Front desk was nice I assume she was Hispanic but everyone else could've used some attitude adjustment. It's about the wellness of the animal & nothing else, if you hate your job I advise you to quit and find something much suited for your attitude. I hope this review finds management & changes are made. read more

This place is horrible don't bring your pets here. We were in a tough spot a had to surrender our dog, all we were met with was attitude and judgement from the older blonde white lady she took our dog to the back and refused to let us at LEAST say goodbye every question she asked she would reply with a snide comment. read more

They was going to euthanize a puppy. Please don't bring any pet here to be rescued because you probably just getting it killed.

I had a good experience. The staff were great. I was greeted as soon as I entered, despite the fact that the facility was very busy. The application process was "long" but very clear. I was able to visit the dog in which I had an interest with no delay. Although I did not have the fortune to adopt that dog, the process was very straight forward and simple. I love the fact that the adoption process is "first come first serve". Masks are required. There is a decent amount of free parking The location is a bit tucked away, but not hidden read more

Howard County Animal Control - View from parking lot - Animal Shelters Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

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I gave up my two cats for adoption a month ago, which Leah I believe her name is, lied and said they been adopted. I had to give up my pets due to my apartment complex does not accept pets so I thought. I simply just asked if I can adopt them back. This was the response they gave me. If you planning on adopting a pet or turning them in, this is how they handle previous owners read more

Howard County Animal Control - Animal Shelters Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

What an amazing place! I adopted a lop-eared bunny from this shelter and had to surrender him because I was allergic. I worried I'd be judged for not being able to keep him. Instead they were amazingly understanding. Because of that, I donate any excess supplies I have from my two little dogs as often as I can. No place is perfect, but this shelter is clean and the staff really cares about the animals. I highly recommend you check them out for our next pet! read more

Still 5 stars for in-house animal care. However, a generous 2 stars for their lack of good judgement for citizens involved in a citation. I received a citation for "dog at large", "intent to attack", and "biting a domestic animal". Around 9pm one evening, I was outside with my dog letting her relieve herself. We live on a shared driveway with 3 other houses. A man and his 2 dogs were walking down the driveway in the dark (I didn't see them until close) and my dog responded by scruffing one of his dogs. This man does not live at any of the homes on our driveway. Instead of him understanding that he was trespassing on private property, he chose to report my dog to animal control the next day. I appealed the 3 citation charges. Not because I deny my dog bit his dog, but because none of this would have happened if someone wasn't using a private driveway as a shortcut on their walk. What do you expect when you trespass on someone's property, especially in the dark? (Also, his dog's injuries were very minor and he didn't take his dog to the vet until the next day.) I brought land records connected to my home's deed and showed where the document in multiple places stated it was a private driveway and not to be for public use. It further states that the home owners are responsible for its upkeep (not HoCo), further supporting that this is private property. Despite legal paperwork, HoCo Animal Control deemed the driveway as a "common access road".... and upheld all three charges. They didn't even at least drop the "dog at large" citation when my dog was clearly still on her private property. They even insinuated that my yard should be fenced... my FRONT yard that the Columbia Association would never allow. Not an ounce of consideration for this man's trespassing. To give you an idea of how badly this man was trespassing on private property, it was over 80ft from the public street. This wasn't a mere few feet away onto someone's property. During the appeal, they said we'd get a decision on the case in no more than 90 days. It took 150 days to get anything back. But I had only a certain amount of time to pay the fine without further consequence. And to appeal the decision again cost more than the fine. I've spent years supporting this shelter with both my time and money, and am absolutely stunned at the lack of common sense. Legal documents mean nothing to them since they ignored it, acted as if they have zoning abilities/jurisdiction, and deemed our private property a "common access road." But hey, maybe now my driveway neighbors and I can expect Howard County to pay for any repairs/upkeep and clear the snow from it.... since Animal Control says it's a public road and all. read more

Any place that is helping animals deserves to get some stars. That being said, this is the most disorganized and most non-customer friendly animal shelter I have ever experienced. We went today in hopes of adopting a dog. We have a 2yr old rescue that we adopted from another shelter. Walking in the front desk staff was fine, they just tell you to walk through the door and tour yourself around the dog kennel. However, when I did this with my family we hit several road blocks by way of a kennel worker that repeatedly told us "these dogs are not for adoption" every corner we turned. Finally she quickly told us only five dogs in the kennel were for adoption but did not specify which five before walking out. Wait, what?!? So not wanting to play guessing games, I took my kids to tour the cat kennel area. There was a very nice lady in that area. She told me that if I was interested in a dog I had every right to ask to interact with the dog. She really seemed to want to get the animals there adopted. I would say that this place could use an overhaul of their staff and volunteers. Plenty of people that want to adopt are being turned off by the atmosphere. read more

We adopted Westley, it was a battle trying to do so because the shelter was against us adopting him as he had already been returned. It was understandable to try and protect the cat. (The previous owner claimed he was hyper, aggressive, hated being held, and would randomly attack them and the other cat they adopted with him) The shelter supervisor told us he would be euthanized if we were to return him. I've had cats my whole life and recently just lost my little buddy a couple weeks ago. I assured them any negative behavior he exhibited would be corrected through training. This cat chose me (he literally stuck his paws through the cage and hugged me as I walked past) and I was determined to become his forever home. We were advised against bringing him to a home with young kid. Needless to say the previous owners assessment couldn't be further from the truth. This little guy is an absolute sweetheart, he gives us kisses, purrs constantly and absolutely adores our kids. He is warming up to our toy Australian Shepherd and they look like they will become lifelong friends. Thank you for allowing us to bring him home and become a part of the family. His new name is Loki! read more

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The redhead that sits up front in the office is off. Supposed to go there for an interview after driving 100 miles and she starts trying to accuse us of wanting to breed the dog after it has to be neutered. Assumes the worst and said if they couldn't neuter the dog the day she mentioned because of anything, we would be skipped. Totally didn't make sense and when we asked why she said we wanted to breed the mixed breed dog. The whole place is odd. The one lady that sits in the very back desk in the front office was great the first day my wife went in to meet the dog. I feel for the normal nice people that have to work with a couple that are weird and rude. read more

a smile and a greeting would go a long way. first come gets the pet is not necessary good for the pet. this is a stupid rule that must be changed. its what is best for the pet. read more

Howard County Animal Control is clearly the county agency in charge of dog catchers and errant raccoons, but to the average citizen it is the first stop everyone should make when they want to get a pet. They have dogs and cats of every stripe, and other animals they've rescued in search of good homes. Petfinder directed us to them when we were looking to adopt some rabbits, and we've returned a few times over the years to pick up a few more that were rescued from a hoarding situation (two rabbits in a townhouse equals ninety rabbits two years later if you're an irresponsible idiot.) Always start with an adoption agency when you want to get a pet, and this is a good one to start with. Tucked back in the greenery of Columbia, you may even see some deer stroll through when you visit. read more

Howard County Animal Control - Animal Shelters Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

Not a fan, what they fail to tell you is if you've never rescued from an animal shelter you should know the first person to put in an application always wins. I saw somebody write a review on here about a bunny from last year and I ended up in the same situation as them. Long Labor Day weekend, had visited to see a guinea pig before the weekend who I never even had a chance to own. Was told that I could expect a phone call to update me on her status never got one, called to find out she was schedule for someone to pick her up for adoption and that I should've gotten an email. I didn't receive anything, me and my gf both got attached to the animal upon arrival and people say not to buy pets from a pet shop, so I tried going to an animal rescue and adopting for once since all my pets are from breeders. Now I understand why people never take this advice to heart, the adoption process is ridiculous. At this one you never even stand a chance and on top of that the front desk lady was rude. read more

My family was always inclined to adopt a pet, as my parents had never had one, and we would have fish that died every 2 weeks, and I ran out of new names(I miss you, Rocket). 2 years later, my sister got a bearded dragon. We love her. About 3 years later, my sister started wanting a dog. However, we failed; ultimately, we decided to wait. One of the nurses in my mother's office had a son that was getting rid of his leopard gecko. I had her for 5 months or so. My sister went to sleepaway camp, and fell in love with the ducks at the camp. We tried(and failed)to adopt them. 1 month later, we were at 5-Below, and my sister walked into the nearby pet store and fell in love with a kitten they called "Smudge" because of the hazel smudge on her forehead. When she took our family to meet her, we found out Smudge had been adopted, and my sister cried for hours. We visited the Howard County Animal Control, and met 2 sisters named Cindy and Marsha that were found on the side of the road. And yes, the did go with the Brady Bunch theme. We adopted the cats as I went into middle school, and they gave me a reason to live when nobody else could. Regardless of what pet you want, you will find a true friend here. Everyone in the building(Humans included) are friendly and helpful. They have a room to meet the animals and get to know them. You can rescue a cute animal and find a friend at the same time. #AdoptDontShop. I will come back here to get over my fear of dogs. Also, if the staff are reading this, Cindy is named Hazel and Marsha was named Molly. I will email the photos to you later. read more

I had a great experience with my adoption from this shelter. The kennel is immaculate. The dogs and cats are treated very well. Although it's a kill shelter, they give animals a long time to try to connect with their forever home. There were empty dog kennels so they kept the dog I ended up adopting for 2 months, thank goodness. He had been temperament tested and was wonderful. He has since passed on. The staff is professional and caring. This experience exceeded all expectations. read more

DO. NOT. GO . HERE ! Totally unprofessional. Me and my mother wanted to adopt a bunny named Hannah. we went to the shelter, met hannah,and filled the application out. the lady who helped us said they will give us a call TUESDAY for the interview since they were closed labor day weekend. Yesterday they called my mom and the lady was totally rude , she asked us if we had all the stuff and we were trying to ask her what hay was Hannah currently on ( since it can be stressful for rabbits to just switch hays) . She was disrespectful and was acting like she had another family in mind by the way she was speaking . I Called today to speak to a new lady and she said our application is expired and Hannah will be given to another family, This came to a shocker because when we visited the shelter they assured us we would get her and everything would run smoothly. They were playing games and I will definitely be taking our business elsewhere. Harford county has a great animal shelter and I will be adopting a cute black bunny from there soon . I hope Hannah lives a good life , That worker is rude . ( I understand she was just trying to make sure Hannah goes to a good home but she was so disrespectful as soon as she called us , she talked to us like we were stupid even after we told her at the shelter we received the bunny packet and have read it .) read more

my 2 year old son was so excited to come and pick out a cat, i had been telling him we were going to get one today! we first looked at the dogs and not 1 was in the kennels, absolutely 0 dogs! so we go to the cat rooms and i went to open the door for the kittens but stopped realizing there was an employee in there so i asked through the glass door if we could enter she rudely looked and my son and had a very childish expression on her face saying "no youre not allowed" which of course upset my 2 year old who was so excited about seeing the cats, which ultimately made him cry and she comes out after us not saying anything but looking at my crying son with an extremely rude look on her face just staring at him as we leave. i came in that day being 100% open to adopting a cat but they couldnt of cared less to receive my business, i will not go back to them ever and i suggest anyone else who has kids wanting a forever pet to not get one from them either! read more