Feel free to contact us info@whiteoakanimalsafehaven.com or 412-672-8901 if you cannot find an answer to your question after navigating all resources available. If you do contact us, we appreciate your patience and understanding as it may take us a while to respond while we care for our animals.
No-kill shelters do not euthanize pets once they run out of space. No-kill shelters have limits on the number of pets they can intake. They also are able to be more selective in the pets that are accepted into the shelter. No-kill shelters only will resort to euthanasia if it is deemed medically or behaviorally necessary after trying other options. This is different than an open-door shelter, where they typically accept any pet that enters their facility. Open-door shelter must euthanize pets to create space for more pets. Both types of shelters always need adoptions and support!
White Oak Animal Safe Haven is a no-kill shelter. This means that we are not able to take stray or owned pet surrenders as walk-ins. Why? The short answer is that we are a small facility with limited resources and space. As a no-kill shelter, we rely on adoptions to create more openings for pets. If the current pets are not getting adopted, then cages/kennels are not opening up. Whether the pet you are looking to surrender is your pet or a stray, there is always a wait-list system.
You have some options! First, check for a collar or tags. If you found a stray dog, you can contact your local police to dispatch your local animal control officer. Most animal control facilities in this area do not pick up stray cats, but you can call for your local area to be certain.
You can take the pet you found to any vet, shelter, or some police stations to have them scanned for a microchip.
If you are willing and able to hang on to the pet at your home, post the pet you found online and on social media. Some successful websites are Pawboost, Lost My Doggie, Lost My Kitty, and more. Also search social media, like Facebook, for community pages. There are many lost and found pet pages and general community pages. Post a clear photo of the best with a description and the area found. Do NOT give the pet away to anyone, especially for free. Make sure to ask for proof of ownership.
Call around to local rescues and shelters to surrender the stray pet. Be respectful if the rescue facility you call is unable to immediately accept the pet. People are trying to surrender pets every single day, so we may not have room for the stray you found.
No. We do not pick up pets. You must have an appointment to surrender and reliable transportation to our facility. If you cancel or no show for your appointment to surrender a pet, you will be removed from our wait list.
We do not pick up wildlife of any kind.
We do not pick up deceased animals, whether they are pets or wildlife.
We care for and adopt out cats and dogs.
We do not accept small mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, or wildlife.
We are not an animal control or wildlife entity.
Our adoption fees vary depending on age and species of the pet, and include the following basic veterinary care for each pet;
Typically;
*This can vary based on level of veterinary care needed, any potential donations towards the specific pet's adoption fee, breed, age, and pet requirements.
To report any sort of neglect, abandonment, abuse, or cruelty, please contact your local police.
Humane officers depend on your area. Please ask your local police for a recommendation on the human officer for your area.
Allegheny County: You can contact humane officers at Humane Animal Rescue or Animal Friends.
We offer low-cost spay and neuter services for cats typically once per month. Spaces are limited and this fills up fast. Please call to check availability. We do not offer spay and neuter services for dogs. *As of January 2024, we do not have the ability to host spay/neuter clinics due to low staffing. Please try elsewhere.
We host monthly wellness clinics, in which your pet can be seen by a licensed vet for basic care. We cannot perform diagnostics or surgeries.
We host weekly vet tech appointments for tech care, such as nail trims and microchips.
All shelter pets are adopted with basic veterinary care already completed. These services are for pets and their owners. *As of January 2024, we do not have the ability to host vet tech appointments due to low staffing. Please try elsewhere.
Appointments started during COVID and it's helped us to remain organized and less crowded in the building. Our staff prefer appointments so they can better plan their day to provide the best possible care for our pets. It has also helped us to improve safety by making sure we have properly trained individuals to handle our dogs. Appointments also decrease stress on our animals by limiting the number of people in the building at one time. Please be courteous and respectful of our policies.
We do not provide temporary foster care for families experiencing a situation in which they would need their pet to be temporarily placed. This can include eviction, hospitalization, etc.
If you are facing these issues and hope for your pet to come home to you once your situation has cleared up, you will need to contact other organizations or a boarding facility. As a shelter, we cannot board pets nor hold pets for a family to eventually return for them. All pets need to be surrendered to WOASH and they will be placed for adoption when deemed medically and behaviorally appropriate.
No, we do not allow trial periods for a new pet. As a shelter facility, once an animal is adopted, we immediately fill the space with another animal in need. We also believe that a trial period for a short time will not allow enough time for a pet to adjust to their new home and family. If a pet is truly not working with their new family after time and patience of at least a month, we will accept our WOASH adopted pets back into our facility once a space is opened.
This is very dependent on the situation. We cannot have volunteers under 16 or 18 (cat and dog dependent) working with our animals. In the past, we have had some high school aged groups volunteer with manual tasks like painting, gardening, etc.
For visiting scout troops, we are a very small facility that cannot hold large amounts of people. We also do not have child-friendly or educational programs in place. We recommend scout troops of younger aged children looking to earn a badge by performing services seek this at a larger municipal shelter that hosts these programs. For older scouts looking to perform a service project, please contact us to discuss details.
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