I have adopted a few dogs from Dorchester Paws over the years. They do the best they can with what they have. I know they are working to get into a new space, which I think will be extremely helpful. The staff is stretched thin and being a shelter, there is only so much they can do to accommodate every pup/cat that comes in. It seems like the staff truly cares about the animals and have been friendly. They charge different fees for different ages, often run lower rates when they are getting more crowded, etc. You can also get a pup for the day, just to get them out of the shelter for a few hours. They are trying to help the community as best they can, but we need to continue to help support them as much as we can. read more

Dorchester Paws - Pet Adoption Near Me - Summerville, South Carolina

Dorchester Paws is the only open admission shelter in the area and they take care of over 6,000 animals a year! It's wonderful to see how much they accomplish through the hard work of their staff and volunteers! read more

We got our amazing wonderful loving girl Abby from the shelter a couple days ago! She is lovely and it's very clear that they take as good care of the animals in there as our baby was taken in as a stray and is gentle with my 4 year old, leash trained and has only had 1 accident in the house the day we got her (probably from nerves). They got in us in right as they were closing and the employees stayed later to allow us to adopt her. 10 out 10 recommend!! read more

Dorchester Paws - Meet and greet - Pet Adoption Near Me - Summerville, South Carolina

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Would not take me for community service, completely disoriented. I feel like this is an organization that needs change to protect the animals. I donated to just be considered 2x and rejected no response. I love animals but I found another non profit that can use me. So sad. And by the way, they would not give me a reason for rejection but said I was able to adopt? I mean. Man read more

Friendly staff and well kept and maintained. You can immediately see the dogs and cats here are well cared for and loved.

I cant stand them!!! I don't know how they stay in business. I requested info on line, didn't get a response. Called and left a message, no one called back. Did a live chat and there was no one there. Went down in person and that place was a zoo and when asked questions the girl didn't know. I fell bad for the poor animals. I was ready to adopt but they didn't seem to know what they were doing so I left disgusted! This is the 3rd time I've tryed dealing with them and it never gets better. Don't do business with these people!!!!! read more

My husband and I went here today with full entent to adopt a dog. We saw the dog on the website, came there, put in the application was approved and did the meet and greet, they told us about her health issues we said that was fine our dog we have has similer issues we know how to handle it. everything was fine. We fell in love said we wanted her. They said we had to go get our dog and bring him back. We were gone maybe 30 mins max to get out dog and we came back they informed us someone else wanted the dog we picked and wanted to take home & give a forever home to. They told us "we don't do holds and it's first come first serve" i beg your finest pardon ma'am?! We where there first! We were ready to adopt and you knew that. You also knew we where on our way back and you still did what you did? Morally and ethically this was absolutely wrong. This place is a joke. They knew what they did they knew they were wrong and still went about it the way they did. They should be ashamed. read more

not a problem adopting a dog from this shelter, however the pup that I adopted need vet care for parasites, probably from contaminated food.

I found a lost dog in the road on a Sunday, and originally took it to the Charleston ASPCA. They inform me that I needed to take it to this place as it was my designated location for drop off. I even asked before I left if this place was open, to which she replied yes. So I drive all the way there and walk in the door and ask what to do with the dog. The lady by the name of Ebony Slater with dreadlocked hair, braces, and glasses tells me very rudely and refusing to even look at me that, "Admissions are closed on Sunday." So I then asked if she had any other ideas or knew how to proceed, and she then looks at me literally gritting her teeth and balling her fists and yells "ADMISSIONS IS CLOSED ON SUNDAY!!" Then proceeded to literally glare at me until I left. Wouldn't answer another word, wouldn't help out, and was literally about to start a fist fight all over a simple miscommunication. I have donated money and food in the past, and I no longer EVER feel safe coming to this location again. I never ever even talked back to her or anything. I simply just said I'd figure it out and left. How is a government agency that is considered a "non-profit" have such mentally unstable employees working there? I'm not even the only one who has ever made these claims either. I will never ever go back to this location again. If I ever find an abandoned dog somewhere, I will NEVER get involved with this agency. I'll simply just leave it where it's at and hope for the best. I no longer ever feel safe coming to this location again, and will never set foot on their property again. This place should honestly be investigated. They attempted a lame response as seen below, but at no time did I ever mention Berkeley County!! This animal was not found in Berkeley County!! This animal was found in Dorchester County!!! So it may help getting your facts straight!! At no time was anything that you said in the comment discussed with us!! All we had was the rude nasty comments from your employee that was ready to throw down in your front office!! Berkeley county was never involved in this this, so I'm not sure where you're getting your info from. Are you sure you're capable of running a pound? I mean, you can't keep up with anything and you have employees ready to fight someone without even getting all the facts. Shall we consult a map. Because I'm pretty sure Wescott park on Dorchester Road is nowhere near Berkeley County. It's clearly Dorchester county, and the Charleston ASPCA can verify that this is exactly what was told to them as well. Now you're just attempting to deflect blame and place it somewhere else when the blame lies directly on you and your nasty employees. You're literally just making things up now to cover for your failures, so your employee gets away with talking to people the way they do. read more

What an amazing place, so many cats and dogs waiting for their forever home. They've applied to be a no kill shelter but need help for the community. Please consider donating blankets, towels, treats and food if you can't adopt a pet. And if you've got some free time call them up to volunteer. You can play with the animals and/or walk the dogs. Giving love to these animals is free with a little of your time. read more

I brought a stray kitten here that I found on the side of the road. He was hurt, hungry, and covered in fleas. Dorchester took him in with great care. We have since fostered many cats for them. read more

The staff were friendly and helpful, but they are not up front about their pricing. Online says on thing, but in person is different. A 3 year old medium to long hair cat is being priced at $100 while other adults cost $50. If the pricing is not the same across the board put it on your site and be up front about it. They did not say she will be more expensive. They should at least put the price on their kennel if they aren't going to be across the board the same price for all their animals. When going in only some cats had their names listed on their information so if you were looking for a specific cat you saw online it can be hard to find on your own. Also, the cat we adopted wasn't already tested for FIV which is important and should be done up front. You should know all health concerns prior to adopting so every animal gets matched with the perfect family. Overall, I love my cat and I am so happy I have her. If I knew how much she would be before adopting her I still would have gotten her, but if anyone else was in our situation and didn't know the price after doing some bonding time it could be heart breaking having to say no if that is too much for that family. The kennels were clean and the animals seemed happy there. read more

I went here after I adopted one of their animals from PetSense in goose Creek and needed some paperwork signed because when you adopt with them they give you 10 day voucher at their listed local veterinarians to get a free health exam. Asked a few questions about my new kitty that I adopted and got updated medical records and even some eardrops she was due to have in a few days. Pretty helpful and friendly people! read more

My experience with them was absolutely wonderful after being treated like a kid (I was 20 when adopting), at another shelter. I got my beloved dog Luna from them and they made the entire process easy, seamless, and extremely accommodating. She's been the greatest dog and I don't know what I'd do without her. read more

Dorchester Paws - Luna - Pet Adoption Near Me - Summerville, South Carolina

This shelter does an amazing job with their aging shelter and resources. I adopted a puppy from them that has been our best dog ever. Every animal is sterilized , vaccinated, heartworm tested and microchipped prior to adoption. Volunteers are welcomed and trained. Support the shelter that takes in all homeless animals in Dorchester County. , read more

I would rate this experience two stars, but I don't want to tank the overall score since this business only has one other review at this time, and the problem here was mostly down to one bad employee. Overall Dorchester Paws seems like an okay shelter. Not the cleanest by any means, but I understand not every shelter has the same resources, and these people seem to genuinely care about their four-legged charges. We did meet one dog that had what I assume must have been a bit of smeared poo on his back though. I get that you maybe have too many dogs to walk them all individually, but I think you could at least wash/wipe a dog off before letting him meet a potential adopting family if he's got poo on him. In particular though, we were pretty poorly treated by an employee with dreadlocks. I don't know if she was having a bad day, or if we violated some unspoken rule about looking at too many dogs, or if she just didn't like us. After about an hour and a half of introducing our dog to 3 other dogs without any incident, she had a bad interaction with a puppy that apparently didn't know how to play gently; the altercation ended with our dog on her back and the other puppy getting pulled off amidst a lot of growling and unhappy noises. Despite this, the employee insisted that our dog had "snapped" at her, and must have obviously been overstressed, and refused to let us see any other dogs. We've had our dog three years, socialized her extremely well, and never has she ever instigated a real fight with another dog. Let me tell you, getting kicked out because your dog was sticking up for herself is a pretty cruddy feeling. Our dog was still in good spirits, and we would have been happy to continue meeting other pups and possibly even take one home. Anyway, your mileage may vary. The other staff we interacted with were very respectful. I wouldn't rule this place out - the dogs they have are still (mostly) great and definitely in need of new homes. Just make sure you have your expectations at the right level. read more

Got my puppy here and have tried scheduling his rabies vaccine since I was given the free voucher I have tried scheduling the appointment for over a month now, the clinic never answers the phone or calls back from my many voice messages. These people are money hungry with the dogs under a year costing over $300. When I finally got in contact with the clinic to schedule the vaccine they said they had nothing available for the day and then said "well we need to give the clinic time to prepare for the vaccine" incompetent and can't even take care of your animals. When I bought my puppy I was told he had a "skin condition" he was "treated for" when he actually had mange that was not treated, that I had to go to another clinic for. Absolutely ridiculous, I feel bad for the animals read more

They are no kill & take in any animal in need. Even though Dorchester County has gained new industries & businesses bringing in more income, the Dorchester Paws building remains shamefully inadequate. The staff does the best they can to help scared, distressed, & needy animals. read more

I have left this place several times confused. I feel like a moron going in. They are not transparent with anything. I fostered puppies and the mom . When I brought them back on their "due date". I was looked at like a moron. I agreed to take em in longer, until I absolutly had to return stuff going out of town. Today I went to volunteer. The girl was great even went back later to get the dog to foster. The lady who took me out for meet and greet was SOOOO rude. I tried to forget it. Then after 10 minutes we'll I'm taking her in it's dinner time. I was so confused I just left again. I volunteered for the first time today and did meet very nice people. To bad those people aren't working the front. The people who work up front are not the friendliest read more

Walked in and felt unwelcome. The staff was not friendly. We where directed to walk outside to look at pets (which is fine but not knowing exactly what to do we felt lost.) when we came back in we where hardly acknowledged. If you want to be treated kindly I do not recommend. Hopefully you get treated better then we did. read more