Animal Rescue League of Berks County

Happy Employee Appreciation Day! Today we celebrate our staff full of the most compassionate individuals who dedicate every day to changing lives one pet at a time! Despite long hours, challenging work, and countless animals, they never fail to put their hearts first, caring deeply for both the animals and our clients. Today, let's come together to celebrate our incredible staff and their unwavering passion!

Our team had the honor of presenting a successful program at the Best Friends Animal Society Conference in Palm Springs, CA last week. Shelter Director, Amara Cordero, and Animal Care Supervisor, Brooke Brenner, shared ARL’s recent progress on "Narrowing the Lifesaving Gap Through Intake Diversion for Community Cats." Due to the high population of community cats in Berks County, the ARL has faced significant stray cat intake for years, resulting in a lifesaving gap due to shelter deaths. By implementing an intake diversion program alongside Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release (TNVR), the ARL is nearing a 90% lifesaving goal for cats, with a current rate just 6% short of that while also reducing the average length of stay in the shelter for a stray cat. As we continue to strengthen this initiative, we look forward to seeing the difference this makes for our shelter and community. Great job to Amara and Brooke for their hard work and dedication during this conference and a big thank you to the Best Friends Animal Society for providing the platform to learn and share our progress.

Today is World Spay Day! Join us in making a difference by advocating for spaying and neutering. These procedures can improve pet's health, prevent unwanted behaviors, and help reduce the overcrowding of shelters and overpopulation in our community. By spaying or neutering your companion animal, or supporting our TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) services for community cats, you’re helping save lives! We’re proud to offer low-cost options for pet owners and TNR appointments for community cats. Let's work together to give these animals a better future. Learn more about our services on our website here: https://lnkd.in/eUsD2ATB

The Animal Rescue League of Berks County (ARL) received a Rachael Ray Save Them All grant from national animal welfare organization Best Friends Animal Society. The grant, for the amount of $45,145 is for a program designed to help keep community cats in their habitat while offering veterinary support, Trap-Neuter-Vaccines-Release (TNVR) surgeries, and education to the public. “By no longer impounding healthy and thriving outdoor cats and kittens, the ARL has already seen and expects to continue to see a reduction in feline euthanasia, decreased length of stay, reduced disease outbreak, and increased quality of care and positive outcomes,” said ARL’s CEO Ashley Mikulsky. “Through a combined cat lifesaving approach of both a robust intake diversion program, TNVR, and the 2025 rollout of a multiagency Community Cat Coalition, the ARL expects to finally achieve an annual live-release rate for cats of over 90% year over year.” The ARL is an active partner in the Best Friends Network, which offers help and support to shelters, rescue groups, and other animal welfare organizations working to save lives in their communities. The Rachael Ray Save Them All Grants is a grant program, administered by Best Friends and funded by The Rachael Ray Foundation?, that provides grants to shelters for euthanasia reduction initiatives. The Rachael Ray Foundation helps animals in need and is funded by a portion of proceeds from each sale of Rachael's pet food, Nutrish?.

This month, our amazing team at the shelter came together for a "Department Fair" to celebrate the hard work and dedication of each department! Each team crafted display boards to showcase their daily tasks, materials, staff highlights, and more. It was a fantastic opportunity to bond, learn about each other’s roles, and have fun sharing the vital work we do every day. A big thank you to our team for making this a success!

In the past year, our surgery center has undergone significant transformations, and in honor of National Spay/Neuter Awareness Month this February, we are thrilled to announce the expansion of our public surgery services for owned animals. Starting now, we’ll be offering appointments on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We look forward to continuing our commitment to compassionate care and making a positive impact in our community! Learn more about our veterinary services here: https://lnkd.in/eUsD2ATB

?? Join Our Mission! ?? We’re seeking passionate individuals to serve as Volunteer Board Members, helping us fulfill our mission to protect animals, provide a safe haven, and promote innovative programs and services to help both people and animals in need throughout Berks County. As a board member, you’ll steward and protect our mission while representing the organization within the community. Ready to help shape the future? Learn more and apply today at https://lnkd.in/graDcB9X

Smooches for Pooches, Cuddles for Kittens????? ? This Valentine’s Day, share the love with shelter animals who need it most! ? Join paws with the Animal Rescue League of Berks County and become a campaign sponsor! Through this partnership, you’ll help provide care, comfort, and plenty of love to our furry friends in need. Sponsorship levels are outlined in the graphic, and as a sponsor, you’ll be celebrated all month long. You can warm hearts this season while ensuring our animals receive the care and love they deserve.??? ? For more information on sponsorships, contact [email protected] or call 610-621-4020. ? Let’s show our shelter animals that love truly is in the air!??

Our Cat Colonies in our cat room are vital safe spaces designed to give our cats both indoor and outdoor areas to explore contrary to a standard cage. With shelves for climbing, cozy spots to hide, and plenty of room to roam, these colonies allow our more nervous or shy cats to gain confidence and feel at home while they wait to find loving homes of their own. Unfortunately, the roof over this space was in need of being replaced and that's where Spotts, Stevens and McCoy came in to save the day with their generous donation to repair the much needed space! Thank you, SSM, for helping us keep this safe haven intact for so many cats to come.

What an incredible year it's been! In 2024, we’ve made some remarkable strides in our mission to help animals in need. In March, we celebrated an exciting milestone with the ribbon-cutting ceremony for our brand-new mobile adoption and clinic unit! Since its launch, this asset has allowed us to host several mobile adoption events, as well as vaccine and microchip clinics, bringing our services directly to the community. We’re thrilled to continue expanding its reach and can’t wait to see the new opportunities it will bring in the future! In June we launched our Dog's Day Out Program to benefit both our shelter dogs and the community by offering our dogs a much-needed break from the shelter environment. In July, we opened the Schwegmann Healing Center, a brand-new space dedicated to helping pets in need in our community. This transformation turned our old crematorium building into a sanctuary of healing and care for animals. This year, we shone a spotlight on the incredible work of our Department of Animal Protection (DAP). From cases of abandoned pets to collector situations, our officers have worked tirelessly to ensure every animal receives the care they deserve. In 2024 alone, the DAP investigated approximately 629 cases, bringing over 500 animals into our shelter through their efforts. In November, we opened our shelter services to offer low-cost Wellness Clinics for owned animals designed to keep your pets healthy through preventative care. Last, but certainly not least, we had an amazing 2,103 adoptions this year. Join us in celebrating these incredible milestones and the many more that happened this year for the animals in our community. We cou