Lost or Found a Pet in Berks County: Who to Call First

If your pet is lost in Berks County, call the Animal Rescue League of Berks County at 610-373-8830, ext. 205, file a lost report, and check the shelter your municipality uses the same day, because a stray dog with no license or microchip can be put up for adoption after 48 hours. If you found a pet, call your municipal office or your local police non-emergency line before you drive to a shelter: each township, borough and the city picks its own animal control provider, or none, and that choice decides where a stray goes and whether you pay to drop it off.

Animal control here is a municipal job, not a county one. The Animal Rescue League, known as ARL, says on its service page that in Pennsylvania the responsibility rests with each municipality and that no state or county rule requires a town to offer it. The state's part is the Dog Law, the statute on licensing and stray dogs, which dog wardens from the Department of Agriculture enforce.

Who takes strays from your town

ARL, at 58 Kennel Road in Cumru Township, lists 13 municipalities for 2026 under two kinds of agreement:

• Full service: City of Reading, Upper Bern Township and Wyomissing Borough. ARL takes stray cats, dogs, small animals and farm animals that fit its intake criteria from residents, police and municipal staff, with no cap, and picks up confined strays in the field.
• Fee-for-service: Amity, Bern, Caernarvon, Colebrookdale and Union townships and Bechtelsville, Boyertown, Kenhorst, Topton and West Reading boroughs. This agreement covers dogs only, among strays that fit ARL's intake criteria, is limited to 15 dogs, and lets only one approved municipal contact authorize an intake. Field pickup carries additional fees priced by zone, and ARL's table marks enforcement of local ordinances and the state dog law, and rabies case management, as not included.

West Reading's borough page shows how one such agreement works. Under the borough's memorandum of understanding, ARL accepts only stray dogs from inside the borough that show signs of ownership, such as a collar, tag or microchip, and the public may not bring a dog in without approval from ARL and the borough. Residents report a stray dog to the police non-emergency line, 610-373-0111.

Safety Net Sanctuary, at 187 Houck Road, Fleetwood, lists 20 municipalities: Alsace, Cumru, Douglass, Earl, Exeter, Lower Alsace, Lower Heidelberg, Muhlenberg, Oley, Perry, Ruscombmanor, Spring and Tilden townships and Bally, Birdsboro, Fleetwood, Mount Penn, Shillington, Sinking Spring and St. Lawrence boroughs. Its stray-intake page speaks of stray dogs brought to the sanctuary from those communities; it does not say what happens with a found cat. Spring Township police say they keep a kennel and a microchip reader and try to return a found animal before taking it to the sanctuary.

Together the two lists name 33 of the 72 municipalities in the county. ARL's list is for 2026 and Safety Net's carries no date, and councils are voting on next year's agreements now, so either can be out of date or incomplete. Laureldale's council voted Oct. 12 to sign a 2027 contract with Safety Net Sanctuary for $2,000. Womelsdorf's council voted Oct. 20 "to use the Berks ARL stray dog service, for a one-year agreement." Maxatawny Township's Oct. 12 agenda listed a discussion of agreements with the Animal Rescue League and The Sanctuary at Haafsville. None of the three is on either list. Confirm with your municipal office or police which kennel your town uses.

A stray dog picked up by police or a dog warden must go to a kennel the state has approved for that purpose, and the Department of Agriculture's 2026 list names five in Berks County:

Kennel	Address	Phone
Animal Rescue League of Berks County	58 Kennel Road, Birdsboro, PA 19508	610-373-8830
Humane Society of Berks County	1801 N. 11th St., Reading, PA 19604	610-921-2348
Safety Net Sanctuary	187 Houck Road, Fleetwood, PA 19522	610-944-8099
Township of Spring	2800 Shillington Road, Reading, PA 19608	610-678-3431
Zoe's House Inc.	804 Blue Gate Lane, Sinking Spring, PA 19608	610-858-7113

The department tells owners of lost dogs to check that list, which covers the whole state. Owners near the county line should call across it too. The list includes The Sanctuary at Haafsville, 901 Nestle Way, Breinigsville, in Lehigh County, 484-788-8062, and ARL's lost-pet page links the Lebanon, Lehigh and Lancaster county humane organizations, the Montgomery County SPCA, Hillside SPCA and Brandywine Valley SPCA.

If you lost a pet

1. Search the block first. ARL's lost-pet page says lost pets are often a few blocks from home. Check under shrubs and in garages, and knock on doors.
2. Call your local police non-emergency line and your municipal office. Ask whether an officer picked up the animal and which kennel the municipality uses.
3. File a lost report with ARL through its Petco Love Lost form, linked from the lost-pet page, or by phone at 610-373-8830, ext. 205. ARL says its staff can see the report if your pet arrives.
4. File a second report with Humane Pennsylvania, whose Reading shelter the state lists as the Humane Society of Berks County. Its lost and found page has the form, and staff will help by phone at 610-921-2348.
5. Look at the strays in person or online every day. ARL's lost and found page shows animals recently brought in. Check its adoption page too, since a pet past its hold moves there.
6. Call the other kennels on the state list above, nearby veterinarians and animal hospitals.
7. If your dog is licensed or microchipped, confirm that the address and phone number on file are current. The notice the law requires goes to the address in the license record.
8. Post flyers and use the sites ARL names: Petco Love Lost, the Berks Dog Search and Berks County Cat Search groups on Facebook, and Nextdoor.

How long a shelter holds a stray

The Dog Law sets two hold periods for dogs, in section 302.

An unlicensed dog must be kept for 48 hours at an approved kennel. The law excepts a dog that is seriously ill or injured, or one forfeited with the owner's permission. Days the kennel is closed to the public do not count toward the 48 hours, and anyone may view the detained dogs during business hours. After that the law allows the dog to be given to a humane society or humanely killed.

A dog wearing a license tag or carrying permanent identification, such as a microchip or tattoo, gets more protection. The officer who seized the dog must have the owner notified, in person or by registered or certified mail to the last address in the license record, and the owner has five days after receiving the notice to claim the dog.

Shelters state their own minimums. ARL says "all pets are held for a minimum of 48 hours before they are released to the shelter for adoption." Safety Net Sanctuary also gives each animal a 48-hour hold.

Section 302 covers dogs only; the Dog Law defines a dog as the species Canis familiaris. For a cat, the hold to count on is the shelter's own.

Getting your pet back

At ARL, call 610-373-8830 or go to the shelter to identify the animal. ARL says to bring proof of ownership, such as photos or veterinary records, and to use its check-in page on arrival and choose the lost-pet pickup service.

ARL's lost and found page says "reclaiming fees may apply" and gives no amount, so ask the cost when you call. Section 302(b) of the Dog Law sets the charge for reclaiming a licensed dog that police seized running at large: a $50 penalty to the municipality whose officers made the seizure, plus the reasonable expenses of keeping the dog, paid before the dog is returned.

Fines are separate from reclaim charges. Section 201 allows a fine of $100 to $500 for each unlicensed dog. Section 903(b) makes a first violation of Articles II through VII of the law, which include the section 305 duty to keep a dog confined or under control, a summary offense for which the law allows, on conviction, a fine of "not less than $500 nor more than $1,000," up to 90 days in jail, or both.

ARL offers a microchip for $25 by appointment and takes 30% off for a pet being reclaimed.

If you found a pet

1. Check for a tag or other identification, as ARL's found-pet page advises.
2. Keep the animal confined if you can do so safely. ARL says it does not catch loose animals; an animal must be securely confined before an officer can be sent for it. In its contracted municipalities ARL says it will help police capture an animal that is injured or threatening a person or property, and it rents traps to residents of any municipality.
3. Call the municipal office or police non-emergency line for the place where you found the animal. Ask who the animal control provider is and whether you may bring the animal in yourself.
4. Call the provider before you go. ARL takes strays by appointment only, at 610-373-8830, ext. 205. Humane Pennsylvania's surrender page says not to bring a pet to any shelter without speaking to a representative first.
5. Have the animal scanned for a microchip. ARL says a shelter, a police department or a veterinary clinic can do it.
6. File a found report with ARL and with Humane Pennsylvania, then post in the online groups an owner would search.
7. Keep the animal at home while you look for the owner, if you can. ARL cites ASPCA figures that more than half of owners found lost pets in their own neighborhoods; 6% of dog owners and 2% of cat owners found them at a shelter.

For a loose dog you cannot hold, call local police. The Dog Law makes it the duty of police officers, state dog wardens and animal control officers to seize a dog found running at large. The Department of Agriculture's warden map lists Troy Lipp as the Berks County dog warden, at 717-360-7853, and supervisor Megan Horst at 717-418-0284. The Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement's main number is 717-787-3062.

What it costs to turn in a stray

In a full-service ARL municipality, residents can bring in a stray that fits ARL's intake criteria, by appointment, and ARL says the municipality's contract helps pay for its care.

If the animal came from a municipality with no ARL contract, or one with a different provider, ARL says it accepts strays "as capacity allows" for a fee: $200 for a dog, $100 for a cat and $50 for a small animal. A sick or injured animal is admitted without a required fee wherever it came from.

Humane Pennsylvania's Reading shelter is the Freedom Center for Animal Life-Saving, 1801 N. 11th St., open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. Its strays page says, in capital letters, that Humane Pennsylvania provides no animal control services, and it sends finders to their municipality. Its surrender page says it cannot accept every animal, requires a phone appointment in most cases and a photo ID, and asks a minimum $25 donation "whether stray or surrender." The state's 2026 list names the shelter as approved to accept dogs running at large. Call 610-921-2348 to ask about a specific animal.

Cats

ARL's found-pet page says a cat with a tipped ear should go back where you found it. The tip, which ARL's community cats FAQ says is made on the left ear, marks an outdoor cat that has been spayed or neutered and usually has a caretaker.

A healthy stray cat with no microchip or tag may be returned outdoors by the shelter too. Under the program ARL calls SNVR, for shelter-neuter-vaccinate-return, such a cat with a known found location is spayed or neutered, vaccinated, ear-tipped and put back where it was found. Kittens under three months are excluded for now, and cats that look injured, ill or underfed are not returned. ARL does not pick up outdoor cats.

For owners, a microchip or a collar tag is the difference between a call from the shelter and a cat returned to the spot where a stranger found it. ARL says shelters and veterinary hospitals scan every cat brought in. Its advice for a lost cat is to search close to home, quietly; it puts the average time a cat is missing at 10 days to two weeks.

Nights, Tuesdays and holidays

ARL ended overnight on-call service on Jan. 1, 2024, and its service page lists seven holidays when it provides no service. Its pages disagree on hours. The contact page lists Monday and Wednesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and weekends 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Tuesday. The check-in page lists Monday and Wednesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Tuesday closed, with the same weekend hours. The overnight page says Monday through Friday with no Tuesday closing. Call before driving out.

When ARL is closed, its service page says that in the places it serves a healthy stray can stay with the finder until the shelter reopens, an injured one can go to an emergency animal hospital at the finder's expense, and enforcement falls to the municipality's police. Its emergency list starts with BluePearl Pet Hospital, 400 W. Lancaster Ave., Shillington, 610-775-7535.

The overnight page gives after-hours numbers for six municipalities it describes as having ARL contracts: Bern Township, 610-926-2535; City of Reading, 610-655-6116; Jefferson Township and New Morgan Borough, 610-378-4011; Upper Bern Township, 610-488-1191; and Wyomissing Borough, 610-375-6102. Jefferson and New Morgan are not on ARL's 2026 service list; residents there should confirm with the municipality.

Keeping a pet you found: what the law says

The Dog Law declares every dog personal property. It counts as an "owner" anyone who keeps or harbors a dog, and it puts licensing and confinement duties on the owner or keeper.

A separate state law, 18 Pa.C.S. section 3924, makes it theft to keep lost property you know is lost if you intend to deprive the owner and fail "to take reasonable measures to restore the property." Calling police, filing found reports and having the animal scanned are the steps the shelters ask finders to take. This is a summary of the statutes, not legal advice.

A license and a microchip before it happens

A license tag or permanent identification is what moves a stray dog from the 48-hour hold to the five-day notice. The Berks County Treasurer sells 2026 annual licenses for $10.80, or $8.80 for owners 65 and older or with a disability; our dog license guide covers the steps. Licenses for the coming year go on sale beginning Dec. 1, the Department of Agriculture's license page says. ARL sells annual licenses too; its license page lists $9.20, while the Treasurer and the state list $10.80.

If you moved, file the Address Change Affidavit on the Treasurer's dog license page. A lost tag costs $1.80 to replace, by check or money order with the Duplicate Request Form. Update the microchip company's records too. Humane Pennsylvania says microchipping is free at its veterinary hospitals and clinics.

Your township supervisors or borough council decide whether to hire a provider; our guide to township and borough meeting schedules shows how to find the next meeting. Reading residents can find other city numbers in our guide to reporting a problem to the city.

FAQ

Does Berks County have an animal control office?

No. ARL's service page says animal control in Pennsylvania is a municipal responsibility. ARL lists 13 municipalities under 2026 agreements and Safety Net Sanctuary lists 20; elsewhere, start with the municipal office or local police.

How long does a shelter hold a stray dog in Pennsylvania?

The Dog Law requires 48 hours for an unlicensed dog, not counting days the kennel is closed to the public. A dog with a license tag or permanent identification must be held until five days after the owner receives notice.

Does the Humane Society of Berks County take stray animals?

Humane Pennsylvania, whose shelter at 1801 N. 11th St. in Reading is on the state's list under that name, says it provides no animal control services and directs finders to their municipality. Its surrender page describes intake by appointment with a $25 minimum donation, stray or surrender. Call 610-921-2348 first.

Who do I call about a stray dog at night in Berks County?

Call your local police non-emergency line. ARL has had no overnight service since Jan. 1, 2024, and says a healthy animal can stay with the finder until it reopens. An injured animal can go to an emergency animal hospital, at the finder's expense.

Sources

• Animal Rescue League of Berks County: Animal Control and Service Areas, Lost and Found, I Lost a Pet, I Found a Pet, Contact Us, the check-in page, Overnight Resources, community cats FAQ and Dog Licenses.
• Safety Net Sanctuary: Stray Intake.
• Municipal pages: Borough of West Reading, Animal Control Services; Spring Township Police Department, What to Do When You Find a Stray Animal; County of Berks, Municipalities. Our recaps of Laureldale's Oct. 12 meeting and Womelsdorf's October meetings and our Maxatawny Oct. 12 preview.
• Humane Pennsylvania: Animal Control/Strays, Pet Lost and Found, Pet Surrender and Locations and Contact.
• State law: the Dog Law (Act 225 of 1982), sections 102, 201, 302, 305, 601 and 903(b); 18 Pa.C.S. section 3924.
• Pa. Department of Agriculture: Dog Owners, the 2026 list of kennels approved to accept dogs running at large, Pennsylvania Dog Wardens and the warden map, the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement and Dog Licenses.
• Berks County Treasurer: Dog License, the dog license FAQ and the Treasurer's page.

Animal Rescue League of Berks County: 58 Kennel Road, Birdsboro, PA 19508; 610-373-8830, ext. 205 for lost, found and stray animals; Monday and Wednesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Tuesday per its contact page; stray intake by appointment. Humane Pennsylvania, Freedom Center for Animal Life-Saving: 1801 N. 11th St., Reading, PA 19604; 610-921-2348; 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. Safety Net Sanctuary: 187 Houck Road, Fleetwood, PA 19522; 610-944-8099. Berks County dog warden, Pa. Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement: 717-360-7853; bureau office 717-787-3062, ra-agdoglaw@pa.gov. Berks County Treasurer: 633 Court St., Reading, PA 19601; 610-478-6640; Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.