I have adopted four cats throughout the years from SPP. I was interviewed and had a couple of sessions to make sure the cats would fit in our family. All have been well taken care. We adopted cats with gastro issues, allergies. Etc and they had great tips to make the clowder work. I always look here first for cats. read more

Shelter pet partners in El Cajon you guys have heart for you're pets! My Morris cat who's owner died of cancer has become the biggest part of our family. He has such a personality and he loves to snuggle! After a couple of days he did get sick but like the VET TOLD ME, you adopted him from a place where there is other animals and we took him from his known environment. So his immune system is weak, just give him love and he'll be fine. THE ADOPTION FEE WAS REASONABLE!! I paid 0 for Morris. So everybody at petsmart who is connected to Morris thank u for all you have done! read more

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Great cause, good people, very helpful all the time. Rocky the rescue cat, from shelter pet partners, has been a blessing. Take your newly adopted animal to your vet first, then home. read more

Shelter Pet Partners - Mary Kay of Shelter pet partners with a rescue! - Animal Shelters Near Me

BE CAREFUL with the pets you decide to adopt. I adopted two brother kittens at 3 months who were supposedly up with their 2 of 3 vaccinations. One had an eye infection for the first week and I noticed that the lady who I got them from (Lonnie) had put some eye drops in one of the boy's eye before taking them home. I didn't think anything of it, but then when I had to put antibiotic in its eye everyday for a week following that, I realized he probably had an eye infection she knew about!! But she didn't tell me! Then, the following week, diarrhea! My kittens have had diarrhea for 3 weeks and have 2 parasites AND RINGWORM! I have spent almost $900 on them in just a month with medical bills. And I have to clean/disinfect my room and bathroom almost everyday, plus feed them chicken and rice (actually make this), plus clean their little bums and paws everyday (few times a day), plus bathe them with medicated shampoo once a week, plus apply antifungal cream everyday, plus scoop their poop as often as possible, plus give them parasite meds everyday (two meds), and wash my hands like 20 milliion times a day in order to not get infected. This is OUT OF CONTROL. I'm exhausted. And to think that I paid 250 for sick cats. I understand kittens have weak immune systems and can get these kinds of things, BUT, why are they adopting out sick kittens? To save money? I know I'm racking up some major good karma points, but like I said earlier, this is absolutely out of control and exhausting me. I'm probably hurting my health from all the cleaning chemicals and dust from kitty litter at least 4X a day. YIKES! read more

SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! Yesterday I saw 6 or 7 cats piled into a display unit at Petco in San Diego. Many of the cats were freaked out. A black one named Pepsi had eye infections. The orange a tabby named Camille had THE WORST case of ear mites!! So Sad! Why do they charge $125 adoption fee? You pay first- - then we give medical attention to the pet? read more

These people claim to care about animals? Methinks not, is right! I emailed shelter pet partners, along with about 30 other rescues, asking for help with my sick young dog. Whoever works responding to the emails should be FIRED! I am OUTRAGED with the response I got! I wanted to pass it along to the director but I'm not sure how to get a hold of that person. This is the beginning of the response I got: "You are a nut job. I'm sad that you are going to be teaching anybody anything because you are so dumb. " (I included in my email I am a student teacher, not getting paid so can't afford such costly vet bills.) I received about 20 responses from other rescue organizations, who all offered some sort of help. The response I received from Shelter Pet Partners is completely unprofessional, rude and uncalled for! I cannot believe it!!!!!!!!!!! read more

I think their objective is a good one, and you're never going to get a perfect adoption/healthy animal. However, I would at least think the people would be nice. Here's a copy of an email exchange I had with them today. While I think some of what she said was true about me being dismissive of training (the original trainer made the dog worse), I think park of their job should be education as well (ie, not all trainers are the same, maybe you should try another). These people seem very short tempered and rude. First email today: On Tuesday, March 13, 2012, Lenore wrote: Hi Mary Kay, After doing a lot of research, my family was able to find a trainer with http://www.wholedogtraining.com/ that has been fabulous. We have learned a lot more about Russell, what causes his behavior (physically tired doesn't mean mentally tired), and the things that are points of stress for him. While he is still has a lot of energy, we have not had an incident since beginning his training, and he is much happier for it. Nan Arthur, our trainer, said that on a scale of 1 - 10 in terms of aggression, Russell was about a 4 and completely treatable. I'm writing to you in hope that you might recommend Nan and her team in the future (or another professional) to diagnose the dog before suggesting it has no other options. Nan has no problem suggesting a dog be put down if necessary, but she was able to provide Russell many more tools to use before biting, and our family is immensely grateful. Thank you, Lenore Response: Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:33:10 -0700 From: shelterpetpartners@gmail.com Good for you and Russell. We already do recommend Nan and training before euthanasia as we are no kill. If you re-read your original e-mail to me you pretty much dismissed training saying you had done it and it didn't work and your dad refused to do it, so why would I have thought to recommend training to you again? You were writing me to ask me to take the dog off your hands and solve your problem for you, and my response to you was based on that. Being a 4 on aggression scales still makes him a considerable risk to anyone who doesnt know him, so you are doing the best thing possible by keeping him with you, and I hope he never bites again, but I am doubtful you will be so lucky. Good luck to you and please don't contact us again. Thank you. read more

My heart hurts for the cats that are here unadopted. There is such an oversaturation of cats at the shelter, and many go through other options of adoption - like craigslist etc vs. adopting them from shelters, so the need is massive. I am apart of Spot - foster; however wanted to adopt a cat to add to the family. We have a cat who is a family cat; and is staying at our parents house - she was an outdoor-indoor cat and is about 18. We went in to look at kitty's to adopt and since the shelter on Gaines was closed; decided to try the shelter inside of Petsmart. We were met by someone; (cannot recall her name); who came off as accusatory and brash. You'd think that someone wanting to adopt a homeless animal would be greeted in a friendly manner. (?) Anyway, I was thinking she was just defensive after seeing all of the sad stories - which is understandable. In the other petsmart in lakeside - they work with SDR and they allow you to go in a hold and play with the kittens/cats and THAN, if you met one you were interested in; you fill out an application. This makes sense, because shelter animals need to be socialized with HUMANS in order to ensure they do well in their new home, and the constant human interactions would make them friendlier and trusting towards humans. After filling out this front/back form, she drilled us vs. asking nicely. It was so peculiar, i was just moreso ...taken aback than angry....i believe she needed to be socialized also perhaps. She then said, she was not sure if we would get approved since they generally adopt kittens out in pairs and she was weary that our last cat who died of OLD AGE, was an indoor / outdoor cat. We were finally let in, and played with the cats and connected with one immediately. She came back in and said...unfortunately...we cannot adopt to you because your last cat was indoor and outdoor, and although you marked that this cat was going to be indoor only we cannot adopt to you - im sorry - she has the final say and i can't change it. I feel bad that she had to be the bearer of bad news since the person who rejected our application was not her. We were.....STUNNED. Our 2 dogs were both shelter dogs and our border collie is cert. service dog. The cat who was the indoor/outdoor that died was an adopted feral bengal* who lived with us for 9+ years and died of old age. We have another cat who is also indoor/outdoor - although due to her age has remained indoor only for 5 + years who is 18 ??? ..... This is SO SAD, for the cats ...who will remain unadopted due to this silly person. We were planning to keep the cat indoor ONLY and had specified that due to that we did not want them bringing in gifts like our other cat did. SO you would rather euthanize these cats or allow them to be, than adopt them out to families who want them....this is so backwards. The customer service...is sad. You work with animals...who have been mistreated and need a home...keeping them in cages - you are not doing them any favors...so so SAD. read more

Readers, don't let your experience be tainted by some of these reviews. After reading these I knew I needed to share with you my experience. I went to the PetSmart in El Cajon in September 2013 and adopted 5 month old Chloe from Shelter Pet Partners. I had a few conversations with Theresa and she was great. I could easily tell she was an animal lover as am I and my adoption experience was very pleasant. We've always been lucky enough to have our cats adopt us. We've taken in 4 cats over many years and we were now only left with our 5 year old Maine Coon, Dexter. He has seemed pretty bored and lonely since the passing of my beautiful Leah last year, she lived 20 wonderful years as mommy's little girl. It took me some time to be ready for a new little one and I knew that Dexter needed this, so I started to look in some of the Shelters. The whole adoption process was very complicated and time consuming at the shelter, they make you wait to see a cat for an hour and then they have you fill out this ridiculously long questionnaire. I talked to a friend that recently adopted a kitty. She suggested the PetSmart's adoption facility, so I went to the El Cajon location and found Chloe. She is a beautiful 5 month old Maine Coon kitty with soft long hair. There were quite a few cats there, 2 were actually being taken to their new home while I was there and they had about 4 empty spaces after that. The facility was clean and the cats were all out of their cages and playing. Since Chloe was timid and shy, I wasn't quite sure that she'd be right for us, but after speaking to Theresa and sleeping on it for the night, I decided that she was. I filled out the application the day before and had no problem when I decided to adopt her the next day. Theresa has texted me a few times to check in on Chloe and I've sent her pictures of her and Dexter together. Chloe has been the perfect addition to our home and we are so happy we adopted her from Shelter Pet Partners. Our home is a play ground again and the two of them have a blast together. read more

Shelter Pet Partners - This is Chloe looking adoringly at her new big brother. - Animal Shelters Near Me

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I adopted 2 unrelated kittens from Shelter Pet Partners inside PetSmart in El Cajon 2 months ago. They are best friends and they make me happy every day! The volunteers there are loving, caring, concerned people. I can still contact them if I have questions or concerns. They stay in touch with me to see how the kittens are doing. I couldn't ask for better people! read more

If there was a NEGATIVE star, this place would have it. Without offering too much detail, I will say that I went in wanting a certain cat, was talked out of that animal in favour of a different cat and the one I eventually adopted became deathly ill within two weeks of bringing him home. He was put to sleep this morning at the animal hospital. I feel so bad for all the animals in their "care." read more

I truly wish I could give these people less then 1 star. I attempted to adopt a cat from them and was treat like a criminal. I have owned multiple Shelter and rescue cats in the past and currently own 2 and 1 loving German Shepard.i went to the foster house that was btw over run with over 10 cats and 4 dogs that I could see. These poor foster people were very kind but clearly they have taken on more pets out of love than they can handle. Myself and my family, including my 13 year old fell in love with the cat and the foster mom seemed pleased with us so I sent in my application. I emailed Mary Kay that runs the shelter to inquire about my app status 2 days later and she respond, "no I didn't get your app, but don't bother sending it you are being denied" Wow, pretty harsh without an application or home inspection.. thanks a lot Mary Kay for being terrible ...I hope your foster family gets some help adopting out some of those cats, seeing how you are so mean and nasty. read more

Shelter Pet Partners - Yeah this pic I personally took supports Ashley's claim, this is Ink! Return him to his rightful owner. - Animal Shelters Near Me

My boyfriend and I came to SPP to adopt a cat. We both grew up in homes with pets all our lives and cared for them ourselves. Nevertheless, we looked upon this as a serious decision, and made a plan for how we would care for the new member of our family. We were shocked when we were told that we would never be able to adopt from them because my boyfriend is in the Navy. While I am sympathetic to the issues they have had with navy members dropping off their cats when they were deployed, it does not seem fair to discriminate against the entire Navy community. Also, our circumstances are such that we could offer a stable home. If you or your family is in the Navy, I wouldn't bother with this organization. read more

I would never adopt from this organization. Beside the fact that my application got denied, they are disorganized, told me that a cat that I had been wanting to adopt was adopted already, even though she was still listed on the petfinder.com website. After my application was denied because my current cat, which I adopted at an Oakland shelter three years ago is temporarily an outdoor/indoor cat. Even though I told two separate women that I am leaving next month to the Bay area, she said no because I live in a 'bad neighborhood'. Because that is obviously relevant to my adoption of a cat. What obviously wasn't relevant was that I have been watching the cat for at least seven months, making calls about how she is and where she is and the fact that if I had gotten her she obviously would have been an indoor cat. read more

Do not adopt from here just don't. Trust me. These aren't good people trying to do good things. I feel so sorry for all of these animals that are under their "care" if you even want to call it that. Go to the humane society they will allow you to adopt with less fees and healthier animals. read more

I adopted my lynx-point Siamese from inside the Petsmart on Murphy Canyon Rd. in 2007. Carmen is my baby! I'm writing a review at this late date because I see that several Yelpers are very critical of the Shelter Pet Partners. True, some of their cats are needy in various ways, but this is because Shelter Cats takes in at-risk cats from all kinds of bad backgrounds and circumstances. I remember the Shelter ladies did ask me lots of questions about the home and attention I could provide Carmen with, and I'm glad they're so particular. Many of these cats have already been through bad circumstances, so they need a strong advocate. Shelter Pet partners is a no-kill rescue, so let's cut them some slack and support them through donations and loving adoptions! read more

I would definitely give this place a good review, contrary to many people. I can't speak to others' experiences, but my boyfriend and I had an excellent one. I found a kitten they had through Adoptapet and sent the shelter an application. By the next day my application had been approved (the only stipulation seemed to be that the kitten not be declawed at any point, and that he was being adopted for companionship rather than a gift of some kind, both of which should be a given!), and I scheduled a visit with one of their foster carers, Tracey. We visited the little guy the next day and Tracey lent us a cat carrier to bring him home in right away. Also, he had a small eye inflammation issue. When we took him into the vet, the shelter foundation footed the bill for his antibiotics right away, which was nice. My only small gripe was that they said they would cover medical bills for 30 days after adoption, and didn't mention he needed two booster vaccines within a few weeks. But we anticipated vet fees when adopting a cat, so it's not a huge deal at all! We couldn't be happier with our little bundle of joy (and his eye is all cleared up!). read more

Shelter Pet Partners - One successfully adopted and very happy kitten! - Animal Shelters Near Me

I recently adopted a year-and-a-half old female kitty from this organization at the Encinitas location in Petsmart. I had the pleasure of dealing with Ellie, a very dedicated volunteer. The area where the cats were kept was very clean and the cats seems well socialized. Ellie was about to leave because she had been there all day, but instead let me take as much time as I wanted to interact with the kitties. I found one I was interested in but said I'd like to come back the next day with my daughter. I told her what time I could come in and she met us there. Again, we were allowed to spend as much time as we needed to find the right one. I had an elderly cat at home and she told us which ones would be more likely to get along with him. I took home a very sweet girl, Molly, and Ellie called me two days later to see how everyone was doing. She was very caring. I took Molly to Dr. Dean Crowe for a free check up and he found she had stomatitis (infected gums and throat.) I let Ellie know, because one of the symptoms was very bad breath, which Molly had when I took her home. Ellie spoke with the woman in charge of Shelter Pet Partners and they reimbursed me (in cash) for the injection. They said she must have had it when I adopted her. I am very impressed with the level of caring and responsibility this rescue group demonstrates, especially Ellie. I highly recommend adopting from them. read more

I adopted my kitten who had diarrhea from day one so I know that they knew she was sick. I figured that maybe it was worms and it could easily get taken care of but it is 4 months later, I have spent a few hundred dollars, my other cat is now also sick and I have to medicate my dogs just in case. I am livid and now that I see the ratings I understand. This society is disgusting. It is abusive to have animals that are sick and to hope they get better through adoption. Shame on you. I have now engaged in emails with the person who runs this sham and apparently I have no cause to be so upset as she has accused my vet of being "overcautious", she wants me to take medication from her even though she is not a vet, she feels that all her years of working with animals make her an expert to diagnose my cat with stress and diet problems, to be sarcastic and say that hopefully no one at my house is cleaning the litter box and licking their fingers, and after all of this to which I understandable became upset, she called me confrontational. I told her the cat has a parasite called giardia which is common in water in Mexico and that it made sense since my cat was rescued from Mexico. She then says that she doesn't recall getting any cats from Mexico recently. Really? So I guess I'm imagining the paperwork they gave me that includes a vet receipt from a vet in Baja California. So basically this person who has no idea where the cats are coming from, has never even met my cat has decided to be a crass dumb ass to someone who was trying to do the right thing by adopting a rescue cat. STAY AWAY FROM THIS ORGANIZATION. I know what my next steps will be. And by the way, she tries to intimidate me by saying they have lawyers on their Board. Wow. This is a great organization. read more

I went in looking for a young cat (under 6 months). I left with 2 adult cats 4 years of age. I could not be happier. The volunteer took the time to talk to me & pointed out that a single kitten would not be the best fit for my life style. She introduced me to Laila & Lolita, a bounded pair. It was mutual love on all accounts. I can not say enough great things about this group. I got to speak with the foster mom to find out more about them. Shelter Pet Partners really cares about the cats! read more

Had a wonderful experience with this organization . Special thanks to Mary Kay and Wendy for their dedications. Yes it is true that application process is not easy , it is because they have valid, true concern for these poor animals that have been subjected to abuse and neglect before they were rescued. It would just be easy for them to give them to anyone who applied but that defeats their main purpose . They rescued this beautiful chewennie named Sweet Cakes from euthanasia , and our family was so blessed to have her , she makes our lives so wonderful and fulfilling and she is the cheapest , cutest anti-depressant ever. At a young age she is a certified emotional support animal and when she turns 1 yr old she will be a therapy dog , we named her Mistie Diana as she is a little princess. God bless this organization. read more

I find the poor handling by Shelter Pet Partners (SPP) of a kitten adoption (please refer to 10-20-12 posting by Caralene H.) particularly discouraging considering that Mary Kay, president & foster for SPP, has been investigated at least 3 times by the San Diego Humane Society for "Inadequate Vet Care" and "Poor Sanitation" complaints. Mary Kay had several dozen foster cats and dogs at her home (well over 60 cats and dogs). How is it better to take a kitten from a loving home versus being potentially fostered in a house that warrants multiple investigations? Also to consider when adopting from SPP: one of the long-time SPP fosters, Amber, was investigated in 2012 by Animal Control and found to have over 50 cats in her garage without quarantine areas. Thus Animal Control considered that this SPP foster's conditions required considerable downsizing of her amount of foster cats (these types of investigations are a matter of public record). When considering adopting from a rescue, it is particularly important to adopt from those that keep foster cats/kittens in quarantine from other litters and with good sanitation. Otherwise, the animal is more likely to have medical problems at or after adoption (as noted in another Yelp review of SPP: kittens adopted from SPP turned out to have ringworm, and other parasites). Cats kept in stressful housing conditions are more likely to have stomatitis (another SPP cat adopter noted in Yelp review that her young cat had stomatitis upon adoption in 2012). A cat/dog rescue is a wonderful endeavor and saving their lives is commendable. There's no doubt SPP has wonderful cats and dogs available for adoption. However, the entire rescue needs to be run right so that ALL the animals in their charge get adopted and ALL the animals receive quality care and a clean, healthy, loving foster environment until they are ready for adoption (with the understanding that a small percentage may need humane euthanasia for severe medical or dangerous behavior issues to avoid suffering). Speaking from personal experience dealing with many local rescue groups, including SPP, I think there are many other options for adopting a cat in San Diego that are more likely to have a consistent positive adoption outcome. read more

Good hearts but ignorant people. My mom applied for a cat 6 yrs ago and they denied her, undoubtedly because she was 83. Went to the SPCA instead to get her a cat and my mom and that cat (now 11ys old) are best friends. Early this week I fell for 2 female litter mates. On my second visit, Wendy begged me to fill out an app and on the 3rd visit I did. Everything was wonderful until she saw my answer of "probably not" on the declaw question. I said long ago I inherited a cat that wasn't trained and had to declaw but normally wouldn't do so. That was the end of that - they wouldn't let me adopt. Seriously, I am the BEST kitty mom ever. Someone can go in and lie, say they won't declaw or let them out and then do just that. Very judgmental group. I went yesterday and got 2 littler mates from the SPCA- they are adorable!!!! I would not encourage using Shelter Pet Partners. read more

Just inquired about meeting an adorable dog. Went through the application process and received two e-mails, only to find out that "sorry, we won't adopt a puppy to someone who works full-time." First, why not let me know this from the get go, and, second, they could apply some pleasant people skills. I'm going to assume that those of us who are willing to fill out an application to purchase a $300 rescue animal and are willing to go to a foster home to meet that prospective pet are decent, animal-loving folks. Not sure I can say the same of the people who run Shelter Pet Partners. Do you want people to give your pets a good, loving, healthy home, or do you prefer power plays over those who wish to adopt? read more

When looking for a cat, we fell in love with 2 from this organization. We talked for weeks with a representative who said that they would ABSOLUTELY get along with each other, and were even "kitty friends." Thinking this would be perfect, we decided to adopt them both. Long story short, it was a nightmare. I called after a few days of intense fighting, bullying, and stress. I didn't know whether this apparent change in their behavior was due to stress, or if it was something more serious. My call was not answered (I don't even think their phone ever rings, it just goes straight to a voicemail where you can leave your name & number.) When my call was returned, the response I got was... "I was surprised when I got your voicemail, because I cannot believe she adopted those two cats out to you. They do NOT like each other and have always had problems." She seemed concerned about the safety of the two together and I was then told that I could bring one of them back (who had many others interested in adopting him). After hours of trying to get him into a crate, I was scratched to hell and ended up calling SPP. Throughout the next 6 hours I left a message, called two emergency contact numbers that they listed, and got NO responses whatsoever. I finally got in touch with one of the volunteers who kindly offered to come to help me get him safely into the crate. She was a LIFESAVER and definitely cared about the cats. She was probably my only positive experience about this place (and the only reason it got 2 stars instead of 1. If I could give her her own rating, she'd get a 5. She was very nice.) She apologized profusely on the phone and told me that someone was supposed to get in touch with me hours ago. I love the cat that we kept, but she does have many health issues (that were not mentioned at all when we adopted her. We were told she was in good health.) Although this doesn't make me love her any less, it would have been nice to know about them before the adoption. Overall, the experience with this organization was not good at all. If I am ever looking for another cat, I will not adopt from here. read more

these wonderful women provided me with the two happiest additions to my life EVER!!! after four years of living with numerous roommates who didn't want a pet, I finally had a roomie who was willing. so we contacted a friend who fostered cats and she led us all the way to el cajon to check out this lady and see if she had a cat for me. we pull up to a house and walk into the garage and i'm in heaven. there are cages upon cages with litters of kittens. not just big old honkin cats... KITTENS!!!! so cute. every color, size, some active some lazy. this is my personal heaven. but these people really want you to adopt two kittens from a litter so that they have a socializing friend. but i didn't want two... so they luckily had a single kitty that was literally being bottlefed. but next to his cage were two kitties, about six weeks old, meowing so hard and trying so hard to get out of their cage. i had them open it and they climbed onto me and my roomie and immediately started purring and loving. after about 10 minutes of discussion i take the babies home and fell in love. i paid $150 each to adopt them which includes neuter/spaying from their own vets. the rest of the money goes to caring for the rest of the kittens and dogs. the main woman here literally is on speed dial at local veterinarians because if they have cats/dogs they are going to put down because they can't house them, they call her to see if she has room to save them. what a woman. she dedicates her house to these animals. i cant' thank her anough because i've had my cats ever since and LOVE THEM. most people won't get the experience i had. these people foster their cats and then basically give them to petsmart or some other big adoption agency, which is great. i luckily got my babies at six weeks old, younger than you'd ever get them. this is a great organization. you can go on their website and check out pics of the kitties. i highly recommend adopting black cats. they are great (well mine is) and wrongfully hated. some places even offered 20% discounts on black cats... so sad. they're good luck. trust me. i have to send a donation asap to these guys for making my life better. 100% of their donations go to caring for their animals. they have a sick trailer where they take care of and heal sick kitties. everyone here is a volunteer and genuinely cares. such a good organization... adopt from them! read more

BE CAUTIOUS! This organization boasts caring for animals, but don't trust forever families. They will require home visits and make you agree to attend obedience classes. Even if you raise children, they don't trust you can raise a dog. I found this group to be discourteous, over bearing, and controlling. They keep asking if I'd take the pet to the vet to pay for medical bills so it really made me think that the dogs weren't as healthy as they claimed. Do yourself a favor and visit the local shelters because it'll definitely be a more pleasant experience! read more

Let me tell you my wife and I adopted a kitten from PetSmart in Encinitas and all we can say is that we love her more than anything in this world along with our other Tabby that we got from the Oceanside shelter. We believe in saving a life versus buying from a breeder. Sweet Pea is the sweetest and most affectionate cat in the world, we are so blessed to have been able to adopt her. The folks at Shelter Pet Partners really do care about the cats that they save. I can't believe the folks say below, do not listen to them, go and see for yourself. Ellie is an Angel, she rescued our cat from the LA Shelter before she was euthanized, Sweet Pea was sitting in the death row section awaiting to be euthanized. The day she was set to be euthanized, Ellie drove up to LA and picked up her and her brother and two sisters. Thank you so much Ellie and Shelter Pet partners for giving our Sweet Pea a second chance, she has brought us tremendous joy and we are forever grateful! Please adopt a cat from Shelter Pet Partner or any Shelter before buying from a breeder! read more

My daughter and I rescued a kitten from a parking lot and being allergic to cats I brought the kitten to Shelter Pet Partners. The next day my friend said she wanted to adopt the kitty so we went back to the Pet Smart in Murphy Canyon where we brought the kitty and were promised first chance to adopt. They breached this promise and left my daughter in tears. They showed no compassion for my daughter or integrity for their promise as this email shows: From: Shelter Pet Partners shelterpetpartners@gmail.com Date: January 26, 2013, 4:27:05 PM PST To: Mary Subject: Re: Lost Kitten Your daughter???? Really? If YOUR DAUGHTER was the priority why did you bring the kitten to us? I'm sorry for the string of e-mails, I just keep seeing more messages from you in this String of e-mails. Mary Kay From: Shelter Pet Partners shelterpetpartners@gmail.com Date: January 26, 2013, 4:21:30 PM PST To: Mary Subject: Re: Lost Kitten She was adopted to a family with another kitten from the cat show in del mar today On Saturday, January 26, 2013, Mary wrote: Is it worth all the ill will and the pain my daughter feels to operate your business this way? Mary On Jan 26, 2013, at 2:00 PM, Mary wrote: I cannot express my feelings of upset strongly enough of being deceived by you. I have in writing that we were to be the first in line to adopt this kitty. My daughter rescued this kitten and she is in tears now because she cannot see him. You can be sure that I am going to write to the BBB and everyone else that I can think of to address this injustice. Mary On Jan 17, 2013, at 7:55 AM, Shelter Pet Partners shelterpetpartners@gmail.com wrote: Ok I think the kitten is getting spayed this week so we will give Judy a call. On Thursday, January 17, 2013, Mary pingspodengos@gmail.comwrote: Thank you! Judy filled out the app the very next day and it is on file at the Murphy Canyon Pet Smart location. Mary On Jan 16, 2013, at 5:49 PM, Shelter Pet Partners shelterpetpartners@gmail.com wrote: Hi Mary , Of course your interest can be the first but your neighbor needs to fill out the app if the cat is for her . You can take it to her or she can access it in line on our website. Shelterpetpartners.org. Mary Kay On Wednesday, January 16, 2013, Mary wrote: MaryKay and Ande, A week ago last Sunday, I brought in a 5 week old kitten, black with white marks. My daughter had coaxed it out from under my car in the parking lot of her Chinese school in City Heights. Everyone from the Chinese school told her to leave it in the bushes and walk away. No one wanted to take it home. I called several neighbors and asked if they wanted to take it but they all declined. I am allergic to cats so we could not take it. I am familiar with your organization and think that the cats you shelter are very well cared for. I didn't want to bring the kitten to a place that would put it down. The next day I was telling my friend, Judy, about finding the kitten and she told me that she would like to adopt the kitty. We went back to the Pet Smart the next day and she filled out an application to adopt the kitty. We realize that the kitty is too young to be adopted yet and we realize that there will have been expenses incurred by Shelter Pet Partners to get the kitty ready to be adopted and that she will have to pay the adoption fee. We would just like to be first on the list to adopt the kitty that my daughter found. It was difficult for my daughter to give the kitty up once she rescued it. My daughter herself was a rescue from an orphanage in China. She was herself found on the streets in China when she was about one year old. She lived in the orphanage until I adopted her at 5 years old. She remembers what life was like without a family and it seems to have affected her more than I realized to think that the kitty was thrown away and left unprotected. Could we be in touch and could you let me know when the kitten is ready for a family? Thank you, Mary read more

We adopted a cat last night (actually, she adopted us) and we were told she is healthy. She has worms! How the hell do you not know a cat has worms? Now way she just developed them. Now I remember why I don't rescue cats from shelters. They do not know how to properly care for animals. read more

I am shocked and quite puzzled by the negative comments I'm reading here. I kept looking at the top of the page to make sure these people were talking about the same place. I also find it oddly interesting that the majority of the positive reviews - and there are many - are in the 'not recommended' section. Please do yourself a favor and read the positive reviews as well. I have had the best experience with Shelter Pet Partners, and specifically with Mary Kay, her staff, volunteers, and foster parents. After losing my 14-year old cat, I decided to adopt another asap for my other cat who was depressed after losing his friend. Through PetFinder, I found Marge - and immediately fell in love with her. When I went to the PetSmart in El Cajon to meet Marge in person, and to finalize the paperwork, I saw Dorothy. I knew I couldn't leave Dorothy behind either - so I ended up adopting them both. Apparently, Dorothy had only been with the shelter for a few days, and her blood work and other lab results were still pending. After much discussion with the shelter staff and Mary Kay, I decided to take her anyway without knowing the results. The next morning, Dorothy was showing signs of a UTI. I contacted Mary Kay, and she IMMEDIATELY made arrangements to deliver some antibiotics to my house - which was done within 2 hours of my calling her. After a few weeks of different antibiotics and vet appointments (all of which were covered by Mary Kay and Shelter Pet Partners - and of no expense to me), it was discovered that Dorothy had a herniated bladder, which had been caused by stone that had gone undetected - requiring emergency surgery. Without any hesitation, Mary Kay made arrangements to fully cover the cost of the surgery - which, I will say, was not cheap. Mary Kay made herself available to me at all hours of the day and night, and went out of her way to help me help Dorothy get well. I am delighted to report that Dorothy has recovered, and is doing great. She and Marge have the been the best additions to my family. This would not have been possible without Mary Kay and Shelter Pet Partners. I have since, and will continue to recommend them to anyone looking to adopt. Mary Kay cares so deeply for every single animal she rescues, and she is dedicated to finding the right homes for these babies. If she refuses to adopt to someone, I am 100% certain that it is because the adopter(s) is simply not a good match, and the decision is made with the best interest of the animal in mind. read more

I love this organization. I adopted a cat from them and ended up volunteering. Since then I have adopted again from them. Cleo and Kimmie are such a great additional to our family. Every volunteer is truly passionate about the dogs and the cats. If you call for any reason after adopting whether it's behavior problems or illness they do everything to help you. I know first hand that board members return calls quickly, always willing to help with vets and offer advice because they truly love every pet. Many of the pets SPP takes in are rescued from the shelters and their back grounds are unknown. All cats have FELV/FIV tests, vaccines, spays and neuters, micro chips and Rabies shots if old enough. People need to remember these are living things and no one can read their future. All you have to do is stop any day at the PetSmarts centers Shelter Pet Partners is in and you will meet great people and wonderful cats that this organization has given a 2nd chance at finding their forever home! I know I only recommend Shelter Pet Partners to anyone looking for a new dog or cat to join their family. read more

I adopted my Kitten from Shelter Pet Partners in the Encinitas Petsmart location in April, and I go in to see Ellie all the time! I love telling her about my baby. She has been so helpful and nice! I have been there when people were rude to her or treated the cats poorly and she behaved in such a professional manner and was patient with them! I always tell people to get their cats from this organization! you know where the cats came from and what their personalities are like. My kitten got a cold when I had him for a week, which is totally normal and Ellie gave me some great advice about some immune boosting vitamins I could give him to help him get over his cold faster! I will ALWAYS go back to this organization and I LOVE talking with Ellie! read more

In 2006 my husband and I adopted 3 young cats. Sisters, Jasmine, Julie and Lily. We went for one and left with three. They were and still are the sweetest, most loving cats. We attribute their sweetness to Ellie. We found Ellie committed to her pets and committed to finding safe, happy homes for all her animals. There are people who talk and people who do. We admire the work Ellie does and would recommend Shelter Pet Partners to all. Herb and Denise Kelley read more

I'm a little horrified reading the other reviews that people have posted about Shelter Pet Partners. All I can do is relate my own experience, which was very positive. One day back in 2005, my daughters and I were at Petsmart where they had an adoption event. My younger daughter spotted a little 3-legged black dog and fell in love on the spot. We asked to see him, so they put him on a leash and my daughters spent some time with him. My daughter was smitten and *had* to have the dog. I wasn't sure we could handle another dog, as we already had a golden retriever and a cat, so I put her off. However, my daughter persisted, asking about the dog every day for a month . . . and finally, I called Shelter Pet Partners to ask if they still had the 3 legged dog. They did, so we asked them to bring him to the next adoption event . . . long story short, my husband went with the girls to meet the dog, and we adopted him. Aside from only having 3 legs, our dog was healthy. He quickly adapted to our family and routine. He's the typical satellite dog - has to be where we are, always ready to go on an adventure, he's affectionate and loyal. We've had him almost eight years now, and the little guy has a grey muzzle, but otherwise is just as bright and perky as the day we adopted him. Quite honestly, he has us all wrapped around his little paw. Shelter Pet Partners gave us a sheet on him and described his temperment pretty accurately. Our only issue we initially had was that he would make this coughing/wheezing noise after meals. An aquaintance I talked to about it suggested that this was an effect of eating dry food when the dog's windpipe may have been affected by a breathing tube during the surgery he had at one point to remove his leg. We switched to wet pouch food, and the problem went away. Another issue, which Shelter Pet Partners disclosed to us when we got the dog, is that he has some sort of leash anxiety - when he's being walked on the leash and sees another dog, he barks. But he's barking at being restrained by the leash, not at the other dog. He loves to go to the dog park to run and socialize with the other dogs. So . . . all in all, we got a great little dog from them and did not have any of the problems others have mentioned. read more

Went into the aero drive petsmart with my husband and daughter and fell in love with an adorable 10 week old kitten. We spent time playing with him and filling out the paperwork and were told that we'd receive a call within a few minutes. When we did receive a call we were told that we probably weren't going to be able to get the kitten because our daughter was under 5 years old and would pull its tail. My husband explained our situation about how we had to rehome a dog this year due to it biting our daughter and how we were looking for that perfect companion and how our daughter was so in love with this kitten. We also explained that our daughter has been around cats her whole life and has never been mean or pulled a tail. She said she understood our situation and would talk to her boss and call us back. She called us back saying that it was their policy to say no to anyone with children under 5 and we could not get him and then hung up. It was beyond rude and how they can decide that a child is too young to have a kitten without even meeting us does not make sense. As we were leaving we mentioned to one of the petsmart workers about how upset we were for the rude behavior and she said since we are military good luck ever getting a kitten from this place because they turn down most military families. It was a horrible experience and I do not recommend this place to anyone. read more

In October of 2011 we adopted an 11 week old pitty mix puppy from Shelter Pet Partners. He was being fostered by one of their volunteers who had done an awesome job socializing this little guy and his siblings! We were looking for a companion dog for our then 5 year old daughter. We had always adopted shelter dogs who were usually older, so the puppy experience was new. The volunteers did an awesome job educating us about puppies and giving us tips (especially with a bully breed) on training and further socializing. We met Spot a number of times to make sure he was a perfect fit for our family. This is one of the many reasons I love this organizations, so many others weren't willing to consider a young child and bully breed combo, but after our meetings we were completely convinced this would be a great fit. We still keep in contact with Spot's foster and the families that adopted his siblings! He is almost 2 yrs old and close to 100lbs now! Thanks SSP for uniting us with my daughter's best friend! read more