Houston Humane Society

Are these people joking? I was at HHS yesterday found a kitten and everything went great.. you do have to wait 3-5 days to pick it up so the can spay them and let them heal.. Everyone was nice and helpful and let me know to take all the time thats needed with the kitten because its a companion for up to 15 years their not just trying to clean out their rooms to anyone... and its ONE page asking you what will you do with the animal if you move or if it is destroying your home.. typical questions.. i did bring the shot records to my 2 outside dogs and they scanned threw them made sure they were up to date and said "charlie" will be ready in 3-5 days.. A great clean trust worthy place these negative comments are pitiful!! more

The Houston Humane Society is simply amazing. The facility is beautiful and super nice. And they have a cleaning staff that cleans all day. If I were an animal, I wouldn't mind living there for a while! The people are super friendly and genuinely care about the well-being of their animals.\r \r I just attended a volunteer orientation at the HHS, and it's a great program. If you want to volunteer at a shelter, I would 100% recommend volunteering here. They are really flexible and won't make you do anything you don't feel comfortable doing. You can walk and play with the animals all you want! It's an animal lover's dream! \r \r I see some reviews complaining about the adoption policy. You do have to wait 3-5 business days before you can take the animal you want home, but this is so they can get them ready with all of their shots, microchips, procedures, and whatever else they need and then give them a little time to recover. I know it's hard to wait, but it really is for the good of the ani more

I understand that the staff is comprised of volunteers from all walks of life and they give selfishly to better the lives of all animals that do not have a voice (or language we can understand). The wheels of progress may turn slower than expected at HHS but keep in mind as a purely volunteer organization they often times wear many shoes at any given time. My recommendation to all those who do not know how to manage their time by claiming excessive adoption stints; break out a pair of blue jeans, sit thru an informative orientation early Saturday morning, set aside your pride in order to learn from young professional trainers & help save the volunteers from malicious verbal assaults as well as working to place all animals in "forever homes." Pros: null Cons: null more

Go for the low-cost exam but do your research on prescribed treatment to save you money and time. Pros: null Cons: null more

Hey everyone, \r \r I wanted to come on here to try and cut the HHS a break by sharing my experience. Hopefully this will reach the right people, and not discourage, but rather encourage an adoption. \r \r The Process: \r Yes, although daunting at times, it is necessary on their part to pull out all the stops when letting one of these animals go into a complete stranger's hands. I did feel like I was jumping through hoops with vet records, bills, proof of a good home, etc... And yes, at times the staff seemed less than eager to get back to me in a timely fashion. However, most of these young girls and boys are volunteers, and the place is VERY BUSY, VERY OVERCROWDED, and VERY STRESSFUL for them all (although very clean and gorgeous new facilities). It is their job to make sure these animals make it to a good home and don't return! They see it every day, and hear stories that I'm guessing most of us can't even imagine. In the end, they truly are just doing their job, and for every "bad apple more

We adopted a dog, only to find out that the dog had distemper, confirmed by my outside vet. After I spent a few hundred dollars with my outside vet in testing and meds, we brought the dog back and waited a few months to get over the experience- it was very emotional. We went back to adopt another dog and were told we could not adopt since we retd a dog. It seems they wrote in the file that we returned the dog because of a cough- the "young lady" at the front desk needs to leave her opinions back at the trailer park and stop acting like her role in life is to keep the dogs in excrement and filth instead of adopting them to a proper home. My husband and I are professional individuals and we have two children that are grown and are professional. We stood at the front desk while we were made to feel like we mistreated an animal or were not deserving of an animal - all the while they allowed us to adopt a sick animal. It was very embarrassing. When we brought the sick dog back we wer more

If I could I would give Houston Humane Society a 0, but since I can't I give it a 1. The process is lengthy at over 20 minutes just to fill in an application which is 10 pages long. We went today to adopt a dog and the staff was rude, you even feel like you are being yelled at like you are in Elementary School. They ask for too many requisites and you even need to bring in vet records for any pets you owned during the last 5 years. What kind of crap is that. Don't lose your time and money on this place; if they are not even polite with people, just imagine how they could treat the animals. Go to another place to adopt animals such as BARC. more

All the people here making negative comments are idiots who think of dogs and cats as products that should be "sold" to them without any questions asked. Yeah, idiots, if HHS allowed that then they would get all kinds of d-bags coming in and adopting, taking the dogs home and throwing them out when they're about to move or starving them when they're broke. GET A LIFE!!!!! You don't deserve to have animals in your house. more

I am saddened by so many negative reviews here. I know the Houston Humane Society is overcrowded, the staff often seems impersonal, and they have a stringent adoption policy. However, if it weren't for them, I would have lost my dog last year when she had a serious illness and we didn't have the means to pay for it through our regular vet. We spent hours waiting for our turn, even after arriving two hours early, as did all the other pet owners. We all did so gladly. If you want fast service, you pay for it. \r To some the lobby might look depressing, but maybe you haven't been to many other animal shelters. Compared to other places, the Houston Humane Society is comfortable and is located on beautiful grounds. Considering the sheer volume of animals that pass through on a daily basis, I think they are doing all they can. \r I have never purchased a dog from a pet store; I have always adopted. I think their rigid questioning is for the welfare of the animal, which is why they are more

insensitive employees, unprofessional and slow. I was approved for a dog and then told I could not adopt the dog I chose because of age. They said I was inexperienced. I guess I'm experienced enough to pay my mortgage off, car off and raise two responsible adults but I can't raise a puppy. Don't try to contact Administrative staff, you'll get a voicemail and no call back. The shelters complain of being over crowded and you would think they'd be happy someone retired wants to adopt but this agency seems to be a complete farce and waste of time. more

I am appalled by the complaints I am seeing on here. I have adopted two dogs (one from the Houston SPCA and one just recently from the Houston Humane Society). Folks, they ask all of these questions because they want to ensure that an animal that is adopted is going to a home that 1. it is allowed to be in, 2. has other animals that are up to date on vaccines (for the safety of your current pets and the new animal) and 3. that you are aware of the financial and time burden you take on by bringing a new pet into your home. I also do some volunteer work for some breed rescues in the area and the number of animals that people turn in for ridiculous reasons is astounding. The questions are there to ensure the animal goes to a home where it will be taken care of, remain forever and will be loved. That's it. There is no plot to keep the animals...these are animals that have been unwanted and they just want to make sure they are going into the right hands. Our experience was stellar. more

i would not recommend this place to anyone. we drove 45 minutes to adopt a kitten, after walking around the lobby for about 30 minutes they (receptionist) finally noticed us. Then we were told we would have to fill out an application using their computer, which was not user friendly. After this we were questioned about our vet, how many litter boxes we had, what we would do with the cat if we went on vacation.....give me a break.....who do they think they are dealing with.....i am a responsible adult who already takes care of my current cat who is 15 years old!!!! After we picked out a kitten we were told she would have to weight 3 pounds before we could get her......she probably weighed 1.5.....how long was that going to take???? I understand the humane society want to get the animals fixed but i am very capable of taking my cat to my own vet and paying for her vacinnations and getting her fixed myself. Needless to say we walked out and i would never recommend this place to anyone more

I tried to "adopt" a dog from these clowns. What a joke. Their "application" process is an insult. Why did some kid that is half my age need to know why my ex-wife got the dog in the divorce? Why do they think they need to contact a vet on my behalf? Do they simply assume that I am irresponsible and would mistreat an animal worse than they do? Why do they need to contact a landlord to find out if pets are allowed? Do they think I am that stupid that I wouldn't already know?\r \r The people working there may be competent or not, but the policies were developed by a pack of fools. I won't be going back and I recommend that anyone else interested in a pet should go somewhere else. more

Unfortunately we also had a horrible experience with the HHS. We went in to adopt a cat that had been there for almost a year, was 2 yrs old, so not the most likely to be adopted. Well, just like some of the other reviews, there was never anything about needing to contact our vet to confirm our pet had current shots. Well, our cat does have its current rabies, but not all the other battery of vaccines. She does not go outside, is not around other animals, and HHS would not let us adopt because we didn't have a full battery of shots, that are not required by law. It is extremely sad that they would rather tell people they MUST have vaccines that are not required by law rather than let a poor animal have a good home - they would rather keep the animal cooped up in their little rooms. Sad beyond belief. No wonder there are so many animals at the HHS, they won't let anyone adopt them. more

For the last five months, my wife and I have been looking for a puppy. At first I wanted to buy a purebred dog from a breeder. After doing some research, I decided it would be best to adopt a dog from an animal rescue. The nearest one being the Houston Humane Society on Almeda, we have been visiting every other week for the last few months. Today, we found a four month old mutt that caught out eye. Being the first dog we were interested in, we were told to fill out an application before we could see it. After insisting on calling our landlord, we were finally approved to adopt a dog. Excited that we would finally get to meet the puppy, we were told that the dog "might" have already been adopted and anyways it was to young for us. Too young? Apparently because I have not have had a dog for the last five years I am not ready to adopt a puppy. Having been discharged from the military in the last year, I was not able to accommodate a dog. Needless to say, I will not be adopting more

I would wager that most, if not all, of the "positive" reviews here were written by HS staff or a friend/relative of someone who works there. My experience with them was horrific. They had the opportunity to adopt out a healthy animal that was brought in less than 24 hours earlier. After a week of being jerked around, lied to, laughed at and ignored, they told me the poor little thing (my words, not theirs) had been killed almost immediately. It never had a chance when it could have had an excellent life in a loving home. Do further research on this out-of-control place and you will find that they are running amock over there, with no checks and balances. Not even the board of directors gives a bleep. Everyone turns their heads to the atrocities and bad behaviors -- from the Director to the lowest supervisors -- and so it continues. The place needs an enema or needs to be shut down. more

I know how frustrating it can be filling out multiple forms and being ignored, but those people have a hard job and are doing their best!! I can vouch that the Humane Society is an excellent organization given what little funding it has to work with. It is common that a newly adopted animal may have medical problems, but please don't be too harsh. The Humane Society can only afford the most BASIC disease testing. Even something your average family might consider cheap seems a luxury to those animals, because people just don't care enough to donate. I'm not trying to rant at you to give them all your money, or spend all your time there. I'm simply suggesting that before you let loose complaints and insults, try fixing the situation, or at least understanding it better first. Okay? more

Let me start by saying: the admission area for th Humane Society is depressing. People are bringing in ferral/emaciated/frightened animals that are sometimes wetting themselves as a response to being in a strange place. There are animals yapping in the background, and everyone in the lobby looks tired, sad and irritable. But none of this is the fault of the Humane Society or its staff.\r \r The volunteers (ie: people working themselves to the bone for no money) are usually irritable because people are bringing in dogs that are skin and bone and that have given birth multiple times (what I saw when I went in today), and no one takes responsibility. The service is slow because they take the time to create a file for each animal, take its picture, and get the personal info of whoever is dropping it off in case criminal charges need to be filed for neglect or abuse. And the person that "plays around with a camera"? They're cateloging every animal that comes in to make sure there's a face to more

My husband and I went to the Humane Society on a Sunday to look for a dog. We had never been before, but decided to make the 45 minute drive after researching online the dogs we thought we would like, their hours on Sunday, what the cost would be to adopt, etc. You walk in and can look at small dogs through multiple glass rooms that surround a central room. The problem with this is you can only see the dog’s bottoms when something is going on in the central room and that is drawing their attention. So we saw 2-3 that we thought we might like, but since you really couldn’t see them well it was hard to narrow it down from there. You are not allowed to go into the central room (and various other areas of the complex) without filling out an adoption application a posted sign says. So we proceed to the info desk were there are 3 staff members – 1 on the phone, 1 playing with a camera, and 1 with her back to us. We notice a sign in sheet and sign in – note at this point no one has even acknowledged we were there. We stand there a few more moments and the lady with her back to us finally turns around and asks what we need – note also this is after a few minutes that the lady on the phone staring right at us and the guy playing with the camera haven’t even said “we will be with you in a moment.” We explain to the lady that we would like to view dogs in the area near the reception desk. She tells us we need to fill out an application form on a computer they have set up. We proceed to do so – note the computer system is not user friendly and is rather lengthy (15-20 mins to fill out). After filling this out we go to the front desk again per the instructions and are ignored for another few minutes. When finally the red/blond haired woman (or should I say pink/blonde) asks us what we need – note we were just up their 15 mins ago and this was not a busy morning. She finally pulls up our application and says that we are not approved because it is Sunday and she cannot contact our vet and we do not have our vet records for our other pet. NOTE: NO WHERE ON THEIR WEBSITE DOES IT SAY THEY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO CONTACT YOUR VET, GROOMER, ETC. AND THAT YOU MUST BRING VET RECORDS TO BE APPROVED TO EVEN MEET THE DOGS. After being completely frustrated that one it did not state this clearly on their website the other requirements, being ignored repeatedly by the front desk staff, told to fill out an application without being told of the other requirements to being approved which was a waste of 15-20 mins since I would have known they couldn’t get this info from me/vet/groomer during that visit, that if we wanted to proceed with an adoption here this would mean more 45 minute drives out to their location. The Humane Society has a complete lack of customer service or even courtesy from their staff. They do not want to make the process of adopting a pet an enjoyable experience in the least bit since you feel like you have to jump through hoops to be even graced with the presence of meeting an animal. I understand their rules are to keep their animals healthy and I commend them for that, but they should outline their process better online and the staff should explain it in detail to you when you arrive. Frankly I will never consider adopting an animal from the Humane Society or donating to any of their causes after this frustrating visit. I would suggest the Houston SPCA for anyone looking for a pet. Cons: Location, staff, building set up/layout, application process more

This is an amazing organization. When you own a pet, you MUST take on the responsibility of taking the pet to the vet for regular checkups, and during any sort of illness. This organization allows cheapstakes, poor people and people who just want to save money, etc. to fi;fill their obligations. There are no exceptions or excuses when it comes to neglect. When you own a pet and it's sick, you better take it to the vet. And if you don't have money then HHS is a good place. Otherwise, do not own pets. Of course, if you can afford it and you make enough money then HHS is not your place. Yes, it stinks. Yes, it's busy as hell. Yes, there's sometimes poop on the floor. And yes the receptionists and employees are sometimes going to be rude! \r \r I have been to places that charged me 150 dollars for a vet checkup! Those receptionists at those locations treated me like I was garbage. When I left I felt like crying because they were rude. The service was never that bad at HHS. But then again, t more