Animal Control & Service Areas
Effective on January 1st, 2024, the Animal Rescue League won’t be providing overnight on-call services. More information about resources visit berksarl.org/overnight.
As the county’s largest and busiest shelter with a dedicated animal control team, the ARL is one of the only shelters in Berks County uniquely positioned to handle the management of stray domesticated animals found within contracted municipalities, as well as enforce dog law (except the dangerous dog article which is now reserved to the local police or Dog Warden) and handle animal emergencies, including hoarding cases or natural disasters affecting domesticated animals. We’re pleased to offer each municipality in Berks County the opportunity to contract with us on a yearly basis to offer animal control services to its residents.
As part of the contract, the ARL can help residents and police in the following ways:
- Animal-holding for stray pets*: Residents may bring stray domestic animals regardless of behavior or medical condition. Residents will not be charged a fee regardless of the care the animal requires. Transportation services may be available on limited or emergency only circumstances for aggressive or severely injured domestic stray animals. The ARL reserves the right to pause intake of non-emergent cases from the public as space allows.
- Direct access: Residents may call the ARL during business hours for humane law, animal control, and non-cruelty concerns. The ARL unburdens local police departments, and municipal township answering services from these calls and offers residents access to a representative during business hours, 7 days a week. When the call volume is high, please be sure to leave a message. For off business hours assistance visit our resources page here.
- Dog Law: Enforce Dog Law with Pennsylvania State Certified Humane Law Officers, including dogs at large, dog bites, dog licenses, and cat/dog vaccinations.
- Public safety: Support State’s Health Department with investigation/confirmation of dog/cat bites/scratches; and implementation, compliance, and completion of home/shelter quarantines.
- Owner surrenders: Priority access to owners who wish to surrender their pets ($50-$200 fee -depending on species- charged directly to the owner) as space allows.
- Animal Control dispatch and police assistance: Pickup of rabid, seriously injured, diseased, or dangerous domestic animals. Testing of rabid domestic animals. Removal and transport of animals following evictions or involved in accidents.
*Residents dropping off stray animals at the ARL should first call our Pet Help Center at 610-373-8830 ext. 205 and will be required to provide the exact address where the animal was found. We ask that the public be honest at the time of providing an address since providing an inaccurate address can do more harm than good to the animal. Also, that will ensure participating municipalities are billed accurately. Thank you!
**TNR is not included in ARL’s animal control contracts. For information on this service, please visit https://berksarl.org/community-cats-program/
2025 Contracted Municipalities
For 2025, the following municipalities have signed Animal Control Service agreements with the ARL:
- Bern Township
- City of Reading
- Jefferson Township
- New Morgan Borough
- Upper Bern Township
- Wyomissing Borough
2025 Fee-For-Service Agreements
For 2025, the following municipalities have signed Animal Control Fee-For-Service agreements with the ARL:
- Union Township
- Bechtelsville Borough
- Colebrookedale Township
- Boyertown Borough
- Topton Borough
These agreements are not a full-service animal control contract. Only a limited amount of dogs will be accepted through authorized municipal personnel. For information, please contact your municipality.
Frequently Asked Questions About Animal Control
What exactly is animal control?
ARL’s comprehensive version of animal control includes coverage to residents and animals in contracted municipalities. It includes animal holding services (and sometimes transport) for all stray domestic cats and dogs, regardless of their behavior or medical condition. Our humane officers enforce dog law, including dog bites, licenses, and vaccinations. We support the state and county health department with investigation and confirmation of dog or cat bites or scratches and implement home or shelter quarantines if needed. We handle hoarding cases (which are almost always a biohazard site requiring specialized PPE and equipment) and work to humanely trap, remove, assess, treat, shelter, and adopt animals from these homes. We pick up rabid, seriously injured, or dangerous animals. And, most importantly, we handle all strays in the municipality, allowing residents to drop them off at no charge, where we’ll treat and care for them as we look for their owner or look to find them a new home.
But don′t my tax dollars support your organization?
Our budget is funded almost entirely through private donations and fees for our services. We don’t receive federal, state or county tax dollars. We receive a very small percentage of our funds (about 7%) from individual Berks County municipalities who choose to contract with us. Our contracts average $2.25 per person, per year for comprehensive animal control services.
What do I do if my municipality didn′t contract with you?
When you call us, we’d be happy to guide you to the animal control provider that your municipality chose and your municipal tax dollars support. If that agency is unable to help you, or if your municipality chose not to contract with an animal control provider, please call us back so we can assist you further.
Why do you ask for a donation to bring in a stray animal if I don′t live in an area with an animal control contract?
When your municipality signs a contract with us, your tax dollars are helping to subsidize part of the care that animals from your township or borough receive at the ARL.
If you live in a municipality that does not have an animal control contract (or has another provider), we charge a fee to help subsidize the animal’s care while at the ARL. The fees are:
- Cats: $100
- Dogs: $200
- Small Animals: $50
Do you catch loose animals?
Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to catch personal pets or stray pets or retrieve them from trees or from under sheds, etc. In our contracted municipalities, if an animal is injured or threatening a person or property, we will assist your police department with the capture of these animals at large. For all municipalities, regardless of contract, we offer trap rentals as well as a variety of tips to help you. Please call to discuss your situation and concerns with one of our staff members to see how we might be able to assist you.
Do you provide animal cruelty and humane investigation to animals in non-contracted municipalities?
Yes! We provide animal cruelty and humane investigation throughout Berks County regardless of contract status. While we always encourage you to contact us with any concerns you have about the treatment of animals, our animal control or humane police officers cannot remove animals from people’s homes without legal justification to do so. Our jurisdiction is in Berks County; for concerns with animals in other counties or states, please contact either the police or the humane police organization that covers the area where that animal lives.
Do you pick up deceased animals?
Unfortunately, we are unable to pick up deceased animals or dispose of them; however, we are willing to scan them for a microchip or provide cremation services to you (please see fees on this page). If you suspect the animal died as a result of cruelty or neglect, please contact us so our humane police officers can open an investigation.
No matter where you live in Berks County…
…If you are concerned about a stray animal, a lost pet, or the mistreatment of animals, we encourage you to call us at 610-373-8830 ext. 205 to discuss your options. Thank you!