Reading the comments saddens me, I am with a rescue group and just like shelters, we pick up the pieces of irresponsible people. Dogs are in the shelter because an owner failed them, then we as rescue, as well as shelters, do the best we can to pick up the pieces from that. Any dog not on monthly heartworm prevention is going to have worms, we have seen a ton of hookworms this year and they are resistant - sometimes up to 4 treatments to get rid of them. Dogs may not be in the shelter or with a rescue group long enough for them to test negative. If you are adopting from a rescue or shelter then you have to go into that with the aspect of you want to save a dog. You may need to do a little extra work to get that dog healthy. In rescue a dog can stay in foster care for a bit, shelters don't have that luxury as there are too many animals in need. I always say there are more irresponsible people with pets than there are those of us trying to remedy the problem. Hard to win when you are outnumbered. Have a little patience because dealing with the need day in and day out can wear on you. Rescue has the benefit of any dog we take in we have evaluated and we will find a good home for that dog, but working at a shelter has to be difficult, you see nice dogs get put to sleep probably on a daily basis, you have to harden yourself a little to sustain that. Walk into the shelter with love in your heart to save a pet and give it a good life, these animals have had enough drama already. read more

BS. Lady on the phone told me one thing about a pet I was looking to adopt, and when we got there the dog wasn't available. What killed me was the rude woman at the desk then proceeded to argue with me about it. We were disappointed but I'm guessing that it's probably a blessing given that the place was shut down 3 times in like 6 months for bacterial issues. I imagine that any pup we got could have cost us in vet bills in the long run. Just sorry to have gotten my hopes up. I'm guessing, but since it was a puppy we were after, one of the staff probably took him. Boo hiss. read more

Prince George's county animal Shelter ZERO STARS for sending a sick puppy home with us. Tyson has several kind of worms, a fungal infection on his head, and they refused to help, told me oh well you adopted him and took him home with you, and the rude african man hung up on me, and Daja the adoption manager, she threatened me that Prince George's county animal Shelter would charges me $250 if I bring him back. My mom is furious an is going to court to file suit. I have an auto immune disease and take medicine, making me highly susceptible to illnesses. Prince George's county animal Shelter is reckless, deceptive, dishonest, mismanaged, poorly run, and just a horrible place praying on the kindness of unsuspecting county residents and tax payers. WARNING!! DON'T ADOPT HERE! Horrible people mismanaging animals lives and endangering the public. read more

Prince George's Animal Services Facility - Worms all in Tyson's fecal matter-I adopted him like this NASTY IRRESPONSIBLE!! - Animal Shelters Near Me - Upper Marlboro, Maryland

First let me address the negative comments as to the front desk intake person, she has been there for years and knows her stuff. She is not rude but direct. And I can understand her position, she has always been very approachable towards me and I have visited this facility a lot. If you are nice and courteous to her, she is nice and courteous to you. I adopted a Yorkie December of 2019 when they had a Clear the Shelter special. The adoption was process was smooth with no problems, my counselor was Jen. She is extremely nice and kept in touch until I was able to bring Georgie home. Then in February 2020 I adopted a play-mate for Georgie, a Maltese. I had a different counselor who was just as nice as Jen. The best way to adopt from this shelter is to view their website first for available animals, especially if you are looking for a certain breed or a small dog. Wright down the ID number and be at the shelter when they open. Now this my not be the case since COVID, but you still have to be diligent if you see a animal you want on their site. I believe now they are only showing animals by appointment. There is a lot of good info on their Facebook page too. All in all, I had very good experiences with this location, but you have to be patient and diligent and you will get an excellent fur baby. read more

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Good people doing good work. We have two dogs now and both adoptions went smoothly. The process isn't as complicated as some shelters or rescues and they are affordable. read more

Apparently at this facility they euthanize dogs! Very sad going it's a lie, but I'm more inclined to believe it because of how everything else is. You loose your dog and someone brings them, instead of calling you to pick them up when they have a chip reader, they charge you and make you go through an entire process. The employees act as if they don't want to be there, by being extremely mean, rude, nasty. read more

Prince George's Animal Services Facility - A comment - Animal Shelters Near Me - Upper Marlboro, Maryland

February 15, 2020 First visit! There were a lot of visitors. The facility was well staffed with administrators and volunteers. The staff and volunteers seemed really capable of their jobs, helpful and nice. The place was actually well kept, clean, sanitary.. The cages were clean, good sizes for the dogs. The dogs had feeding schedules and walking schedules. It's a great place to adopt! read more

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I was adopting a dog from the Prince Georges Animal Shelter. I met the dog. It had kennel cough. A week later they called and said that the dog and others were being euthanized because of labored breathing. In talking with them, they indicated that they had quarantined all the dog and were killing the ones who seemed sick. From what I could tell, there was no attempt to diagnose or treat the dogs, but if a dog became sick, it was euthanized. I cannot really deal with this, and it is the one of the worst things I have ever had happen for me. They had blood taken from all the dogs, but they didn't even test it. read more

Overall, this shelter is very bad. However, this review involves fake eye drops on the Internet that are supposed to cure cataracts. The only effective cure for cataracts is surgery. The fake eye drop companies pay people to "test" their eye drops and they they use fake trials. Animal experiments is very obviously closely monitored by the US government, and research universities. I adopt older dogs, and old dogs are very hard to place. At PG County Animal Shelter, there was a 12 year old blind dog with cataracts in both eyes. I was going to adopt it and provide cataract surgery for it, but it went directly from being placed at the shelter to being adopted by who knows who in less than two days. I don't know what happened, but it seems suspicious and I don't trust the place. Of course, I don't know. read more

It pains me to write this review as I've always had a fondness for this shelter. PG County's shelter is HUGE and, at capacity, has dozens of beautiful furbabies of every species, size & age. They also typically house quite a variety of reptiles. It's quite an endeavor to do intake, house, treat, and otherwise care for all of these creatures. Hats off to those who volunteer there - and there are many who do, including me at one time - and to those employees who stand on the front lines and try to make the world a better place for these animals. These are people with a heart of gold. The shelter itself is clean. I know as I've been there many times - day and night - and found it to be so. Animals are treated well, though, of course, all could be socialized more. The adoption fees are reasonable. So why 1 star? There's no other rating at this point, I'm afraid. After Covid, the shelter changed its viewing policies. Instead of walking in to see various animals during shelter hours and being allowed to spend lots of time with adoptable babies, one now has to make an appointment to see them. Sounds good in theory. After all, fewer folk roaming the halls means fewer illnesses passed around, right? Right. But the benefits are FAR outweighed by the costs: 1. There are only so many appointments granted. They fill so quickly that many folks are not able to secure one. 2. The telephone line used to make appointments is so understaffed that I - after spending three WEEKS trying to make an appointment - finally got through today after being disonnected multiple times. It's not their fault. They're understaffed. But WHY put a policy into place like this when there is ZERO staff to get it done? No way to leave a message. No one to answer questions. No one to get back to you. Just a mess. 3. IF you happen to secure an appointment, you have 30 minutes. Better be very early with traffic and all as there will be no grace period. If the dog you want to see is being seen by someone else during that time? Well, it's your tough luck. You have 30 minutes. If this isn't the most IDIOTIC rule I've ever seen in animal resuce, I don't know what is. Aren't these people supposedly animal experts? Because it OFTEN takes an animal 20 minutes or so to calm down long enough for one to even assess them. How in Hades does one actually think they're going to give the dog a fair chance at being adopted? So, so, SO DUMB. So unfair to these furbabies. They have to hurry along, calm down, form a connection in a few minutes. That clearly won't work well for many, if not most of them. 4. Let's talk more about the 30 minute limit. We're talking about a LIFETIME commitment here. They really want that decision made in 20 minutes? Okay then. Let's just see what the stats say about that in several more months. Let's just see how many of these animals are returned. 5. There is a limit of seeing two dogs. Are you kidding me? Again, just what animal expert is making the rules here? Because any layman knows that all of the beautiful, popular dogs will be requested time and time and time again while NO ONE will request the other dogs. Again, exactly how does this help the animal? Not the shelter - the ANIMAL. 6. There is no help anywhere as the shelter is so understaffed. Because of that, any posting you see anywhere - Petfinder, Adopt Me, even their own site - is very likely to be outdated. Here you are trying like heck to get an appt for a dog that isn't even available anymore or - God forbid - euthanized because no one came to see it in time. All of this combines to create a perfect storm. No thank you. I'm done with this shelter and beyond sad to be so. It was a kill shelter before. I might just send a note to the county govt and request the stats now. Just how many more are we killing today than we did back then? Because I don't believe this new policy is helping anyone - especially not the animals. read more

Our family is thinking of adopting a dog so despite it being far from home, drove over an hour to this facility. (Online it had more options on types of dogs we are looking for than any other county shelter). Well the facility is very large and very well organized. Overall impression is that it is run very well and dogs are taken care of until permanent home is found. You don't think of this before going there, thinking 'PG county' but the place is so much nicer than even Howard county where you'd think they have all the money. read more

Prince George's Animal Services Facility - Animal Shelters Near Me - Upper Marlboro, Maryland

Just adopted a dog about a week ago and it was infected with KENNEL COUGH!! The "counselor" Charity Randall AND her Supervisor, Vicky Poe couldn't care less about it when I complained and asked for antibiotics! NO ONE from that facility on Brown Station Rd. Would help me!! I ended up having to pay to take that dog and the one I already had to the vet for care and meds.....at my OWN expense!! I am so angry and upset that they would purposely do this to people!! It amazes me that, with ALL of the money they recently received, they wouldn't use it to take better care of the animals!! So, my advice to everyone who wants to adopt from there, PLEASE examine your new "baby" thoroughly and look for any signs of sickness. If necessary, DEMAND any/all needed meds BEFORE you leave! Because if you walk out that door without it, you're on your own!!!!! read more

This place is a joke I have called and talked to them two days in a row about a cat in the median of the highway they have yet to do anything and says they don't have room to go rescue it. i Have even called and supposedly talked to the supervisors and still nothing has been done about the poor cat, it's either going to get hit or it's going to try crossing and could cause a accident if someone tries to swerve to miss it. they have severely disappointed me I wish I could give 0 stars read more

This is going to be a short and sweet review. I was impressed with this animal shelter. Nice front desk staff and nice pet volunteers. I was ready to go in with my hand over my nose expecting a stench but it was odorless. There were plenty of pure breeds like German Shepherds and Rotties. There was one dog I really wanted but had a going home sign. (I added a pic). The kennels were clean and each dog had plenty of room to roam. Adopting a pet here seems a breeze unlike other shelters or rescues. They had few cats. Though the cats looked like they could use more room to roam. Overall nice and clean animal shelter and pet adoption fees aren't high. read more

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I just started coming here to walk the dogs as a volunteer and I have to say they are a caring facility. The people are trying their best to give the animals a fair chance. They are also knowledgeable about their animals. read more

I had pets as a young, non-parent adult. BUT, I have been trying to delay getting a pet as a older-ish parent of two. Two of the reasons for my hesitance - I don't want to pick up dog poop and the concern that it would gradually transition from "our" dog to "my" dog! So, my daughter entered a "Be Kind to Animals" poster contest and she was one of the winners. (So proud of my little one.). The ceremony was at this shelter. The team did a great job at planting the seeds of protecting animals. We also learned about how the county has greatly decreased the rate of animal abuse incidents. Equally important, the team made each of the kids - no matter their award placement or age - feel special. Kudos! Now, here is the setup. One of the shelter leaders explained to the audience that the organization has a foster adoption program. You can help an animal that needs special attention before it is adopted permanently by someone else. Well, my son looked me seriously in the eye and said "we have to do this." I'm not saying we're ready for such a responsibility. But, I appreciated the organization's efforts to find temporary or forever homes for animals. read more

Just don't come in for the customer service... I came to the shelter on a weekday since they have a bigger selection of dogs than my local shelter and I fell in love with two of the dogs. The area was tidy and clean and the dogs were lovely. I went to inquire about the two dogs and was told to get their ID number from their gates and bring it back to the front desk. Unfortunately, I wasn't told that walking into the shelter, even though I had mentioned it was my first time visiting. If you like a dog on their website, I would call first and see if they are already adopted or have applications in. Once the front desk attendant looked up the IDs of the two dogs I was interested in, she mentioned how many applications they had and that it would be only a 20% chance of me getting either of them and it wouldn't make sense to interact with the dog. I was a little discouraged by her aloof response. Overall, the shelter seems great and is doing a wonderful job; I would just come in knowing exactly which animal you want with everything ready to go, because you might not get the assistance you're looking for. read more

This shelter is handled by very rude front desk staff & cashier I've been here multiple times and every time It is a horrible introduction. They are extremely set in asking for your lost pets "id number" which is irrelevant when you just want to look around and see if your pet is there. I've had a microchipped pet picked up and taken there, they never scanned it or called me. Their system is flawed and the lady at the front desk will yell at you telling you every pet is in the system and has a photo online but that is not true. Just let people look for their pets, it shouldn't be a struggle and they should want them to be returned to their family instead of euthanized or filling up the shelter. read more

The ladies up front should not be there. They act as if they are just miserable no customer service no smile just a death stare as you approach. It is one of the scariest places the employees are rough. Very unhappy gal up front was eating a piece of fried chicken and licking her fingers then she took a call and started arguing with someone about taking a piece of their chicken!. They had me sit and wait to see a dog. While I waited I observed the gals just talking and goofing off when one of them bored she looked at me and said come on follow me. so she could have taken me 10 minutes earlier. read more

Adopted my luv bug from here on November 13. Five days prior I went to start the process. The facility was extremely clean , the employees were helpful and I was committed to adding "KAINAN" to my household. My adoption counselor was Jen, she kept in contact with me , answered all my questions and made this a memorable experience. read more

I saw the cutest little doggie that came in on a day that they were closed. I went the next day they were open and my baby was already said to be going home. I drove almost an hour to be told that the intimate time to be had with the animals stopped 30 mins before I got there. I wish they extend those hours for people that have to work but want to adopt. The lady at the front desk was less than friendly. No good customer service. The facilities seemed clean and didn't smell as bad as I thought. Even tho the front desk lady was not very friendly, she did tell me that the best time to go is right when they open. Ummm I wish I had a job that I can just leave for 2 hours. Maybe I should try to find an animal shelter nearer to me. read more

I purchased my large fuzzy creature from "the pound". He was the sweetest thing, a gentle giant. Or at least that is what we thought. Although still large, he weren't as sweet as what we'd thought. After we brought him home, his nose ran, his breath was labored. I thought he was going to die. Alas, he had kennel cough. When I purchased him, registration fees were waived: ka-ching! read more

Awww! I just wanted to take all the dogs and cats home with me after visiting this animal shelter! This location is the relocation site from the previous animal shelter which was off of Pennsylvania Ave. Let me tell you...it was a huge improvement! This location is modern with lots of windows. Air-conditioned! The staff were friendly and helpful. I went to check out the small dogs. Despite the warning of a possible parvo outbreak, the "suite" was clean, and every dog had their own cage. No overcrowding. Information was readily available for each dog. I saw a couple of dogs I wouldn't mind adopting but I eventually found a dog elsewhere. No worries. I'll definitely recommend this place to others looking for a furry one. read more

My experience at this shelter has been nothing short of unprofessional. I take care of my elderly mother and she wanted to get a dog for companionship. When with my mother the staff is friendly to her but mindlessly disrespectful to me (I'm black and male). From the front desk staff (whom I see in previous yelp reviews has been reported for unprofessional behavior) I simply asked can I get my dog neutered sooner after I was told by Jen to text her if I had any questions. I receive no response. I then call the office and I'm giving the run around until I'm transferred to Jen who completely ignores my questions I then ask her why has there been no response to my text. She then transfers me to her supervisor who accuses me of calling her the B word which is a lie, I don't even use that language. After she begins to yell at me like a child. I explain to her that this matter is not that big of a deal and that I simply ask for professionalism in following up with regards to taking care of my mother's newly adopted pet and as a military vet, college graduate with my multiple degrees I would expect much more class. She then begins to yell more and I ask to speak to her supervisor. She transfers me to the supervisor voicemail which is the same thing Jen did with regards to speaking to her supervisor. This is totally unacceptable and unethical. The lousy behavior by this woman is nothing short of bias and I personally felt racism from this woman towards me as a young black male. A common tactic of racists is to talk to black men as if they are children in an attempt to belittle them. I write this review for those whom they will likely attempt to play there subtle racist game with for no constructive purpose but to satisfy there ego and also to advise to look else where for adoption services. I have not as of yet received a detailed response on how to get a refund for my mother's dog neutering service. This matter has not been addressed. That's the kind of service to place offers. read more

This animal shelter is very nice and a great place to get a furry friend. Everyone I've encountered working here is really friendly and helpful and it's a very simple process to meet a dog. The dogs all have their own little runs with dogs beds. Prince George's Animal Shelter also hands down has the largest selection of dogs in the area, usually about 90. That is a lot more than the 6 or 7 that Arlington and Alexandria usually have. They also have cats, birds, rabbits and reptiles if those animals are more your scene. It's definitely worth the drive out there if you're looking to adopt especially since the shelter has a high kill rate. The small dog section is filled with the cutest little dogs. Surprisingly you can find purebred pomeranians, poodles and more here on a regular basis. Check the website out to see what they have ahead of time. Dogs are usually about $200 and that fee includes all the medical care these strays are getting (shots, neutering etc...) If the dog is over 7 years old they are free. Yes, free they wave all the medical fees because want to find these sweet animals homes. If you are looking to adopt a pet I highly recommend checking this shelter out. Edit: After visiting many times this is where I finally got my fluffy little darling from. People can not believe we got our beautiful, healthy, well behaved miniature poodle at a shelter for a fraction of the cost what a breeder would charge. The adoption process was very easy and took about a week. Our dog got all his shots and was neutered before we picked him up. They also gave us a useful dog training dvd when we adopted. I can't say it enough, this shelter is a wonderful place to visit if you are looking for a pet. read more

Extremelly disappointed with the experience... We drove 1 hour to meet a dog that we saw on PetFinder but we ended up applying for another dog we liked, but to be fair these were MY MISTAKES: 1) rushing to put an app on an animal who we didnt know or interacted much 2) not asking for much information even after learning he was given up by the previous owner Now this is what I was upset about them... They don't care for the adoptions, all they care about is to get rid of the dog. When asked to interact with the dog, no information was given and the questionaire filled up by previous owner wasn't presented until the fee was payed and the person who showed us the dog was stoned out of his mind. They didn't tell us about his "Attitude" or the abuse that he suffered from previous owners. Another family put an app for him the same time we did and they had 2 small kids, I AM SO GLAD HE CAME TO US INSTEAD OF THEM because he bit me twice and my mom once. I was able to fix some of the problems he had like walking on a leash and the aggressiveness when trying to pick him up but there were things that he was super traumatized by that nobody can get rid of with a 4 year old dog. ANYWAY... if we knew about his aggression problem we wouldnt have applied for him and all that info was on the paper that was given to us AFTER WE HAD PAYED THE FEE... word of advice, CARE MORE ABOUT THE ANIMALS, than the money you get from the adoption... and be upfront about the dog, if you had chosen to give the dog to the family with kids something really bad could have happened. read more

We just rescued Dakota and We love Her, the young lady GG at the front desk was as pleasant as can be Deven introduced us to the dog he was a very kind caring person . Charity was our adoption counselor was thorough , kind caring and professional . I urge folks don't buy dogs so many sweet ones need to be rescued . read more

Called to inquire about a dog and set an appointment up to meet him only to drive an hour and find out he had already been adopted. What's worse is that when I called and confirmed to adopt him, his listing was on there, then when I arrived at the facility the listing was off and they tried to tell me that I should have known. Will not EVER refer this place to anyone who wants to adopt a pet. Also, the people working here are rude AF!!!! From the people answering the phones, to the spay/neuter clinic, to the front desk people. read more

While you think this should be a happy place, where kids find their forever furry friend, it's not... I just ran in to pay for my pet's license renewal and the cashier acted like as if I was bothering her... She didn't no open her mouth as I had greeted her nor did she say thank you upon the end of my transaction... My motto is, You chose the job, not me... It's unfortunate that she is in a position that interacts with the public and doesn't have any social skills... read more

A unleashed pit bull ran into my yard in Belmont Crest community in Upper Marlboro. when i came out I found a young female with ear plugs on appearing to be recording the incident. I yelled several times "get your dog" before the female realized that i was there. ran, tusseled to pull her dog away and refused to give me her name or address. I contacted 911 who connected me to animal control after telling me that they were sending out an officer. A officer Gordin arrived after I returned from taking my dog to the vet for sever bite wounds around the snot and leg. Ofc. Gordin was instant in defending the attacking dog. he stated that my dogs injuries did not seem that servere. told me that he talked to the mother of the female. not the female herself and that he was given a different story. My dog attacked her dog in the park. he then went onto ask me for my dogs shot records and registeration. I provided the shot records while sifting through my paperwork looking for the registration. at the same time Ofc Gordon called Animal Control to personally verifiy the information that he requested. I heard the female on the other end state that the last shot was noted as oct 2013. even though Ofc Gordon had the updated paperwork in hand he issued me paperwork. I asked you are giving me a cititation? he stated no, its a warning you have so many days to fix. I asked Ofc. Gordon if he gave the attacking dogs owner paperwork (warning, citation). he said no the pet was not there, the wife stated the husband only knew where the paper work was, and he was not home and the dog was part pit bull and needed an evualation to verify it. Ofc. Gordon stated he could not do anything with the attackers dog until he verified the paperwork....and gave no specific time limit on the required time for verification. I said isn't there a leach law in MD, he said " I didn't see the dog without a leach, so I can't do anything about that. When I offered to show him the incident on my outside surveillance video, he declined, stating its not admissible in court so he did not need to see it. In disbelief, and feeling that Ofc. Gordon obvisiouly knew these people and were protecting them. I went to Animal Control to verify my animals paperwork. and get a copy of the paperwork , which I was told I had to send in a letter for freedom of information request in order to get a copt. The paper work for my dog was not in the system. I provided proof. and paid the $5.00 fee to update the registration that I could not locate. When speaking to Ofc. Gordon's supervisor I was informed that Ofc. Gordon had already dropped the paper work and said somone may be calling. When Ofc. Gordon came to my home, he did not have on a name tag or badge, I had to request his name. My pets are rescure dogs and I got them from this shelter. read more

Four months ago, my husband and I decided to adopt a dog. After much research on different animal rescue groups and shelters, we decided to adopt from Prince George's county animal shelter. We found that the place was clean and the dogs seemed well taken care of. There is a large variety in the types of dogs you can adopt - purebreds, mixed breeds, puppies, seniors and everything in between! The woman who helped us was incredibly patient and friendly. We saw three dogs that day and fell in love with a ~1.5 year old American Bulldog mix. The process was straightforward. We filled out some paperwork and a week later, we picked up our puppy! The shelter even gave us a packet with helpful information, vet contacts, and a bag of food. A couple months later, we received an invitation to a picnic to meet other adopters, which we thought was a nice touch. We could not be happier with our new furry addition! He makes us laugh, loves to cuddle, and greets strangers with a full body wag! At the dog park and in our neighborhood, he has met lots of doggie friends and has adjusted quite well to his new life. He is a happy, healthy member of our family. Due to overcrowding, shelters have to put down many animals that come in. If you are thinking about adding a pet to your household, consider adopting at a shelter like this one. You will find a wonderful addition to your family and leave a space so another animal has a chance to find a loving home! read more

I read all the previous reviews before going here and the negative ones had me a bit concerned. However, don't be fooled. This is a very good shelter, relatively new, fully staffed and with lots of volunteers. Given the volume of animals coming and going thru there, they manage to keep it quite clean. More animals mean more poop, hair, noise, they manage it with style and thoughtfulness. Also, I found the staff to be very efficient, a lot of people come through here and expect it to be like a pet store. It's a privilege to get an animal, not a right. Their hearts are in the right place (to protect the animals) and I don't fault them for being wary of people and their motivations that walk through the door, that includes me. You are not a customer to be courted and treated like a king or queen. If you want that, go to a retail store. Walk in their shoes before you adopt and you'll be able to be patient and kind and make it a good overall experience. As a side note, I applied to adopt a dog but was 2nd in line. They were efficient and notified me within 3-5 business days of the dogs status. They delivered on all fronts. I do like the waiting period, it negates impulsive adoptions that can be based on fleeting feelings. This is a well-run operation. read more

Rude receptionist/supervisor and a careless counselor made our first pet adoption experience awful! My husband and I found the perfect dog and went forward with the application process only to have our correspondence with a particular counselor avoided. For reasons unknown, the counselor didn't respond to our emails or phone calls until the day before pickup (which my husband and I found rather suspicious considering we learned that the dog tested positive for Lyme). She was supposed to stay in touch with us throughout the weekend but didn't and then when we finally talked to her, she acted as if she never received our attempts to correspond. Needless to say, after a long talk with my husband, we pulled our application bc we felt uneasy. As far as the receptionist/supervisor, she was very short and wouldn't let you get your questions out before she told you to "talk to your adoption counselor!" Just be careful! read more

Got our dog from there. They try their best to keep everything clean and as comfortable as possible for the pets. Even in the dog rooms are cd-players with calming natural sounds! After applying for our dog, it took one week to get the call, that our application was approved. 3 days after the call, we picked our cute baby up. They name the dogs , but when we asked to pick up our dog "Ice" they couldn t remember her by the name. That s why i don t give a five star review. They give you plenty of information material when you adopt a pet from them. And they handle the pets very careful and friendly! I didn t regret adopting our dog from there. read more

Greatly saddened and extremely disappointed in Animal Control PG. Dropped off a stray on Oct 26, dog had to be put on a 5 day hold by law so owners can try to find it. I asked a "technician" if the dog will be put down if he doesn't find a home soon and she said no. My friend came in to try to adopt the dog and the process was ridiculous and she was on a time crunch. She couldn't adopt. I've been trying to watch out on FB to see if this sweet sweet dog got adopted. Called on Nov 15 to find out they euthanized him on Nov 8. I asked why they said he was extremely aggressive. Food aggressive, tried to bite, everything you could imagine. Oh they also said no one in the community wanted him. I told the lady on the phone at I highly doubt he was aggressive and I had more questions but she hung up on me. I fed this dog and played with him before I dropped him off. He was the sweetest dog. I will NEVER drop off a stray at Animal Control PG. I set him up for a death sentence. He had 13 days to live when dropped off there and then they killed him. read more

Just adopted a beautiful bulldog mix formerly named Justice (I actually liked that name but husband didn't). The adoption process was smooth. They say it takes about 3-5 business days and it was 5 days exactly because I popped in to get my questions answered instead of waiting on a return call. The Spay Spot clinic on site handled the spaying and micro chip and the shelter also gave me certificates for a complimentary vet visit with a choice of 5 animal hospitals, 2 in Upper Marlboro, 1 in Waldorf, 1 in Riverdale, and 1 in Hyattsville. The micro chip registration also came with dog tags that you would spend $10 on at the box stores so that was a nice compliment. The kennel itself is decent. People often says it stinks but that depends on what you think a shelter is supposed to smell like. The facility is always clean - even the bathrooms, the animals are always groomed and have adequate bedding and water. Thank goodness for the animal lovers who volunteer and donate because it really helps to keep the animals social. All in all, I'm a fan and if I needed to adopt again, I would come here. read more

I just adopted a friendly, great dog from this shelter; however, I wanted to take the opportunity to review my experience at the shelter. 1. Many of the dogs (and I'm assuming other animals) that are "on the floor" to see and apply to adopt are strays. These dogs have a legal 5 day hold on them during which time their owner can come and pick them up if they are lost. I find it strange that potential adopters can apply to adopt these dogs during their legal hold. Wouldn't it make more sense to only allow the animals to be adopted until AFTER the legal hold is up? This would probably result in fewer applications processed by staff for animals that end up not being adoptable, fewer visits to the shelter for potential adopters, and fewer disappointments for potential adopters. 2. It is extremely difficult to get in contact with adoption counselors. On my first visit to the shelter I was assigned an adoption counselor who then told me that after I was pre-approved to adopt, if I saw a dog I liked on the website I could call her directly and put in an application. That's a great system (especially for people like me who have to drive over an hour to get to the shelter), however, it was basically impossible to ever get in touch with her. I left her numerous voicemails that were never returned and called sometimes 10 times a day before I got in touch with someone. On one call I was able to speak to another adoption counselor who refused to check on a dog's availability because she was not "my" adoption counselor. She also refused to write my adoption counselor a note (since she wasn't checking her voicemails). I understand that the counselors are very busy, but I found the customer service to be very much lacking. It's important to be able to get in touch with the counselors especially because some of the dogs get three applications in (the maximum) within hours of arriving at the shelter! 3. Some of the rules are completely arbitrary and borderline nonsensical. When I finally found a dog that I was supposed to adopt, I made my plans with my adoption counselor to come the next night to finalize the paperwork. She said she would call me the next day to confirm and never did. After calling (multiple times), I finally got in touch with someone else who said my counselor was not in that day. She said that the adoption couldn't happen because my counselor was out and ONLY my counselor could fill out my paperwork. I had to essentially beg them to process my adoption that day. It turns out the actual paperwork was extremely minimal and was easily finished by another counselor. I don't really know why they made this so difficult for me. 4. You don't get previous owner information on your dog until after you have paid. I read another review that said this so I was forewarned but the shelter doesn't give you information on your dog (demeanor, good with kids, past owner's experience with pet, etc.) until after you have paid. Every other adoption organization and shelter that I have talked to has been forthcoming with the dogs' experiences. It almost seemed like the shelter wanted to take the dogs off of their hands before they told you what could potentially be "wrong" with your dog. Luckily my dog's sheet had only positive information but this process seems strange and backwards. It's important to match a dog with a good home and owners that are a good fit. By not telling adopters crucial information on dogs, the shelter is not doing its due diligence to ensure that pets are going to the best possible homes. 5. The shelter told me that my dog had an ear infection and they were giving him medicine for it but they said I couldn't have any of the medicine that they were giving him and that I would have to take him to the vet and then buy my own. This isn't a huge deal but it seemed odd to refuse to give a dog his medicine. All in all I am extremely happy with my new dog, but would hesitate to go back to this shelter to adopt due to their bad customer service and strange, arbitrary, and at times infuriating rules and policies. read more

This facility is clean and spacious. I had a good experience. I came in to adopt a dog for Christmas for my daughter, having had no experience with the shelter (we had previously visited the DC shelters). At first things were a little intimidating, but I was, thankfully, helped by the right staff member. The receptionist was out and an adoption counselor (Charity) was helping at the front. She (and a few other staff) walked me through the process and patiently answered my questions. That was on a Wednesday. My husband returned that Friday to place an application on a specific dog. He likened the experience to black Friday, with people shoving and attitudes flaring from the public (which didn't help the disposition of the staff). Mind you, it was crazy busy on a random December Friday in the middle of the day....when you'd think most people would be at work. It was a frustrating time for him, but Charity, our counselor, called me afterwards and answered more of my questions. Be warned - it is a competitive process to get a small dog from here. I've searched most of the DC metropolitan area's public animal shelters, from Baltimore to Fairfax, and PG has, by far, the most dogs, big or small, available for selection. That being said, they also seem to have a lot of people vying for their dogs, so it is helpful if you thoroughly read their policies and understand their process, which requires in-person applications. All family members have to interact with a dog for your application to be approved. Also, be ready to be patient. My husband's experience with the front desk staff wasn't the best, but you could tell that they were a little exasperated by the clamor for pets that was going on at the time and having to repeat the same information over and over again (only 3 of the shelter's 80+ dogs were available for an application...which also gives you an idea of how busy they stay). read more

This is a great animal shelter. I love the new facility because the dogs have great living spaces as do the cats and other animals. Every employee and volunteer at the facility is very nice and helpful. I've adopted 2 dogs from this shelter, and am going back to adopt another. They have a great selection of animals read more

We just adopted a dog from here and the process was easy and speedy. The first application to be approved gets the dog so it's really important to apply for the dog as soon as possible. Sometimes applications come in an hour after the dog's info is posted on the website - this is especially true for the smaller dogs. To apply, you have to submit the application in person, have an interaction with the dog, and have everyone in your family meet the dog. We chose a dog who had been there a few days and hadn't gotten any applications because she was in rough shape. But she's sweet and perfect for us. The process ended up going fast for us. We met her on Saturday, got a call on Wednesday that our application was approved and picked her up on Wednesday afternoon. Dogs under 7 years old have a $200 adoption fee - since ours is over 7 years old the adoption fee is only $25. That includes many immunizations, spaying and microchipping. When we picked her up, we were told to bring a collar and a leash with us. I felt like the people who worked there were cheering us on as we worked to find our new family member/pet. They clearly care about the animals. read more