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
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