The Animal Rescue League of Berks County announced the acquisition of a new mobile adoption and clinic unit that will help the shelter to be more accessible to the community.
The vehicle, which has space to transport up to 18 pets, an exam table, and a refrigerator to store vaccines and other medications, was purchased in part thanks to a $75,000 lifesaving investment from Petco Love.
“ARL’s partnership with Petco Love continues to be lifechanging for our pet population and the community we serve,” said Ashley Mikulsky, ARL’s CEO. “While having a beautiful property is such an asset for our daily operations and general curb appeal, our location is a challenge for those residents in our county who lack access to transportation. What makes our shelter unique is also a barrier for residents who wish to access our basic veterinary services as well as meet pets for adoption. We plan to utilize the van to simultaneously bring our low-cost and subsidized veterinary care to underserved communities throughout the county and be present at community and ARL-organized events to facilitate adoptions of pets in the field.”
The ARL is present at more than 50 community events each year and for the first time, we will be able to bring up to 18 pets for adoption at a time while also remaining open for business at our Cumru Township facility.
“Our investment in the Animal Rescue League of Berks County is part of more than $15M in investments recently announced by Petco Love to power local organizations across the country as part of our commitment to create a future in which no pet is unnecessarily euthanized,” said Susanne Kogut, president of Petco Love.
“Our local investments are only part of our strategy to empower animal lovers to drive lifesaving change right alongside us. We launched Petco Love Lost, a national lost and found database that uses patented image-recognition technology to simplify the search for lost pets.”
Petco Love is a national nonprofit leading change for pets by harnessing the power of love to make communities and pet families closer, stronger, and healthier. Since its founding in 1999, Petco Love has invested $375 million in adoption and other lifesaving efforts. And Petco Love helps find loving homes for pets in partnership with Petco and more than 4,000 organizations — like ours — across North America, with 6.75 million pets adopted and counting.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new unit was held on Saturday, March 23, 2024 at 12 PM in front the Reading Exeter Petco in Exeter Commons.
After the ceremony, the ARL hosted a Sponsored Cat Adoption event thanks to the support of Hubric Resources. During the event, eight cats found a loving family. A schedule of future mobile adoptions and clinic events will soon be posted at berksarl.org.
