S P C A Hillside

To be able to convey our particular story, allow me to quote the letter that was written in reference to our ordeal. This letter was mailed directly to Hillside”
«I would be remiss if I didn’t voice my disappointment with the situation we find ourselves in. Here’s the background:
Last weekend, we visited the shelter and we bonded with two separate dogs that we really fell hard for. We drove all the way back to our home in Leesport, picked up our dog and brought him back to the shelter to see how he would interact with our two potential new fur babies. Our dog loved the one dog, Olaf, and so it was decided we wanted to make him a part of our family. This was Sunday.
That very next Monday morning, our application was approved and we were asked to come pick Olaf up. Unfortunately, my fiancé and I live in separate states during the week, and She only makes it up on the weekends. From all the research I’ve done, I knew it was very important for both my fiancé and I to pick Olaf up together so that he would know we are both his owners. The earliest I could come to get him with my fiancé was Friday at 5:00. We said we would give the shelter more than the requested adoption fee — which we were planning on doing regardless, we had always planned on giving $ 500 because we wanted to make a very generous donation for Christmas — but to please hold him for us until we could make it out yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately we were told that the shelter could not do this, which I do completely understand. But to find out that someone else was now picking Olaf up yesterday at 5:00, and not to bother coming at all — the very afternoon we said we could come together to get him, is very disappointing. Why would the shelter hold an animal for one person, and not another? I have concluded that the rationale behind this was solely based on the fact that this person was picking up two dogs. I would think the shelter be more concerned the dog goes to a good home, rather than cater to someone who is taking two off their hands. We called every single day wanting to check on Olaf — and I also want to add that the woman consistently answering the phone (if she answers at all) is not very pleasant.
Makes for very uncomfortable conversation when she sounds as though she’s doing you a favor by speaking to you. Very curmudgeonly.
In general, I am very disappointed by how our situation was handled in particular. I understand that you can’t keep dogs until the potential owners „get around“ to picking the dogs up, but our situation is exceptional and I would’ve expected it to be handled that way. Now don’t get me wrong, I am happy that Olaf found a home and I will pray that it is just as warm and loving as the home we would have provided him, ourselves. It may be better suited, for the animals as much as for potential owners, if in the future, every situation be handled with additional consideration and/​or compassion if the circumstances are unique.»
There is a silver lining in our loss of Olaf. Because we were so upset by Hillside’s procedure (not to mention the fact that we were also spoken down to by most of the staff… I will say that the man we met on our first day there, and another woman who gave us some background about Olaf, were the exception). Everyone we spoke to on the phone — especially the older mean woman, were very disrespectful. Right from the beginning, I felt like they were doing us a favor, which that is not the case. But anyway, the silver lining to this particular story is that it brought us to another shelter — Berks ARL. The experience was literally night and day. The people at Berks ARL are just so unbelievably friendly and they OBVIOUSLY care so much! They are prompt in responding and keep the facility so clean. We found another older dog who needed a forever home. Thanks to Berks ARL, we were able to make that happen for him. Berks ARL will now be receiving our donation. It’s a real shame because it’s not the fault of the animals over at Hillside, but unfortunately I don’t feel as though the people there deserve my hard-​earned money.

Since the 1970’s my family has adopted several dogs from this shelter. In my adult life, I have adopted 2 dogs from them. They are a wonderful NO KILL shelter. They will keep an animal for it’s life, wherein other shelters will put it down because it’s been there too long. It’s not a fancy new building, but this shelter is clean, well-​maintained, efficient, well-​run, and has many volunteers who take care of the animals. Walking them, socializing, etc. All of their animals are well-​socialized, they are all together, not separated and crammed in runs and cages. The volunteers and staff really care, and are very protective of their animals, as they should be. We donate regularly to this shelter and we know our money is going to good use. There are no high salaries and overhead. The manager, Barbara Umlauf, could not do a better job. She remembers every single animal who has come through their doors, no matter how long ago. She and her staff are amazing. If you are looking for a pet, do visit the Hillside.

Hillside is GREAT! These people have to see dying animals every single day, and yet they still do everything they can to save as many animals as possible. I am such an animal lover, I don’t even swat flies! I could never witness a dying animal because I care so much about animals. The people at Hillside sacrifice a lot of emotion to do the tremendous job they do! I adopted a little cat named Kayla 2 years ago, and she is the happiest little thing ever! She only drinks spring water, and gets fed a little too much! I’ve given her the best home that I can, and I never would have found her if it wasn’t for Hillside. I had her checked at the vet (as required) shortly after adoption, and she had no health issues. She is perfect!
I’ve noticed that animals are NEVER the problem, in my experience, it has always been the owner that neglects, or abuses an animal. If you seriously want a cat, go to Hillside, and adopt a cat that you would die for. Be prepared to feed it when it’s hungry, give it affection when needed, and take it to the vet when it’s sick. Do not abuse an animal when it does something you don’t agree with. Accept the fact that animals will be animals. They can’t understand English, and they will eat off your plate if you put it in front of them. They will scratch your couch if they do not have a scratching post. They will urinate on your floor if they don’t have a clean litterbox.
Hillside would not be overwhelmed with animals if the previous owners would’ve made the right decision in the first place. Spay or neuter your pet, and raise it right. Know what you are getting into before you adopt! Pets are not toys. They are living creatures JUST LIKE YOU, and they have feelings! My cat is so affectionate! I couldn’t imagine a day without her!
THANK YOU HILLSIDE!!!

Have you ever made a mistake? I made my mistake on April 9, 2013
Have you ever made a mistake? Well I admit it, I made a horrible mistake that ate me up inside to the point where my conscious was making me physically ill. I gave up a little dog to the Hillside SPCA after rescuing her a month before. I allowed my patience to become rundown & I simply gave up on her. I felt defeated.
Her name is Penny & she was rescued by me and my husband from a hoarder who kept her in a crate most of her young life. So after we thought we couldn’t take it anymore we made the hard decision to hand her over to see if they could find a better home with someone who had more patience than we did.
I went there, broken down & in tears, and handed her over to Barb along with a $ 100.00 donation. Barb promised me that they would find her a good home but she also knew I was very torn over giving Penny up so she gave me her word that if we changed our minds within a few days that we could come get Penny back and that they wouldn’t do anything for a few days to make sure we made the right decision on surrendering her. Well, after realizing what I did to this sweet little girl, I called less than 48 hours later to speak with Barb about coming back up there and taking Penny back & giving her the loving home that I had promised Penny I would do the day we met.
I spoke to a shelter worker who informed me that Barb was off until Saturday so I told her my tale and how I made the biggest mistake of my life and that I wanted to come back up there right away and bring Penny back to where she belongs. The worker told me she was already adopted but the tone in her voice told me otherwise. I knew Penny was still there but I didn’t know what to do about it. I figured I was stuck until Saturday when I could speak to Barb.
I called into the veterinary office that I have used for years & spoke to them about what I did & how I ended up losing Penny because she was already adopted out. I was told to stick by the phone and that they would call me right back. We quickly hung up & I sat here for a few minutes waiting to see what was happening. My phone rang & it was the vet office calling me back to tell me that they spoke to Barb & I could go up to get Penny. Why did the shelter worker tell me she was adopted already?. Didn’t they want this little doggie to actually have a home. I don’t know of any shelter that would think a life within shelter walls could be a better alternative than an actual home for a pet. From other horror stories I have heard & read about Hillside, I realized my experience with them was also going to be turning into one of these horror stories. At this point I wasn’t only angry, I was becoming terrified.
I left within 5 minutes of speaking to the vet to go retrieve Penny. I get there and I was treated lower than dirt. I felt as if I was on trial for being a child molester, all because I made an honest mistake while being totally mentally and physically rundown. They tried giving me a difficult time over getting Penny spayed while overlooking the fact that she needs a surgery for a medical problem. Both were already on the book to be done through my vet’s office. I was still forced to use their phone to make the appointment. I was told I was not allowed to call from my cell phone so I was led into a private office to be forced to use their phone. I called the vet’s office & I was asked if they were making me call from their facility. I answered «yes». I was then asked if they were in the room with me, again, I answered «yes». I was then told to hand the phone over to the worker which I did right away. The rest of the phone call between the worker & my vet’s office took about 30 seconds. After that it seemed to me like the stalling they were making me endure was coming to an abrupt end. It took about another 10 minutes or so until I was reluctantly handed back my Penny girl.
I had another $ 100.00 in my pocket that I was going to donate because of them helping me out the way they did but after being lied to and treated as if I was the lowest form of life imaginable, I kept the money & decided that I will no longer donate anymore bags of dog food or money to them ever again. I made a mistake in more ways then one but I learned something these past few days… the most important one being that the horror stories about their staff not being honest with people are true among other problems.
So, if you ever feel you have no choice but to surrender a pet for any reason, please, do yourself & your animal a favor and take it anywhere but there. They don’t care that people are human and can (& do) make mistakes every once in a while but they will be more then happy to treat you like dirt while looking down their noses at you.
The happy part of my tale is this: Penny saw Smokey (my 8 year old dog) and Smokey saw Penny & they were so very happy.