Pittsburgh Zoo certified

The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is one of only 12 animal-keeping facilities to win the Humane Certified designation from American Humane. The organization’s humane conservation program started in June 2016.

AH spokesman Mark Stubis said the certification process starts with a lengthy pre-audit application of hundred of pages of documents outlining animal care policies and practices.

American Humane sends an observation team that includes veterinarians, researchers, university professors and other experts. They’re looking for good health, good housing and “appropriate behaviors,” meaning behaviors that are natural for the animal in the wild.

Also considered are social interactions between animals and between animals and handlers, activity levels, staff knowledge and training and use of positive reinforcement in animal care and training programs.

Other Humane Certified facilities are: Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage in Las Vegas, Dolphin Quest in Hawaii and Bermuda, the San Antonio and Fort Worth zoos in Texas, Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, Ocean Parks in Hong Kong, Chicago Zoological Society’s Brookfield Zoo, Delphinus in Mexico, Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, and Vancouver Aquarium in Canada.

Go to humaneconservation.org for further information.

Talbots fundraiser

Shop at Talbots of Sewickley on Sunday and meet adoptable pets from Animal Advocates. Ten percent of pre-tax sales all day will benefit the organization, which is based in the West End. The store is at 400 Broad St., 15143.

Kittanning orphans

Donors to the Orphans of the Storm shelter in Kittanning will get more bang for their buck if they donate on Thursday. That’s the Richard G. Snyder YMCA Campus and NexTier Bank’s Day of Giving, and the campaign will partially match donations of $20-$5,000. Checks only; cash donations will not be matched.

There are three ways to donate: checks can be hand-delivered to the bank at 222 Market St., Kittanning 16201 or to the shelter on Route 85; checks can be mailed with a May 11 postmark to Armstrong Day of Giving, Box 206, Kittanning 16201; or donate through paypal.com to orphansofthestorm@hotmail.com.