The Celia Hammond Lewisham branch is the most unfriendly, unhelpful and certainly least charitable place I've ever been to.
Not only did the staff completely ignore my presence every time I visited, they are practically unreachable on the phone - it takes at least 3 tries to even get through to a real person. And when I say ignore my presence, I mean literally turn away when I walk up to the window and say hi.
I recently fostered a cat from here. I was supposed to bring him back for a check-up two weeks later, but not only could I not make this appointment because of family issues and work, he was also just starting to feel comfortable in the flat and I didn't want to mess him up again right away. So I waited a bit longer.
When I called them, I was literally given hell for this, and then the voice on the phone demanded I bring him in that very day. The fact that I had to work did not matter. I was threatened that even if I am a minute late they would not wait for me. So I paid for a taxi and made sure that didn't happen - only to be ignored once more, and having to wait 25 minutes before anyone even came up to me to ask what I was waiting for (for the 2nd time).
Sadly, the cat was deemed ill and was instantly put into a cage without even giving me a chance to pet him one last time. I cried for days, feeling sorry that he had to be in this horrible place in a tiny cage, but at least I thought they would take care of him and make him feel better.
He passed away today. I missed a phone call from the shelter in the morning as I was working and was unable to pick up. No voicemail left. I also had a horrible feeling about this, seeing as they had never made the effort to pick up the phone before. Being in meetings all day, I missed a second call in the afternoon, this time with a voicemail saying can I call them, it's urgent. So I called them back right away, only to be first told off for not picking up the phone (I'm not even going to comment on this...). Then the voice bluntly told me the cat had died, and then tried very hard to hang up on me as soon as possible, whilst I was in pieces, crying down the line.
I feel sorry for any animal housed in this branch. It's as if they don't want to rehome these cats, honestly. The staff need a serious talking to, and the operation needs to be improved. To say the very least. read more