Our family adopted Duke a 2year old Doberman a few days ago & we are extremely happy. This is are second dog we adopt @ the Downey shelter. read more

Downey Animal Care Center - DUKE - Pet Adoption Near Me - Downey, California

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Our super shy and hesitant. We could not touch him for 4 months. Almost 16 months later he's perfect,! read more

I called your animal shelter today around 5:23 p.m. because I found a few baby kittens on the street. I was hoping the shelter could take them in, help them, or at least direct me to the appropriate resources so they could get care. Unfortunately, the person who answered the phone was extremely rude. She asked, in a hostile tone, "Are you asking about strays? Because we don't take strays," and it felt very harsh and unkind. It was disappointing because, as a representative of the shelter, her behavior reflects on the organization. I expected compassion from someone working at a place dedicated to helping animals, but her tone and attitude felt completely opposite of that. I understand that everyone can have a bad day, but the way she spoke to me was unprofessional and made the interaction very unpleasant. I hope you can address this so that people reaching out for help especially for vulnerable animals are treated with care and respect. read more

This place is a complete joke no matter the time you call they never answer regular hours of operations doesn't matter Disgusting service Actually no service at all Lazy county workers don't answer read more

Was trying to speak with a live agent and after almost an hours of listening to automated instructions as to press so and so number for such and such I could not take it anymore . I tried all the numbers and no live agent and the message kept repeating. If live agent is not available, that should be disclosed immediately, which it never was. Disappointment is all I got from this useless place. read more

High kill shelter sadly, but I was able to adopt my beautiful girl :) They had office renovations and waived the adoption fee, and they give a senior discount for adopting. Totally free of charge but the conditions of the kennels were disheartening to look at :( read more

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Looking for a Forever Home for Two Inseparable Sisters : Chocflan & Bailey Due to unforeseen living circumstances, I had to make the very difficult decision to give up my two sweet girls for adoption. They are both still young, full of energy, and most importantly, full of love. Bailey - 1 year and 6 months old She's a beautiful little terrier mix with fluffy white fur and the kindest eyes. Bailey is playful, curious, and loyal. She loves cuddles and will happily sit by your side after a long day. Chocflan - 1 year old A tan pug/beagle mix (we call her a "Puggle"), Chocflan is as sweet as her name. She's goofy, affectionate, and loves to play. She will keep you smiling with her silly personality and gentle nature. She may look a little serious and nervous, but she's the sweetest puppy ever. They are inseparable best friends who have grown up together, and it's my greatest wish that they can find a home where they can stay side by side. Whether you're a family looking for loyal companions or a single person who wants endless love and laughter, these two will fill your home with joy. If you open your heart to Chocflan and Bailey, I promise you won't regret the decision. They deserve a loving forever home, and whoever adopts them will be gaining not just pets, but family. They are located at this location please rescue my girls! read more

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I live in Irvine and drove here 2 days in a row and they have an amazing selection of little dogs! I live in a small one bedroom and looking for a companion for my 15 yo poodle mix. I have to give a shout out to all the volunteers that willingly spend their free time helping us rescue animals. The volunteers are super sweet and helpful. I had the pleasure of meeting Tracy, Kathleen and Laura. Laura went above and beyond to ensure I found the right match and was super sweet, helpful and kind. I am still deciding on this puppy, but Laura even took photos of me with the dog and sent the to me. She's the sweetest! I adore all the volunteers that help make these dog rescues much easier for them and us potential owners! read more

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We got this adorable 4 month old tabby at the shelter yesterday. She woke up this morning sneezing and with watery eyes. We had to take her to the emergency hospital. She has a URI, most likely from the shelter. This costed us a few hundred dollars at the animal ER. I am obsessed with my sweet girl, and I would make the same choice again. but I give the shelter 1 star. There was a girl working the front, desk #2 wearing a burgundy shirt Friday. It was around 1-2PM. She acted like we a rude DMV worker, and not a shelter worker. We wanted to rescue an animal, not apply for a real ID. Work on your attitude and make yourself approachable, especially if we're trying to save a poor animals life! read more

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Sadly, it's just the facts of the reality of animal care and control in these times obviously shelters are overrun and understaffed and there's so many animals in the world people making money off them and other bad things so it makes sense... BUT still don't send me to another pound that you know is closed on Sundays and Mondays and not tell me ITS CLOSED just to get rid of me, I'd rather have the truth that you cannot take the dog Then have me waste gas and drive to the seeaca on the other side of the city. To all the staff at this location, please have some empathy for us people on the outside. I know the world is a grim place in these times. read more

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So, we found 6 baby kittens and the mother cat got ran over. We didn't know who cat it was so we took the 6 baby kittens and this place said now they couldn't take them and sent us to some other place in Downey and they also said no to taking the baby kittens and they didn't accommodate me in anyway on my way home three of the kittens passed away and I finally found a place in Pasadena thank God for that place read more

I walked in and it felt like I was intruding on someone. There were five people at the desk and I was the only person in the lobby in the middle of the day. I asked a question because I wasn't sure if I was in the right place, and one person replied with "______ who?" One person got up to help me. But honestly, I felt like such a bother just asking a question to five people who were having a conversation. Good advertisement for fostering and adoption. If they treat their animals with the amount of carelessness they treat their people, it'd be good to get as many animals out of there as quickly as possible. read more

These are the rudest and ill trained people I ever met. I think the vast majority are volunteers. The lady at the office is totally rude and not knowledgeable. Because of kennel cough the dog wasn't neutered. And I was explicitly told to come back on a Saturday to get it fixed. After the kennel cough I brought the dog back only to be told I was suppose to email someone to set an appointment. I paid them $50 to get the dog fix and now they won't do it. I'll get it done somewhere else but they will not refund my $50. This place is a joke and that lady in the front office is completely rude and unprofessional. Just look at the other reviews. The lady needs to be fired or reassigned to bathroom cleaning only. read more

We had a great experience with each and every staff member we encountered. From the few front desk staff, the lady who help us get to know puppy in the meeting/interaction area and the staff who walked out puppy and loaded her in the car. The staff was timely and helpful. We didn't think we were going to welcome a dog in to our home at the initial visit, we were just simply looking around. Less than two hours later, we had an officer who tossed a bag of toys in our trunk and said her goodbyes to puppy as she lifted puppy into our car. Needless to say, we went driving home with a pit bull in our back seat, baby girl was silent on the ride home. We adopted a sweet friendly pup. Her initial intake papers indicated she scored low on aggression. The officers noted to us she could use some confidence building, as she appeared somewhat nervous and observant. We are proud to say, she's opened up a lot and is very social at the dog parks and daycare. Up to date, we feel confident to let her run loose at the gate of the dog park enclosures knowing she can handle herself in the appropriate manner. She's observant and playful, we really got lucky. She's no longer the "low energy" dog we were told she displayed at the shelter (just sat there/refused to walk for her supposed 15 minute walks). This week someone starred her down at the park and commented how beautiful her physique is, her ribs no longer stand out like they use to. If you're a staff member at the site, Lola who was adopted, April 26, 2025, says hello. Thank you for taking care of me while I transitioned in to my furever home! Thank you for all of your hard work! read more

Horrible service, so rude. You would think they would be happy that people are there for adoption but they have attitude and roll their eyes. I get that this is a hard job and we all have bad days. But is it really a bad day? Or is it just these ugly personalities, the aura of these people is dark and grim. I can't imagine being a helpless animal here. I don't know how they are still in service read more

The staff here went above and beyond for us so we could get these two fur babies. We had been coming every day so they recognized us. On the day of the adoption we arrived about five minutes before closing. They didn't tell us to come back the next day but helped us get all the paperwork done. At least 10 people stayed behind to help us with the whole process. They were all helpful and cheerful the whole time. It really meant a lot to my wife and I. Special shout out to Abby. She recognized me and ran a last minute check on the dogs to see if they had cleared. The whole staff rocked it! read more

Downey Animal Care Center - Bruno and Donna the Dobermans! - Pet Adoption Near Me - Downey, California

From the first moment the staff was rude, unfriendly and obviously not thrilled with their job. Instead of being helpful they were obstructive. As a rescue, I have dealt with many shelters and this has been the worst experience. They should try to be more pro-active and inviting. read more

Not only is it the best animal care facility there's volunteers there working hard to help and also help you make the right decisions. Sometimes you don't always hear what you want to hear. It's only because they don't want to see the dog come back again we just adopted From Harbor Animal Shelter I jokingly asked God for a favor to give me a difficult hyper dog like myself lol Dog bless you having so much fun with our new shelter who after he got a bubble bath, he's not 3 to 6 years old he's between a year and a year and a half if he's not even fully grown read more

I found a dog on my way to work who was in clear distress. Maybe. Dog bite, maybe hit by a car? I only had about 20 minutes to spare but decided to try to help him and take him to the closest shelter. Seaaca claimed they couldn't take him in because he wasn't found in their jurisdiction (by a few blocks). The dog was hanging on by a thread and the people that you would think would WANT to help turned him down. At the very least I was hoping they would put him out of his misery and put him down. I unfortunately don't have the resources to take a pet to vets office or an entire day to look for a place that would take him. They still had the audacity to question why I picked him up if I couldn't do that. A living breathing being with feelings and organs just like us, actively dying and they turned him down because of their "Policies". These are the people working for us tax payers. Pure Evil. RIP Buddy read more

Downey Animal Care Center - Pet Adoption Near Me - Downey, California

Staff is amazing and caring. I loved the assistance and time provided to me and my fam in our search for a fur baby. Thank you guys much love to you all from kesha and fam. read more

The facility is way understaffed!! They could use volunteers!! The clerk at the desk was pleasant and knowledgeable! Christine in the cat room was knowledgeable and nice too! This was my first time adopting from here. LA City East Valley animal shelter is a much better facility!! Next time I would go back to adopting from LA City Shelters! read more

PLEASE rescue from here - it's a high kill shelter and NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT! I got my kitty from here and will foster as many cats as I can from them - they helped me so much !! Please support them by getting animals from here. read more

Downey Animal Care Center - I adopted him the day before he was set to be put down. PLEASE ADOPT FROM THIS SHELTER - Pet Adoption Near Me - Downey, California

Found a dog that was dropped off at a car wash just down the street from this CARE center. I had called before hand to let them know I can be on my way to help him. I was greeted over the phone with attitude and no remorse for the dog. just because of a 1 mile difference of their care center jurisdiction. Do better these dogs don't have anyone when they are getting abandoned like that read more

I happened to come across Downey ACC and found a cute little dog they had labeled as a West Highland Terrier. My husband said alright let's go check it out ! We pull in to the parking lot and you hear non stop barking. It was very overwhelming. I go inside and there's two guys and a woman working. She asked what she could help me with and I said I wanted to meet a dog ID # blah blah blah (forget what it was). I sign a waiver and she says I don't know if we have any volunteers available but if you go in there you can flag them down and they'll help you. I've never been there before so it was very confusing for me. I walk through the gates and on both sides there are fenced play areas. Past it, there's about 6 rows/small buildings of like 10 maybe 12 kennels filled with dogs. I walked around for like 25 minutes trying to find the one I was looking for and didn't because there were numbers missing on some of the outside kennels. Finally my husband walks in and I see him inside one of the buildings and I'm like oh I didn't even know you could go inside like that! Finally found our future fur baby! He was very timid and seemed to have anxiety with all the barking going on. Another 15 minutes pass trying to find a volunteer so walked back up to the front to let the woman working the front desk know I couldn't find anyone. She gets on the walkie talkie and ask if any volunteers are available then tells me she is bringing a dog out and then can help me after. Finally, Emeli comes out and apologizes to us and I tell her no worries, short staffed. She brings out our pup to interact with and he is still shy but seems more active being away from all the noise. Within 2 mins of that interaction I said "I want him". We go in and get helped by Wafer. We sign papers and he explains to us shots, how he just got neutered and to not bathe him for 10 days and other little things. We go around to the receiving area and finally got our fur baby! Grounds: 5/10. It honestly reminded me of doggy jail. Employees: 7/10. Do not expect to come here and get Julie from Trader Joe's customer service. They were nice but you can tell they are just there to do their job. Their uniforms even remind me of COs! 10/10 to Emeli and Wafer! And remember, they are very very short staffed there so please be patient! read more

Downey Animal Care Center - Pet Adoption Near Me - Downey, California

I adopted a cat from the Downey Animal Care Center named Spooky, but I renamed her to Hazel. I volunteer at this shelter every weekend, and I decided that I wanted to adopt Spooky because she was there for months. The staff in the office are generally inpatient and not friendly. I understand that dealing with clients can be stressful, but it's common for them to give you an angry glare. That aside, the staff and volunteers working around the kennels are very helpful and friendly. The worker in the cat building (Building 3) was very friendly. Although, the kennels for the animals are old, with some rusting, staff and volunteers try their best to work with what they have and genuinely care about the animals at the center. I am also very happy to have adopted Hazel from here. She is a confident girl with a friendly personality! read more

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When my Co Workers took small kittens to this location who are so small they look to still need bottle feeding, they were told by staff to just "Release them in the park". Do Better! read more

Downey Animal Care Center - Kittens that were turned away by Downey animal shelter - Pet Adoption Near Me - Downey, California

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I've been here more than once and it's practically intolerable but through no fault of anyone who works here. It's just so depressing and feels like a sinking ship that you can't jump off. They do the best they can I'd say. This shelter is similar to South LA in the demographics it serves, a low end community without resources, so it's also notorious for being very "high kill", by default because it's high intake. Downey posts a QR code publicly that everyone usually ignores, but I love this code and wish everywhere had it because it highlights for everyone which dogs need to get out and why. Their profiles are extremely in depth and organized for such a high volume shelter. I've talked to the staff about the "dog problem" here, an ACO in particular who sees it firsthand, and it's not that they don't care. Staff can be seen cleaning buildings into the afternoon because there's so much to be done and the local gov doesn't give a shoot about funding more workforce for animal care because it makes no money. Definitely not at a shelter like Downey. They're not unfriendly people though unless you come at them with an attitude, which it seems people do when they hear about this place. People seem to hate government workers in particular and treat them like they're all law enforcement or here to give you a parking ticket. No one works here because they totally love being paid to slaughter animals. It's the mindset of the general public, bringing them here without consequence and continuing to breed/buy dogs they don't raise past the puppy stage, that's the real problem. read more

Updating to write that I still have one of my girls and I am so grateful for Downey Animal Control to have blessed me with so many years with my babies. She's 16.5 years old and I know I don't have much time left with her but I want to thank those that work hard to get these babies off the streets and into loving homes. You've made a world of difference for my two pups and my heart is forever thankful. read more

Zero stars if I could. I went here after a long day of driving and looking for shelters for 2 stray dogs that were left on my mother's block last week. Somebody dropped off 3 small dogs and drove away and one got hit by a car. I came here thinking I was doing the right thing and right off the bat I was met with disgusting and hostile behavior from the staff. I was treated and questioned like I committed murder. I didn't know surrendering a dog to a pound was the just as hard as applying to Harvard. The only thing they should be euthanizing here is that stank a** attitude everyone there has. read more

The service was bad I went to ask a question one of the lady's at the front desk was a little rude and then one of the employees she was hella rude too I returned a dog because he wasn't comfortable with me he wouldn't eat or anything so I took him the lady that was in the back was mad rude snatched a paperwork I had in my hand she snatched it right out of my hands . And half of these poor dogs were almost every dog were sick . read more

Love this place. The place is a bit old but the employees actually care about the animals under their care. I visited three days in a row because I was in the fence about getting a dog after my senior dog passed away. I had the opportunity to play with my new dog, Chata (Lola), before I adopted her. The process took about 45 minutes. Great staff and they genuinely cared. read more

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I recommend this shelter, the employees I met and dealt with seemed kind and genuinely very happy to see animals go off to homes. I went there to adopt and rescue a malinois out of there. She's doing great lives on a 140 acre farm now. Got her out of there a day before set euathanization. Adopt don't shop please! These dogs need our help read more

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We recently adopted a turtle from here and he is the most friendly ever! He is so curious, loves so be picked up. Really social, and best of all gets along with your cats and pitbull!! Thank you to all the wonderful employees and volunteers at Downey read more

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Thank you so much for rescuing him! We adopted Odin about 2 weeks ago they gave us a free Vetenary Voucher a warm bed for him, they covered his shots,microchip,and neutering.Thank you for keeping him safe wr fell in love with him the moment we saw him now our family is complete we are so thankful for everything you do! I reccommend Downey animal Care Center please adopt a lifelong friend! read more

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Everything was amazing, adopted my dog from here and the help i got was amazing!!! I would f

Firstly, I want to state my true appreciation to all the people working in the cat room, I can tell how attentive they and gentle they are based on what I saw 8/13/2024. I came in specifically to meet Bella, she was a owner surrender on 8/10 and could tell she was nervous and sad, the people working there were as gentle as possible handling her. Even after adopting her and going back to the room the take her home, a guy there quickly put her in the carrier I provided and got her medical records and took her to get her shots done in under 5 minutes. One thing they must improve on is the wait time at the office. When I first arrived to get a form to interact with Bella. I waited a good 20 minutes. Then got back in line to adopt her, I waited in line for an hour. I understood why once it was my turn to officiate my adoption, I was in there for maybe more than 10 minutes. Now imagine each person and there is a line of 3-8 people. Still the person in the office who officiated my adopting was also very sweet and congratulated me on my adoption. The only downside to here is the waiting time to meet and adopt. read more

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Came to drop of a stray dog that has been roaming around for over a month. Animal control guy refused to take him in as "these are aggressive" that is your dog now and you have to make an appointment to leave it. Super unprofessional and rude. Trying to help an abandoned animal since animal control hasn't came after calling many times about a loose dog and told us our best option would be to capture it and bring it in and then being refused because of a dogs breed. What type of animal control officers do you guys have if you are unwilling to take certain breeeds???? That's YOUR JOB TO DEAL WITH THESE PETS AND FIND RHEM THEYRE WAY HOME BACK. Refused to even check to see if the dog was even chipped. DONT COME HERE AS THEY WILL KOT HELP YOU ESPECIALLY IF YOUR BRINGING IN STRAY ANIMALS.!!!!! read more

Downey Animal Care Center - Pet Adoption Near Me - Downey, California

I like to come and play with the animals here and there but every time I come there's always an issue and miscommunication with the workers. We went up to the front desk because me and my sister wanted to play with this cat and see if we have good chemistry with him we'd take him home but oh my god. We know when they have a green line that means they're ready for adoption. So we went up and asked if we could play with him and we gave her the id and name of the cat and they told us no bc he just got neutered a couple days ago. We weren't upset over this so we said okay and we asked to play with another cat, they give the paper and we go back to look at the other cats. but there was this sweet couple there too and we were talking to them and they went to go ask to play with the same cat and they said yes that it was fine . They come back and tell us everything. By this point we're upset because I'm not sure what the issue even was with us playing with that cat. After this we wait for I think 15-30 minutes for someone to even come out and get the cat we were gonna play with. I always come out here to look at the cats but there's literally always an issue. I say always adopt from shelters just be aware there's a lot of miscommunication from the workers read more

I have 3 pet beds, blankets, toys which I would like to donate. All I wanted to know, do they accept donations on site. I was on hold for 30 minutes, nothing. I then checked the website, nothing about dropping off donations. I even tried the live chat, nothing. read more

It's hard to write a good review for an over crowded shelter where many animals are packed into one cage due to the influx of pets they receive. It's not their fault for not having the funds to build more spaces and hire more employees to manage the Animal Care Center..... but their Staff is doing an amazing job with that they have. The Staff is just very caring and they really clean up the space. Over 10 years ago, we took home a small puppy that was sharing a kennel with 5 other Chihuahuas. I don't think anyone saw her as she was dark and sitting stand still while the other dogs were fighting for attention, but I saw her. I wrote her ID number down and went to the front desk to adopt her. The lady said that I could take her home right now. To my disbelief, I ask how? She said, "someone was supposed to pick her up yesterday. She already has her first round of vaccinations and is spayed." To my excitement, I said yes and was able to hold her right when they took her out of the kennel. We took her home and named her Ninja. She was so easy to train. We did the positive reinforcement style of training and complimented her by saying "good girl" when she would do a command instead of her relying on treats. She was potty trained in a half an hour. Then we would reinforce that every morning at 5am. Ninja would learn tricks quickly and became our beautiful baby girl. She will be 11 years this September. Check out the photos of her life with us. Needless to say, I know we will be adopting every dog from this shelter. Thank you Downey Animal Care Center! read more

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