Not sure what the previous comments are about but everyone there was super friendly, helpful and very good with the animals. Went there looking to adopt a dog that hadn't fully been posted yet and we were greeted right away and asked us what we were looking for in a dog and showed us all the dogs that she thought would be a good fit. Ended up adopting this little guy and they've been absolutely amazing to deal with. Very clean brand new facility, they've put a lot of money back into this shelter to give the animals the best care they can have while waiting for adoption. 10/10 would recommend and would adopt from them again without a second thought. read more

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Anyone considering getting A pet please please don't go Here !! Find other places !! I recently went there & the woman Treated me so bad & rude !! She couldn't even come Downstairs to talk to me ! Please take my advice ! Look elsewhere !! read more

10 stars! I adopted my cat from there right when Corona started. I don't know why this place gets such bad reviews. Please adopt from them! read more

Pets Alive Inc - My Cat from Pets Alive! - Animal Shelters Near Me - Middletown, New York

Thanks to Pets alive I was able to adopt 2 kitten's 1last year and 1- last week both are getting along great together. This would never happen without the wonderful caring and dedicated staff of Pets alive. I truly recommend this place read more

Due to the coronavirus situation, Pets Alive won't reopen to volunteers for at least ten more days. Further, casual visitors won't be admitted until further notice and New Volunteer Orientation has been suspended for at least a few weeks. Adoptions are still being done, but only by appt. read more

Many people who work here care a lot about animals........but aren't necessarily good with people, just keep that in mind. My sister and and I have participated in events that were supposed to earn them extra funds and they were not friendly or appreciative. I did the volunteer training, didn't really go too often, but I used to drop off a lot of donations, and never got a thank you but I did it for the animals who can't tell me thank you. But after one kitten shower I donated stuff and two baskets too, that I realized that they were also being kinda greedy about the raffles; I will recommend people to them since they are a no kill shelter, and do care a lot about animals and do good work but keep in mind some of the people might be...jerks. They also really need to focus on infrastructure, badly! read more

Make themselves to be an animal sanctuary that sick and infirm animals can go to live out their lives when they do not. They claim to help animals with special needs when they do not! They refused my elderly dog that I can no longer care for because of several reasons on my end and yet I'm not willing to put her down or into a shelter. I have stairs she can't negotiate so a flat space where she can roam (with a wheelchair that I would provide) would've been best. She still has an appetite and loves people. It's unfortunate that they can not care for those who need care. They are not what they claim to be! read more

July 14 2018 we adopted our Buster! We looked everywhere for a pup that for us, my husband really wanted a min pin and that's when we found Buster! There were some issues with getting in touch with his foster family but once they got him back they called us first and we were able to get him that day, they even stayed a little passed closing to finish up the paperwork. Buster has been the best thing to happen to us he is my little snuggle bug and I couldn't imagine not having him now! read more

Pets Alive Inc - Buster - Animal Shelters Near Me - Middletown, New York

My fiancé went here to adopt our first kitten and the volunteers there were great. Anne is who did the adoption for us and she made it a freeze, she explained everything to us that we need to know and walked us through the process making us feel comfortable and confident . I also wanted to mention how well kept the shelter is everything is clean and sanitizer is there out for use to ensure everyone keeps clean while visiting the animals. I highly recommend looking at pets alive if your looking to adopt a fur baby. read more

Adopted my beautiful pitty here. Great place with caring staff. I would definitely recommend.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge how amazing Pets Alive in Middletown, NY is. The staff is amazing, the facility is properly and well cared for and I've received all proper paperwork concerning my fur baby that makes me feel comfortable in moving forward with the proper care for him. read more

Avoid this organization at your risk. My family and I rescued a lovely 3 year old Rottweiler boy named Bear on March 16th. At the time of adoption, we were told that Bear was a neutered male. We drove up from NYC twice - once to socialize him with our other Rottie and the 2nd time to bring Bear home. 1.5 hours each way, both times. We are long time Rottie owners who recently lost our oldest female to Mega Esophagus and were looking forward to making Bear part of our family. As soon as we got home, Bear started marking the whole house - unusual for a fixed Male, but we rolled with it and got right to work retraining him. During the first week we had a few incidents of mild aggression from Bear, but nothing we couldn't handle. A week after Bear came home with us we discovered that, lo and behold, Bear was not in fact fixed. He was a fully intact Male - which would explain the marking and the signs of aggression. Not a good thing for a house with 2 small children. We immediately contacted Pets Alive who told us that were very sorry and would take care of the situation, but all the suggestions we gave them were not good enough. Our vet was too expensive, the other vets in the area were too expensive or not good enough, the ASPCA van was always full. A week after this, we were dog sitting for a friends dog while they were out of town. Their dog was not fixed and, to add insult to injury, was in heat. Had Bear been fixed, this wouldn't have been an issue but instead .... Bear went nuts. We kept the 2 dogs separated - one upstairs, the other downstairs, but the barking was incessant. We called Pets Alive. They offered to come get Bear and have him fixed by their vet in Middletown. On Friday evening Ryan Boniface came to our house, picked up Bear and took him upstate. We were told we'd have him back in a few days. The next morning we got an email from Becky accusing us of lying on our application and refusing to give us back Bear without a shred of proof and in direct contradiction to the contract we signed. Bear belongs with us. The signed contract we have proves as much but Becky in all her hubris has decided that she knows better. He had a good home with us and he was doing far better with us than he was at Pets Alive. When we got Bear he was dirty, overweight, had a dull coat, never got exercised and his tail was infected. Who knows what has happened to him since. Our family is devastated at not only the way we were treated, but by having Bear ripped from our home with a bevy of lies wrapped with false concern. If they couldn't be trusted to tell if a male dog was neutered, how can anything they do or say be trusted? They claim to speak for the animals - but in reality they only speak to feed their own egos. There are plenty of good, honest and reputable organizations out there that don't borrow their tactics from Somali Pirates. read more

Well fast forward to present day , we were able to get a kitten and he has grown into a real spitfire.....loves Phoebe my dog, gets along with the now 18 yr old cat Squeaky and loves to pounce on our newest addition Banzo (dog) who will turn 1 yr old in Oct. I still think about what happened and shake my head in disbelief. How much longer did that kitten stay in a cage? I'll go out on a limb and say they are looking out for the animals - but do they realize the damage they are causing? I read other reviews and it seems no one cares for this organization. you guys need to let up a little - maybe a few more animals will get adopted that way. I know some people don't deserve a loving pet' but you need to learn how to make that distinction from someone who loves his "family members" like me. read more

They force you to sit through a literal briefing and page after page of paperwork before you can even SEE a dog. While doing this a dog made its way into the waiting area and came over to me, and the staff was FURIOUS that I pet the dog and played with him for a minute. When we were finally able to see the dogs they were being kept outside during a thunderstorm, which didn't seem to bother the staff. Don't bother with this place, go to Middletown humane society where you are actually allowed to meet dogs and not be led around like an idiot child. The staff at Middletown humane society were also far more pleasant and welcoming, probably understanding that being rude and nasty to potiental adopters is not a good way to get your pets adopted. read more

This place is a nightmare. The conditions the dogs and cats are kept in are terrible. Do your research before coming here, this place has been nothing but a blight on the community for years. The people that run the place are very nasty to you. They act like they are the only people on the planet who know anything about animals, while they keep all of theres in the dump that is coming down around their heads. They dont want to actually help there animals and get them adopted, they were for more interested in gathering up a bunch of sad looking dogs to farm donations and make easy money while only providing the minimum amount of upkeep to the animals and the buildings on site. Stay far away. read more

I attempted to adopt a dog from Pets Alive in Middletown, New York. They turned me down because I had to give up a dog due to selling my house and no apt complex would allow me to bring him because he was a PitBull. I loved my dog and took very good care of him. He never missed a Vet appt and was up to date with his shots. He was prone to ear infections. I always cleaned his ears and gave him his meds. Pets Alive rather have you go to a puppy mill then adopt a dog. I see why there are so many dogs in shelters. This dog missed out on a happy and healthy loving family due to Pets Alive. I am now forced to buy a dog from a puppy mill. read more

In response to Kerry's comment: They might not "have" a clinic, but they "work with" a clinic; the kitten I adopted from them was in fact NOT SPAYED, so if she isn't aware that Pets Alive does in fact adopt unaltered animals, it is another symptom of an organization taking on too much for its staff to handle; and as a Warwick resident, I'm quite sure I can tell the difference between Westchester and Middletown, but thanks for the suggestion, Kerry! (If you happen to be on Staten Island, SICAW is an AWESOME rescue, and you should check out how they run their organization!). Again, Pets Alive...great goals and friendly, but biting off more than they can chew. read more

Wow. I just read the reviews on this place and I felt compelled to write a more accurate review. I mean - I'm almost personally insulted by the things people wrote. I adopted my dog here 9 years ago and had a wonderful experience. I still have his original records and I got what I wanted; a rescue. It seems that people are coming here w the expectation that every animal they take in is perfectly behaved and housebroken, and will have dinner on the table each night when you arrive home. This place takes on animals with all sorts experiences. Some are known and some are not. With that, they work with their animals to find a perfect home. Yesterday I interacted with two gentlemen who were volunteers and trainers, and Kory, who works as the adoption coordinator. All three people were engaging and professional and care about what they do. My brother found a dog that we are hoping he will get. We are simply waiting on the normal background check to be completed. In summary; good people who do a good thing for animals and even for humanity. I'd definitely give this shelter a visit if you're on the market for a four legged (or sometimes three) friend. read more

I cannot say enough good things about Pets Alive. The staff and volunteers are outstanding. I felt like I was at home the minute I stepped out of my car. The animals are loved so much by the staff and volunteers. I have adopted many dogs from Pets Alive and have referred many others to them. I have friends who have adopted healthy beautiful dogs and cats. My parents also adopted a dog this past November and were so impressed with the sanctuary condition and the professionalism of the staff. I will continue to suppory Pets Alive and encourage others to do so also. Thank you Pets Alive for my wonderful furry family members read more

We drive 2 hours just to see the critters so we can choose what we want when we arrived lady took 10 mins for a so called application which they never told me was the process when I called before driving up here when arriving in office an older lady was rude and disrespectful flat out bitch towards me and my fiancé about the application were not from the area so when we asked questions we've never even seen and about the process about us owning our apartment and if it's gonna have a bed etc then she raised her voice at me and my fiancé claiming "this ain't no damn petting zoo" to me and my fiancé afterwards we politely said she didn't have to raise her voice at us she got mad she rudely put her hands on me and pushed me and my fiancé out the door demanding us to get off her property just because of a question I said you don't have to be rude and she's like oh your fiancés rude when he wasn't where's your customer service skills.. what type of establishments is this you need to fill a form just to look at a pet? Take your business else where to an actual humane society that lets you view the pets and interact DONT EVER COME HERE read more

I am a passionate animal advocate. I have spent time at several shelters across the country and have to say that the level of care, compassion and professionalism at Pets Alive is top notch. Pets Alive houses well over 150 animals, one of the largest no kill shelters I have visited. They also have an incredible Vet, Dr Joe, from Rock Hill NY, who dedicates and donates a lot of his time with the animals and staff, as the President of the Board. These sweet animals, who all deserve a loving home, are in great care while they wait for their forever home. Volunteer!!!! For those that are concerned about the infrastructure, PLEASE feel free to donate. Any donations for the infrastructure are being matched, up to $250,00! Every dollar counts!! If you are considering volunteering, PLEASE go visit them!!! read more

I would actually leave less than one star I began the process with an adoption online form they do not answer their telephone you leave message after message after message and no one calls you back. Then they send you tons of emails that you cannot clarify when there is a question you go through an extensive process give them all the information they want and they do not even hold the pet for you I began an online form last week one week later after I've been in this process waiting for this animal they called me up to tell me they still could not verify my information which I had clearly provided to them and they gave the pet out for adoption to someone else even though I was in process of adopting that animal!That is rude And horrible with all of the animals out there to be adopted they should not torture you if you want to give a pet a good home they should answer their telephone and do their jobI would never recommend this place to anyone read more

Went to Pets Alive today with the intention of starting the adoption process for a cat, provided that that everything aligned and it seemed that I would be a good fit for the cat. One of the staff members was extremely rude, treating me like a young child and informing me several times that they are "not a petting zoo." I informed her that I had full intention to purchase a cat and asked her pointedly if she was refusing my application. She informed me that she was not refusing my application but made it clear that she did not think that I would be a responsible pet owner and that she did not "recommend" that I get a cat. After reading many reviews I feel grateful that I did not adopt from them due to the many health issues that previous adopters have seen in new pets from Pets Alive. The staff at the Humane society were much more welcoming, professional, and informative - go to them and avoid Pets Alive. read more

Went to pets alive to adopt a kitten and the experience was very disappointing. When you enter the house the smell is really horrible. When walking in the rooms downstairs and then upstairs you find them filthy and disgusting, I'm sure they don't do much cleaning. When we where upstairs to look at the kittens there was at least 4 sick ones in crates. They said they were under veterinary care but under these conditions I wondered how health the other 6 or 8 running around the room where. Although they may have good intentions someone has dropped the ball. I also found the person running the house a bit arrogant. Needless to say we did not adopt a kitten there but found the local aspca's a better and cleaner experience and adopted a kitten there. read more

They are awful. I lost my ESA (emotional support animal) binx, contacted them they said I needed to pay to get him back, then they rehomed my cat. He is my emotional Support animal for depression anxiety self harm PTSD and bipolar disorder. Every time I tried to explain the situation they told me I was a bad owner not knowing I spent a good part of ten hours crying dry heavejng and getting in a car accident by the time they found my cat, it took me a week to find him and I had no money as I was moveing. They refused to help me at all and animal control was no better. So I am stuck still trying to find my sweet baby that they renamed Norman Bates so if u see this... I love you bjnx read more

My husband and I were so excited to adopt a puppy from the Pets Alive Middletown shelter. We did not receive any medical records when we adopted the puppy. The volunteers said they would email them to us that day, which they didn't. Within 20 minutes of leaving the shelter, the puppy demonstrated symptoms of an illness (explosive diarrhea). He continued having explosive diarrhea for the next two days. He ate all his food yet appeared lethargic and did not want to go for walks. We had a vet appointment at our local animal hospital within 48 hours of adopting the puppy. In the mean time, we kept calling the Pets Alive shelter for the puppy's medical records, with no response. The puppy continued to have explosive, foul-smelling diarrhea in the vet's waiting room. Our vet could not believe that we were not given any medical records. He instructed us that the puppy was in very poor health and recommended immediately bringing him back to the shelter for treatment. Returning to Pets Alive, my husband met with Janet Pirog (Vet Tech) and Karen Lieberman (Executive Administrator) to discuss the puppy's condition. An agreement was reached where they would treat the puppy and we would pick him up when recovered. Over the next few days we received updates on the puppy's condition from Janet. After unsuccessfully reaching her by phone, we began emailing her. The email was intercepted by Kerry Clair (Executive Director) who stated "we will not be getting the puppy back". She refused to speak to us on the phone and told us if we entered the Pets Alive property we would be asked to leave. In the end we would up losing our money and losing our dog. Overall, we followed the stipulation in our contract which stated to contact Pets Alive if the animal was found to be ill. We followed their direction on how to proceed from there. Then 3 days later we were told that we would never see our dog again. Had we been told that up front, we never would have released him to them. I agree with the other reviewer that this shelter takes on more than it can handle. There are lots of volunteers and they can't keep track of all the dogs. Therefore they are selling sick dogs to good people. I would not recommend adopting from this shelter. There are lots of other reputable shelters in the area. No one should have to go through what we went through. read more

I adopted a cat from here. I wish I could give a better review because the intent of the shelter to provide the cats with a comfortable and caring environment is great and they do have nice, homey rooms set up for the cats to live in (they aren't caged) until adoption. If you plan to adopt from Pets Alive, please insist that the animal you are getting has a checkup before you leave the facility, including having its temperature taken at the time you intend to bring the pet home. We learned after the fact that this is standard protocol for shelters when an animal is adopted, but this was not the case for us. Also, be sure to read through the medical history given to you with your pet before signing and leaving. We were assured that the cat we got was healthy and this was not the case. When we looked through his history that night, we saw he had just finished a course of medication that we weren't told about. Also, the medical papers said he wasn't microchipped and we found out that he is. Read on for our adoption experience: We went to the shelter to see the cats and fell in love with one. I mentioned to the staff member in the room with us that he felt warm. The cat was also laying against my body, which we later found is not uncommon of a cat with a fever because it may feel chilled, but we didn't know this at the time. The staff member assured us the cat was healthy and fine. We took the cat home. Under 48 hours later, we were at the emergency vet because the cat was sneezing out puss colored discharge, wasn't eating much and was acting unwell. He had a fever and was put on a course of antibiotics. We brought him home. Two days later, we had to bring him back to the emergency vet because he wasn't eating, was losing weight, was sneezing, coughing and acting lethargic. His fever was the same and the vet determined that it was viral the cat needed IV fluids and a shot of medicine to bring the fever down. After this, he began eating again. A few days later, the cat started getting worse and his eye became infected. We brought him to a vet nearby and he still had a fever. He was given eye meds and a course of dewormer for lung worm, which the shelter hadn't treated him for. This vet mentioned the possibility that our cat may have a deadly virus and has kept in contact with us via e-mail on a daily basis to help us with at home medical care of our cat (taking his temperature and reporting back, administering medicines, checking symptoms, etc). At this point, the cat's fever has resolved despite a number of recurring symptoms that are needing consistent monitoring and treatment. Thankfully, we are less worried about the deadly virus at this point. Throughout this, we were in contact with Pets Alive. They took a very long time to reply to us and most of the time, after we told them what was going on, no one would pick up our calls. At first, they offered for us to drive the cat back to the shelter to see their vet tech. The cat kept getting ill to the point where he had to be taken for emergency care, so waiting for Pets Alive's business hours wasn't an option. After our emergency vet visits, they offered for their mobile vet (Dr. Joe) to see him. We called Dr. Joe and he said he would not drive to us on Pets Alive's dime because we were too far away, that he was in fact driving at the moment and would call back to see if we could work out an appointment. He never called and the cat needed ASAP care, so we brought him to a local vet. Though Pets Alive adopted out a sick cat in the midst of a medical emergency to us, they have refused to help with any portion of the numerous, expensive medical bills that have piled up in the past three weeks starting right after we brought the cat home. Their reasoning is that they had asked us to bring him to the shelter for care or have their mobile vet who brushed us off see him (again waiting was not an option with how sick our cat was at the time of his vet visits). They say that they can't help because we signed a paper that says they don't cover medical expenses after adoption. They refuse to even cover what it would have cost them to see him at the facility or cover the visit that never happened because Dr. Joe wouldn't work out an appointment with us. Pets Alive did absolutely zero at the shelter while we were adopting our cat to make sure that the cat we were getting was not sick. So once again, before you bring a pet home from here INSIST on a temperature being taken and a medical exam being performed because Pets Alive will not go the extra mile on their own to ensure you're getting a healthy pet. The result of this for us was extremely expensive and emotionally difficult for both us and our new pet. read more

I have never adopted a dog from Pet's Alive but I have had a couple of great experiences with them. I live within ear shot of their facility on Derby Road and I once had a cat that was stuck very high up in a tree right across the road from my house for about three days. I called animal control, the fire dept., and several tree companies and no one would help. My neighbor and I tried leaving cat food and tuna fish near the bottom of the tree but the cat was young and didn't know how to back down out of the tree. I drove over to Pet's Alive and explained the situation and three of their volunteers followed me back in their van. I got a ladder so the young man could get part way up the tree and the girls brought a pillow case to put the cat in so he could be lowered down safely. He climbed up and got the cat down and they took him to the shelter where he was adopted a couple months later. I stopped in a few weeks later to see the cat and they told me the boy that climbed up the tree got poison ivy all over his arms and torso. I donated $50. The second incident happened when I was approached on my property by a black German Shepard with no collar, (I first thought it was a coyote, and it scared the crap out of me). Well, I put the dog in my outside kennel and called Pet's Alive and they came over with a chip scanner to see if the dog had one. Well, it did and the dog belonged to a neighbor of mine that lived about a mile away, so I called them and they came and got their dog. I have two rescue dogs right now, but if I ever wanted to adopt again, I will make a short trip over to Pet's Alive to find my next forever friend. read more

I realize that this operation is trying to do good things for animals in need. I personally had a horrible experience here and would suggest looking elsewhere if looking for an animal to adopt. read more

Please note I'm not about to bad mouth this pet adoption place but more of a warning to future adopters. I highly suggest fostering from Pets Alive in Middletown before adopting. When we adopted our precious Layla we were going to foster first, we were swayed otherwise and adopted instead. Poor pup came with a bite on her face,kennel cough, a skin issue, yeast infection, and her health condition was very poor to say the least after we were told she was in good health. After $250 adoption fee and $300 in vet bills I'm happy to say Layla is much better. We were told by Pets Alive she came with insurance for 30 days this was false, we were then told they would see if they could cover all or some of our vet bills and they said they'd look into it. After much contact on my part and not so much of a return call from them (unless I was hounding me them) we found out 3 weeks later they won't cover our costs and won't refund our adoption fee. There was no reason as to why just that was that. I'm not saying don't get an animal from there but I am saying get your animal checked as soon as you do get one from there. The reason why they are a no kill shelter is because the dogs probably will not survive that long in that environment and that is terrible to think about. The only good this out of all of this is that we have Layla and given time she is doing so much better. Adopter beware! read more

Pets alive does a wonderful job of evaluating animals to suit perspective f families. The caring is evident. We appreciate their work and newest family member!! read more

My husband and I drove from Pearl River to Pets Alive in the hopes of finding a healthy, dog friendly rescue. This was not the case. My husband was cautioned to keep the dog we were interested in 15 feet away from any other dog when walking him on the trail. The adoption counselor insisted we was very dog friendly however she never demonstrated this with any other dog at the shelter. We were very insistent that we would not consider bringing home a dog who wasn't very sociable with humans as well as dogs. During the adoption process we were told that the dog was on medication and we needed to administer these meds for another 20 day/ 2 times a day!!!! There is also a horrendous kennel cough outbreak and we believe the dog we took was infected since he was coughing as soon as we got him home. I would say that the majority of dogs are in quarantine and affected with kennel cough. The dog we "adopted" began to vomit, cough, hide under the table, growl and act aggressively towards other dogs on our street and showed signs that he had been mistreated. I returned him two days later. Pets Alive should never send home a sick animal. Any animal taking medication should be with a foster family or at the shelter until a vet gives them the "all clear". Even kill shelters follow this policy. Pets Alive is an irresponsible shelter. Stay as far away as possible. It is not the animals that the head of this shelter cares about rather it is her pocketbook! Shamefull!!!! read more

Me and my mom went here to find a dog to adopt. But when getting there we found it to be very weird and defiantly not a place to get a dog or at least what we were looking for. All the dogs seemed to have behavioral issues and it was very loud in the kennel area. The staff there were very upfront with the dogs issues which was very good to know . It could be a good place depending what you were looking for. You go there and fill out an application immediately. There is a traffic light system we're the green lights are better acting dogs , yellow means there are some sort of problem ( not too bad), and red means there is a biting history, also there is white and blue which I don't really understand. Overall it was a stressful experience. And leaving me feeling very strange afterward. read more

I have adopted many a pet from Pets Alive as well as volunteer there. All my pets have been well taken care of and I have been given full knowledge of what they know to be the animals background. People should note that these are rescue animals and Pets Alive only gets the information that is passed along to them from the other rescue groups. The write up from Marianne M. is totally untrue. The dog does not have kennel cough, all dogs when walked on the premises are kept 15 ft. away from any dog as the adopter does not know the history or background of the other dog. This dog lived with 2 other dogs and maybe Marianne M. should take a class in animal behavior since she isn't an expert. She only had the dog for 3 days, she came barreling down the driveway and was nasty as could be, opened the hatch and the dog took off. This could have been a disaster but thankfully he ran to one of our other volunteers. I am grateful this dog is back with us because clearly this woman has no knowledge of rescue dogs, was given medicine as a precaution, the sanctuary is not totally infected with kennel cough (only dogs that were inside were infected and off limits to all but staff). This person has no compassion whatsoever for a rescue dog and I would definitely put her on a Do Not Adopt list as this poor dog was frightened of her. Total nut job. It should be noted that the adoption coordinator spent well over an hour and a half with these people explaining everything to them. She has only written bits and pieces of any of that conversation here to make herself look good. read more

a waste of time. My family saw several dogs online that were located at Pets Alive that we were interested in adopting. When we got there, we mention the dogs that we wanted to see. the staff were very nasty, refused to show us the dogs we ask them about and told us that they were only going to show us dogs that they felt were "A good match for us" and choose a dog for us. There are so many animals at the shelter and now I understand why. read more

It's very difficult to give anything less than a stellar review for this organization, and I hope I'm not filtered nor the review passed over out of doubt. We'd visited other shelters and the Dutchess county SPCA looking for a new feline family member. It's hard when you're looking for a good fit for your situation (ie. we have another cat already) and lifestyle (size of our residence, travel, etc) and yet your heart breaks for each orphan you meet. We filled out an adoption application, which was resolved promptly and enthusiastically, thus we travelled a little out of our way from Poughkeepsie to Middletown to visit the Pets Alive sanctuary. The shelter looked neat and tidy from the outside. Greeted by a shelter employee, we were led in, only to be asked immediately to disinfect our hands prior to meeting the first of many batches of cats. This became a regular routine during our tour of the facility, one of many things which impressed me "please clean your hands before visiting the next room". I didn't see that much of the rest of the shelter but the cat experience was pretty amazing. Our guide as well as many of the other volunteers we met knew the names of every animal we handled and their personalities to match. It was clear that everyone we met had a great deal of interaction with the cats in the shelter, knowing names, detailed histories and personalities. We expressed our needs and lifestyle and were met with pretty specific details about each cat in the shelter, and for the few which the volunteers didn't know well, were told up front "we don't know much about this cat, it's too shy/feral/new". Cats were separated into different areas: older/FIV+, new additions/ferals etc. Our tour guide had extensive knowledge of the kitties with which we interacted and was sensitive to our specifics: we indicated what sort of cat we wanted and were guided well "this fellow is very shy" "this girl hates being picked up" "this lady bites" "this boy is very social and gentle" etc. It was amazing how well the shelter employee (Becky) knew everyone's names and personalities and was right on the money. Overall we were very impressed with the Pets Alive organization and in fact feel a little guilty adopting and taking a cat away from a place where she was evidently very happy. However we're happy to provide a space for a new kitty to enjoy the care and comfort of a place which seems to truly love their beasts and approaches their work as if it was their favourite thing to do, ever. I'm so pleased we drove out of our way to visit Pets Alive, the experience was so rewarding and of course the best part was being able to adopt a new addition to our little family. read more

No Audrey I am not that Hope who was denied adoption. I would not write comments like this in spite. I would not start an adoption here!!! I only came by to see the animals, was horrified and left pretty quick. I want people to know to avoid this place cause it is a big mistake with your animals in cages outside in the dirt and inside your building it smelled soooo bad and was filthy. It reeked of Clorox and the floors were wet. I am happy these animals at least are not out on the streets but compared to other facilities this place is a dump. Stay away. read more

I am heartbroken. I got puppy from Pets Alive. Everything seemed find until that evening, when he started having extreme diarrreah. I called the vet and made an appointment but by the morning he was dead. I called Pets Alive and they said that if I had "killed my puppy already", THEIR WORDS, they wanted nothing more to do with me and I would be arrested if I came back. My kids are very upset and so am I. Avoid this place. read more

I am a private investigator that handles estate cases. They wonderfully helped me out about five years ago when There were abandoned cats. I gave them a generous donation. Now I can't even get them to answer an email or answer a phone call or I should say return a phone call read more

I went there to apply to adopt a dog. I walked into their facility and stood there for 10 minutes while 4 volunteers walked in and out of the main office and none of them paid any mind to me. One was even in the room and ignored us. She didn't even say that someone would be right with us since she had a dog in her arms. When someone finally asked if they could help me they sat me down at the computer to fill out the application. I got to a certain point where I did have the exact information I needed, I turned around to ask someone how they wanted me to do it for now. It took me another 5 minutes to get someone's attention. When I finally did I couldn't even get my question out. All I could say was that I didn't have all of the information. The volunteer kept cutting me off and telling me they needed the information. Finally I cut her off in turn and said I understood that and asked what she wanted me to put for now since I couldn't provide the information. With a serious attitude she told me what I should put for now. They certainly need to work on their customer service. If I am going to pay them for an animal I would like to be treated with a little more kindness and respect. read more