Dumb Friends League

I had posted this review on Yelp but it *mysteriously* disappeared, so I'm reposting this review here on CitySearch since I know CitySearch does not take bribes to have negative reviews removed.\r \r I had a terrible experience in the Pet Surrender department. The woman I dealt with was awful and should not be working with people.\r \r Long story short, I had adopted a sweet kitten from them and after realizing that my other cat was NOT going to adjust to the kitten, for various reasons, I felt that it was in the kitten's best interests to return him so he could find a better home.\r \r I took him to the pet surrender and explained the situation to the woman working the desk and she was AWFUL about it. She was very condescending, telling me I needed to wait a few weeks and that ""aggression is normal, my two cats still fight each other."" Well I'm sorry, but I don't think it's healthy for any animal to be in an environment where it is upset 24/7. She was convinced that I was wrong and was sure to let me know it in the rudest way possible. Look, lady, I KNOW my cat. He will not adjust, I can guarantee it. I know him like the back of my hand. Maybe you can FORCE a tolerant relationship between two animals but who wins in that situation? I'm not the kind of person to force something to happen that's not meant to happen.\r \r It broke my heart to leave the little guy and to make it worse she was sure to inform me that ""I can't guarantee he won't be put down."" Really? He's an 8 week old kitten. If I was returning a 12 year old cat I could understand the concern, but a KITTEN? Is trying to guilt trip people what the DDFL teaches their employees to do? Do they really find it necessary to treat people who feel they are making the best decision for the ANIMAL in such a callous and careless manner? Do they really think that putting this poor kitten back into an upsetting situation is really the best thing? That putting my resident cat through stress and heartache is the best solution until they ""adjust""? (Which she said could take months, by the way. So I suppose growing up in a closed off room for MONTHS is best for this little kitten? I DON'T THINK SO.\r \r I will NEVER adopt from them again, nor will I recommend anyone adopt from them. As far as the actual facilities go, they've gone way downhill. They used to be clean but they are not very clean anymore. The poor kitten obviously had an upper respiratory infection, something we've dealt with in our older cat whom we ALSO adopted from them. Why are they putting sick animals up for adoption? That disturbs me. more

I have had two experiences with DDFL and both times, I have been impressed with the work of the shelter. The first experience was in 2003 when we adopted a cat , Sydney, whom we still have today. The second was just last week ( Sept 2011) when we adopted a dog who, unfortunately, didn't fit for our family since she didn't like cats. Even though we had to return our dog, we felt like the DDFL was sad things didn't work out yet happy to know more about the dog so that she could be fitted to an even better home. The adoption counselors are knowledgeable and caring. They wouldn't pair up an animal with a family if they thought the matching wasn't a good fit. The dog we choose had kennel cough ( typical for ANY shelter or place where you find lots of animals) but she was checked out by the vet and given a course of antibiotics that went home with us. If we didn't feel comfortable giving her the meds, I am sure we could have left her under the care of the team with no problem until she was better. With having so many animals in one place, it's no surprise that a cold ( basically what kennel cough is) would spread through the shelter so quickly, just as colds spread through class rooms at school. There are tons of resources available to those who adopt pets from the DDFL- behavioral specialists to help adapt the pet to it's new home as well as a free vet check up and free spaying or neutering . I am not sure where the idea that the DDFL is in it for the money came from when I am sure they don't make a great deal of it between paying it's employees, vet care and feeding and caring for the animals. I didn't think paying 150$ for an investment in our family was asking a lot and I am sure it didn't even come close to touching what was paid out to care for the dog we choice until we adopted her. I never once got the impression that money was the focus for this operation on either of my visits to the DDFL. I highly recommend going to DDFL and I am sure we will go there again! more

I strongly believe in the work being done by the Dnever Dumb Friends League!! I used to work there back in the late 70's, to early 80's, and I can tell you that the people who work there are totally dedicated to caring for the animals! In fact, I was in Denver just yesterday, April 28, 2011, and I made a point to go see all the changes that have been made with the additions and remodeling of the main shelter on Quebec. I was impressed!! And I sure don't know what you could possibly mean by the cleanliness being terrible??? It was spottless!! I am truely sorry that you have a sick kitten. But I have to wonder if there isn't more to the story than you are sharing, because I know from my personal experiance, that sick animals aren't put out in the adoption areas, until they are well. The Denver Dumb Friends League is totally non profit. They depend on donations from the public, to care for the animals that are given up by their owners. You say that you could have been Vick, and gotten a Pit Bull from them? Now I know you are really stretching the truth! They have you answer a lot of questions about not only the type of animal you are interested in, but also about yourself, and where you live. If you own or rent,....and if you rent, you have to provide a rental aggreement showing you are allowed to have pets. I personally did many yard checks, before the adoptions were finalized, to be sure that the required fences were in place for dogs that were problem jumpers. And you probably didn't take the time to read your adoption agreement!! Because if you had, you would know that the DDFL reserved the right to come and get the animal, if they felt it was in the animals best interest! How dare you sugjest that they are just in it for the money!! Maybe, if you care about animal care as much as you say, you should go try volunteering your time, and go work at the DDFL for awhile and see just what a great place it actually is!! No there are way too many holes in your story! The Denver Dumb Friends League is the best place in the world to go adopt an animal!! And the reason they require the aniamls to be spayed or neutered before they leave, is because of the over population of unwanted animals in this country!! People who have never worked in animal care, have no idea what a serious problem that is! I personally think that there should be a law, that before you can own an animal, you should have to volunteer for 1 year, in an animal care facility! I don't live in Denver anymore, but when I decide to adopte a new animal, the first place I look is the Denver Dumb Friends League! And because you have had to spend money on the care of this kitten, now you want to blame the DDFL. You could have taken the kitten back, once you realizeed it was sick. As far as the person who said they did take the dog back.... yes, once you relinquish your claim to the animal, they don't have to tell you anything. It doesn't belong to you anymore. And again, I'm pretty sure there is more to your story than you want to tell, as well. Go spend $300 to $800 an an animal that comes from a puppy mil, and see what happens when it gets sick!! Go look at those poor creatures that are kept in tiny cages, living in their own waste, for their whole lives, and tell me about poor coditions! The DDFL rescuses dogs from those puppy mills every day!! You should be ashamed of yourselves for saying such terrible untrue things about the DDFL!! If you tried to educate yourself about animal welfare, maybe you wouldn't be so inclined to open your mouth, and let stupidity flow!! lPLEASE PEOPLE.....go check out the Denver Dumb Friends League for yourselves, and see what a caring place it is!! Don't rely on the things you hear from a few unsatisfied people, that probably shouldn't even have a pet. Adopt a friend in need!! They will be your friend for life, Indeed!! more

Wow. So sad. I waited for 3 hours to actually have a consultation with an adoption counselor, and half the cats I chose were already adopted. I found a beautiful little 9 month old kitten that had the biggest heart and a great personality. She was sneezing when I was playing with her and the counselor acknowledged that most cats at the shelter have Upper Respiratory Infections. I thought it was odd that they all do but I chose to adopt her. They let me adopt her without any questions about my financial state, where I live, or what type of lifestyle I have. I could have been Michael Vick and adopted a pit bull here. Luckily I am a very good person and love animals. Here is where I am absolutely appalled. You cannot take a pet home without it being spayed or neutered. THIS IS THE MESSED UP PART. Why would you do surgery on a cat that is sick? They knew she had a cold and they told me she would get sicker after the surgery. What the hell!?! Fast forward and I have paid over $600 dollars to keep this poor kitty alive. They would not give me antibiotics when I took her home, she obviously had an infection and couldn't breath. She lost 6 pounds in under a week and still is refusing food! I am syringe feeding this beautiful kitten while she chokes on her own mucus and the food. The poor girl just wants to cuddle and purr but she cannot breath. Even with discharge out of her eyes, nose, mouth, and through the constant sneezes, she still purrs and tries to cheer me up. Her lungs are 40% filled with fluid and mucus. She has a severe case of pneumonia because the doctors couldn't give a darn about an animals health here. Luckily my personal Vet is a caring and educated Doctor who is trying to save this poor kitten's life. I have personally paid for all medications and treatment. Please keep her in your thoughts! This place is a scam folks. A turn and burn operation. They get the animals in for free, don't put any time or effort to keep them healthy, give them more diseases, then they charge you $140 to hand them off to you with sicknesses that THEY CAUSE. They don't care about the product, it is just how fast they can get rid of the animals. It felt just like a McDonald's drive through window. My kitten was in perfect health before she went into the shelter. Her papers said she was 9 pounds. She only weighs 5 pounds now. She is near death and I am out an insane amount of money because they don't care about anything except making a profit. I could care less about the money but this poor animal does not deserve to suffer because of this evil company. The poor sanitary conditions, over crowding, and horrible Doctor staff is a disgrace to all animals. DO NOT ADOPT FROM HERE. THINK TWICE AND CHECK OUT OTHER PLACES. more

The Dumb Friends League is a perfect example of an organization who cares, but lacks institutional control. I adopted a dog from them about a month ago, the dog was given a clean bill of health by their vets and I was sent on my way. When I got home I noticed a large mass on his back leg, when I called them to bring this up they fought with me about them treating it. When they finally did treat him it was lackluster service (obviously the vet was overworked). Unfortunately the dog did not work out for me and I needed to return him. I was expecting the dog to be put back up for adoption within a couple of days, he was not. A friend of mine went in to adopt the dog (she doesn't think to highly of DFL either). They told her that that dog was still on medical hold. When I called to find out why the dog was still on medical hold they gave me a n excuse about the dog not being medically cleared, I tried to explain to them that the dog was treated by them he had a clean bill of health (they were looking at the mass again even after their vet said it was fine) they were rude and told me that ""you gave the dog up"" and then hung up on me. After finally calling the DFL vet (not rude and actually cares) it was worked out, they had given medical clearance 3 days ago and the adoption side did not change his status because ""they had too many dogs"". My friend finally was able to adopt the dog , he was in bad shape, he smelled like urine, was shaking, and scared. They did not apologize for his condition, and were rude once again. This is a poorly run organization, the people who work there do care, but because the organization takes in too many animals, the animals suffer. If you want to adopt a pet Colorado has a number of Rescues who take care of their dogs and cats and actually take time to get to know the dogs and make sure that you and the pet would be a good match. And if you are turning a dog or cat over to DFL please look into Rescues first (there is an all breed rescue in Colorado Springs), because I guarantee that the dog or cat you turn over will not be trea ted properly. They will be locked in a kennel and based on the condition the dog I turned over was in, may not even be let out to go to the bathroom. All I am saying make sure you have checked every option before adopting or turning a dog over to the Dumb Friends League. Cons: Everything more