I've adopted three amazing pets from Hazleton Animal Shelter and had great experiences-cocker spaniel pup, and two Turkish Angora kitten siblings. I live in Connecticut and would return to Hazleton PA to adopt in the future. Jacquelyn B, Milford, CT read more

I call and call and get no answer. I took a donation of cat food there and asked if I could see the dogs for adoption. I was told that I needed to call for an appointment ( there was nothing going on at the time). I left and called and called but got no answer. I used to donate once or twice a year but no more. I am done. read more

The main lady that runs the place is so picky about letting the animals leave. And she refuses almost all animals coming in. Saying she doesn't have room. But this old man who hadn't had any animals in over 15 years wanted a dog. They told him no because he had no vet preferences. What vet keeps records over 15 years from a dog that was put to sleep due to old age!! Then I had a renter in a house I own want to get a dog. He was told I was the property manager not the owner!!!!! Its public record that I own that property and the one acre lot next to it!! This lady needs to be fired immediately!! I've heard numerous times how she sells the donated goods that are brought to this shelter!! read more

Was only inside front door when the fetid stench overpowered me.The animals were in another room. There's no excuse for that kind of odor. It didn't happen in a week. I only intended to drop off donations of pet food. Three women were there,none of whom ever acknowledged my presence A man had a box of puppies,so it took all three to discuss it? I gave up, set my donation down & left. Later,a survey comes up on my fb page. I mentioned this incident & get grief from two women who apparently work there. First, they tell me I was mistaken & must have been at another shelter. I gave details to prove I was there.Then one says to tell her the exact day What is that gonna prove? It's not like cameras, if they even have one, can caputure the overpowering ,putrid smell.That's a serious issue. I feel sorry for the animals there to be left in filth. I had to adversley affect their health. I will never adopt a pet from that place. I will never donate a thing again. It's obviously a warehouse for unfortunate animals and the goal is most likely money.If these women, whom I blocked, were half decent, they'd have told me to please return to see that I was there at a bad time. No, they want to play games, blame me, push the burden on me. Check it out folks. It reeks! read more

i've visited quite a few shelters and hazleton is one of the WORST. Rude workers, deplorable conditions, and a focus on making money and not caring about the dog. Woman working yelled about being closed yet was still showing animals for a family...when inquired about a dog on the petfinder website, was told that was 3 weeks old and the puppy was adopted...if the dog is adopted, update your site! 3 weeks is unacceptable. Again, like the other person, id give it zero stars if i could read more

This shelter is wonderful. They are so helpful and bend over backwards to help all animals and people that love them. Got my moms cat there, best thing we ever did. They also really care about lost animals, just a great bunch of people. read more

Beyond bad management and management system period! I volunteered here which I loved to do... for the animals. I adopted one cat, no problems... then another a problem occurred when the manager did the normal processing (contacting my vet) but contacted the wrong vet when she realized 3 weeks LATER! When the wrong vet was on vacation during the waiting period. I was very upset because the cat I wanted was a new cat to the shelter and I knew he wouldn't do well with the other cats and 1 day after being with the other cats he got sick... then I couldn't adopt him until he was 100%... 4 weeks waiting to take him home. I got so tired of this crap I wanted to speak to the owners... but wait...the only contact method to talk to the owners (manager's bosses) was snail mail.... Seriously!? No phone numbers, no emails... just a PO Box... Manager, and the owners could care less about this place and especially could care less about the animals housed here. I refused to contact through snail mail. I went to city hall because I knew the shelter WAS a city shelter, so city hall was very happy to help me get in contact with the owners. And just in my opinion I would assume a PO Box was the only method purely because the owners KNOW they got a crappy shelter and a very bad manager they refuse to replace with a better manager who actually LOVES animals! I promise.... one day I'll buy out this shelter, shut it down, build my own to give the people of this city a REAL shelter for animals and staff who actually LOVES animals! No disrespect to any other staff members who works or worked at the Hazleton Animal Shelter, just the manager is the suspect and owners, not the staff... read more

Well I gave it 2 stars only because they do have a place to keep lost and found dogs otherwise i would be giving no stars. The staff is rude and inconsiderate a new staff would do this buisness justice, they don't listen to what you have to say and their done with you, they dont keep in touch over the phone and they were really rude to my two refferences to the point that both of them called me after their questioning from the shelter asking me if it was a joke i was stunned by this. after they took my information on if I have or have had pets they called the vet, ok fine nothing to hide its routine to find them calling me demanding to find out what happened to my other pets and why i did not inform them about them. I told them to hold up i had no other pets other than the one i told them about it was a family vet and my parents and siblings with the same last name have and had those pets they told me they had to investigate more and would let me know. I gave them a week they never called so i stopped in after a half an hour of looking for my papers they said their were inconsistant storys and they couldent help me WHAT...because of this i was thinking it would be less of a headache to just look in the paper or just buy from a petstore but with the intent of wanting to rescue a dog and give him a great loving home i tried again thats of course once my headache disaperared and my aggrivation dissapated it was like night and day from one shelter to the next the staff was so caring and very thoughtful to help in our rescure dissision making that i was taken back after seeing how i was treated i would not recoment it at all go to wilkesberre, weatherly/whitehaven, stroudsburg, or even berwick they are all great shelters with a staff that listens and you can still rescue with out the drama headache and dissapointment my family has a wonderfull new addition thanks to stroudsburg shelter... read more

The worse shelter in the area. The staff are rude and ignorant to anyone that wants to adopt. They need to be replaced. I wanted to adopt 2 cats I fell in love with at Petsmart. They gave me a hassle because the cat I own is due for his shots this month and they told me to come back when he gets his shots. I even called the vet before I went there and they said they would give me a good reference. I spent at least $7000+ on my pets in the last 5 years. The shelter staff told me that if a more suitable person came to adopt the cats that they would get them and not me. SUITABLE? These people are a joke! I am going to Jim Thorpe to look at cats. I got 2 cats there 2 years ago and the staff are wonderful. Go anywhere to adopt except Hazleton. And to Hazleton City.....REPLACE YOUR STAFF! Where did the $800,000 that was donated to them 2-3 years ago get to? The shelter should be beautiful with that kind of money!!! read more

Very nice dogs, many that are in need of a great home! Would highly recommend for adoption, but not for support or volunteering. I had a horrible interaction with shelter staff yesterday. I stopped in to inquire about volunteering since I am relocating to the area, and see if I could spend a few minutes visiting with the dogs. I've done this many times at a large county kill shelter near my current home, and the staff is amazingly appreciative of anyone who wants to spend some time helping to socialize the dogs, provide care, and help with networking and fundraising. I am an adult who has spent 20 years working with neglected dogs & horses, and have dedicated my life to helping animals in need. I first asked about volunteering. They couldn't understand why I wanted to volunteer if it wasn't required community service or court ordered. They looked at me like I had two heads, then told me to come back after I'd had a tetnus shot. They wouldn't give me any info about volunteering or let me see the paperwork before that. Ok, no problem. So, I asked if I could see the dogs while I was there, and went back for a few minutes to talk to the dogs and hand out a few treats. After about 10 minutes, I reached the last dog, a small red female pit that was curled up in the corner of her cage. She let out a tiny growl when I approached, so I sat on the floor at the corner of her kennel with my shoulder facing her cage, looking at the ground, talking softly to her. She was watching me curiously, ears cocked, wondering why I was sitting there. Not upset, not intimidated, but still shy and not ready to get up and check me out. Next thing I know, a woman with the shelter came back screaming at me demanding to know what I was doing. Couldn't I see the dog was terrified? She's growling at me, I'm scaring her, I'm sticking my hands in the kennel. What am I doing to this dog? I looked at the woman in total shock and tried to explain that I wasn't scaring her, hadn't stuck my hands in the kennel, hadn't even made eye contact with her. She wasn't growling at me, and wasn't terrified of me sitting there. I tried to explain that I've worked with rescue and shelter dogs for many years. She flipped and told me to get out. I was shaking with anger, and completely shocked by her reaction. Needless to say, I will not be volunteering here, and will be contacting the Board of Directors about this appaling attitude by the staff towards the public. read more