MyDogLife Blog

Inside Lollypop Farm, the Humane Society of Greater Rochester

The beautiful exterior of Lollypop Farm, the Humane Society of Greater Rochester
Written by Rachael Sando

Just about anyone who lives in the WNY area knows about Lollypop Farm.

Sitting on a beautiful campus in Perinton, NY, they have been helping the pets and the people of the area since 1873! Believe it or not over 11,000 animals come through their doors annually!

The MyDogLikes crew recently had the opportunity to get an inside look at Lollypop Farm and we jumped at the chance!

About Lollypop Farm

Lollypop Farm’s commitment to animals goes far beyond rescue and rehabilitation; also offering programs and services that are designed to increase the bond between people and animals through education, community outreach, and prevention of cruelty.

Below is only a small demonstration of the ways that Lollypop Farm contributes to the Rochester Community!

The front desk at Lollypop Farm in Rochester, NY

Behavior Classes 

Designed with the goal of improving communication skills and preventing future behavior problems, classes utilize a positive, reward-based, training method. A wide variety of classes as well as independent lessons are offered and are appropriate for dogs of all ages. Classes emphasize a relationship-based training philosophy that focuses on teaching dogs real-life skills by using rewards that are meaningful. Lollypop even trains dogs to participate in Pet Assisted Therapy. Charlie and I are just finishing up Intermediate Manners and will start his Canine Good Citizen Classes in early October! We love the trainers and the clean, comfortable, environment that classes are offered in!!

The training room at Lollypop Farm in Rochester, NY

Charlie playing outside the Terrence B. McIntee Lollypop Training and Education Center

Summer Camps & Community Education

Lollypop Farm puts a lot of effort into educating children through outreach and education programs, including Summer Camp! Summer camp provides hands-on experience with animals while providing a behind-the-scenes look at all of the work that goes into Lollypop Farm each day! Campers get to meet (and socialize) animals throughout the farm!  I have heard nothing but positive things about this program and recommend students every year!!

Lollypop Farm provides a variety of educational programs for children

A classroom for one of the educational programs at Lollypop Farm

When walking around the Lollypop Farm Campus, it is clear that education about responsible pet ownership and prevention of animal cruelty is proactive in nature, gearing their efforts toward the education of children. Community classes are offered in their beautiful classroom and are geared toward promoting animal welfare in a fun and engaging way!

Lollypop Farm's Farm Walk Trail

The entrance to the Farm Walk at Lollypop Farm

Adoptions

A safe place for thousands of homeless and maltreated pets, Lollypop works on making sure that animals can find their fur-ever home by working with the adopters to find a perfect match! Every adoption includes the following:

  • Spay/Neutering
  • Vaccinations/DeWorming
  • Feline Leukemia/Heartworm Tests/Flea Control
  • Pet Insurance (30 days)
  • Microchip registration/ID tag
  • Free Veterinary Exam voucher
  • Discount Food
  • Free Behavior and Training advice

You may recognize these beautiful faces….Both Lucas and Maxwell were adopted from Lollypop Farm!

Our cat Lucas, who we adopted from Lollypop Farm in Rochester, NY

Our cat Maxwell, who we adopted from Lollypop Farm in Rochester, NY

Spay/Neuter Program 

SNIP (Spay/Neuter Incentive Program) was designed to provide low cost Spay/Neuter services to low-income families. Additionally, there are low cost programs for individuals who provide shelter to Feral Cats. Both fantastic ways to help control the animal population!

Volunteers

Volunteers take on so many integral roles at Lollypop Farm! From walking the dogs, playing with the cats, cleaning up crates, cages, pens, and stalls….so much of what is done is accomplished by volunteers who give back to their community.  After speaking with my lovely tour guide, Laura, I have decided that I would like to volunteer with this ole’ camera of mine and snap photos of beautiful animals waiting for adoption!

Bear posing next to the Lollypop Farm Bull Statue which he is in the process of restoring

In my visit to Lollypop I met Bear, a volunteer who had been working tirelessly to restore a GIANT bull on the Lollypop Farm Campus. Like so many other volunteers, Bear, had given his time and energy with no expectation of payment or thanks. Volunteers are the lifeline of Lollypop!

Lollypop Farm Fundraisers

Lollypop Farm's Barktober Fest will be held on September 27, 2014

Lollypop Farm relies exclusively on donations from the community to provide their high level of care and compassion for animals. They receive no government funding and are not associated with any national humane organization. The annual Barktober Fest, telethon and dog gala are their biggest fundraisers each year.

Where your money goes…

Straight to the animals! When I asked my tour guide, Laura, where the money goes, she replied “Look around”!

The fun and imaginative Lollypop Farm Cattery. This is where the cats waiting for adoption rest and play.

A cat with a birds eye view of Lollypop Farm's Cattery

An engaging Catery

Llamas in the stalls at Lollypop Farm in Rochester, NY

A llama at Lollypop Farm in Rochester, NY

Indoor Barns

Goats in the Lollypop Farm animal sanctuary

A goat along the Lollypop Farm walk in Rochester, NY

Horses at Lollypop Farm in Rochester, NY

Outdoor Barns and Petting Farm

Charlie has been attending Lollypop Farm Training Classes. Here he is admiring their beautiful training facility.

Training Classrooms

The state of the art veterinary facilities at Lollypop Farm

The Veterinary Clinic at Lollypop Farm in Rochester, NY

State-of-Art Veterinary Care Facilities

The industrial crate washer at Lollypop Farm - A Getinge cart washer

Crates waiting to be cleaned at Lollypop Farm

Industrial Crate Cleaner

Help Us, Help Lollypop Farm, Humane Society of Greater Rochester!

Look at these sweet faces and read below to see how you can help them and countless others find their forever homes!

This cute pup is looking for a home! So many loving pets are waiting to meet their permanent families at Lollypop Farm!

Waiting for a permanent home at Lollypop Farm

A beautiful dog up for adoption at Lollypop Farm

A bunny up for adoption at Lollypop Farm in Rochester, NY

A cat at Lollypop Farm looking for a home

Click Here to Make A Donation to help support the animals!

 

About the author

Rachael Sando

Rachael is a School Psychologist with degrees from the University of Rochester and RIT. Though a lifelong dog lover, this passion has taken on a new direction through the utilization of therapy animals in her day job. Charlie, our Golden Retriever, works with Rachael as a school therapy dog in a local primary school where he brings comfort and support to students and staff on a daily basis.

10 Comments

  • That sounds like it will be a blast! And that facility is so nice! There was a BarktoberFest here last year at the park across the street and I somehow missed it. I need to check if it’s returning this year.

    • Oh thats too bad that you missed it! We have had to miss a couple of Barktoberfest events over the years and its always disappointing! Hopefully you get to check it out this year!

    • Yes to everything you said. We love Lollypop and Barktoberfest! Maybe a rescue closer to home hosts an event like this!

  • Great event and organization! Mia (my dog) and I did the walk a few years back and hung around for all the festivities afterwards. Such a fun fall day with pups!!

  • Hello! I used your photos on this blog to make a thank you iMovie (about 2 minutes long) for my students who just did a fundraiser for Lollypop Farm. Some of them had never visited Lollypop Farm so I wanted them to see what it looks like. My intention was only for those students to see it. Someone at Lollypop Farm heard about it and asked me to share it with them so she can share it with others at Lollypop. Since they are your photos, I don’t want to disburse the video without your consent. The photos have your mark on them in the video so you are credited, but I still didn’t feel it was right to send out the video to others without asking you first. Let me know what you think. Thank you.

    • That is absolutely fine, but thank you so much for checking!

      We have worked with Lollypop in the past, so you can let them know it is us in case they wanted to tag us, but no worries if not. We would love to see it too – can you send to mydoglikes@gmail.com? Glad you enjoyed the post and that it was helpful for your students!