I wanted to give a shout out to Ashley C. and Imer M. What an awesome experience at this SPCA establishment. These people really care about their animals. Ashley. I renamed my new family member "Boots" Cause of his black and white paws. It's better than Kimo. Haha!!! Can you rename him in your computer system? Love him. He already has his kitty multi story Hotel building. Boots still is enduring the 333 adjustment stage but he's definitely coming around. Thank you all for this amazing adoption experience!!! Definitely a 5 star experience!!! Jim H. read more

Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA - My lil BOOTS! Haha. I see ya Buddy! - Animal Shelters Near Me - Burlingame, California

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Adopted a female guinea pig for my guinea pig to have a little friend. We had our eye on "popcorn" & when we met her we fell in love! This place provides such good care. Just walking into the small animal space I see the staff caring and engaging with the pets ... taking them out to roam in a play pen with staff really warmed my heart. There are good questions they ask before adopting ensuring pet goes to a good stable home. I also loved that I was given the written documentation from the previous owners to know a little more about the previous live my guinea lived. So happy to welcome "popcorn" to the crew. read more

Great place to adopt your new best friend. Highly recommend. Helpful and caring staff.

Updated review** 12/13/25 I had the PHS manager call me to let me know that she will not refund the adoption fee but will go ahead and refund my MIL. COMPLETELY INCONSIDERATE considering the circumstances!! I adopted the puppy on a Saturday 12/6 no signs of illness until 12/12. My MIL adopted another from the same litter 12/9. Upon arrival at her home he vomited and continued to decline after that and passed 12/12 from parvo As someone with knowledge in the vet field this timeline is not making sense. What is even more suspicious they offered a refund to my MIL but not to me read more

Just came back from SPCA with my family. They brought us in a room with No windows open No air we were standing at the door because of the pee smell in the room and a worker said we all have to stay in the room but we explain to the worker that it smells in here but the worker said this is how dogs smells and closed the door on us !! I have Dogs and my house don't smell like pee . Imagine a room with the sun heating up a room with with pee with No air !! The worker was very rude to us read more

Avoid this place like the plague. It's a scam. I came in willing to adopt and give a dog a good home but THEY felt the need to make the process painful as possible because the puppy had too much energy so they wanted a behavioral to get involved and of course they're not "available". This is the 3rd time this happens at this place. Well I guess a puppy mill it is. At this point buying a puppy is much simpler than trying to be a good person and adopt read more

We had the best time today for their Pawliday event! There were 6 stations to make toys for the shelter animals and 2 therpy support dogs. Afterwards we went into the main area where there were adoptable dogs on the first floor, small animals on the second floor and cats on the 3rd floor. Please consider making a donation while there as there are many animals they care for or shop off their wishlist. Worth it for us to spend a rainy day there and then leave a donation. read more

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It's easy to make appt ! It's has great services ! The staff are friendly . The environment was clean ! Perfect for any pets !

Our son (10 years old) attended the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA Animal Camp this summer. That week was, by far, my son's favorite experience of the summer. Ever since, he has kept mentioning that he wished Animal Camp were longer/still going. And each day, as well as throughout the time since camp, he has been sharing facts and details that he learned. Thank you for creating such an amazing experience for our children! read more

All who works here are some of the kindest people I know.very helpful and really care for are animals

This review is specifically for the puppy socials. I brought my almost 30 lb 3.5 month Labrador puppy here for the social. Unlike a lot of places, they do not have separate events for small dogs so dogs of all sizes show up. At the event, the "trainers" separate the dogs based on size. For the day I went, 90% of the dogs (about 10 total) were small so there was only one dog for my dog to play with. Unfortunately even that dog did not have the same play style and we had to keep pulling them apart. There were 3 people supervising the puppies but they only stop the play if one of the dogs goes to the bathroom. There are no breaks to let the dogs learn to settle. If you want a more structured event with actual trainers that know when/how to give puppies breaks and timeouts, look elsewhere. read more

I visited the shelter hoping to adopt a dog and instantly connected with one. I filled out the adoption application right away, clearly providing both my phone number and email. A staff member told us to wait as they were busy, so we took some time to look around the second and third floors. Later, feeling a bit hot, we sat on the bench near the entrance and continued waiting patiently. After waiting for an hour without any news, I went inside to ask, only to find out that they had already started the process with another group who applied after us. The explanation was that they couldn't find us and assumed we had left. This was incredibly disappointing. No one told me how they would contact us, and my phone number and email were clearly written on the form--easy and direct ways to reach me. What made it worse was that instead of correcting the mistake once they realized it, we were told we'd have to wait until the other group finished meeting the dog, and only if they weren't interested would we get a chance. I believe mistakes can happen, but it shouldn't be the adopter--who followed instructions and waited patiently--who pays the price for poor communication. The right thing would have been to acknowledge the error and allow us to proceed first, as we were the first applicants. That said, I genuinely hope the dog finds happiness and love in his new home. read more

There's good and bad, more good than bad. Two biggest complaints: One is in trying to reach a live person. There have been a couple of recent instances where I had questions about the vaccination and appointments. I'll leave a message, voice and email, and to this day, no response. The second is getting a spay/neuter appointment and still having to wait up to an hour before your pet is taken in. read more

I haven't adopted from this location but I come by to check out the available animals. Unlike the SF location, this location is extremely clean and welcoming. The animals look happy and always interacting with volunteers. Staff are constantly cleaning the rooms of the animal so I've never seen any poop or smelled it. I'm pretty impressed by the variety of animals available for adoption! read more

Awesome staff and a really nice set up. We got our new family member there and couldn't be happier with the process. It took a few weeks of stopping by once or twice a week but it worked out. They weee always nice and accommodating. We found a perfect match. read more

Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA - Our new boy, ROCKET! - Animal Shelters Near Me - Burlingame, California

Learned that you can drop in on weekends and see the cats available to adopt. You can adopt same day. The staff were friendly. It's first come first serve and if someone is already spending time with a cat you like then it's theirs. read more

Big shelter with a variety of animals and great volunteer programs. I did not adopt with them but I have been to their facility in Millbrae a couple of times. Their indoor playground has the large dog fountain which is very fun to see. I like their souvenir store, which has pretty good selection of clothing and fun stuff. The price is relatively high but since the profit goes to the shelter I'm happy to buy from them read more

Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA - Doggo fountain - Animal Shelters Near Me - Burlingame, California

This review is 5 YEARS overdue... PHS helped me find my soul mate, Buddy. Long story short, my partner and I were searching for an "older dog" but it didn't work out. An associate recommended Buddy who was 6 months old at the time. I was hesitant at first because I thought we weren't ready for a puppy/younger dog. I do not regret this decision. He is by definition, the perfect dog. The adoption process was so easy and the facility was well kept and very clean. They even have a little shop inside with a lot of items you can choose from for your new addition to the family. I always recommend PHS and always think of them and donate what I can because I really do appreciate them and all their hard work. read more

Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA - Animal Shelters Near Me - Burlingame, California

Tried to come here on a weekend to visit the adoption center but they're closed, even though hours posted online say they're open on the weekend. That was rather disappointing. We come here frequently to visit all the animals, especially the cats. Some of them are starving for attention and I don't like how some staff will sternly tell us to not put our fingers through the cage holes. Yes we know sometimes the cats might scratch or nibble but many times these cats just want some attention and pets. I appreciate the mission of PHS but some staff here act so stuck up, they forget they're working in a service industry and we are the clients. read more

I love coming to this location staff is so friendly from my experience and this location makes me feel so much better there not in tiny cages and you can watch the kittens play or sleep mostly, I've gotten 3 cats and 1 dog from here overall 18 years I've been coming to SPCA, my last was coco our new addition to be a buddy for our blind 11 year old kitty just to be a snuggle buddy. When coming here once you grab the papers I love that they let you see more than one at a time to see them interact if not I don't think I would have seen cocos personality, she's the best kitten and new addition, I do forget the lady that helped me but thanks to her she helped me with cocoa adoption process and every adoption has gone great read more

Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA - Kitty and Coco - Animal Shelters Near Me - Burlingame, California

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I love my dogs. I have a female Yellow Lab and a Bichon Frise. My lab, Maxie, is now 8 years old and is your typical lab. She's friendly, curious, happy, energetic and always hungry; which always gets her into trouble. She has a penchant for escaping, too. We have a big backyard and we let her out there to conduct her business. Problem is we have an In-Law neighbor that lives in our garage and sometimes they leave the front gate open, which Maxie uses to escape. Even though there's a four foot fence that we placed in-between the front gate, she'll just jump over that fence. She's probably managed to escape more than a dozen time and either she always return or we find her wandering in the neighborhood. She does have a collar and tag, but in one particular night, I let her out to do her business as usual and went upstairs to brush my teeth. I went to bed assuming that she was back inside. When Wifey asked me her location, I had a sinking feeling that she had escaped again. Sure enough, our In-Law neighbors downstairs had visitors and they probably left the gate open. This time was different as we were looking for her until close to 2:00 in the morning. I put on my hiking boots complete with flashlight and hiking sticks to search our hilly and wooded backyard to no avail. We grabbed separate cars going into different directions and nothing. I drove further down from neighborhood and went from street to street with my flashlight until I spotted (or he spotted me) a Broadmoor Police Car. He immediately asked if I was looking for a dog. Apparently, he had come across a lab earlier and all he did was opened his back door and she went right in. I followed him to the Police Station and sure enough, she was just chilling in the backseat of the squad car without a care in the world. What a relief that was. The Officer asked if she had a chip and I replied that we had been planning on it. If he hadn't seen me, the next step was to transfer her to the SPCA for pickup since there was no way to identify her. We decided right there and then to attach a chip unto her. AND...to remind our In-Law neighbors to keep the front gate closed. The next day, we took Maxie here for her chip implant. This is a new location and it's a brand new facility. With the help of former Congressman Tom Lantos and generous donations from Larry Ellison and other Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs and Millionaires, this is one state-of-the-art facility. The staff is friendly with and endless stream of friendly volunteers, it seems. They were informative, caring and efficient. They took Maxie in the back and was done within seconds. It's good to know that there are so many services and resources at our fingertips that are easily accessible for us animal lovers. I can't thank them enough. read more

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They say that our pets choose us. And this was without question the case with our newest member of the family-Nima. This is one awesome adoption facility. The staff is well trained and genuinely care about their residents. They know their cats dogs like they are their own and are experts at pairing up potential family members. We came in on a Sunday afternoon and spent some quality time with "Nima". We were given a private room where we able to bond and learn more about her and all her weird habits. The key word being "weird', we knew she would fit right in at home. The final adoption process was a breeze, and we were given a complete history of Nima's past right down to what her favorite food is. It's been 2 1/2 months since we brought Nima home, and each day she bring us more joy around our house. Thank you to staff for looking out for her, we will be sure do our best to continue to take care of her the best we can. read more

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This place is AMAZING! This LEED certified building, constructed in 2011 is low key on the outside but has all the features- it has large viewing rooms where the animals have a spacious place to roam a bit as they wait to be placed in their forever homes- an indoor play area, that has a retractable roof for when the weather outside isn't ideal - a gift shop should you need some supplies and gifts for your new family members - and ... okay we didn't really get a full tour of the place but that's because you know, covid. The process however was really smooth. We found a dog on their site that we were interested in. Filled out an application to let them know about our interest. They emailed us, we did a phone interview, and a few days later we scheduled a play date to visit her. The volunteers and staff were friendly and helpful. Needless to say we fell in love almost instantly and she is now the newest member of our family. We hope others consider this place when thinking about adding animal to their families. This place has more than cats and dogs, I think I even saw a goat in one of their pictures on instagram. They have a variety all looking for a forever home. read more

They have a new facility, folks! It's located at 1450 Rollins Road, Burlingame: http://www.peninsulahumanesociety.org/download/new_adoption_center.pdf I went today to visit the new facility and it totally reminded me of the Silicon Valley Humane Society. It's sunny, spacious and a way better environment than the old space. It's evident that the animals here aren't stressed and happier than at the old place. The adoption rate is much better because of the new environment. The first floor has the Furchandise pet store where you can pick up goodies for Fido or Fluffy. There is an outdoor/Indoor exercise area which what looks like astroturf to me but doggies don't care - they get to run around outside with toys with volunteers. The dogs on the first floor have their own "Dog Dorms," which are rooms with windows - there's even a "puppy portal" which has holes in it so the doggies can smell you and you could talk to them. V.v.cool! The second floor has a similar layout for wildlife rehabilitation, rabbits, small animals, and reptiles, all housed in rooms with lots of windows. There is even a kitten nursery where you can see the palm-sized kitties sleeping on blankets. (awwww). The third floor has cats of all shapes and sizes in their "Cat Condos." http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/8l11sIPY7ZTTa3vyn3DOHg?select=aZJfi78uD7QY3qHClImZOQ Again, you can see kitties in various stages of play and sleep through glass windows. When you get a chance, please stop by the new Peninsula Humane Society and visit the animals - who knows, you might end up giving one of the the animals a forever home :) read more

Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA - Cat Condo at the new facility - Animal Shelters Near Me - Burlingame, California

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Here is a beautiful animal shelter that has three floors of pets for you to view. First floor is dogs, second floor is small animals, and third floor is cats. The facility is quite nice, and they do not keep most of the animals in small cages. I did see some cats in cages but maybe it's due to the cats not liking other cats (or they are FIV+) - I wasn't sure about that. For the most part, the dogs and cats are in these nice big rooms, although sometimes there are multiple pets in each room. I never got the feeling that it was too cramped though. There are these small peepholes that you can put your fingers through for the dog rooms and they often come up to say hello. They are so cute. The volunteers were tending to the pets very well. The pets looked well nourished and got a lot of attention. I already have a cat, otherwise I would totally get another one, but if you're looking for a furry friend (or even the non furry friends), I would recommending stopping by this shelter. read more

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Return for additional adoption, both Julia S. and April L. did an outstanding job of assisting. Thank you to both of them for their prompt & friendly responses, job well done! read more

After numerous visits with the family, we finally adopted a terrier mix male dog. I'm not sure if that is good or bad for PHS. Why? Because every time we visited in the past, we would see a nice dog that looked like it would be a match for us, go up to the desk to check on him/her, and find out that a person was already in adoption mode on that animal. So that's about 6 adoptions that took place here at least, more at the SF SPCA as well. I think we were good karma for adoptions. Just glad this was our turn. We filled out the paperwork and waited for the meet and greet. It was busy so we had to go to an examination room instead of one of the other meet and greet rooms. Not a problem. In comes "Chuck" and the adoption specialist reads his file to us. A stray, not much issues, very friendly, quiet, frisky on walks, recently neutered, so he was wearing a cone. We hung out in the room with him for some time and the family seemed to like him. When I asked about adoption fees, we were told that it was a terrier/chihuahua mix, so not only was there no fee, they gave us a $10 credit for their store to use for supplies. I was a bit skeptical about finding out he was a chihuahua, but Chuck seemed to be a good fit for our family so we went ahead and adopted him. I do agree with Pete S. that I wish they did do a pet hold so families could think more after meeting a pet and have time to make preparations at home. We were one of those impulse adopters because we have seen so many that we thought we wanted go with other families. If anything, the hold fee could help provide financial support for the other pets in need. But it is working out. Our new friend is now home with us and we did our best to fix our home quickly for our new companion. Chuck is enjoying his new home and the area. Thanks to PHS for helping us find a friend for the whole family. Wish us luck! P.S. Chuck is now Buddy. Somehow, he just seemed more like a Buddy. :) read more

Love, love, love!!! I have adopted several cats here over the years. Recently I had to put my older cat to sleep and wanted to get a kitten/cat. They are very caring and helpful. read more

I cannot say enough about the service PHS gave today. There was an injured young Raven at my horses ranch, he could not fly, was walking and hopping around with his wing hanging. I called PHS and they immediately reassured me that they would send someone out to help. I was honestly surprised they would do this for an injured Raven. I was worried we would not be able to find him when they arrived, as his area was big with lots of underbrush. The team that came were so friendly and compassionate. It took them 15 minutes or so to gently capture the poor injured bird after we spotted him. They were able to see that his wing did not seem broken and there were no open wounds. They secured him and took him to the shelter. I wish I had caught the names of the team that came, they were great! I could not have been more impressed with the whole situation from beginning to end. I was a volunteer at PHS quite a few years ago, and it is wonderful to see that they are as great as they were back then, caring for any and all animals that need help! Thanks PHS! I will be checking in on our Raven in hopes that he will recuperate and we will see him back at the ranch soon! read more

Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA - PHS team rescuing an injured Raven! - Animal Shelters Near Me - Burlingame, California

Hello, I read all the reviews, researched various facilities, before taking my cat for his spray/neuter appointment. He was extremely nervous riding in his carrier on his way to the appointment and had a few accidents along the way. I played music, talked to him, and did everything I could to make him comfortable. When we arrived there were so many pet parents there with dogs, cats, and rabbits. The lady at the front desk was patient, personable, and efficient as she checked everyone in. When it was our turn, the vet tech, was great! She checked him and everything was fine. I received a call that he had endured swelling and I was offered antibiotics, which I immediately agreed upon. I did not expect to see what I saw when I arrived to pick him up. I met with the vet, not the vet that did the procedure, Samantha Guzman, but a woman who came to tell me that my pet had endured a lot of bleeding, swelling, etc. He was beyond bruised and in pain. When we arrived home, he was tired, hungry, and bled for the next 2 days. Overall the experience was good, however, I do not recommend Samatha Guzman (license #26195) as a vet. She did not come and talk to me to tell me what happened to my pet and that part was unacceptable. I did not receive a follow up call to see how he was doing since he obviously had trauma and was severely bruised. Would I go back, yes, but I will make sure that Samantha Guzman is not the vet for any of my pets. My cat is doing well despite such a traumatizing experience. read more

My first adoption went well a big thank you to the friendly staff. I am now a parent of my new adopted dog name Koda. It's been 3 days since he's been home with my family and we are in love. I own a pitbull which took him time to get on board with Koda but it's all about patience and yes I keep Koda in a crate til my pittie gets use to him. Again I like to thank the staff for a job well done. read more

Unfortunately, my view of this place has not changed. While I will say that the cats are well cared for, this place still gets one star due to the shady adoption practices. Mom's beloved cat passed away a few weeks ago, and at the time she was adamant that she wasn't getting another cat anytime soon, that it was going to be at least a year before she got another cat. She lasted two weeks before she started looking online for adoptable cats. I urged Mom to look at other shelters, however to my dismay, she found a cat at PHS she had her heart set on. So, being the good daughter that I am, I took her to see the cat. I figured it's been 7 years since my last negative review, maybe the place has changed.... Now let me pause and mention that Mom was adamant about adopting a senior cat. Her last two rescues were seniors, and it was important to her to adopt a senior cat because she feels (as do I) that in general people prefer adopting kittens, so seniors are often overlooked at shelters. This is important to the story as you'll see in a bit. So we get there and speak to the adoption coordinator, who was very nice, and told her that Mom had a certain cat in mind. She told us that she had one family that she was wrapping up an adoption with, and she invited us to go into the rooms to find the cat and pull the card so she can help us when she's done. No problem. So we find the cat, interact with him, pull the card and wait for our counselor. We read the card, no issues listed, great. When she finished we gave her the card and all of a sudden the cat has 'behavioral issues' (which were NOT listed on the card or the website). Apparently the cat has bit staff & volunteers, and she thinks it's because he's declawed and felt defenseless so he bites to compensate for not having claws. Ok first of all, that's utter b.s. I had TWO declawed cats (I didn't declaw them, their jerkwipe former owner did it), and they were the sweetest, kindest babies who never even growled at me, never mind bite me. I adopted them both as seniors. Second, the poor kitty is probably stressed, sad and scared. Many cats who are 'behaviorally challenged' fare much better when they get into a loving, stable home. I tried to tell my Mom this, but the counselor insisted this cat would want nothing to do with my Mom, so it made her nervous and unsure. Ok no problem, it's not the right cat--it happens. So she tells us she has a cat in mind for us, and when we get to the room, we find out it's a kitten! HELLO, didn't we just tell you that Mom was adamant about adopting a senior? So we repeated our request for a senior and she told us to go back and look again and see who else we would be interested in. So we find another senior, again, no issues stated on the card, and bring it to the counselor. Well, whaddaya know, apparently this one ALSO suddenly has behavioral issues! According to the counselor this senior is a bit bitey when overstimulated. Again, I tried to tell my Mom that it's not a deal-breaker. There are simple ways you can tell when your cat is overstimulated, and there are many alternatives that can help them, like play therapy. (But don't take my word for it--a simple Google search about "cats biting when overstimulated" can back up my claim.) But again, the counselor was so negative that my Mom was unsure. I felt so bad for those two seniors, as they looked so sad and lonely. My mother even had second thoughts about not adopting one of them and went to go visit both of them again a few times. But the counselor insisted that they were not the right cats for Mom and so we looked again. Here's the kicker--Mom saw a Maine Coon kitten and the counselor was so enthusiastic about him that Mom ended up adopting him! While I adore Leo (the kitten) and don't regret adopting him, I'm equal amounts angry at the whole process and incredibly guilty that we didn't give one of those seniors a loving home. Mom feels the same way, and it still bothers her. I pray that they were/are able to find loving, forever homes. I wasn't going to update my review but saw that other people had the same, negative experience and felt the need to speak out. While I would never discourage someone from adopting at PHS, as all animals need loving homes, the community does need to know that this organization is NOT acting towards the animals' best interests--both in their adoption practices and their habit of deception when talking about who/when they euthanize. read more

First off before going into this splendid review, I wanted to clarify that I'm going through a name change at the moment but if the owner wants to message me, I'd be happy to provide my current legal name. Anyways let's get started! I first want to thank my boyfriend who spontaneously made the decision for him and I to get a furry child. As we got there, we were immediately greeted by friendly workers. I was introduced to the cats that were left for adoption (which were only few sadly.) As I say "sadly", it's because the majority of the cats that were up to adopt left were only black cats and a senior cat. I understood the generalization against black cats and senior cats but that made me even MORE compelled to adopt. Luckily my partner and I had already issued adoption papers sent to them and they were able to print it out, but let me tell you...we left with a cat we were not expecting to leave with. But when we met him, I knew in my heart he wasn't just a cat, he would be my best friend and son..alongside my partner LOL. Immediately chose him, and did the paper work and took him home! (he was a black cat named Apollo by the way.) Reason as to why I'm writing this review after a year from adopting my sweet black cat, is because the customer service was so great that my partner and I want to come back soon again to adopt. We felt welcomed and the babies that were left to still be adopted deserve to have a family, which is why we are coming back. You all that worked here in the Burlingame location, I applaud you. You guys keep these babies all taken care of and when they come home with us, they're the sweetest and most loving babies to ever have. You guys bless the blessings for us people who want to adopt. Thank you. read more

Very disappointed!! I am disabled and I adopted a kitten. Now, I WANT to keep the kitten but, he trips me while I'm walking and I've fallen two times. I just called and asked if I can return the KITTEN and instead, get an older cat. They said No!! That there are no returns. I don't want to return the kitten I want to exchange him for a cat! I believe that's wrong. I should be able to get an older cat since they are harder to home. I love the kitten but falling and hurting myself was not anticipated. I just want a cat instead of a kitten. I don't want my money back. I'm very disappointed. They said no returns are in the contract but, in the contract it doesn't state anything about the animal being dangerous to the new owner. i can surrender the kitten, lose my $80, and in the future pay another $80 to get another cat. That's not right. I just want to save a cat!! read more

Nice facility and the animals seem well treated. However it's extremely poorly run, inefficient and they don't seem to make much effort at all to place the dogs. Waited over an hour to meet a dog and they still couldn't make it happen, because one of the rooms was occupied the whole time by an employee. Not worth going if you're actually looking to help an animal. The people who work here just don't care as much as you do. read more

Many husky's to adopt and so many kittys Staff are super friendly and animals are kept in clean rooms read more

We lost our kitty back in late March. He is an escape artist who gets feisty when let outside, as he can smell the outdoor cats in our neighborhood. So when he escapes, we usually let him run around a bit, and he comes back home later that evening, pawing at the door to be let back in. Me and my brother were out of town, and our mom has multiple sclerosis. She was walking our dog when he escaped, and it's difficult for her to do this, let alone catch a running cat. So she decided to let him run a bit. He never goes far, and he always comes back home. But that night he didn't. He ended up on someone's porch one rainy night. The guy was allergic to cats, so he called his coworker to pick him up. He didn't contact the office of our apartment. His coworker doesn't live in our complex, so she didn't either. She kept him for DAYS until she decided to give him to PHS. Well it had been a while since we'd seen him, and we were getting very worried, especially with all the rain. So we contacted the shelter and they told us that they didn't have any cat with his microchip information. They also told us that microchips malfunction. We did not know about this until this situation happened. We even sent them a photo of him, and what seemed to be an automated response robot messaged us back, telling us that we needed to come there. But here's the catch! By the time this robot responded, he had already been adopted by another family! Meanwhile, we finally get calls from the neighbor who found him and the woman who took him in. We rush to the shelter just after closing. A very kind worker assured us that he should still probably be there and that when we came back the next day she would help vouch for us. We came back the next day. He had been adopted just HOURS before we had visited the shelter earlier. We were told that the information was confidential, that they couldn't even contact the owner, and that OUR cat was gone. This institution claims to care about helping families, but they don't put up missing pet notices before they put animals up for adoption. They refuse to help in the most desperate of times. They have no right to rip our family apart like this. We've had him for six whole years, this family has had him for less than a month. We didn't even know he was there until he was adopted. We did the best we could, knowing our kitty's personality, being extremely busy, and unfortunately putting trust in our neighbors to make good decisions. This place is notorious when it comes to customer service, they never answered the phone, and they disregard all the values they claim to hold when they realize they're responsible. We even commented on a post they had made featuring our cat, one of the weekly adoption posts, on Facebook AND Instagram, to see if the new owner would see it. They took BOTH of the posts down. They want to ensure that we'll never see him again. I just want them to know that buckets of tears have been shed and our other kitty is constantly crying for him. Is it humane to put us through this loss? I want them to imagine the long nights we lie awake, hopelessly sobbing. The nonstop howling at the door, as a kitty waits for her brother to come back. You took away my mom's certified emotional support animal. He lies on her chest when she's anxious. You took away my baby. He greets me with an overturned belly whenever I come home. You took away a cat's big brother, who she's known for almost two years. She cuddles him and kisses him on top of his head. He might just be a cat to you, just a number in the system, but he's EVERYTHING to us. He's moved across the country with us. He's experienced loss with us. He's been nothing but kind, and he doesn't deserve this. Sorry won't EVER cut it. Give us OUR cat back. Adopt from Compassion Without Borders instead. We got our puppy from there, she's the sweetest thing, and they were extremely helpful and accommodating. This one star is for that amazing employee who didn't even work with cats but helped us afterhours anyway.​ read more

Our beloved family cat of 15 years passed away in late October. We had discussed waiting to adopt again. A few days after, though, I felt a desire to go "just look" at new kittens. We went to several places near us, before ending up at Peninsula Humane Society late on a Sunday afternoon. The staff were very busy, but invited us to look and perhaps pull any cards of cats we were interested in. They also had me fill out paperwork up front. I explained that we'd just lost a cat, and everyone was very polite and thoughtful about that. Every time I interacted with a staff member, they started out by offering condolences for our loss. I happened to see a kitten that was that "magic combination" for me, and so I asked to see her. My partner and I were invited into a windowed room, toys were brought, and then the kitten. We got to spend a long time interacting with her -- playing, petting, etc. While she had been presented as very shy, she warmed up a bit and began playing. So, yes, after thinking about it, we decided that we'd adopt her. At that point, the staff handled prepping the paperwork, getting her ready, etc. She had some medication she was finishing, so I got to talk to a staff veterinarian about that. I got a full set of records, information about her history and possible concerns. (She had once bitten someone, and had only recently recovered from a chronic infection.) Every step of the way, the staff was warm, professional, and courteous. The space was clean and well-managed. There was plenty of room to interact, and the various cats and kittens seemed well-housed. I never felt rushed to make a decision, but they did "jump start" the process by having me fill out part of the paperwork before even starting to look. The support materials I got were amazing -- a help line, follow up info, all sorts of things. One last thing. I know that many shelters prefer to adopt kittens in pairs, for a number of reasons. Our lease (20 years in the same place!) allows us to have ONE cat, so that's not an option for us. I also have sometimes been pressured to adopt an older pet. In this case, neither of those things happened. No one demanded I take two. No one pressured me to choose an older cat. I really appreciated that. Over all, great experience, highly recommended. read more

Nice facility and the employees clearly care about the animals. My low rating is because of their policy of killing all FIV and FeLV cats that come into their facility. FIV cats are not contagious to others, the virus is only spread through bites. FIV cats also live as long as non-FIV cats, and the only reason people still view FIV as a death sentence is because organizations like PHS brand it as that. It was actually during volunteer training that I found this out. The woman in charge of the kitten department said that "FIV cats' health end up deteriorating and people will need to spend a lot of money on them". Yeah, so do all cats when they get to be a certain age. My cat without FIV has cost a ton of money when he developed diabetes at 13. Older pets cost more than younger ones, it's almost as if they see these cats as potentially not getting adopted as quick as they'd like so they don't even bother. Their death sentence towards FIV cats completely contradicts their claim that any healthy animal that isn't suffering will stay at PHS until they're adopted. It's total bull. read more

WOW THIS IS CRUEL, I called humane society about an injured mommy racoon that we usually see with her two babies and her arm was stuck in a rat trap. We called the day we saw her and they took 3 hours to get here. They were here for 2 min and left. Then they told us to try and trap it with a cage so we did and we called AGAIN today and told us they were busy and could take up to 24 hours, I mean HOW MANY Animals is animal control really saving on the streets? We ended up getting the trap off the racoon and she is now free thanks to us. NO ONE EVER CAME. read more