I wish zero stars were an option. I am highly disappointed in my experience with this shelter and will never return. My experience began by walking in and not being greeted. The entrance is very tiny and has a strong urine smell. A volunteer was in the entrance, but did not say hi or anything. Once we finally were able to explain we wanted to look at kittens, she took us back there and couldn't even identify the kitten we were wanting to see that was posted online. She left us alone, didn't explain much of anything, and really didn't seem like she understood anything to do with adopting or the shelter. We decided we wanted to adopt the kitten we looked at and filled out the application. The application, given their "approval process," seemed lacking any real way they'd choose between applicants. It did not ask about if we could afford the cat, had time to spend with the cat, etc. It's only real focus was if our landlord allowed pets and if we've used a vet before. Which is great if the approval is first come first serve, but it was supposedly chosen by "best fit." However, no one who worked there bothered to know anything about us, really had a conversation with us, etc. I really question the usefulness of this application as it seems arbitrary and could easily favor any applicant that they happen to know (friends, family).
We tried to ask questions, which the volunteer gave vague and unhelpful answers to. Right before leaving she said that we were the only application in for the kitten we wanted. We were eager to hear back and decided to check in on our application the following week. We spoke with more than one volunteer and each were rude and lacked any knowledge about the actual approval process. We later found out that we were not actually the only applicant, but rather 3 other families applied for the same kitten. We were disappointed to hear this, as that is not the information we heard before. After a few days we received an email saying that they narrowed it down to us and one other family, but went with the other family as they applied first. They also sent us the email a day after they placed the kitten. It was great to hear the kitten went to a home, as that place was disgusting and I felt it needed to be rescued from their unsanitary establishment. We responded to their email about how we were unhappy with their service and their response was that we should have received the correct information and that they have been trying to get a bigger facility. While this may be true, their volunteers should be trained and the facility should be clean and healthy for animals to be in regardless of size.
We ended up adopting a kitten from an individual on Craigslist. This was a million times better as he communicated effectively and immediately provided the kitten's vet records. I'm happy we went with a different option. I would not recommend Milton Animal League to anyone. read more
