The El Cajon campus of the San Diego Humane Society deserves so much love. It's a surprisingly…read morespacious, laid‑back campus with a calm, welcoming energy the moment you walk in. They offer so many essential services to the community -- spay/neuter, a free community pet pantry, pet training, dog licensing, lost‑and‑found support, humane euthanasia, rehoming assistance, and more. Their impact is huge, and every bit of support truly matters. One thing I really appreciate is their Adoption Guarantee. If a pet isn't the right fit, they'll schedule an appointment to welcome the animal back without judgment. That level of compassion says everything about who they are. The El Cajon campus also has its own personality -- you'll often see turtles and even a few roosters around, which adds to the charm. The staff here is incredibly kind, and they genuinely value their volunteers. Jason, the Volunteer Coordinator, is especially wonderful -- supportive, patient, and so encouraging. You can tell he cares deeply about both the animals and the people who show up to help. Some meaningful ways to get involved include: Donating Volunteering Participating in Dog Day Out Supporting the Community Cat Program Fostering Adopting instead of shopping Spaying/neutering your pets Sharing their posts to spread awareness Every experience I've had at the El Cajon campus has been positive. The team works with animals in distress every day, and they still show up with compassion and grace. Our community is lucky to have them.

Thus is a campus? You learn every day. Today is Sunday, and el cajon is baking hot. I stopped…read moreafter church to speak to anyone. I found Webbie, he os just a volunteer. I asked if he needed water but he seemed in great spirits. Hes a volunteer with a heart of gold. I asked if I could help as he was actually walking one if the dogs around. A great heart is inside of this person. He sweats a lot. Give him a token of appreciation a medal perhaps. The most I can offer is respect and this uniquely awesome review. Amen keep going Webbie, true colors are shining through your heart!!! Amen. A testament to your fine establishments

Josh and his team are amazing. We had an injured feral cat. He came right out and showed me how to…read moreuse the cage. He kept in contact with me throughout the process. I was able to rescue one cat with a badly injured leg. The cat would cry throughout the night and also get attacked by another feral cat. I was able to get him at night and drove to their location at night to drop off the injured cat. They were able to get him fixed up as good as new! Thanks for all the work you do!

This is from last year. I never post it on yelp only on facebook. I see there are alot of negative…read morereviews regarding bad customer service and being treated unfairly. Someone needs to get fired. Alot of pets needs home and if she is in charge people will get denied just because she feels like it that day. Review I posted on facebook last year below. *Paula has been so rude. she is not approving me after I had to reschedule Saturday due to an Emergency. Before that it was due to an ESA letter not being enough for her because it had to specify more than 1 animal. Once I got it fixed she texted me and said lets move foward and meet the kitten. (She did not even ask me for proof of the letter) she said she would call me to reschedule after and then text me saying she is declining me and not give me a reason. She has been trying to deny me since day one and will not give me a reason after asking her more than once

Heart of Gold is a great place to adopt a dog. We adopted our little dog Bonnie in October 2025…read more Very healthy and loving dog. We are very happy with her and love her very much. Thank you Jessica for bringing her into our lives.

I found my precious pup, Poppy, (formerly Pepper), on Heart of Golds website after my 14.5 year old…read morefur baby passed away. I spent months looking at Pet Finder trying to find my new baby and was so elated to find this rescue organization. I found many sweet pets ready for adoption however, when it came to dealing with an organizations manager, most came up short and were only in it for the money. I am forever grateful to Jessica and Co., for the wonderful care they took with Poppy and how strenuous their vetting of me was to ensure that I was the right parent for her. We are very much a match made in heaven right down to sharing the same hair color! I will continue to let people know that this is, by far, the very BEST rescue organization in Southern California!

Shelter pet partners in El Cajon you guys have heart for you're pets! My Morris cat who's owner…read moredied 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!

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

K.O.R.A.L. is a top notch rescue group - they are not only passionate about saving lives, but also…read moreextremely well run and organized. These two things coming together make them the perfect rescue to work with. I have been working with them and donating time from my business, Behave! Dog Training & Behavior Modification. Volunteering with them has been a rewarding experience, and I highly recommend them!

When our two cats passed in early 2026, we cleaned the house for several months to air things out,…read morebefore thinking about new cats. It's hard to ignore the silence in the house. Over six weeks we visited about 30 different rescues and shelters, and met well over 300 cats. At this point we noticed we were becoming experts on how to visit shelters and interview cats, more than we were "finding two cats." Of all the places we visited, both of us were unanimous that we liked FOCAS the best. My mother had come here 20 years ago and always said it was her favorite too. One thing you should know before you go, the website only shows a few cats but there are WAY more. I can't imagine one facility in all of San Diego that has so many cats. Not all are up for adoption, someone are in permanent residency thanks to terminal conditions. FOCAS are real saints for just letting them live out the rest of their lives here. ( We donated a bit on the way out. ) Sadly we did not end up getting our cats here but Jupiter was definitely in the running, maybe our backup plan. ( I feel bad for saying that. ) I hope someone adopts Jupiter, what a standout that guy was. Honestly they were all good and each so different personalities. It's often hard to tell how someone will behave at home as it's often different from how they are in a shelter. I would adopt from here, or even recommend that people just visit, to see what a nice facility they have. We've been to other, smaller ones and some of those were so smelly and run down. FOCAS always remains top notch, no weird smell, everything's clean, everyone's healthy. I can't imagine what else to say. I wish I had a bigger house and more rooms. I'd love to give them all a place to stay but I'm limited to two in our household.

Can't believe what happened to me today. Spent a whole day…read moregoing to shelters browsing cats for adoption and just not finding any good options. The next morning I drove to Freinds of cats to continue my search. They had many kittens many teenagers lots of cats. A nice lady helped me showed me where the cats are and answered my questions about adoption process. She asked me what your "dream idea of this cats life?" I said to live INDOOR with me and after a half year or year I could let it see the sun of outside to smell the air. Be monitored of course. She informs me these cats can only be indoors and I said okay that's not a problem to me. I continue to see a kitten I really really loved. Went back to the same lady I was talking to and said hey I'm gonna grab my wife and come back. I start to get excited. Rush home, tell my wife hey they have kittens I love one I want you to see it. We rush back incredibly high hopes. Upon entry I was served a paper saying we will not allow you to adopt. The reason being: "You want an outdoor cat"........ I was in disbelief. They were serious. Apparently one lady's opinion dictates whether your a candidate to adopt or not. Not any facts. Not any real life requirements. Just an employees opinion about you. - A employee that's a young girl with curly hair. You asked my "idea of a cats life" not if it's gonna be an indoor or outdoor cat. And that opinion would've been nice to know before I left got my wife and drove back. Would've loved to adopt this kitten and offered a donation on top. Seriously unprofessional. Ruined me and my wife's whole day. Thanks. And on top of this, a random thing.... They got outdoor cages for these cats... like they are indoor only? But you are having hybrid cages that are chain link exposed to the outside. Make that make sense.

Suzanne runs this animal rescue and this is the actual address I don't know what the other address…read morethat popped up with the name hollys garden rescue but I'm only talking about the one at 5666 Aztec Dr La Mesa Susanne was the coolest sweetest animal lover ever. She's been saving animal lives for over 30yrs and she actually does grow a garden of flowers AND vegetables she is so worthy of a shout out for her love and dedication for animals. Great job you do every single day.

we rescued 2senior dogs from Susan. I was impressed with the lengthy applic - obviously…read moreconcerned about finding great homes for the dogs they have. My little ones- Elliot & Webster - are precious

How about you have your kids pick up their trash and not throw pine cones and rocks at parked cars?…read moreJeezuz, y'all are making me sound like my dad. Oh yeah, and the dilapidated tennis court isn't a skatepark/weed dispensary either. Actually, there is no playground here, but y'all can go burn off some energy in the pool. Oh wait, never mind. Then the parents would actually have to WATCH their kids. My bad.