The Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter’s (CVAS) services cover a human population of approximately 100,000 people and we take in, on average, over 2200 animals into our facility every year. The current shelter has the capacity to comfortably house 35 dogs and about 65 cats in total. Since we are an “open” shelter, meaning we do not turn away homeless animals from our service area, we seem to always be over our capacity. We typically have between 30 to 50 dogs and 60 to 120 cats in our care at any given time. Due to space needs and our commitment to providing a safe and healthy environment for animals and people, CVAS is working to relocate the organization to a new property. We are currently building a 12,600 sq ft eco-friendly animal shelter on 5051 Letterkenny Rd West, Chambersburg, PA, Greene Township.
The mission of the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter is to protect, shelter, and adopt out homeless animals. We also provide valuable services such as animal cruelty investigations, pet therapy, dog licensing, humane trap rentals, humane education for elementary school children, educational newsletters, rabies vaccine and microchipping clinics, and private pet cremations. We have a vast array of volunteer opportunities. Volunteers are the heartbeat of CVAS and we welcome help from people of all walks of life.
The history of the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter began with a small group of people comprising our first board of directors during the 1970’s. The group started out by printing educational newsletters and advertising pets available for adoption using store display windows. The volunteers kept the adoptable animals in their homes and conducted business by telephone and by mail using a Chambersburg PO Box. It was not until 1979 that CVAS was able to erect the first animal shelter building, at our present location, thanks to the Helen Collier Trust.
The present day CVAS has come a long way since the 1970’s. In 1994, the building was expanded and more services soon followed. Our present day organization includes two thrift stores for fundraising with a total of eight employees to run them. We are led by a volunteer Board of Directors, a Director of Communications, and a Business Manager. The shelter and program services are maintained by part-time staff, three full time staff, a part time Humane Police Officer, and several volunteers. The staff and volunteers who make up this organization are some of the most dedicated folks you will ever meet. Their love for animals has no end and we are truly dedicated to making the new shelter a reality. Please join us in our goal in building a new shelter designed to be a place of rehabilitation for homeless and traumatized animals.
