I'm so impressed with this animal shelter and how well it is run and loved by the community. We…read morestopped this weekend to drop-off a bit of everything on their wishlist. I was surprised to see so many other cars in the parking lot. There was another family dropping off donations, and a family who was picking-up a new member of their family, a well cared for dog. There were also three teens who were cleaning the cat kennels in a separate room. The main room is open where there is a couch, fireplace, laundry room and office with cat kennels and four large, dog kennels surrounding the room. The animals all looked relaxed - the small to medium size dogs were excited, the kittens were play fighting and adult cats were either sleeping or chilling. There was also another room that housed 8 large dogs, and they all had a nice, cozy place to sleep, plenty of room to walk around and fresh food and water. On each cage, there were notes about the dogs, like "hard toys only", "keep in kennel, jumped over cage", etc. The third room housed more cats. It was small, and the smell was a bit over-powering, but the teens were busy cleaning each cage. The cats looked content and cared for. The entire facility is clean and well maintained. There are also kennels outside with tarps covering the tops to protect the dogs from sun and rain when they are let outside while their kennels are being cleaned. From the extra blankets, netting, fencing and wood boards, the care-givers have gone out of their way to keep the dogs from being able to escape or take nips at each other which I image happens when dogs get bored or playful. They all had several toys in their kennels too, as did all the cats. The volunteers at the shelter are very friendly, the board member present gave us a tour, answered all our questions, allowed us to wander the facility freely, and let us adore the animals at our leisure. I admired their system for organizing the food by expiration dates and mixing them to prevent the dogs from getting used to one and getting sick, if introduced to something different. They also have a system for letting the cats out of their cages to play and enjoy the room either during the day or night. From the amount of good sized kennels, towels, blankets, litter boxes, cat beds, toys and food, the community does its part in chipping in to keep this place going strong. They have a website and facebook profile. The VP on the board who was there that day was very gracious, welcoming, extremely nice and personable and could not thank us enough for our donations. It was also nice to learn that the members of the board are experienced animal rescuers and professionals in the community. We look forwards to working with them in the future.

Hard to give a rating since they didn't do anything at all, so I went with one star. We had our 13…read moreyear old pet pass away and were looking for a pup to replace her as our other dog was in need of a companion. We hoped to get one relatively quickly. We filled out an application for a pup they had and got an email confirmation the application was being sent to Heartland. To be sure they got it, I sent them an email directly with a summary of what we were looking for and attached a copy of the application in case they hadn't received it. For the week after that, we had no response at all from Heartland. Nothing. No acknowledgement by phone, text, nor email. I didn't expect much, but did expect something. The adoption process is way too complicated. We wanted to adopt a rescue or shelter dog as our last pet was, but it is simply too complicated and frustrating, especially when the place with the animals won't participate. We ended up going with a breeder and have the pup at home now. To be fair, Elkhart Humane Society called a day after we submitted an application to keep on file to say we were accepted. Another agency sent an email saying the pup we were interested in had been adopted that day but they would keep the application. Not so for Heartland. They did eventually send an email . . . 3 days after we had our puppy at home. We've had 2 dogs in our home for decades. We prefer going the rescue/humane society route, but they make it much too hard and frustrating to use. Not sure I'll even try using them next time. I'm glad some folks had a good outcome with them, but for us it was nothing but crickets from Heartland.

Everything went smoothly with my adoption but I had to give the dog back due to the dog being…read moreaggressive towards children. They re-listed the dog and put that he was good with children.

Would give zero stars if possible…read more Rude staff who does not know what they are doing. Policies that actively prevent pets from finding home. Stinks like giardia feces on the inside. Don't waste your time. They would rather take in donations and waste time than actually help animals.

They do everything to save and protect the animals. Awesome organization! Please adopt before you…read morebuy. You can find any breed or cat or dog there.

FIVE (5) unreplied emails asking to view a specific dog. I got the distinct impression from the…read moretotal lack of response that they are not interested in finding good homes for their animals.

Horrible organization! They lied to me about my cocker coming from a puppy mill after I signed the…read morepaper. I have spent thousands of $$ on her health care problems to keep her alive!

I inquired about a dog that was on the website, was told to come down to do a meet and greet and…read morefill out the application. Got down there and they wouldn't even let me meet the doggie. They brought out a different dog and tried to get me to adopt it. They said the dog I was interested in wasnt "good with people". Which makes no sense because why would you say she was up for adoption?! They refused to even let me set up a time because "she's not friendly ". How would the dog ever get used to others if she is not allowed to even meet with possible adoptees? The ladies there, obviously volunteers that dont care; were dismissive since I dont want the dog THEY wanted me to take. Pet Refuge sucks and you need staff in there that actually WANT to be there and actually care for the animals. There were kittens running all over the place. I feel sorry for those animals.

Pet Refuge has always been a go to place for feral cats trying to assist them at different times.read more

This review is not written lightly, and it's not about being "upset" -- it's about accountability…read more We adopted a cat from this Humane Society after being told the cat was healthy. Within weeks, the cat showed worms, blood-related health issues, and ongoing medical problems that were clearly present before adoption. That alone is unacceptable. What made this experience truly awful was how it was handled afterward. We contacted the Humane Society multiple times asking for help. We were told we would receive a call back -- we never did. We called again. Still no real help, no solutions, no follow-up. Just silence. When we pushed for answers, instead of support or responsibility, we were blamed. We were told we "should have gone to a specialist" and then informed that we are banned from adopting from this Humane Society ever again. That response is shocking, especially considering this situation exists because we were given a sick animal under the claim of being healthy. We are now being forced to return a cat we became emotionally attached to because we cannot afford hundreds of dollars in vet bills for conditions that should have been addressed prior to adoption or at least disclosed honestly. This review is directed not just at staff, but at management, board members, donors, and the community: * Why are sick animals being adopted out as "healthy"? * Why are adopters ignored when they ask for help? * Why are adopters punished instead of supported? Adoption should be about the well-being of animals and the people opening their homes to them -- not deflection, silence, and blame. I strongly encourage leadership to respond publicly and explain how situations like this are handled, because based on our experience, there is a serious lack of transparency and compassion here. Then to finish it all up when the cat was dropped of they said nothing , took the cat , the paperwork , and gave the carrier back.

Absolutely would not recommend. I put in an application to adopt a cat over a week ago, and have…read moreanxiously been awaiting a response. When a woman named Jenny contacted me this morning, the conversation started off kindly enough. She then proceeded to tell me that my application had been denied due to financial difficulties, including bankruptcy & issues in small claims court. I told her respectfully that I have most certainly never filed for bankruptcy, nor have I ever had any issues in small claims court. When I let her know there had been an error, she cited a criminal charge I had gotten over 6 years ago. An unfortunate mistake I have long since paid for & moved on with my life. I now own my 2100 sq. ft. home that I share with my 3 young children who were really hoping to add a feline friend to our family. Such a disappointment, because I know we could've provided a kitty with a safe & loving home. We still plan to do so, there are kittens all over in need of good homes. I'll just have to pay the extra money to have him/her vaxxed and spayed/neutered. Too bad it couldn't have been one of the kitties locked in cages at your shelter :'(

I have never written a review before, until my awful experience with the Starke County Humane…read moreSociety, and their management. After cooperating with this shelter extensively to claim a stray dog, we were left in the dark and denied information on how to adopt formally. Furthermore, the shelter has repeatedly lied to appease us and exacerbated this situation to the point where we need external assistance to ensure the correct process and well-being of stray dogs is being followed by this shelter. On Friday, July 25th, a group of friends and I stayed at an Airbnb property at 500 S Knox when a small white dog (pictured) approached us outside. After several hours, it became apparent that the dog, while responsive to commands, was not collared or owned by anyone on nearby properties. To attempt to find the owner, we canvased local properties, and although we met with residents, they unfortunately did not recognize the dog. In addition, we searched via social media by posting on Facebook to the local community page and got assistance from the Airbnb host. We attempted to take the dog to Pulaski Animal Center, but we were turned away as they were at capacity. They scanned the dog for a microchip, but no chip was detected. After calling other local shelters and getting no response or rejections due to capacity, we looked after the dog for the rest of our stay (outside the property to respect the Airbnb host's no pets policy), and took her back with us to Chicago to pursue next steps. At this point, we had become attached to the dog and decided we'd like to pursue the route to claiming her fully should no owner be found. The next day, we received a call from the previously unresponsive Starke County Humane Society, which demanded that we return to them with the dog as we had violated state law, despite their unresponsiveness and our situation as non-local residents. We diligently obliged, however, and drove over 2 hours back to the humane society to deliver the dog. We made it very clear that we would be willing to adopt the dog if no owner was found, and we were told that we would be able to claim her on August 5th if no owner came forward. Since then, we have been misinformed, misled, and are outright concerned for the shelter's management. We were asked by the shelter to check in daily to get an update on whether an owner had come forward, yet the phone was often not picked up, and our voicemails were ignored. We had initially been told that the dog had to only stay with the shelter for 5 business days before we could claim her, only to be told later that state law (which they never seemed to have a straight answer on) was that she only be released after being spayed on August 11th. Despite the misleading date changes, we persevered and were ready to claim the dog at the appropriate time and relieve pressure on the (widely reported) saturated shelter. To claim ownership I was informed by the shelter that my background check was submitted on August 5th. After 8 days, I was curious what was causing a delay, and upon driving 2 hours to the shelter the manager Shanna berated me as "mean" and was very reluctant to provide a number for the background check, would not provide an update on the dog, and denied us access to even see the dog. Distressed, I contacted the (background check group) via the number provided by the manager, who informed me that they do not in fact do background checks, and I realized that Starke County shelter had actually lied to me once again about this process. The final straw occurred on August 20th: after providing all necessary vet documentation for the background checks, we were informed by the shelter that the old owner had come forward... despite previously being told that we would be able to claim her after 5 business days.They stated several times, if the owner does not reclaim the dog in 5 days, they waive their rights to the dog. At this point, we do not have any reason to believe that this shelter is telling the truth, and if there is any such previous owner. We are angered and aggrieved that we had our time and effort wasted getting ready to make a home for a dog that would never arrive. In conclusion, I've written this letter at the distress of losing a dog whom I had rescued and grown attached to, only to give her up to the shelter to follow the law. I was then lied to and misled by the shelter, and was told considerable lies that make me question if the management of Starke County Humane Society should remain. I understand the voluntary and humanitarian nature of their roles - I should know I work for a nonprofit myself - but outright lies and manipulation are not an acceptable way of handling a well-meaning adopter, and as I've now had to make peace that Starke County Humane Society have effectively robbed us of our chance to own a dog we became attached to. I have no choice but to ensure there is wider awareness of the unsavory and morally repellent conduct

Found a stray in Knox that we were willing to adopt into a loving home. After cooperating with the…read moreshelter in multiple ways, we quickly found we were lied to, deceived, and strung along for 3 weeks. Every time we called, we were told contradicting information and outright lies. The staff were rude and deeply disrespectful. I would never recommend this shelter to anyone.

When I first walked in they told me I would have to submit an application to see the dogs, ok great…read moreno problem. We leave and my boyfriend (who is 19) submits the application and within like 20 minutes receives a call. *background: my boyfriend put me and my miniature dachshund down on the application because the dog would be around us a lot, not because we live with him* First we get told that he has to be 21 so the dog would have to be put under his dad's name, and they would have to call his dad to make sure it is ok. (He has no problem with this). I was in the store while my boyfriend took the call, and the lady he was talking to told him that no information was found for my dog. She was REAL snotty about this. (She is not under my name for the vet but my moms, she's just the one who paid for/set up the account for my dog because I was a minor when I got my dog). I had my boyfriend call back and tell them that my dogs name is not under any of the names on the application and the lady was once again rude. She called my boyfriend's dad, and asked like she said she would. My boyfriend's dad said yes of course and the lady replied with "okay.. I guess". *at some point during the call she informs my boyfriend that all the people in his household AND my dog would have to come in to meet the said dog to make sure everyone would get along. My dog does NOT do good in shelter/vet like environments. She does not do well with new people.* After she gets off the phone with my boyfriend's dad, she calls my boyfriend back and tells him that my mom would have to call my vet and allow them to release the medical information. I understand the application and them wanting to make sure all of their dogs go to a good home, but the attitude and the way that we were both treated, as LEGAL adults, is very disappointing.

Located on Evans in Valpo…read more This is an awesome place to go to adopt your next pet. They have a lot of dogs & get new ones in all the time. From mixes to pure breds, there is always someone in need of a good, loving home. If you're not looking to adopt right now, you can always volunteer. They need walkers, cleaners, and fosters. You can also donate much needed items. They keep a list on hand of the things they are in need of. Everyone is so nice & helpful. The dogs are well taken care of. The cages are clean. The dogs get walked and played with by the volunteers. They make sure that each dog has a meet & greet & is the right fit for their potential family.