The Womens
Humane Society is dedicated to the prevention of cruelty to
animals and enjoys many firsts. We were the first
-
Animal shelter
in the United States
-
Humane education
program in the United States
-
Low-cost
veterinary clinic in the United States
-
Bird
conservation program in the United States
-
Animal hospital
owned and operated by a humane society in Pennsylvania
-
Ambulance
service for animals
We are a
non-profit animal welfare organization founded by Caroline Earle
White in 1869. We are not affiliated with any other humane
society or SPCA. We operate on donations and fees, we receive
no tax dollars. The services we offer include:
Shelter/Adoption
- dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, birds and
other small animals.
Low Cost Clinic
our veterinary clinic is open to the general public
Dog Obedience Training
individual and group classes
Humane Education Program
teaches children and community groups how to care for and
respect animals
Cruelty Investigations
Our cruelty investigations department receives
complaints about pets in homes and those in pet stores and other
locations.
Animal Ambulance Service
for the pickup of live and deceased pets being surrendered to
the custody and care of the Women's Humane Society.
We balance the
wisdom gained from our long history in the humane movement with
staying abreast of modern day issues and trends in animal
welfare towards the goal of fulfilling our mission to take a
comprehensive approach to the prevention of animal abuse and
neglect.
While looking at
a photograph of an animal is a good start to your search for a
new pet, it is only a start. Meeting an animal is the only way
to determine if this is the most appropriate pet for you. If
searching online, please note the tag number of each animal that
interests you (When you visit us, the tag number will allow you
to locate the animal easily.). We cannot reserve a specific
animal for you before your visit. If the animal that first
caught your interest has been adopted, don't worry - we have
other animals in need of good homes.
Animals may be
seen during adoption hours only. Please review our adoption
hours before you visit and come as early in the day as possible,
especially on Saturdays and Wednesdays.
When you visit
us, you'll walk through our adoption kennel and small animal
room. Please do not touch the animals in their cages and
kennels. Your touch can spread illness in its asymptomatic but
contagious early stages from one animal to another, including
your pet at home.
If you decide an
animal interests you, pick up an application from our front desk
and complete it (we will not provide any additional information
on an animal until we have a completed application). An
adoption counselor will meet with you to ensure the animal you
have selected will fit in with your lifestyle. After speaking
with the counselor, you will spend time getting to know the
animal in one of our pet meeting rooms - You must bring any
children under 12 who live with you to meet the animal you have
selected (We do not adopt stray dogs to families with children
under the age of 12.). If you wish to adopt after spending time
with the animal, the counselor will review your application
again, discuss pet care and costs with you and answer any
questions you may have. A yard check may be necessary (The
Society requires certain small and medium and most large dogs
have access to a fenced yard or a cable run.). If you are a
renter, you must bring a copy of your lease stating that you may
own a pet, including the size and weight permitted. Adopters
must live within a fifty-mile radius of our Bensalem location.
Adoptions are processed on a first come-first serve basis,
please plan to spend several hours at the Society.
In most cases,
you will not be able to take your new pet home with you
immediately. All animals must see the Society veterinarian
before leaving for a discharge check-up, additional shots if
needed and spaying and neutering (if old enough).
We adopt out 30
to 50 animals each week. Please understand this is labor
intensive and our adoption supervisor is not always able to
answer questions regarding availability. Highly adoptable
animals such as puppies, kittens, pure breds, "designer" mixes
and small dogs do not remain here long before they are adopted.
Adopted animals are removed from the internet 2 to 3 times
weekly. Some pets are adopted quickly, mere minutes to hours
from when they are posted on the internet. Emailing an inquiry
regarding a highly adoptable animal will very likely mean the
pet will be adopted before someone can get back to you.
|
Saturday
|
11am
to 4pm
|
|
Sunday
|
Closed
|
|
Monday
|
Closed
|
|
Tuesday
|
11am
to 4pm
|
|
Wednesday
|
1pm
to 7pm
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|
Thursday
|
11am
to 4pm
|
|
Friday
|
11am
to 4pm
|
Adoption
applications must be in process at least one hour prior to the
closing of adoption hours. If there are a large number of
applicants awaiting processing, procedures may be curtailed
earlier in order to process applicants already waiting to meet
with a pet and to allow us to feed and care for our animals at
their normally scheduled times.
As an adopter,
we ask you to provide a donation to help defray the significant
costs incurred in caring for those creatures that can't care for
themselves and demonstrate your ability to provide for a pet.
Suggested
donations for dogs and cats are $20 and higher, other small
animals $5 and higher. This donation covers the intake,
adoption, a follow up veterinary exams, distemper vaccine,
wormer, and stool check at the follow up exam for all dogs and
cats. Additional medical care fees vary from animal to animal.
Womens Humane
Society also requires all animals four months of age or older be
spayed or neutered at the time of adoption. If the animal is
younger than four months, you must make the deposit listed below
for the surgery at the time of adoption and either bring the
animal back to the Society for surgery when it is old enough or
take it to your own veterinarian for the surgery (If your
veterinarian spays or neuters your pet, you will be reimbursed
the surgery fee you paid at the time of adoption when proof of
the surgery is forwarded to the Society). Spaying (for the
female) and neutering (for the male) prevents animals from
reproducing, reduces the risk that your animal will develop
certain forms of cancer and can reduce aggressive tendencies.
Fees for animals
adopted from the Womens Humane Society only. (If you wish to
have another pet treated at the clinic please call them at (215)
750-5252 for fee information.)
|
Animal
|
Spay/Neuter
|
Rabies Shot
|
Microchip
|
Blood tests
|
|
Dogs, female
|
$70
|
$15
|
$30
|
$20
Heartworm
|
|
Dogs, male
|
$60
|
$15
|
$30
|
$20
Heartworm
|
|
Cats, female
|
$55
|
$15
|
$30
|
$26
FeLeuk/FIV
|
|
Cats, male
|
$45
|
$15
|
$30
|
$26
FeLeuk/FIV
|
|
Rabbits, female
|
$70
|
|
|
|
|
Rabbits, male
|
$60
|
|
|
|
The Society
operates a low-cost, full-service animal hospital staffed by
three veterinarians. We perform exams and offer inoculations,
x-rays and surgery (including spaying and neutering).
We offer walk-in
service for vaccinations and routine care. Any kind of surgery,
including spaying and neutering, must have an appointment. A
deposit of $25 is required at the time of scheduling. An exam
may be required to provide a quote for surgery.
Clinic Hours
are:
|
Saturday
|
8:30am 4:30pm
|
|
Sunday
|
Closed
|
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Monday
|
Closed
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Tuesday
|
8:30am 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 8pm
|
|
Wednesday
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1:30pm to 7:30pm
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Thursday
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8:30am 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 8pm
|
|
Friday
|
8:30am 1:30pm
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For appointments
and information, call 215-750-5252.
We
offer a wide variety of outreach programs for the community to
serve our mission to prevent cruelty and abuse, including a
humane education, and volunteer programs. Obedience classes
are offered Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings
(call Debbie at 215-437-1932), Wednesday mornings or evenings
(call Faith at 215-379-3419).
For Girl Scouts and other community groups we have humane
education programs including Pet Badge, Brownie Try-its, Pet
Care, Pet Health, Pet Behavior and Silver Badge projects. For
elementary schools (Pre-K to 4th grade) we offer Whiskers,
Habitats, Bite Prevention, Flash Cats, Basic Pet Care, Animals
in Art and What is Animal Cruelty. For grades 4th through 12th
we offer presentations that match PA Academic Standards such as
History, Science & Technology, Arts & Humanities, Family &
Consumer Science and Civics & Governments. To find out if one
of our programs is appropriate for you or your group please call
Janice at 215-750-3100, extension 241.
Volunteers provide the administrative and clerical support
needed to enhance our mission. We take a conservative approach
to risk management so entry level volunteering is not going
to include working with the animals. We place animals in need
of rescue and foster care with private groups as opposed to
managing our own foster care or treatment programs. If you are
interested in providing foster or direct care or socialization
for an animal, do a shelter search by your zip code. There are
many worthy organizations in need of direct contact volunteers.
You may request our volunteer application that includes
descriptions of our volunteer roles by emailing the volunteer
coordinator at
whshelpline@aol.com.
Please specify whether you need a youth or adult application.
If you have a fast approaching deadline or a finite set of hours
to give, please read and follow the link on our volunteer page
at
www.whspets.org for
volunteer ideas that do not involve a long term commitment.
Our
cruelty investigations department receives complaints about pets
in homes, pet stores and other locations. If we can not provide
the service to address a concern about an animal, we will refer
a caller to the appropriate authority. You may call any time
during shelter office hours and leave a message for our agent to
return your call. The agent is employed full-time during
weekdays and balances office hours with field work.
The Society's
animal ambulance service picks up unwanted pets and brings them
to our shelter for possible inclusion in our adoption program.
We also provide a pick-up service for seriously ill animals
whose owners have decided that euthanasia is necessary. Injured
stray animals that have been rescued and are in the care of a
caller are also served by the animal ambulance. A small fee is
required for all services. For more information, call the
Women's Humane Society at 215-750-3100. The service cannot pick
up healthy or loose stray animals. If you see stray animals in
your neighborhood, please call your local animal control
department. Your police dispatcher can assist you with the
provider of this service.
|
Saturday
|
8am
5:45pm
|
|
Sunday
|
8am
2:45pm
|
|
Monday
|
7am
5:45pm
|
|
Tuesday
|
7am
5:45pm
|
|
Wednesday
|
7am
7:45pm
|
|
Thursday
|
7am
5:45pm
|
|
Friday
|
7am
5:45pm
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The Society
offers shelter to unwanted domestic animals. All animals are
evaluated by our staff and those animals deemed adoptable are
placed in the adoption program. When you turn in a pet to the
Society, we will ask you to complete a form concerning the
animal's history. This information will help us find an
appropriate home for the animal.
We are grateful
to our friends who help keep the Women's Humane Society
operating through their generous donations. If you would like to
make a financial contribution, please send it to: Women's Humane
Society, 3839 Richlieu Road, PO Box 1470, Bensalem, PA 19020.
We can also use
the following items:
Old blankets and
towels
Unopened dog and
cat food - cans or dry food
Cat litter (not
the scoopable kind)
Pine chips (no
cedar chips)
Blue or blue
bordered-on-the-back Acme and Sav A Tape member Redner's
receipts
We are located
in Lower Bucks County and can be easily reached by Interstate
95, the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Street Road.
Interstate 95:
Exit at Street Road West, travel for approximately three miles
to Richlieu Road. Make a right on to Richlieu Road. (TGI
Friday's is on the corner.) After you drive over the overpass,
WHS will be the first building on the right.
Roosevelt Boulevard:
Exit at Street Road. Take Street Road East to Richlieu Road
(second traffic light). Make a left on to Richlieu Road. (TGI
Friday's is on the corner.) After you drive over the overpass,
WHS will be the first building on the right.
From Burlington County, NJ:
Take the Burlington-Bristol Bridge to New Rodgers Road West to
Route 13 South (Bristol Pike). Make a right on to Street Road
West. Follow Street Road West appromixately three miles to
Richlieu Road. Turn right on to Richlieu Road. (TGI Friday's is
on the corner.)
From the West:
Take the Pennsylvania Turnpike east to exit 28 (Philadelphia).
Follow the signs for Route 1 South. Immediately upon entering
Route 1 South, look for signs for Street Road East. Take Street
Road East to Richieu Road. Make a left on to Richlieu Road. You
will see TGI Friday's on the corner. After you drive over the
overpass, WHS will be the first building on the right.
3839 Richlieu
Rd, PO Box 1470
Bensalem,
PA 19020
(215) 750-3100