URGENT: philly shelter animals in danger!

Penelope, just one of the critters at PAWS who desperately needs our help.

Reprinted from Philly PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society)

PHILADELPHIA, PA: This is a desperate plea on behalf of Philadelphia's homeless dogs. More than 120 dogs in the city's animal control shelter are about to be moved from one dangerous situation into another. As you may have heard, persistent disease at the shelter (111 W. Hunting Park Avenue) is prompting the PSPCA to embark on a full evacuation and deep cleaning of the facility later this week. At that time, every dog will be moved into a garage at the PSPCA's Erie Avenue location and housed in crates. They will live in those crates until they are rescued, fostered, adopted, or euthanized. They will not be returned to the animal control shelter. At the same time, all new stray and unwanted dogs coming in will be routed to the garage and placed in crates as well. Currently, animal control takes in about 25 dogs per day.

The PSPCA does not intend to euthanize these dogs on any larger scale than normal. However, the temporary housing (crates in a garage) is far from ideal for any dog, let alone for large, scared, and stressed dogs that make up much of the animal control population. Many dogs have behavioral or medical conditions that will simply not be manageable in the temporary setting. Sending them there will be a death sentence. In addition, with as many as 25 new dogs coming in every day, increased killing is inevitable unless dogs leave quickly and in very high numbers. Rescue organizations have been asked to step-up their efforts to get more dogs out. But rescues already take as many dogs on a daily basis as they possibly can. The only way dogs will get out in any significant numbers is if the public comes forward to help. Please open your home to a dog who desperately needs you, and implore everyone you know to do the same. You can adopt a dog permanently or provide a temporary foster home. Either way, you will be saving two lives: the dog you take into safety, and the dog who will use the vacancy. There are dogs of all sizes, breeds, temperaments, and conditions; the lifesaving staff at animal control will help you find a good match. Every life makes a difference. The rescue effort must begin immediately to reduce the number of dogs that will be placed in temporary housing, and it must continue once the dogs are relocated to the garage to minimize the time they must stay there and the number of dogs who will be killed. The lifesaving staff at animal control is working around the clock and does not often have time to respond promptly to phone or email inquiries. Therefore, if you are able to take a dog into safety, it is best to go directly to the animal control shelter (111 W. Hunting Park Avenue) or to the PSPCA's Erie Avenue location (350 E. Erie Avenue) during regular business hours. A staff member will help you save a dog that is right for you. Both locations are open seven days a week. If you need to email in advance, you can contact nsmith@pspca.org or jsweeney@pspca.org. Please forward and distribute this urgent plea as widely as possible; the more people who know what is going on, the greater the number of dogs that can be saved. Please do all that you can. They won't make it without you.