This place is the most amazing shelter I've ever dealt with. My family has adopted multiple animals here and in our time of need they were there for us. Suffice to say my family and I are forever grateful for WOASH for their care for not just the animals but the people and families in the community, too. read more

I want to start out by saying I don't aim to prevent animals from being adopted, as I think all of the animals here deserve to find loving homes. However, I recently adopted a cat from White Oak Animal Safe Haven, and if I knew then what I know now, I never would have adopted from here. We took our new cat to the vet after about a week of having her home, and she tested positive for Giardia and Coccidia, two types of parasites. If you don't know anything about this, a quick google search will show you what a process it is to get rid of these parasites in cats. It is really difficult to get rid of and has been an emotional roller coaster. We have spent hundreds of dollars in vet bills and cleaning supplies. We had to treat and quarantine our resident cat. We have a carpeted apartment which makes this so much harder to get rid of. We spent hundreds on carpet cleaning alone. It is also highly contagious, so it is very likely all of their cats and possibly dogs could have this as well. I find it very hard to believe the shelter had no idea their cats have this, and if they didn't, they are not properly vetting their animals (which is funny because they told us they denied someone's application because they said they wouldn't take their cat to the vet). Giardia and coccidia cause the cat to have really bad diarrhea and gas, so if they really did not know their cats were infected with the parasites, they were knowingly not seeking care for their animals. We noticed the smell on the drive home after picking her up, so there's no way they didn't know something was up. They never once mentioned to us that this is something they were dealing with, and they knew we had another cat at home. So they risked my current cats health as well. The adoption process is quite intense and very thorough, which I don't think is a bad thing necessarily; however, to have that type of adoption process and then give me a sick animal is crazy to me. After we got the results, I called the shelter to inform them in case there's some possible way they didn't know, and the woman I spoke to was kind of rude and very dismissive. No apology or anything. I will say, we had a good adoption otherwise. The cat coordinator was very kind when we went to meet the cats and when we picked up the cat we adopted. I just can't believe they gave us a sick cat and never felt the need to mention anything. All of this being said, be aware that if you have recently adopted a cat or plan to, there is almost a 100% chance they will also have Giardia and Coccidia because it sometimes takes multiple rounds of medication and cleaning to fully get rid of this. Our cat has been on one cycle of meds already, and there has yet to be improvement. I don't know how long this has been going on, but if you want to adopt from here, please do some research so you can get it right from the beginning and help the sick cats. It is treatable but it requires a lot of time, money, and consistency. read more

I don't know what magic formula this rescue is using but it's working. We adopted Rosa a few weeks ago and this pup is incredible. It is so clear that the time and effort put in came from the heart. This is no ordinary rescue. If you find yourself thinking of rescuing an animal, donating to a rescue or volunteering your time I can think of no better place. read more

White Oak Safe Haven has helped me immensely on my cat rescue journey. Mackenzie in particular is incredibly helpful, loving and kind, going above and beyond to save animals. I volunteer in TNR in order to control the pet population in my community and White Oak has gifted me a free neuter and helped me find homes for two friendly cats I trapped. I also foster a semi-feral cat for them and they're so amazing to foster for. I love this organization so much. read more

White Oak Animal Safe Haven - Animal Shelters Near Me - White Oak, Pennsylvania

See all

I'm so glad this no-kill animal shelter exists in our community. The staff volunteer their time to help animals in need. Volunteering at an animal rescue is both mentally and physically exhausting. They see so much sadness - homeless animals, abused animals, surrendered pets, overloaded cages, lack of funds. They see how evil humans can be towards animals. These innocent animals are under stress, they are confused, they have to adjust to shelter life. Please be kind to all animal rescuers, they are dealing with a lot. Please donate, either with your time/services or financially. Please adopt from animal rescues - with love and patience these animals can become the BEST pets! read more

Very caring and professional staff. We have gotten several kitties from them and complete vetting with all of their animals fixing and shots. We have just adopted two kitten sisters and they are a wonderful addition to our family read more

I got my baby there over 4 years ago. She has traveled all over the US and now lives in Seattle. She's the cutest girl and an emotional support dog. read more

White Oak Animal Safe Haven - Animal Shelters Near Me - White Oak, Pennsylvania

Stopped in to see a dog on a Saturday afternoon, and filled out an application. They checked references while we were standing and and the one worker even hinted that we would probably get approved for him. Didn't hear anything, called Thursday and was told our application wasn't there and to check back on Friday. Called the following day only to be told the dog was already adopted. While I know they aren't obligated to tell me we didn't get him, why waste my time by telling me to call back if he was already gone, seems like a cold thing to do. read more

I adopted a cat there recently, I was told she was 5 or 6 years old, on her application, it said 3, vet said between 8 and ten years old! Plus she has a nasty cold and gave it to my other cat, these vet bills add up. Their cat room is not clean at all. I will never adopt there again. read more

My fiancé and I are animal activists and donate time and money to local shelters. Once we heard of this small shelter we decides to buy bags of items shelters need. Once entering the building we were greeted rudely and told to place bags off the counter and on floor. No thank you or smiles at all either. When asked to see a dog we were given the run around and due to lazy staff not wanting to get off their cell phones to tend to the animals. Someone needs to explain to this shelter that non profits run off people like us and our donations. Will not be returning. read more

I have adopted 3 kitties from them and I can't be more pleased. I would definitely recommend this haven for adding family members. Thank you

I appreciate that this is a no-kill shelter and that it is volunteer-run. I also understand that there isn't a vet on site, and that the visiting vet is only there for a limited number of hours. I chose to have my dog neutered there because of the low cost. Well, you get what you pay for. They give a paper with post-surgery instructions but do not explain anything to you. I don't even know if my dog's stitches need to be removed or if they will dissolve (I didn't think to ask at the time.). He has been having some complications since the surgery, and I've spoken to the shelter a few times. The volunteers are rude, condescending, and uneducation. Do not bother asking them for help because they don't know. They will just talk down to you and tell you that you need to find a regular vet (I've had a regular vet for 17 years. Again, I only went to the shelter for the low cost). I feel for the animals who are stuck at the shelter, receiving terrible care. read more

I have donated a lot of money and supplies over the years to this shelter. A few weeks ago, my husband and I adopted a cat from here. We were looking for an older female cat to keep a younger female we had at home company. She had a cold, or as we were told was getting over a cold when we adopted her. We knew to keep an eye on her; both my husband and I have had cats our entire life. She appeared to be better in about 3 days. However she did not eat very much. We tried dry and moist food, as well as treats. We figured she was still adapting to her new home, as this is pretty common. Well 3 days ago she showed signs of her cold returning, but this time it was fierce, I called WOASH and spoke with the 'cat lady' she told me if I couldn't get in with my vet I could come in on Sunday. Knowing Sunday was too far away I made an appointment with my vet who was great about getting her in. It was her wellness visit turned disasterous. Our new little girl was in fact sick, VERY sick. She was in complete kidney failure. This is not something that happens in 3 weeks or less, this is something that happens in months. We had to have her put to sleep to save her from suffering. I called the shelter and spoke with 'cat lady' again, she was not pleasant, nor could I even say she was even the slightest bit sympathetic for our loss. I simply called to inform her. Not asking for a refund nor another cat in her place. She became very rude and hostile with me which resulted in me calling her out on how "I felt" she cared for her cats, or lack thereof. The cats are permitted to roam in a room that is about 10' x 8' lined with crates. They share food bowls and litter pans when they are out. It does not appear to be an organized play time. I feel it is important for the cats to get out and stretch and play however leave their food and litter in the crates. This will somewhat help cut down on the communicable illnesses. It is a known fact that shelters have a lot of problems with upper respiratory infections, an airborne passed illness from one feline to another. If one is suspected, it should immediately be put in their "isolation" room, this does not appear to be the case but in all fairness I will not say that for a fact. Fact is, I do not work there. I do NOT know what goes on when adoptees are not present so I can't speak to that fact. The FACT I can speak to is that we were lied to about our cats age, and documentation on paperwork, we were told she had her Feline Leukemia and HIV testing but when we dug through our records, we had no proof. We were told she was 5 years old, our vet confirmed her as older. Our paperwork recorded her as being at the shelter only 6 months yet the 'cat lady' just told me on the phone that she had been there since she was a kitten. The facts just don't line up. She was sick, their vet or someone in the shelter should have been able to see this if the cats were being monitored properly (in my opinion) and we were given incorrect information from which to make our decision to adopt her. Our little girl wasn't in our home long, but we fell in love with her the moment we held her and she loved to sleep on our pillows at night. Our hearts are as empty as our pillows. I will never donate another dime to this place NOR will I EVER encourage anyone to adopt and animal from or surrender and animal to there. There are many other shelters and there are many that are 'no-kill' if in fact WOASH truly is no-kill (see http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/white-oak-animal-shelter-under-investigation/nSg5j/) we will continue to adopt, we will just go elsewhere. read more

Went in to ask a question about feral cats. Not about bringing any cats in. Volunteers were exceptionally rude. I was told they were not accepting cats-- I did not want to bring in a cat-- JUST ASK A QUESTION!!!! Are they this nasty to the animals--I wonder. read more

I love the White Oak Animal Safe Haven!!! Ina and the staff are wonderful and truly CARE about the well-being of the dogs and cats at the White Oak Animal Safe Haven. read more