Friends of Federated,
I am pleased to forward you the following information from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture regarding boarding kennels, doggie daycares, animal shelters, sanctuaries, and rescues. As per the documents below, we may continue to operate in order to provide care to the animals we serve.
• COVID-19 Guidance: Essential Businesses for Boarding Kennels, Doggie Daycares, Animal Shelters, Sanctuaries, and Rescues
• COVID-19 Guidance: For Private Pet Owners
We are working in conjunction with PA State Animal Response Team (“PASART”) and Humane Pennsylvania (“Humane PA”) to ensure there is a primary agency focused on coordinating large scale food handling and distribution in the Eastern half of Pennsylvania. We hope to expand this effort to the Western half of Pennsylvania soon. Our goal is to avoid numerous, disconnected responses which serve to confuse the situation and diminish effective impact.
To that end, here is some key information:
Humane PA serves on the board of PASART on behalf of the Federated Humane Societies and is coordinating with surrounding county shelters, non-profits, school districts, and CART teams to prepare for the needs of our pets. Humane PA is operating two dedicated warehouses in Berks County capable of accepting, sorting, and distributing food and supply resources from central locations and is positioned to serve as the primary clearing house in Eastern PA for food and pet product resources as requested by county emergency management agencies. They are capable of providing larger scale distribution to agencies and partners in need, such as regional food pantries, animal welfare organizations, and school districts, so that those entities may handle individual distribution.
Humane PA’s primary contact for shelters (as well as for governmental, corporate, and non-profit entities, not general community assistance) is Inga Fricke, Director of Community Outreach Programs, PH: 301-366-1797, ifricke@humanepa.org
General assistance, unmet needs, and resource requests should be directed to county emergency management agencies while copying PASART Executive Director Sarah Speed at sarah@paanimalresponse.org or 717-651-2736 to ensure coordination and tracking of the larger statewide effort for resources and requests.
Moment of Zen:
“You cannot wait for an untroubled world to have an untroubled moment. The terrible phone call, the rainstorm, the sinister knock on the door—they will all come. Soon enough arrive the treacherous villain and the unfair trial and the smoke and the flames of the suspicious fires to burn everything away. In the meantime, it is best to grab what wonderful moments you find lying around.”
― Lemony Snicket, Shouldn’t You Be in School?
Best,
Amy Kaunas
Board President
Federated Humane Societies of Pennsylvania
