Know before you go: 1) Oregon Humane Society is one of very few shelters that I have visited that supply ear plugs for visitors to use. May I suggest that you use them when entering dog adoption kennels. The kennels can get very noisy. 2) Meet and greet areas are available for you to get up close and personal with the dogs. 3) One of the keys to a successful dog adoption is finding one whose energy level matches your own. A high energy dog and medium to low energy owner is not a good match. 4) Basic obedience training is a very, very good thing. Believe me, you don't want to be the one chasing your happy-go-lucky dog down a busy street after it got loose! The recall command (come) can literally save your dog's life. read more

Oregon Humane Society Salem - I recommend using the supplied ear plugs when entering. - Animal Shelters Near Me - Salem, Oregon

Adopted a pitbull mix in Nov 2025. They described her as a 4 or 7 mo old active dog. She met my dog and they loved each other. I take my dogs everywhere. Unfortunately out of my home she is so other dog aggressive she can't really go anywhere. She even jumped out of the window of my moving truck to attack a dog walking down the street. I called there behavior pet line twice asking for help with her behavior. They return the call, act like they care and say the will get back to me. Then they never follow up. About the age, the vet said she is more like 2. I cannot recommend this shelter. read more

Please adopt! These pups are amazing! Most pups and kitty's are ready to go! This is the way to adopt. read more

not very helpful. Seems like only a profit incentivized business. Friendly over the phone, but that is all I can say that's nice.

I adopted two sibling kittens, and the staff and process were great. I hadn't seen a catio until that visit. Nice touch. Thanks for making better lives for pets, Salem Oregon Humane Society. read more

Oregon Humane Society Salem - Animal Shelters Near Me - Salem, Oregon

The cat we got from Portland needed veterinarian care. We only had her 3 months and she she had a huge behavior problem because she was sick. She was in pain because she hade severe arthritis and stage three kidney failure. She wouldn't drink or eat at the point of I and my vet chose to humanely euthanize the kitty. She had stage three kidney failure and she was very very ill. I' read more

I have volunteered at WHS/OHS as a dog handler for several years and my experience has been educational and rewarding. Helping dogs become more adoptable is awesome. What breaks my heart is seeing how people see dogs as disposable, inconvenient what a cruel world we live in. Reading some of the negative reviews also hurts. The damage your comments do for our shelter hurts our dogs and cats. Maybe step into our world and be a volunteer. Think things through before ranting online. read more

This place is awful. I waited 18 days to adopt a kitty from this place. They originally mentioned the kitty was under treatment due to a respiratory and eye infection. The vet had not cleared him yet. I didn't mind waiting but the lack of communication from this place made this experience awful from the beginning. Adoption day came and it was so excited to take him home. I didn't pay attention to his eye as they cleared him to go home. Kitty seemed great. He was active and playful. Once we got home I noticed his left eye wasn't opening completely. I assumed it was just the infection clearing. After giving a few days I decided to give OHS a call. I explained the situation and they offered no help. He's eye infection clearly isn't any better. He's has discharge every time he sneezes. It's extremely disappointing to adopt with no transparency from the agency. To make it worse they provide no support on vet bills. It's your choice to return the animal to them and start the adoption process again or take on the expenses. Don't trust this place. I no longer will. read more

Oh my goodness!!! Have older cat in stage 3 kidney disease. Friday evening she took a turn for the worse and was vomiting and diarrhea all over the house... losing fur by the handful. After tons of "leave a message" calls to make an appointment for euthanasia, we got an appointment for the next Thursday. While our vet opened Monday, we already had the appointment, so we kept it. We called Wednesday to ensure they got the vet records. When we arrived, they said they never got records from the vet. Then, they said they did get them, but the records said she was perfectly healthy. Then when we contacted our vet, the vet told us the date to refer them to with the diagnosis showing the diagnosis. I told the humane society which date/page to reference... and they had the nerve to say that they didn't believe the records were from the vet (as if we falsified them, broke into the vet's office and emailed them from the vet directly??? WTF!?!?). The humane society vet tech said our cat was perfectly healthy... because somehow she knows more than our vet. They even called and talked to our vet who confirmed the diagnosis. Then staff still refused euthanasia. They said our cat "seems healthy"! I asked if puking all over and diarrhea all over and losing fur by the handful is the type of "good life" they encourage for their animals?? Because we certainly don't!!! They just smiled and shrugged their shoulders!!! We have 5 other pets (3 dogs and 2 cats) and all our animals receive the highest level of care. This elderly cat is suffering and the hell these people put us through was reprehensible!!! (Not to mention our two special needs kids had said their goodbyes already and did not understand what was happening!) This is the same place we adopted her from as a kitten. She has had a wonderful life. But now they demand the end of her life be filled with illness?? This is no quality life! I cannot even believe what they put us through! Find somewhere else to get your pet! Do not adopt from here! They are only looking to get process volumes of animals, and are not at all looking at the actual health or well being of the animals! Absolutely DISGUSTING!!!!! Deplorable human beings!!! read more

i was unfortunately turned away after finding a very frightened kitten that was scurrying around a downtown parking lot. After arriving, a person answered the door and told me that they would have to see if they could accept the stray, after going back in to deliberate with their coworkers on how they should handle the situation, five of their colleagues shrugged their shoulders and pointed at me. she returned stating that they couldn't help me because they were closing in 30 minutes and that i could make an appointment and they would try and help me then. Since we are in a state of emergency and some of the town still has no power, they were lucky enough to have a generator with more than enough means to take in this stray kitten. but since they are only operating under appointment, you will be most likely turned away, no matter the case. read more

my kitten when and got fix at this clinic, he came back in a lot of pain a peace of his man hold was dangling off the rest. we took him to the emergency vet and he had to have another surgery just to get it fixed all because they couldn't do the surgery right. I want to add everytime Ive went to look at kittens after they've had surgery at this clinic there all in pain and have no food or dirty water. This animal clinic is not a safe space for our animals to get fixed or spread, nor a good place for these sweet animals to find there forever homes. Im very disappointed and think this animal clinic should be shut down for bad behavior towards animals!!! read more

I am a property manager in Salem, and had a stray cat with no collar on one of my properties that I needed to find a home for. I have no idea how this place would've handled it, as they WILL NOT answer the phone, even when they are open. Answering machine is ridiculous, way too many options considering how long it takes for you to return calls. They returned my call almost 30 hours later, with an unknown number, so I didn't answer it. They left the same phone number I originally called, and asked to call and leave another message. read more

I am very unhappy and upset with the lack of disclosure and support regarding my adoption of a 13 year old Cairn Terrier at the end of December, 2020. This sweet little old boy urinates in the house when unattended according to his previous long time companion. Willamette Humane Society did not report this to me when I took Charlie home. My living room Karistan 10x14 rug reeks of his incontinence. $735.00 to clean! It is not his fault but I cannot afford this more than once! Emails concerning his problem went unanswered. I am forced to return him to them but hate to do so. I have had cats and dogs all my life (70 years) and this goes against my belief system of responsibility toward them. Shame on Willamette Humane Society of Salem, Oregon! read more

This was the worst experience I've ever had at a shelter. First of all, we were asked to fill out an adoption form before we were even allowed to meet any of the dogs, which was entirely different from every other experience I've had at animal shelters, even other humane society shelters. The receptionist was rude to my partner and I, as well rude to a coworker in front of us, which was very unprofessional. Next, the guy who took us to meet the dog we were interested in took the dog and us out to one of the meet and greet yards, and then left us there, alone with the dog, for 15-20 minutes, in the rain. He never came back, we had to get the attention of a volunteer who was busy walking a dog and asked her to get someone for us. We were later told this man was just a volunteer and hadnt even been trained on how to run meet and greets with dogs, but somehow he was put in charge of them that day. There were plenty of volunteers there, but none of them made eye contact or spoke to us even when I tried to ask a question. It was a very uncomfortable atmosphere. Basically I just feel really bad for all of the animals stuck in such a terrible environment. We'd have loved to save a dog from there, but we got stuck outside with one dog for so long by the time we got back inside and we're finally able to talk to a legitimate staff member (Kelsey, the only friendly person who works there and seemed to have her shit together) who could suggest possible good matches, they were done with visiting hours for the day. Needless to say we'll never be going back. read more

I don't know how any dog has ever found a home going thru this place. The people who work here have no idea how to show a dog to it's potential forever home. It's more like why don't you come down to see a dog you like, and I'll feed it treats the whole time. Seriously, we even asked for another person so we could see how the dog was around us and not just being handed treats. So, back into a room with a different worker and another worker comes in and guess what?? Yup, she was giving the dog treats. At this point I had to say not interested and walked out. If you want a person to adopt a dog.. LET THAT PERSON INTERACT WITH THAT DOG! read more

They were very kind to us when we were looking for a new family member. We didn't find one yet but they let us know that there is plenty of time and new animals are always coming in. Very friendly and kind! Had so much information about individual animals. read more

How horrible is it that I am giving the Human Society one star? I had an urgent need to put my senior cat down and, upon reviewing the HS website, learned that I needed an appointment. Well, the only way to make one was to leave a message and wait for someone to call back. So I did. Didn't hear back the same day, so called the following day, further explaining that I could not hold out through the weekend. No call back. Two days later, they finally call and say if I still need help, to call back. And what? Leave another message?! Such BS. Thanks for the compassion and total lack of customer service. read more

It's very apparent the time & effort that's put into taking care of the animals. The staff was very informative & helpful in every way. They should be commended for the care they put into their facility & helping the less fortunate animals find good homes. read more

Came by Willamette Humane Society today because I've heard all the shelters in Oregon have an abundance of cats. Met an adorable kitten by the name Leslie. Spent some time getting to know her in one of your visitation rooms and decided she was the one. I've been looking for a while. I lost my cat a couple of months ago and have been having a really difficult time both dealing with the loss and trying to find the right time and cat to try and fill the loss. Imagine my shock and dismay to find she was already spoken for! I was crushed!! Why on earth would you manage your shelter like that and why would you do that to people! One of the volunteers there said it happens frequently!! I will never return to Willamette Humane Society! What an absolutely horrible, irresponsible and unacceptable way to manage your shelter! read more

This humane society is super-clean, has wonderful and friendly staff and volunteers, and treats the animals very well while they are there. You can tell they are cared for and that each person hopes the animals find the best home for their needs. The dogs are walked at least 3 times per day and the cats are socialized 3 times per day. Also the friendly dogs get playgroup time and the friendly cats have 'cat condo' rooms where up to 8 cats live and play. They also just opened up a low-cost spay & neuter facility so that none of their animals get adopted without being altered - it really cuts down on the number of unwanted animals in the community! They do alterations by appointment (you can get other minor veterinary care at the same time) and are the lowest cost in the area. The humane society also offers dog obedience classes from puppy kindergarten to shy dog school to chill out! to small dogs only to tricks and agility. They do a reward-based obedience that uses positive reinforcement instead of punishment. read more

I adopted the most wonderful cat from the Wilamette Humane Society. Stephanie helped find the perfect cat for me. She communicated with me via email, set an appt up and arranged for my new furry feline and me to spend some bonding time in a room where we could get to know each other. Customer service was stellar. Thank you Stephanie!! read more

I volunteered here for about 2 years as a dog walker and just fell in love with this place. WHS commits to ensuring that all animals are treated with kindness while providing them lots of socialization with humans. The dogs here get 15-20 minute walks at least 3 times a day. This doesn't count the multiple play groups and meet and greets with prospective owners. In the two years I was there, I only remember a couple dogs that were at the shelter for more than a few months. These dogs get adopted quick! Volunteers are trained by staff, and are only able to walk certain "level" dogs based on their experience at WHS. The most experienced volunteers are allowed to work with all dogs (especially the ones who are still coming out of their shells) while the new volunteers walk/play with the more friendly/outgoing dogs. This volunteer system is phenomenal. Walkers even take time to write notes about how each dog is doing, letting staff know if there are any medical/safety issues regarding certain dogs. The staff here really do care, and they try their best to make every match between pet and owner a good one. Yes, there may be a bit of paperwork (which someone mentioned is a hassle), but the staff want to ensure that you are compatible with this pet- for life. They do a great job here and I highly recommend you consider volunteering or adopting a pet from WHS! read more

I had an excellent experience at WHS! I used to live in Salem and now live in Portland but was having issues with there being no non-senior cats left by the time I could get to an adoption location. Having known about WHS from living in the area before I checked their site on a whim and they had the perfect 5-month-old kitten that I was able to put in an inquiry about and go down and adopt that day! The facility is very clean and has so many amazing animals. It was very busy when I was there. The one issue I had was a volunteer that I was asking to open my cat's cage and help me start the adoption process later and she kept leaving or I would lose her for 20 minutes while she found something. However, I think this is to be expected; volunteers aren't perfect and their help is what allows all these animals to even be cared for! The adoption process was super quick, much less invasive that the other applications I had been given at other places (asking for personal references, a vet's phone number to call and see if I was lying about my animals, and express verbal consent from my landlord when I had an email clearly showing approval, all of which would be many day processes and not same-day adoption). WHS made everything easy, gave me the typical cardboard carrier box to take her in, a bag of food, an awesome large cat toy with ribbons and catnip inside, a free Vet appointment within the next two weeks for anything that may not have been caught (or if she had contracted URI while in the shelter), a 30 day trial of pet insurance and a whole lot of discounts on everything for my new kitten. Her adoption fee was only $125 which honestly I'm thrilled about with a lot of the Portland shelters charging roughly $200 for a kitten. Definitely recommend! Especially for such an expansive selection to find the perfect pet when everywhere else seems to be cleaned out in the Portland Metro! read more

Oregon Humane Society Salem - My new cat and her cage setup! They have toys in a drawer so you can play with them and she had moved this stool used as her little shelter. - Animal Shelters Near Me - Salem, Oregon

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I have used this shelter for adopting a cat and a dog over the last ten years. I have always had a great experience with the volunteers and staff. The facility is clean and as it's about As good as a facility can be for what they are doing. And today I'm going again to pick out another dog knowing I will be happy with their service and experience. read more

I recently adopted a cat from the Willamette Valley Humane Society. He turned out to have multiple health issues not discussed, or known by the society I believe, at the time of our adoption interview. I loved this sweet, charming cat but, regretfully, after 4 months of treating him for his diabetes, skin condition, and gum infection I surrendered him back because he couldn't adjust to my other cat and the costs of keeping him became prohibitive. I was able to care for him and enjoy him for four months. Giving him up was excruciating. Much to my surprise, when I called the Willamette Valley Humane Society a week later to find out what happened to him they..."couldn't give me any information because of "legal" policy. I was devastated. It felt like being told by authorities that they knew what had happened to my lost child but refused to provide any closure. How humane is that? I contacted the animal humane society in Portland and they have no such policy. Remember, if you surrender a pet here, they will not tell you the status of that pet later unless it is formally up for adoption. If you want to know that your pet was responsibly cared for after you surrender it, take it to Portland. read more

Amazing staff; very clean; wonderful pets and fun events. Check them out when looking for your next cat or dog. read more

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We adopted Rimona -- a white and brown short haired guinea pig -- from the WHS location on 4246 Turner Road SESalem, OR 97317. We live in Portland and rough go at finding a guinea pig sister in the Portland area. Although there are a lot of resources with plentiful opportnities (i.e., OHS, Craigslist, etc.), we were either too late or all the GPs were male. The Turner Rd SE location of WHS was great! The Humane Society was emailed to have Rimona reserved, so she was waiting upon arrival. The receptionist was very friendly, and everyone there from the staff to the patrons were very cool. Of course, I think all animals are pretty stellar. But either way, the facility was nice and clean. The staff was friendly and seemed genuinely interested in the welfare of their animals. The vet (or vet assistant?...the credentials were rather vague) seemed a bit unfamiliar with guinea pigs. She was ALMOST accurate. I hate to brag, but being guinea pig fanatics, the smallest inaccuracies are blindingly obvious. But still, she gave good, solid info and was very professional. I always recommend you adopt a pet companion rather than BUY from someplace like Petco or whatever. But if you live anywhere near the Humane Society of the Willamette Valley...go there. Support a local non-profit, give your money to people who will give good care to animals in need, and leave with a cute new pet. Thanks for being awesome, WHS! read more

People need to calm down. If they get this upset over things that are completely trivial, like volunteers not living up to those people's standards, animals being adopted before those people show up ready to take them home, or the fact that this shelter doesn't have the best "variety" of animals to choose from(which is a good thing, you freak), I shudder to think of how those people will treat an animal. The staff is caring, but overworked. If they don't make eye contact with you, or they get busy doing something, you're an idiot to be offended by that. My wife and I adopted a dog from this shelter a little over a year ago. A deaf dog, who's life involved multiple adoptions, and multiple surrenders. The staff wasn't just concerned with having this dog homed, they were concerned with making sure he went to the RIGHT home. That is what it is all about. If you are going to get testy because of something as trivial as a volunteer not kissing the ground you walk on simply because you've graced this shelter with your presence, YOU DO NOT NEED AN ANIMAL IN YOUR CARE. read more

I've been to several humane societies and I will say that this one is one of the nicest I've been to! The workers seem to really care about the pets there. We went to look around in the cats section. I want just one more cat for myself. Not yet, not just yet. Anyways, as we were looking at the cats. One of the workers, a short, cute lady keeps on coming up to us and pointing out the cats that weren't adopted yet. Told me how beautiful they were and how cute they were. You just get the positive vibe from her. We were also tempted to look into the doggy section too and one worker just randomly took us to one doggy pen and pointed out a rottweiler mix named Clark which was very calm & ADORABLE. We talked with him for a bit and gave him some treats in a bowl stuck to the door. He acted very calm and mature for his age. he didn't even jump on door or anything like that. I just wish we had the time & the money to adopt the dog right now! We just couldn't right now. He would have made a great addition to our little family! I was surprised to see other dogs with the "I'm adopted!" tag instead of Clark. Hmm. Anyways, My boyfriend has been meaning to get his cat, Quake neutered and we checked this place out after we got that appalling estimate at the vet clinic across the street from where we live. Anyways, the prices of spay/neuter at WHS was completely reasonable and perfect. The spay/neuter clinic is in another building, on the right side of the entrance to the WHS. We had to make an appointment at the clinic and they sent us off with a paper and email to my boyfriend with information on the procedure and what not to do the night before. Brought him in at 7 30 am & picked him up at 4. Quake was totally, completely high from the medicines necessary for the surgery and wolfed down the food we had for him. Other than that, he did just fine and healed fine with no problems! It is definitely recommended to get your pets spayed/neutered there. Of course, we all must be suckers for cheap and high quality services. :) read more

I was searching for the right companion a couple of years back. I explained to staff our families needs and was told that they had the "perfect" dog for me who wasn't aggressive at all. When I was in the play area petting her she bit me and acted out in an aggressive manner. The staff member was very nonchalant when I explained what had occurred and it was perceived to be my mistake. Needless to say, I did not adopt from this humane society. I adopted a wonderful dog from Marion County shelter who unfortunately had tons of health problems. I personally would not recommend this rescue. Please be up front and honest about dogs who may have aggression, those of us with children cannot tolerate dogs who bite. Thank you. read more

Want help acquiring the cat that suit you? We recommend the WVHS. They have friendly staff who directed us to cats for indoors, outdoors, or both. Supplied us with candid descriptions of the WVHS knowledge re cats' physical and psychological makeup and history. Best of all, excellent benefits. 30 day return policy. Shots. Flea treatments. Free vet visits. Microchipped. Spay/neuter... read more

This place is a disaster, I have never had so much issue with an animal shelter. They have a "feral cat" program that is great if, and only if, you have 2 hours to waste. It's only available 1 day a week and only for 2 hours. If you are a busy person, or have a job don't except to be able to leave the premises even for a second. They not only threaten to "turn you in" for abandonment which, if you didn't know, is not true or a vailed claim, they chastise you for needing to leave. "What could you possible be so busy you can't stay here for two hours" is what they will say while talking down to you. Why can't i come back for the cats? I clearly care enough to not only catch these feral cats, but cart them in my own car so they can stop reproducing and causing horrible over population which is a huge issue in our neighborhood. I abide by these ridiculous hours and hoops to jump through to be fought every steps of they way. On a side note a good way to get off the phone with these fabulous employees is to ask the name of the person you're talking to -"click.... dial tone" adopt a pet here all you want but your better off just letting the feral population just continue then try and care about your community. read more

Our adoption experience through the Willamette Humane Society has been absolutely horrendous. If they weren't housing a dog we adore, we would have absolutely nothing to do with them. Before generalizing, I want to state that we have had great interactions with all of the volunteers and a select amount of adoption staff. This review is on the majority of adoption staff and how the facility is run. You would assume that homing these animals is the #1 priority, but the differing agendas and overall lack of competence far outweighs finding homes for these animals. The fact that you can only get them on the phone if you're giving them money proves that. I have no problem paying the fees associated with these animals, the facility needs these funds to operate, but the second that money takes priority over finding homes for these animals: I have a problem! Very unhappy with the lack of communication at this place during our adoption experience and feel terrible about the amount of animals that potentially weren't adopted because a bad experience with the staff might've deterred adopters away before even seeing the lovely animals available read more

got a new kitty on Saturday. all 5 staff members that helped us were EXCELLENT. very friendly, helpful, and patient. can't beat this place to adopt. sure the one in North Portland is spiffier, but this place rocks it. THANK YOU! read more

My family and I adopted a dog from the williamette humane society. I'm VERY disappointed with how they take care of their animals. We were very disappointed with his health when we got him. We took him to our vet for his first free check up to find that he has ticks all over him and a mild ear infection. I have another dog in the house that has never gotten an ear infection or ticks. And our place is completely clean. Also when he was being fixed they found out he had a hernia which they fixed and that was nice but the staples they put into him were completely done wrong. Now he will have a very bad scar. We attempted to contact the humane society they told us we were on our own. All they said was to go ahead and give him up. And we Will NEVER do that cuz he is a great dog! And he will remain in our family. For $200 you would think he would have been taken care of better. So now with his tick medication and ear infection we are out another $150-$200. I would not recommend anyone to come here to adopt an animal. They are not as caring as it seems. read more