Long overdue but here's my review. Last year, when we visited this animal shelter, it looked very…read moreclean and the customer service was great. We had visited other shelters that day but this one was very impressive. The staff was very professional and answered all of our questions. They also let us meet multiple dogs and it looked like they really took care of their animals. We couldn't be happier with our little guy today. It's crazy to think a year ago we picked him up but he's a member of our family now.

I'll die on this hill...adopt, don't shop…read more In May 2022, I said goodbye to my sweet 15.5 year old golden retriever/yellow lab. She had a wonderful life...but it was her time. Fast forward to 2024, I entertained the idea of somehow welcoming a dog back into my life...I wasn't sure how, but I wanted to get back into the doggy world...and that's when I discovered all different opportunities at the SDCAS.... 1. Dog Day Out- this is a fantastic program to take approved dogs out for the day and market them to the world as being available for adoption. These dogs are sweet, friendly, non-reactive, and just love being out of the shelter. SDCAS gives you everything you need for the day. Our first experience was with Sal- a super friendly pitbull. He loved getting out and proudly wore his 'adopt me' vest! Our second Dog Day Out was with Zane- a beautiful, sweet rottie/husky mix. While we were out with Zane, we decided to foster him. Speaking of fostering.... 2. Foster- if you've ever wanted to foster a dog, this is the place to do it. They provide everything you could possible need. This is a great way to learn more about a dog, post pictures and tidbits about the dog on their website so others learn about them and hopefully adopt them. Fostering saves lives! 3. Adopt- We were a foster fail after a week with Zane. We got to know him SO much and he is absolutely perfect for our family. We wouldn't have known this unless we fostered... Highly recommend SDCAS! 5 stars!

She is amazing, so honest, and helpful! Thank you for our munchkin baby! We love him so much!!!read more

Called to find out information, requesting to tour facility and told I wasn't allowed to see…read morefacility before I made a reservation. Called to set up appointment and never received a call back

We are so happy to have found our adorable rescue baby from 4theloveofdogs! We contacted Yuribia…read moreand had made an appointment to meet two potential doggies. Yuribia explained that the majority of her doggies are rescued from the streets of Tijuana in deplorable conditions. Some of these doggies are in very bad health from neglect or injuries or abuse. Both of the doggies we met were precious but it was clear that this baby girl was meant to come home with us! Yuribia told us that if she needed any veterinary care that she could take her back to the vet in Tijuana that takes cars of all of her rescues. We received a record of her vaccinations to date and took her to our own vet just for a checkup and our little girl was happy and healthy. I tell everyone who is looking for a pet to contact this rescue because she really does care and rescue so many babies that need loving homes. We are so pleased to have found the perfect addition to our family. Thank you

I had a disappointing experience with this rescue's adoption process. I completely understand…read morewanting the best fit for a dog, and I respect rescues being careful about placements. However, the communication and screening process felt unnecessarily judgmental and inconsistent. I provided detailed answers about my home, schedule, fenced yard, experience with rescue dogs, veterinary care, and active lifestyle. I also explained that I work remotely several days a week, have a flexible schedule, and am only away for short periods on non-remote days. Despite this, I was denied without even being offered an in-person meet-and-greet or home visit. What was especially frustrating was the implication that only someone who is home 24/7 could provide a loving environment. In today's economy, especially in San Diego, that standard feels unrealistic and excludes many responsible, caring adopters. Being physically home every second of the day does not automatically make someone a better dog owner. Love, structure, training, financial stability, veterinary care, and emotional involvement matter too. I also felt uncomfortable with the assumptions made regarding my current female dog not being spayed. I clearly explained that this decision was based on veterinary guidance due to severe medical allergies and skin inflammation, and that we are actively working with a veterinarian to get her healthy enough for surgery. Instead of feeling heard, it felt like the explanation was dismissed.

we found FAS on Petfinder. We contacted them about cats that we saw online. The women were very…read moresweet gave us the time we needed to pick out the cat for us. The facility was clean and we happen to go at an open adoption time although you need an appointment normally. We found Greg a beautiful orange tabby just about three years old with a perfect temperament and he has settled in our home with our other cat Willow!! I would highly highly highly recommend adopting through FAS as our experience was 100%.

Extremely happy with this adoption. I was able to go there as a walk in, see any animal that I…read morewould like to, and adopted same day. We were given plenty of food, a collar, and a leash, and now Oakley is a happy party of the family. The staff was great, and they provided me with all the information I needed to take care of our new pups.

We were looking for our fur-ever friend going on months, after scouring every shelter and having…read morethe WORST experience with the Humane Society, we decided to give this place a chance when we got rave reviews from a friend who also adopted her dog here. It was a really clean facility, well kept, organized, and everyone there was super friendly and helpful. You can really see how much they love their animals. We were there going back and forth between a few dogs before we finally came to a consensus as a family, but we honestly wanted all three! Fees were straight forward, current vaccines, microchipped, and fixed was completely worth it. The paperwork was quick and painless as well. The only downfall is that it is on base and kind of hidden, we had a hard time finding it even with the GPS. The other thing was that even though her paperwork said her stitches were removed a couple weeks prior, it actually was not. Only reason I didn't dock any stars is because the vet we took her to did it for free and I'm hoping it was just an issue of miscommunication. All in all, we would recommend this place to anyone looking to rescue!

First time fostering cats and I couldn't have asked for a better organization to shepherd my…read moreexperience. Steph spent dedicated time and care to work with me and monitor the wellbeing of the kittens I was given everything I needed (bed, food, litter, toys, etc) but not only that - a fantastic ample support for asking questions and sharing progress with the larger team of volunteers. What I love about this organization is that they genuinely care about the pets they take in and are willing to go the extra mile and due diligence to save and protect every little soul. Each volunteer working for this organization genuinely cares.

we "fostered-to-adopt" a kitten from Furballs Furever and it was an easy, wonderful experience. We…read moremainly dealt with Haley and she helped make the whole process seamless from start to finish. I would recommend this rescue to anyone. A+.

Lcal is a sinking ship. Current leadership values policy and black and white rules over what is…read morebest for the dogs and the families that love them. Let me tell you my story as an 8 year supporter of lcal. We adopted our first dog (a boxer) through the founder, lisa (who is an absolute angel) in 2016. We loved our dog deeply until she passed away in 2022. When she passed, I started volunteering weekly with the rescue, walking dogs, trying to fill the void that my dog's passing left. I learned more about rescue and started fostering dogs through lcal. We took 4 foster dogs from intake through adoption, one of the fosters staying with us for 6 months! I also attended adoption events with these fosters, donating hundreds of hours promoting the rescue. I attended fund raisers, donated supplies and cash, and supported the lcal thrift store. I was invested in the mission. In December, I told the foster coordinator that we are looking for a dog to permanently add to the family, ideally a boxer between the ages of 2-5. I would send her listings from shelters, and she would explain why each dog was not going to work for lcal to pull for me. I appreciated her advice and was waiting patiently for a right fit. When she texted last week asking me to foster a boxer, Tyson, I was overjoyed! I expressed to her that we would love to and that we would hopefully adopt Tyson. Unfortunately lcal decided to advertise him on social media the next day and quickly got multiple applications from well vetted adopters. We were told on a Sunday (after having tyson for 4 days) that we needed to decide by Monday if we wanted to adopt. Otherwise he would go to a meet and greet on Wednesday and likely be adopted. On Monday evening, I texted the foster coordinator telling her that I had some questions about the adoption. She did not get back to me until Tuesday morning. We discussed my concerns (we have 4 cats and I ideally wanted more time to see how Tyson would interact with them) but I clearly told her we wanted to keep Tyson. She said she would ask the board for more time. Later that afternoon, I was told that because I wasn't sure, they were moving forward with the other adoption and I was no longer eligible to adopt Tyson. I was in shock. I responded that I wanted the dog and that I had put aside any uncertainty and please can we adopt Tyson. I was told no and that they would immediately come pick him up wherever I was. The lcal president contacted me and was so over the top harsh and rude, I felt like I was being treated like a criminal. My family is heartbroken. Just as we were bonding with what was likely the perfect dog for our family, he was forcibly taken away. Shame on you lcal. You've put deadlines and policy above what is best in complex situations. I understand the reasons for your policy, but you refused to have even the slightest flexibility for a long time supporter. You wouldn't even give me a few hours to get my questions answered before moving on to the other adopter who hadn't even met Tyson. You are burning your fosters, the very backbone of your organization.

Thank you LCAL for connecting us to the dog of our dreams! Our family found your matching process…read morestraightforward and supportive. Your staff and volunteers were also incredibly helpful as we transitioned him into our home. We didn't expect you to take care of the details for his neutering appointment, but you did. You went above and beyond and we will be supporting your work and thrift store for years to come.

A wonderful rescue! Although this review is a few months…read morelate, I wanted to say that because the fosters did not care about our ages, but were more concerned about the surroundings for their dogs, we became the proud "parents" of a foster named Ashton. He is a wonderful pup who attracts attention where ever we go because of his sweet demeanor and beautiful coat. Previously, we had filled out 14 applications, but no one contacted us because of our ages. SPOT believed in "never too old to love a rescue, "and here we are with a happy ending for both us and Ashton!

I submitted an application for a puppy and they didn't end up getting back to me until I called and…read moreleft a message to ask how long processing the application could take, they got back to me quickly but only to tell me that the dog had been adopted already. Shes still up on all of the websites and it's very misleading. Then the lady that called me to review my application was very condescending. I am 18 but I've been taking care of dogs my whole life from Shitzus to pitbulls to cattle dogs and i currently have a border collie. we make sure that he is very busy so he doesn't get bored and get destructive but the lady that was talking to me was treating me like I didn't know anything about my dog and his breed even though I was very thorough about how my dogs schedule is. She then told me that because my husband is in the military and that because we're still young we should be fine with the one dog. I come from a military family already, I've done moves with multiple dogs and my siblings and yes it can be hard but I've experienced it before and I tried to explain that but she kept persisting. After that she was talking about how the puppy I was inquiring about was so small and she was worried about my dog injuring it, my dog is the sweetest and he's very polite to other dogs he meets considering his energetic breed (we make sure he is not overly energetic by exercising him and keeping his brain occupied with the frozen Kong treats and deer antlers because he is a big chewer). I am not happy with the service I received and in the future I hope that the lady helped me can fix her attitude when talking to potential customers. I will be looking at other shelters and rescues that will hopefully have better representatives of the business.