Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh (HARP): Other Animals Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh admitted 216 small exotic, barnyard, or “other” animals besides cats and dogs into our shelter care throughout 2025. Compared to 2,653 cat and 1,759 dog intakes, this number may seem like a tiny fraction of our typical shelter population, but various chickens, ducks, reptiles, guinea pigs, and rabbits are big attractions to curious potential adopters. HARP emphasizes that these pets require specific diets, habitats, and enrichment materials and activities to be healthy and happy family members.
HARP’s biggest percentage of small animal-shelter residents is consistently the fluffy fan-favorite, domestic rabbits. In 2025, we cared for 99 bunny intakes – 33 owner-surrenders, 24 strays, one born in care, and 41 transferred in from area rabbit-rescue partner organizations. Our shelter also housed nearly 50 guinea pigs, many of them bonded pairs that must be adopted together. HARP’s capacity allows for these transfers from small, largely volunteer and foster-based local rescues through our “Operation Petsburgh” program, freeing up their resources for more bunnies in need while showcasing wonderful adoptable rabbits to a much wider adopter audience.
We keep our buns busy with volunteer-coordinated “Bunny Romps” multiple times per week, allowing them to exercise, socialize with other rabbits and people, and engage with fun toys, treats, and other enrichment. This generous grant from the Petfinder Foundation allowed for the purchase of some extra-special enrichment items, including flavorful floral forage-and-chew toys, hay-roller toys, and a variety of sturdy, durable, and long-lasting pinewood-cube hay-feeders, hide-away houses, and castles for versatile use in-kennel or during romp time. All the purchased items are also appropriate for guinea pigs in our care.
How many pets did this grant help?
This grant continues to provide enrichment for rabbits and guinea pigs in HARP shelter care, with an average of 100-150 combined intakes of these species annually.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
On Mother’s Day, a shopper found a large domestic rabbit hopping in the parking lot of a retail store. The finder wanted to keep the rabbit and even took her to a small animal vet for a checkup, where it was discovered the rabbit was very pregnant.
The finder reached out to several rabbit rescues for future placement of the babies, but none had capacity. She contacted HARP and was onboarded as a new foster volunteer, agreeing to keep the kits with mom and bring them to the shelter for regular veterinary health checks until they were weaned.
When they were ready, the young buns – Tortellini, Penne, Ziti, Farfalle, and Macaroni – were surrendered into HARP shelter care and readied for adoption. The little sibling group went through some growing pains and spats during their stay, just binkies in the road to becoming the adorable bunnies they are today. Retreats in their rabbit houses and lots of snacks like those provided by this Petfinder Foundation grant certainly helped their development. All were adopted by the end of the year, with Tortellini being the last little morsel to go home!
Mistletoe was transferred to HARP along with three other adult rabbits from a rescue partner the day after Christmas. These bunnies had been housed in overcrowded conditions where uncontrolled breeding was occurring, negatively impacting their wellbeing and care.
Many rabbits just like Mistletoe come to the shelter and experience space to romp and enrichment materials – such as the wooden hidey houses, toys, and different types of forage and treats this grant from the Petfinder Foundation provided – for the first time. Mistletoe, now neutered and settled in his new adopted home, is continuing to receive the loving care – and maybe even kisses – he deserves!
Sweet bunnies Marshmallow and French Toast were reluctantly surrendered by their owner, who sadly was experiencing debilitating health issues and was unable to care for them any longer. HARP assured her they would be doted upon with lots of volunteer and staff attention, alongside chew toys, delicious treats (though none as sugary as they are!), and hidey houses where they could snuggle and feel safe in an unfamiliar environment, all provided by this Petfinder Foundation grant. It wasn’t long at all before these cute and friendly rabbits hopped into the hearts of their new adopters.
Christafuh (third photo) was found abandoned on our shelter property in a cage with two other guinea pigs early on Christmas Eve morning. Thankfully, it wasn’t a white Christmas here at HARP, and we got the piggies inside and warmed up with all the amenities – such as the comfy hidey houses fit for a long winter’s nap and tempting treats to gnaw on – provided by this Petfinder Foundation grant. Christafuh faced challenges prior to adoption, including some bullying behaviors of his buddies, which enrichment resources such as hay-roller toys and novel chews helped him overcome. After recovering from a chronic ear infection, Christafuh was left with a permanent head tilt, but it only adds to his tufted-fur charm! Christafuh has a great life now with his new family, having wheek-wheek-wheeked all the way home.
