Founded in 1874, the Morris Animal Refuge is a pioneer in Animal Welfare. The Philadelphia-based life saving organization is committed to adoption, education, and high-quality care with the goal of finding positive and humane outcomes for animals in need.
Morris Animal Refuge provides care for a wide range of animals, from those ready for placement in a new home to those exhibiting behavioral or medical issues that aren’t able to immediately be placed. We are dedicated to helping find a positive and humane outcome for every animal that comes to us in need, reducing unnecessary euthanasia, and ensuring that every animal that enters our care is given a chance at a loving home. Our hard work has paid off - and today we are happy to report that we have a 96% Save Rate!
Managed Admission
Morris Animal Refuge is committed to taking in any animal in need that we can humanely care for. As a managed admission shelter we do surrenders by appointment only to allow us to better manage the flow of animals to avoid unnecessary euthanasia and to plan the necessary time needed with each owner to get the most information we can about the animal. We will also work with the owner to help them find alternatives to surrender - for example – giving them information on low-cost food resources, low-cost medical care, alternative pet-friendly housing, etc. For more information about surrendering an animal to Morris or for intake diversion resources please visit https://www.morrisanimalrefuge.org/surrender.
Life Saving Organization
As a life-saving organization, Morris Animal Refuge is committed to the mission of finding forever homes for all adoptable animals. Morris Animal Refuge seeks to expand the definition of what animals are considered to be "adoptable" and to support other shelters and rescue organizations by transferring in animals. Throughout the history of animal sheltering, only young, perfectly healthy animals with no recognized behavioral issues were considered suitable for adoption. We’ve turned to an adoption counseling method, which focuses on finding the best fit between adopter and animal, and we've begun to build resources for medical care and behavioral rehabilitation through our Life Saver Fund. Through these changes, we’ve found more homes for animals with chronic medical conditions or behavioral issues that require consistent training. As the Refuge has been able to adopt out more animals efficiently, we've had the ability to begin transferring in medical and behavioral cases from local and out-of-state rescue partners. We seek to support the larger mission of animal welfare, not only throughout our city and state but throughout the country.