First, I'll address the staff, then I'll address the scam that the shelter is running against the…read morepublic, in the second half of this review.
I've adopted a few dogs from there, over the last 20 years. For whatever reason, the different people that they've put behind the front desk over the years, are rude, inept, passive aggressive, and lazy. It's been that way for years, no matter who they give that position to. They act like a DMV clerk who's doing you a favor, by letting you rescue an abandoned animal. I made an appointment to see one dog last week, which meant I was the only person in the building to see a dog, and the woman behind the desk is pouting and sighing, and rolling her eyes, as if she's overwhelmed with work, and doing me a favor. I had a noon appointment and arrived on time, but the door was locked, and nobody would answer the door. I had to call again, she kept me waiting outside, so I walked in as the last only non staff person walked out. Apparently that started her brain to short circuit . I told her over the phone, and in person, that I was just there to look to see if that particular dog would be compatible with my current dog. If I saw that is was, I would come back with my wife and my dog for a meet and greet. She didn't seem to care, and made me waste my time filling out an a long and intrusive adoption application form, which I'm almost positive has already been "lost or misplaced" and which I would have to fill out once again, if I were to ever go back. The whole time she's acting like an overwhelmed secretary, she got one whole phone call, and stressed out, while lecturing me on why I should have brought my dog with me.. Again, just super passive aggressive, for no reason. She had a couple of really sweet staff members who were tending to the animals and were helpful, but even though I was already there, they wouldn't let me see another dog, "because of the Covid thing.." !'m not sure they understand how that works. They said I would have to make another appointment to see another dog! So, I would have to go outside, call, make another appointment to see a specific dog, and then wait for the woman behind the desk, to pull her hair out, before the last appointment (which was me) to come to the door to let me in. Absurd is an understatement. If whoever's in charge actually cared about finding a home for abandoned animals, they would hire some competent people to work behind the desk. I have more stories of incompetence of other people in that position , going back years... but I don't want to write a book here.
The other half of the review is concerning the scam they are running with Pet Finder, to grant them first pick of any highly desirable/ profitable dogs on their list of adoptable dog profiles, one day before the public can adopt them. The shelter gets paid for giving these scammers the rights to first pick, then Pet Finder markets the dogs without revealing where the dog is located, charges people nationwide, application fees, and nobody ever gets the dog if the dog is bringing in high revenue. Disgusting. I had to learn this from the woman who answers the phone at the shelter, after trying to get a straight answer out of her became like pulling teeth. I just wanted to know why they tell people to check if a certain dog is available after a certain date, but if the dog is cute, it's already gone the night before it was available for adoption. Why post profiles of dogs which they KNOW are never going to be available , as if they are adoptable? That is sooooo low! Just say that the dog is available for owner pick up only ! Don't sell them to a virtual online puppy mill that scams as many people as they can, out of their money. I don't care what kind of shady quid pro quo arrangement they have with Pet Finder; I will be informing the local news, if I see that this happens to one more dog. They should be defunded and Pet Finder needs to face a class action lawsuit. But don't take my word for it. If you don't believe me, check the Pet Finder reviews