There is nothing easy or simple about caring for homeless animals, but I can only thank the volunteers of the Central Missouri Humane Society for keeping my little girl alive long enough for us to meet. When I first decided to adopt a cat, I looked at their website to preview the kitties they had available for adoption, and one stood out: she was named Oreo for her all black coat with a single patch of white above her eyebrow. I saw her picture and the description saying she was special for having survived despite her heart condition, and thought, that's really sweet, but NO WAY! When I visited to meet the cats they had available, a volunteer told me, have you met Oreo, she's very sweet? And I took her into the one-on-one room just to make the volunteer feel good, having no intention of considering her. 10 minutes later I told the volunteers in the cat room Oreo was going home with me, and they both gasped. As I found out later, she had been there for a year and a half, despite having a heart condition in a kill shelter, and had charmed the staff into keeping her alive in the small chance she would find a home. Fast forward 13 years, and me and Oreo (who I call Thebe) have been together through thick and thin in the best of times, and the worst of times. I was there for her when she had her heart surgery to repair a PDA, when she was diagnosed with fluted, and then diabetes, and she was there for me when I was unemployed for a year and a half after finishing my masters degree... then 2 years after my PhD, and having to accept jobs I could have done just as effectively after high school. And now when I'm entering another period of unemployment, I know she'll be there for me again when I'm at my worst. Always brightening my day with her strange loping walk and chainsmoker meow, and her purr sessions that would melt the coldest heart. For the volunteers and employees of the Central Missouri Humane Society, I can only extend my most heartfelt thank you. Are things perfect there? No! But the job they do literally saves lives, both animal and human. On your darkest days, remember that. You can help bring two lives together who would only be lesser had they never met. And since I'm horribly unemployed again, and rent is the only expense that isn't a luxury, I can only gift this ridiculous picture of Thebe (Oreo) after her heart surgery. She charmed the vet students into demanding she go home early because she couldn't be bothered to be nice to anyone else on her worst day. She says "go away humAn" from her new home in California. read more

Humane Society-Central Missouri - Thebe (Oreo), the Princess of Light and Shadows, celebrates her first day home after successful heart surgery with a midday snack. - Animal Shelters Near Me - Columbia, Missouri

I initially wrote a negative review of CMHS. They were very quick to respond, found what I was referencing and informed me that I had received the wrong information from another agency. Their quick and courteous review really impressed me. 5 Stars for great communication. read more

My boyfriend and I were foster parents before we moved after college. Great staff with a unified mission. Always easy to partner with as a student organization. read more

I adopted both my dogs from here and had great experiences with the people working/volunteering here. The adoption prices for dogs (not puppies) is $100, which includes a voucher for a free vet visit, microchip, spay/neuter (must be done before taking them home), deworming, and age appropriate vaccinations. If you are considering getting a new pet just go, and if you don't find a pet that steals your heart go back in a week. Once you fill out an application they will give you a pass to play in their outdoor area with as many dogs as you choose. There is where you can really see the personalities come out. read more

My experience with surrendering an animal to this "humane" society (or actually, being unable to) was extremely infuriating. I had scheduled an appointment to bring in an injured stray kitten, but due to my unpredictable job on hospital staff I had to bring him in at a different time. I called and said that I had a kitten who needed help, and was bleeding from his back. I was simply told that my appointment was not for another few hours, and my only choice was to wait. I insisted on getting help for this poor little guy, who had a gash on his back and has been trying to find shade in the 96 degree weather. I begged the woman on the phone to find someone who could help me, but was met with short and impatient responses. She said that I would have to somehow keep this injured, bleeding stray for the next two hours until my appointment because my cat was "not the only one injured." When I finally said that I would need to seek help elsewhere and asked if she knew any other places who would accept this pet, she hung up on me immediately. Never have I been so disappointed by the service at an establishment accredited with being the #1 in animal care. The standards must not be high. read more

I've been to a lot of shelters, and this is one of the nicest I've seen. They won a contest and got money to do a HUGE renovation, and they put most of the money towards the health and well-being of the animals they house. They have an open-door policy and will literally take ANY animal, which is amazing. The staff is super nice, and they really care about placing animals with forever homes. If you're going to get a new addition to your family, definitely check out this shelter. You'll find a huge selection of dogs and cats of all ages, and even pocket pets and birds sometimes. It's a great place to volunteer and/or foster a pet, too - both of which of done, with tons of support from all the staff. read more

We have two cats and a dog, all adopted from the Humane Society. They are the best ever, and I can't say enough for the resources and services the Humane Society provides. They also connected us with a great pet store we would have never otherwise known about. read more

Great place! I had my dog spayed there using their low income program (money is tight) and i never got the feeling they were judging me. And i was surprised that they got my pup in within two days of calling. YOU MUST HAVE PAYMENT THE DAY YOU MAKE THE APPT! I left my credit card at home and i had to drive back to get it. Oops. read more

This place is the worse place ever. You want to adopt an animal? You want to interact with it? Too bad...you have to schedule a time to come in and volunteer if you want to pet anything. They charge you for everything and anything. If someone brings your dog in because they got loose, expect to pay, even if you previously called them to file a lost report. My dog got out three times since we had him for 3 years. The third time they told me I had 2 days to pick him up before he was put up for adoption. The fee was $88 for one day that he was in there. They did not even list his picture on the Lost and Found page. In addition, the staff is rude and inattentive. I waited 45 minutes to pick my dog up from being neutered while the staff stood around and talked. When I finally said something, their reply was "Oh I forgot you were still here." read more

Trying to adopt an animal from here is a joke. Fill out an online application to see if we're a "worthy" applicant, wait 3 days for a return call, call several times in between to follow up, drove out of our way with our semi to get there for this animal, now we have to wait longer for a "counselor" to determine if the animal is a good fit for truck drivers who will love the animal more than they know. If we're willing to drive a $170k truck to your place of business and out of way several hundred miles for one animal, stop by 3 times in person, call over the course of several days, that shows our level of commitment, what does that show about your business? Sadly, we'll take our love and money to a non-exclusive non-snobby shelter elsewhere. (We thought pure bred rescues were bad) we've spent years as fosters and rescued animals for shelters in our local area and are treated like dirt by your staff. No thanks. read more

We got one of our dogs and our cat from here. Prices are very reasonable for the services they include. If you're in the area definitely check them out first. Also they aren't affiliated with the Humane Society of the United States or ASPCA, so check out their website if you want to donate your time, supplies, etc. read more

Would give 5 stars except my favorite worker Brooke isn't there anymore :( she was so knowledge and experienced and I loved talking with her. read more

I wish I could say that our experience with them was as good as everyone elses. We have 3 reasons why we would never recommend them to anyone. Reason 1: My husband and I went there to pick out a dog to keep me company while he was working. We told them about our lifestyle in hopes that they would help us find a good match. Instead, we ended up taking a home a dog that was meaner than hell outside of the shelter. All around snippy, guarded everything in the house as if she had owned it for years and then wouldn't stop trying to hump me. Now I'm not saying that they should know all of these things ahead of time, but my complaint is how we were treated about the whole situation. When we called to see what could be done, we were told "Just put her in a kennel". Long story short, we ended up getting management involved and were able to return the dog and pick out a different one. Reason 2: On our second attempt, we again told them the type of lifestyle we have and how we were just looking for a companion dog. We again, ended up with a psycho that we tried to keep for 2 months with no improvements. They told us he was potty trained, leash trained, well behaved and til this day we think they had him confused with another dog because that is not what we got. We instead ended up with a very dog/cat/people aggressive dog from the day we brought him home and couldn't let anything near him. Reason 3: Finally, after returning that dog because these were just not good fits for us, we adopted a Shih Tzu from another place. She is the most wonderful dog ever and was everything we were told she was. Yesterday, my husband and I took advantage of the low cost services at the Columbia Humane Society, and had her spayed. Boy we couldn't have made a bigger mistake going through them. Our poor dog came back to us completely terrified, covered in blood and ink that they didn't even bother to try and clean up, her hair all matted around her face and neck, and to top it off.... They cut our poor babies toe nails too short! They were bleeding! Our poor 6 month old puppy can barely even walk! Even PetSmart does a better job and they have to do it when they are awake and squirming. These idiots did it while she was under the anesthetic and still managed to make them all bleed. Then her microchip that was implanted caused her to bleed down her back and we were told that it was a painless procedure. Well, I don't know about everyone else, but when I bleed, it hurts. We really couldn't be more disappointed in the services they provided. I've been to some wonderful shelters and such and this one is one of the WORST I have encountered. By all means, check them out and make your own decisions. But we will never recommend them to anyone again. read more

An amazing place with amazing people, we have adopted two dogs from here and love them! :-)

Years ago I was not doing good financially and my Blue-Tick of many years had to be put down after his brain tumor got bad. I could not afford the high euthanization fees at the vet clinics in town.....around $100. The shelter only charged me $20 to euthanize him. They even drove to my house in a van to take him down there since he is so big and I followed so I could be with Gordon at the end. They drove his body back to my house so I could bury him. I was so impressed. They will also provide dog and cat food to people of low income. Am putting them in my will. read more