies shot. We check every animal for fleas, ticks, and ear mites, and it is treated if there is a problem. We also check for lumps, bumps, hair loss and other signs of disease, and if necessary, we will treat the animal or have a vet treat it.
The public is welcome to tour our facility and to look at and pet our animals. We are proud of what we do, and how we do it, and we are especially proud of our animal shelter.
Every morning, 365 days a year, we clean our facility with bleach.
Since most of our dogs and cats are well-behaved, we allow you to pet most of them. We do ask that you make use of the hand wipes that are placed around the kennels to wipe your hands after touching one animal before touching another. This reduces the spread of minor disease among our animal residents.
Occasionally, despite our precautions, a new stray dog will bring in parvovirus (parvo). Every kennel that accepts dogs has this problem. We immediately take steps to stop the spread of this disease, which is especially dangerous to puppies. If we suspect that we have the disease, there may be restrictions on where you may go, and you will notice the distinct smell of chlorine bleach, which we use several times a day to wash down the facilities to kill the virus.
If you want to adopt an animal you must fill out an application, and there will be a waiting period. We require proof of your residence, and we ask some questions about your ability to care for the pet that we will give you. You should have the name of a veterinarian convenient to you, since we will follow up on whether you have fulfilled legal requirements concerning the adoption of a pet from a Humane Society in Pennsylvania. We reserve the right to decide whether we will give you one of our animals.
There are some fees connected with adoption, but these simply cover the cost of the basic medical shots that each animal receives. We make no profit from these fees.
Pennsylvania state law requires that you have your new pet neutered (males) or spayed (females) within six months of adoption. We must take a refundable deposit for this. Your money will be returned as soon as the animal is neutered or spayed and the veterinarian has informed us of this. We have a special spay/neuter loan program to help you spread the actual cost of the procedure over several months. Ask us about it if you need it.
Because of the way that we care for our animals on a daily basis, you will probably find that the pet you adopt is ready to interact with your family very quickly.
When you adopt an animal from us you can be sure that we will still be there afterward. We can advise you on the basic pet care, such as feeding, walking, and so forth. We are happy to give you advice on training, and on stopping behavior problems, and you can call us on the telephone for advice. We have a behavior problem hotline, and if you adopt from us, you will be given these numbers for immediate help.
In fact, if you are unable to keep the pet, and you discover this after you have taken it from us, we are still the Humane Society, and yes, we will take it back.
We also offer counseling for pet owners after the death of a pet.
We have specially trained and licensed staff who investigate reports of animal abuse, whether pets or livestock. Wild animals that are injured are best left alone, but, if you want to report such a situation, contact the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Our investigations involve looking at the animals in the living situation in which we find them. We may take pictures, and, if there is a problem, we will contact the owner to try to improve things. If the abuse is severe, or if we are unable to come to a satisfactory arrangement with the owner, we may take the animals, and we may seek further remedy through the courts, under Pennsylvania state laws that protect animals.
Call us if you know of such an abusive situation.
The Humane Society realizes that we can even help people who have no pets. Every week we take one or two of our friendliest pets to a local care facility that houses elderly persons. It has been scientifically demonstrated that the opportunity to play with a cat or dog improves the health of older people. By the way, if you are an older person, and do not have a pet at this time, here is some food for thought.
We have videos and books on animal and pet care for free loan to the public.
We pay attention to future pet owners as well. We offer presentations on pet care, how to watch for animal abuse, and other topics to area schools. These presentations are available to groups as well. We conduct a yearly essay contest among school students to increase awareness about animal abuse and the need to spay or neuter many pets.
We conduct a yearly rabies clinic at the Greene County Fairgrounds in the Fall. At this clinic we offer rabies shots, dog and cat distemper shots, feline leukemia shots, and dog and cat worming at extremely low fees. These services are conducted by a veterinarian.
Oh, yes, you can purchase your required yearly Greene County dog license at our shelter.
Webmaster: ditzian@windstream.net
