Animal Friends thanks Sharpsburg residents with low-cost pet adoption

Sharpsburg residents can make a low-cost pet adoption this weekend, thanks to the borough’s designation through Animal Friends as a Compassionate Community.

The group along Camp Horne Road in Ohio Township will host a dog, cat and rabbit adoption event for Sharpsburg residents only on July 27.

The event is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

There is a suggested donation of $25.

Animal Friends earlier this year named Sharpsburg its first certified Compassionate Community for the borough’s efforts in addressing the feral cat population.

The honor came during the Feb. 28 council meeting.

Mayor Matt Rudzki said he spearheaded programs to address feral cats nearly 10 years ago and collaborated with Animal Friends to humanely address the influx of cats through stricter ordinances and programming that has included trap-neuter-return initiatives.

Last year, the borough offered programs geared at pet wellness through Animal Friends and Paws Across Pittsburgh.

The groups joined efforts to bring a Mobile Resource Center to the borough to do low-cost spays/neuters.

They also administered vaccines and flea and ear mite treatments on residents’ cats.

Founded in 1943, Animal Friends operates a 75-acre campus on Camp Horne Road and provides about 15,000 spay/neuter surgeries each year.

They also have an animal food bank.

The borough’s certification as a Compassionate Community benefits residents with access to mobile clinics, discounts on spay/neuter services and participation in a partnership between Animal Friends’ Chow Wagon and a neighborhood food pantry.

For more on pet adoption procedures, visit thinkingoutsidethecage.org/meet-animals/adopt/