HSHA invites community to join the movement to No-Kill Harrisburg at Walk for Paws Saturday, May 4 HARRISBURG, PA (MARCH 22, 2024) – The Humane Society of Harrisburg Area has achieved another milestone in the path to No-Kill Harrisburg, reaching a 93% Live Release Rate for the first quarter of 2024. The organization, which has roots in the community for more than 100 years, celebrated 478 adoptions and performed 862 spay and neuter surgeries aimed at slowing the number of unplanned litters in the community over the 3-month start to the year. HSHA celebrated 127 adoptions in January, 174 in Fe ..read more

Less than three months into its affiliation agreement with Brandywine Valley SPCA, HSHA is celebrating record adoptions and lifesaving HARRISBURG, PA (MARCH 14, 2024) – The Humane Society of Harrisburg Area is proud to announce a milestone in the path to No-Kill Harrisburg, reaching a 94% Live Release Rate for the month of February. Less than three months into its affiliation agreement with Brandywine Valley SPCA, and appointment of Adam Lamb as the new executive director, HSHA is already seeing positive results from the implemented changes and new leadership. Within the first months, HSHA dro ..read more

New policy aims to give best possible outcome and chance of adoption for all shelter dogs HARRISBURG, PA (March 1, 2024) – The Humane Society of Harrisburg Area (HSHA) is “removing the labels” from resident dogs. The organization will no longer be assigning breed labels to shelter dogs’ biographical information unless there is undisputed proof of lineage. Research indicates that up to 75% of dogs are mislabeled when attempting to identify breed(s) through appearance, and that labeling on public-facing, biographical materials can negatively impact the length of stay and outcome for all dogs ..read more

It’s not too late to support the thousands of animals who rely on the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area and double your lifesaving impact. Now through December 31st, all donations will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $30,000! This means every dollar is immediately doubled to help HSHA rescue, feed, and protect dogs and cats in our community, and bolster vital outreach and education initiatives that promote care and respect for animals everywhere.   The Humane Society of Harrisburg Area relies solely on the community for support. Without your donations, we could not save animal ..read more

HSHA 2023 AWARD WINNERS   Each year HSHA recognizes several key individuals that have truly exemplified and embodied the organization’s mission, to build a better community for pets and people. This year, we recognized those listed below at our Fur Ball Gala.         2023 Community Partner of the Year: Teg’s Canine Clippery Andrea Knudsen, owner of Teg’s Canine Clippery, has been donating her grooming services to HSHA for so long, she can’t remember how many years it’s been! We think we did the math correctly, and it’s been over 10 years! Every Friday, a volunteer d ..read more

Humane Society of Harrisburg Area (HSHA) is joining Brandywine Valley SPCA, in partnership with national non-profit Petco Love, BOBS from Skechers, and Discover team-up with 9 other area shelters for collaborative initiative to find pets homes for the holidays. HARRISBURG (NOVEMBER 22, 2023) – Hundreds of pets in the four-state area will be looking for homes for the holidays as part of Brandywine Valley SPCA’s (BVSPCA) December Mega Adoption Event® in partnership with Petco Love, BOBS from Skechers® and Discover. PARTNER is one of nine regional participating shelters joining the winter ev ..read more

Dear Friends: Thank you for your longtime support of the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area. I am writing today to inform you that our longtime executive director, Amy Kaunas, will be departing her role. We are proud to announce Director of Operations Aspasia Yeager will serve as the interim executive director while a national search is launched. During Amy’s tenure, she led a massive effort to rescue, save and find forever homes for thousands of animals. Her leadership during the pandemic helped continue our important mission even in the most difficult of times. We’re proud that while our inta ..read more

  The Humane Society of Harrisburg Area (HSHA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Board Member, Ann Moffitt, ACFRE.  Moffitt was appointed to the HSHA Board of Directors at their September meeting. Moffitt brings extensive experience in philanthropic work. She currently serves at the Director of Development for the Friends of the West Shore Theatre, Inc. Moffitt spent over 25 years at Keystone Human Services, serving as the Vice President of Community Development. In this role, Moffitt was responsible for all areas of fundraising, public relations, and community outreach ..read more

HSHA made significant changes to the way Vaccine Clinics are organized to allow for more pet owners to get needed vaccines and other services for their owned pets. Pet owners can now choose to register for the vaccine clinic and walk through with their pet. There are multiple one hour time slots that owners can choose from on select Saturdays. Owners can arrive any time during their time slot and pets are seen in order of arrival. Since COVID, HSHA had been using a curb-side model with set appointment times. The new model allows more than double the number of pets to receive vaccines and other ..read more

Mutley “Moo-ves” On: New Family, New Life Mutley Moo’s short life has not been an easy one.  Abandoned at the age of one, he came to the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area, timid but excited to be rescued. From day one, Mutley Moo was a high energy dog that needed lots of exercise and enrichment to keep his mind engaged. During his time at the shelter, he also worked with our Behavior Team, a dog trainer, and spent time in a foster home.  Despite these efforts, Mutley was adopted and returned twice. After his second returned adoption, the same foster family that had foster ..read more