What we do...how you can help and other info too :)!
We began Sept 4, 2008 after the split of the last organization. HSLSC pulls pets from Lancaster Animal Control when we have room in our foster homes. We are an independant group of volunteers, no association with the national HSUS. We do all we can with the donations we receive, thanks to the wonderful supporters we have!
We have a great rapport with the Lancaster Animal Control & assist other rescues when they need help pulling from LAC. We send out email blasts to a bunch of rescues about the pets at LAC when we get updates.
We CANNOT enforce laws as we have no legal powers, if you suspect neglect or animal cruelty please call LAC & report it. 803-286-8103 or 803-286-7907 Sadly, not enough people step up to do this....many wait too long...you must leave your name, let's face it if no one had to leave a name the ACO's would be running out every time neighbor's had a fight, so that's not fair to them. Leaving your name shows you do really believe something needs to be checked out.
More things we've done and doing:
We have raised the money for the new 4ftX4ft sign for LAC, along with the computer program (Petpoint) for HSLSC & LAC. The Petpoint program holds all the information right in one place and rolls the adoptable pets to Petango.com. We achieved our State Non-profit status along with our Federal 501(c)3 status within our first 6 months as an organization. We offer a reduced cost spay/neuter for anyone, along with a special fund that assists those able to spay/neuter but unable to vaccinate their pets to have their pets vaccinated.
We have been & continue to fight for an expansion of the LAC, as well as support the fact that the Animal Control Officers need more help there. Did you know there are only 4 of them servicing the entire Lancaster County? That's 4 ACO's for the entire 75,000+ people in Lancaster County. How can they do that? They can't...they need help! They also need help keeping the website updated so that more pets can get seen to get a chance to be saved! They need to expand the LAC, there are ONLY 24 dog runs & approx 16-20 cat kennels. Just think 75,000+ people, intake at LAC last year was around 4700....average it out...that's intake of approx 90 pets a week. Then take the amount that they must euthanize because no one saves them - average cats/kittens that get out alive is 5%, average amount of dogs/puppies that get out alive is approx 21%, highly due to more & more rescues pulling more with the LAC being so rescue friendly with 501(c)3 rescues. See actual reported number below.
Did you also know that thanks to the ACO's, especially to Joel the director there, that the gas chamber is no longer the method of euthanizing there! They do injection euthanazia now! They have also improved the runs there with new paint & chainlink last year. There are some wonderful volunteers trying to make the exterior more inviting and improving the landscape there! They need help there too! Make the County Council see more change is needed!
We, HSLSC, want to apply for grants to get a facility to house pets for adoption. We want to apply for grants to have an actual spay/neuter clinic in Lancaster County. We DO however need assistance with writing grants. If you can help please let us know. We want to apply for some the big coalition grants for spay/neuter as we have a coalition with LAC & with another wonderful local rescue GCSPCA (Greater Charlotte SPCA). A coalition grant would open doors to low and no cost spay/neuters being available!
We are always looking for pet food donations....why? - well, several reasons. First to help those that need it, who have fallen on hard times and just need a little help rather than give up their pet(s). We also have teamed up with Meals on Wheels and give them pet food for those that are homebound and have pets needing food. We have recently joined with Milo's Friends which helps the hospice patients and their families care for their pet(s) and try to help rehome if necessary. We also try to give our foster homes some food too, as they are the ones helping save more lives with us!
If we could get some corporate sponsorship for pet food that would be so incredible! Know anyone? Let us know please! :)!
Our adoption fees: well, first off please call local vets to check on spay/neuter pricing, vaccines, first visit tests, etc......to compare.
Our normal dog/pup adoption fee is $150, which includes: up to date vaccines & de worming, as well as spay/neuter, rabies vaccine, microchip, and heartworm test if over 6 months at intake, services done at our vet. Cat/kittens are $125 including all above too, well not heartworm but rather FIV/FeLV testing for cats. If you adopt a pet under 4 months of age & elect to have them s/n at your vet we will reimburse you $40 upon proof of required s/n, also if your vet can insert our chip by 24Petwatch we will send that to them when your pet goes to get s/n. ALL PETS ADOPTED FROM A SHELTER OR RESCUE GROUP MUST BE STERILIZED PER SC STATE LAW or face many fines!
Please understand we do take in some hard/sad cases as often as we can, and thanks to our wonderful supporters and donations we are able to do that. For instance...Bodie (sheltie/collie mix) after vetting him we spent over $500 to find he was much older that we thought and heartworm positive, and loosing his hearing, so we gave him to a breed specific rescue to find him the best home as they have that knowledge. So, yes, we 'lost' over $500 but he'll get the best home they can find! That's what it is all about! We have had too many to list all their stories, but the latest one can be found on our home page....Bunny...who we had to let go to Rainbow Bridge, as it was the most humane thing to do for her. Here are just a few more in brief: Lucy - heartworm positive with large hernia, treated & hernia repaired at time of spay; Bella - heartworm positive, undergoing treatment; Peanut - heartworm positive with bad knees; a few pregnant or recently delivered litters HSLSC pulled this winter, including Glory - treeing walker who's pups fell ill at 6 days old and required bottle raising! Now Glory is spayed but also heartworm positive, and her 3 surviving pups wait for their furever homes with HSLSC!
We do all we can when we can thanks to the donations we receive & the caring hearts that foster & volunteer to help HSLSC! We are a public charity, therefore our books are open to the public. If anyone ever has any questions or wants to see our books just let us know, that is public knowledge and we are more than happy to show you! :)!
So, please, if you have any questions or concerns please contact HSLSC, we answer as quickly as possible, bare in mind there are only 3 of us doing the paperwork & return calls/emails. We need help!
FYI there are the actual stats from Lancaster Animal Control for fiscal year 08-09:
Dogs/pups taken in as strays - 1520, as owner surrenders 943
Cat/kittens taken in as strays - 1294, as owner surrenders 929
OF THOSE:
110 dogs adopted, 53 cats adopted
130 dogs reclaimed, 2 cats reclaimed
285 dogs to rescue groups, 64 cats to rescue groups
So......1899 dogs euthanized and 2084 cats euthanized simply because not enough people cared. Didn't care enough to spay/neuter their pets, didn't care enough to reclaim their pets, sad isn't it. It's not the ACO's or the LAC's fault, it's the people that just don't care....it their fault.
Those of us that DO care must team up to make a difference! Let's TEAM up to help more lives! Let's make Lancaster County listen & help the pets here! Build a separate building for the injection euthanizia, that can be used for spay/neuters too! Expand the LAC, even an outside pole barn style would help give more time to so many! HSLSC has offered to help with cleaning it if we can move adoptable pets there for us, those that we pull from LAC! Let's get licensing back on the table as it would help keep track of the rabies vaccinated pets, as well as cut down on the big problem of "it's not my dog" whenever something happens! Minimal fees of $5 for altered pet & higher for unaltered to also encourage spay/neutering! These are changes HSLSC is fighting for, how can you help?