Frequently Asked Questions

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Each dog that SHPR rescues undergoes veterinary and behavioral evaluations. As a dedicated no-kill rescue, SHPR funds all veterinary (vetting) care for every dog we accept. Some dogs come to us in very poor health; some are even near death. In those cases, SHPR funds life-saving emergency vetting care throughout the entirety of the dog or puppy’s recovery. Each dog accepted into our rescue receives all necessary age-appropriate vaccinations, deworming, and routine vetting care as well as condition-specific medications. Dams (mother dogs) and puppies must also receive critical vetting care at different intervals, such as on-going vetting throughout the pregnancy as well as the spay/neuter of puppies. Also, before any dog or puppy can be approved for adoption, they are micro-chipped. Our behavior and training specialist works with dogs to ensure that they are ready for their furever home with their furever family! 

Many dogs who come to SHPR are not listed on the website for a variety of reasons. Some dogs or puppies are adopted by someone who has been on one of our waiting lists or by someone who meets the dog or puppy before we have the chance to post them. We contact clients on SHPR’s waiting lists first before we announce dogs or puppies for adoption. To get on a waiting list, pleaes fill out an adoption application. You can email dogs@southhillspetrescue.org for an application to be sent to you. Please state on the adoption application the breed, size, and/or a general idea of a type of dog you are looking for. Our staff will contact you when a dog fitting your request becomes available. There are always more dogs at the facility than are posted online. So, the best way to find your new best friend is to visit SHPR during our operating hours or to make an appointment.  

Absolutely! SHPR is open to the public on Friday & Saturday 12- 5 p.m., Sunday & Monday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. SHPR is also open by appointment only Tuesday—Thursday. To schedule an appointment, please email our kennel staff at dogs@southhillspetrescue.org We also hold regular adoption events throughout the year so keep checking our events page! 

Our address is: 15 Old 88, South Park, PA 15129 and is accessed from Library Rd/State Rte. 88 (near Trax Farms). SHPR does not receive physical mail at our kennel facility, so please send any physical mail to:  PO Box 224, Monaca, PA 15061. 

You can stop in at SHPR during open operating hours (Friday & Saturday 12-5 p.m., Sunday & Monday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., and by appointment Tuesday-Thursday). You can also email dogs@southhillspetrescue.org for an application to be emailed to you. PLEASE NOTE: SHPR must have a signed hard copy of the adoption application and, therefore, cannot accept emailed copies of the application.  

Since SHPR is a dedicated no-kill rescue, any dog that is accepted into our facility will remain with us until they can be adopted out. Though we may have some longtime residents, the goal is always to find a good home for each of our rescued dogs. Any dog that is not adopted out, will remain with the SHPR family for the remainder of its life and enjoy love, comfort, safety, security, and necessary medical care for as long as they're with us. SHPR saves all breeds with all needs and once a dog enters our family, SHPR will always be there for them!

SHPR generally does not cat test until someone with cats has met a dog and is interested in adopting. We cat test our dogs on resident cats, but it’s stressful for our resident cats to have to meet over 700 dogs a year! Only a small portion of SHPR dogs are adopted by someone who has cats. However, if we do know that they are not good with cats, we will include this in the dog’s adoption information. 

SHPR requires a meet and greet for all of our dogs because even the most dog-friendly dog may meet a dog that they do not like. Again, if we know that they are not dog friendly, we will include this in the dog’s adoption information.  

SHPR recommends our dogs for homes with children over the age of 10, but ultimately, it’s the parents decision. When dogs are not recommended for homes with children, we will state this clearly in the adoption information for the dog 

To find out if SHPR has room to accept your dog, please email our kennel staff at dogs@southhillspetrescue.org to see if there is space. If it’s been more than 48 hours and you haven’t received a reply, the kennels are full and cannot help at the time. 

We have very limited full-time staff. Often, we are in the kennels working with our canine residents or helping others who have come to visit. We also receive hundreds of email questions and requests as well. Our email is monitored and checked regularly, so please contact SHPR at dogs@southhillspetrescue.org for the quickest response. 

SHPR always welcomes new volunteers to our family! We have a variety of volunteer opportunities from walking and playing with our dogs, to helping with donation drives, adoption days, groundskeeping, and special events. Becoming a volunteer is easy! Just email dogs@southhillspetrescue.org to help out as a dogwalker or groundskeeping, and to help with our special events, please contact our event coordinator at mdickson@southhillspetrescue.org, and a volunteer application will be sent to you. You can drop off your completed form at the Rescue or the first time you volunteer.  PLEASE NOTE: All volunteers must have a signed hard copy of their volunteer applications on file at our kennel facility and SHPR cannot accept emailed forms.