ACCT Philly, a nonprofit animal shelter and the only open intake and animal care and control provider in Philadelphia, is expanding its operations to enable more adoptions. Like many shelters throughout the country, ACCT Philly is seeing a large drop – almost 30 percent – of available foster homes, with hundreds of animals coming to the shelter each week. The result is a shelter that is very full.
After a cut to their city contract of nearly $900,000 (almost 20 percent) last year due to COVID shortfalls, the organization had to eliminate more than a dozen positions. It has since restructured to have more staff to help facilitate adoptions and fosters, with the hope that doing so will help more animals find homes.
“We have so many animals looking for homes right now,” said Aurora Velazquez, Executive Director. “We’re excited to implement changes that will help us accommodate more potential adopters and hopefully find more wonderful homes for our animals.”
- The shelter is open from 10am-6pm.
- Those interested in adopting can make an appointment in advance online, or if interested in coming by that day, see the walk-in wait times online during open hours and sign up accordingly.
- While waiting, the public can also now walk through the shelter to view the animals available, something not permitted since pre-pandemic.
- Masks will still be required indoors, but not outside.
The shelter has more than 200 cats and dogs available for adoption at its 111 W Hunting Park Ave location, in addition to many more in foster care. All available pets can be viewed on the organization’s website at acctphilly.org.
For those who cannot adopt, ACCT Philly is hoping many people will sign up to foster a pet, become a volunteer, or consider making a contribution.
