We saw they had a litter of Orange tabbies which is what we wanted! Tried to tell us they were all from same litter...not true! I picked the runt whom had a little diarrhea...Asked for a vet, she didn't even look but poo pood me w "shelter stress". Well we weighed him at home and he had lost 3/4 lb since his last wt! They didn't notice...I know they are busy and all the people there were friendly...I wasn't planning on taking care of a sick baby. Our vet took excellent care of him so he's gonna make it! The 500$ kitten MY CONCERN IS HE COULD HAVE LANDED WITH SOMEONE ELSE WHO WOULDN'T KNOW HOW TO CARE FOR HIM AND THESE ILLNESSES OF THE STOOL ARE HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS ! The vet at the pound SHOULD have examined him I believe before we left. He was obviously the skinny one with poop on him! PLEASE CONTINUE TO ADOPT FROM HERE...U MAY BE THEIR LAST CHANCE. The other animals all looked HEALTHY to me, Mic RN read more

My childhood elderly cat was wrongfully picked up at the same location his chip had attached to it, the number on it was outdated so we weren't contacted about it until we received a letter via mail at the 7 day mark when they initiate euthanasia. They claimed he had a "mass in his stomach" we were unaware of. When we asked if it was terminal, they said they didn't even test it to see what it was. We found out after he was already put down. My family is heartbroken and crying over this. That was our boy. He was out front of his home. He was put down in a pound; had none of his humans around him to comfort him. I cannot believe this happened. Looking into suing this place. Please do not go here unless you're trying to save the animals they have from facing the same fate. We'll miss you forever my Jack. read more

Sonoma County Animal Services - Animal Shelters Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

Great wonderful experience! Great staff! Wonderful resources of help to create a great relationship with your new family member! Thank you!! read more

Sonoma County Animal Services - Animal Shelters Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

Sonoma County has apparently turned their License billing over to an (East Coast) Canadian company called Docupet. First, it's kind of shady that they went to an out of country billing department. Secondly, when the two started working together, they didn't Sync their two systems. Meaning, NONE of the previous history of our pets DOCUMENTED items were sent to Canada. And they are double charging for information that had been in Sonoma Counties system for at least 6 years. (The age of our male dog who was fixed when he was six months old.) And they did the same thing with our girl dog who is 4. And accused her of not having her fixed or rabies certificate. I have already been over charged $85.00 for the Counties defective vendor and at least two hours on hold and on the phone trying to correct this issue. I feel that there may have been others out there that just "Paid the bill" and spent hundreds of dollars on charges that are incorrect and at the fault of the county and Docupet. read more

Sonoma County Animal Services - The amount of time I sat on hold before I gave up. - Animal Shelters Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

My elderly cat was wrongfully picked up at the same location his chip had attached to it, the number on it had been changed since it's been 16 years, so we weren't contacted about it until we received a letter via mail at the 7 day mark when they initiate euthanasia. Not to mention they're closed on Sundays & Mondays. They claimed he had a "mass in his stomach" we were unaware of. When we asked if it was terminal, they said they didn't even test it to see what it was. We found out after he was already put down. My family is heartbroken and crying over this. That was our boy. He was OUT front of his home. He was put down in a pound; had none of his humans around him to comfort him. I cannot believe this happened. Looking into suing this place. Please do not go here, and if your animal is missing CALL IMMEDIATELY before they wrongfully euthanize him/her! We'll miss you forever Jack. read more

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I see that the reviews speak for themselves. Let me add my own experience.... Our crazy neighbor who doesn't get along with anyone made a baseless accusation of leaving our dog's poo all over the road and not picking up. These clowns from animal services not only apparently had the time and resources to respond to the baseless complaint (we're pretty rural and a decent drive from Santa Rosa), but the guy admitted to not seeing any evidence of the accusations made during his surprise visit and yet still decided to lecture me on picking up or face a fine. Which is all very amusing considering the reviews detailing their unresponsiveness to real issues. These folks have their collective heads up their tails. Avoid if you can. read more

This place is not to be trusted. My friend left their cat there to be taken care of while she had to deal with personal stuff. They told her that her cat WOULD NOT be adopted out. When she went back one month later they told her they had adopted out her cat. Fuck this place. Fucking lying pieces of fucking shit read more

I stopped by here twice to look at their cats. I've been on the hunt for a furever friend for awhile now.. Anyways. Both times I came in, I left feeling dismissed by the staff. Regardless of who I talked to, I felt unwelcome. I decided I just won't return. Please acknowledge the people visiting and actually be kind to them, not snobby. read more

Snotty, arrogant, incompetent service... Wasted taxpayer money! On Sept. 13, 2021, I received a dog license renewal for Jan. 8, 2021. While our annual license fee is routinely due in January, I paid for 2021 in Dec. 2020. Unable to find any clarification for the double billing on their website, I called the office at 565-7100. After being on hold for over 30 minutes a girl answered. I explained our renewal fee had been paid in Dec. 2020 and I had just received a bill in September for January 2021; I told her I was confused as to why I was being double billed and why I would receive the statement in September if it was due in January? One would think this question would have generated an intelligent response but the girl simple said "Okay." Annoyed by her disinterested response, I asked for an explanation. In a very arrogant and flippant tone she explained duplicate renewals were sent out in error and that no payment is due until next year. Now why couldn't she have said that in the first place? When I asked the girl... if renewals were sent to a lot of people in error, why isn't there some type of clarification notice on their web page or on the initial recorded message so people don't have to waist their time trying to figure out their error? The snotty girl sarcastically said... "good idea, then I wouldn't have 14 more calls on hold that are likely calling about the same thing." Judging from other Yelp comments and this interaction, its apparent that unprofessional staff conduct is systemic and tolerated in this operation. Likewise, I suspect the reason there is no clarifying message about this duplicate billing error is they don't want the public (taxpayers) to know they just wasted a lot of money mailing out bogus statements. Very poor service & management read more

I went here to pick up a dog I am now fostering. The place was clean and staff was friendly and knowledgeable. They had all kinds of animals available for adoption including some farm animals that weren't on location. read more

I brought a beautiful stray cat to this place six weeks ago; I can't keep him, but he's a lovely guy, friendly and gentle. They were immediately helpful, gave him a lot of love and care right away. A lot of volunteers arrived when I did; clearly they need more funding from the county, but the staff are doing a great job and certainly show a lot of love and care for their animals. I wish they'd get more support from the Sonoma County community! It's not only the Humane Society that helps animals here, but they seem to get most of the funding to help animals. read more

I needed to replace my dog's rabies tag. I lost her's and we are leaving on a trip. I drove out there (Windsor) from Santa Rosa. The gate was locked. For 2 days I called and got a message that they were in a meeting. Their web page is totally unhelpful. I did email and got a message back that they are closed to the public and to send in the money for the tags which will take 6-8 weeks to receive. After several attempts, I spoke to a live person. Yeah! She took the money by credit card for the license renewal but not a replacement tag. When asking questions I was cut off in mid sentence. Now, I have a non-specific receipt. This is the first time I have ever written a review but really they are so user unfriendly I had to say something. I suspect they are understaffed and underfunded. Come on Sonoma County. You can do better than this. read more

I don't know if I'm feeling sadder or angrier. We went to the Sonoma County shelter to look at cats last Saturday. We found a cute cat who was very affectionate. Today we decided to adopt him. I phoned the shelter and told them I was coming up to adopt him. I said I was driving from south Rohnert Park and was going to stop to get litter and food first and I should be there no later than 2 hours from then. She said I should come now and to leave the cat in the car (ironic since they have a sign outside their shelter stating to not leave pets in a car when it's over 70 degrees, which it was!) to get the litter later. I told her I wasn't going to be long and that I didn't want to leave the cat in a hot car. I told her I'd be there no later than 2 hours. When I got there, I went to the cat to see him again and a staff member was taking him out of his crate because a family just adopted him 5 minutes before! I was shocked and humiliated. I told her that Sher knew I was coming up from RP. Too late. I got in my car, crying. I can't believe that's how they conduct their business. I understand that they can't "hold" a pet, but I told her I was driving up there today and when exactly I would be there! We were on the phone for 10 minutes. Why, oh why can't they have a simple policy that when a prospective adopter says they'll be there by 2 pm (or whatever time), that they should hold the pet for that reasonable, determined time. If the prospective adopter doesn't show up, then the pet can be put up for open adoption? I will NEVER, EVER return to the Sonoma County shelter again! P.S. There are other similar reviews on this page. read more

Been sitting on the phone for over 30 minutes. Hard to believe that no one is available to talk about a dog adoption. They are, after all, in the business of animal adoptions. read more

We had a fabulous experience here! From the emails back and forth over a holiday weekend, to our meet and greet, to paperwork, to taking our new puppy home. Edward is amazing and loves what he does no question! Edward spent time in the outside space with us and our dog and was very patient. Melanie was very nice and helpful as well. When reading or writing reviews, please remember this is a county facility and they currently are short staffed. This is not a for profit animal rescue so try to have patience and appreciation for what these people do every day... we sure do! :) read more

My aunt and I went here to adopt a kitten. I didn't see any of the kittens/cats shown on their website there. They had two kittens available. My aunt decided on one of the kittens and she was told to fill out an application. Apparently, they check on your living situation because they wanted to speak to her landlord. Since it was just before the Christmas holidays, her landlord was not readily available. They insisted on speaking to him over the phone--it wasn't good enough that we told them he was okay with the adoption. They were going to be closed for the next 4 days, so we left with the understanding that her landlord would call them today, the Wednesday after the 4 days off. When my aunt called them this morning, she was informed that someone else adopted the kitten--the same afternoon that we had been there. When we left the place, there was only another hour and a half left before they closed for 4 days. We were there for hours. So, someone came in after us and adopted the kitten in an hour and a half's time. My aunt thought she was getting a kitten today. At the very least, they should have called my aunt to let her know. They certainly had all of her information on the application she had to fill out. Although I am sad for my aunt, it is just as well, because it was going to cost her $138.00. This is because the kitten had "as many shots as they could give it" (omg), was neutered, and was micro chipped. I'm sure they are good at what they do, fixing animals to control populations, but they suck at pet adoptions. I would recommend going to the other animal shelters if you want to adopt a pet. Or better yet, get one from someone whose pet just had a litter. Personally, I would rather be in control of when they get fixed and how many shots (or any) they should have. And skip the application. read more

Many reports submitted regarding 5 horses on anderson road in forestville that continue to suffer...no shelter...bodies infected with WORMS THE SIZE OF SNAKES LODGED IN THE BODIES...the head count has dropped to 3...see for yourself read more

Be aware..... I called in on some horses that were neglected and they told the owner I called. I got harassed and lost my job.

The office needs a system or process to follow. They could assist people in a line, in first come first served, they could copy licenses and applications and then input the data after clients leave and when the lobby is less hectic, they could reduce small talk and chit chat when people have been waiting two hours standing, they could have team members chip in and help out when the lobby is packed rather than only one person seems to be the only staff member able to do any desk help?? Despite the fact that I saw five other staff members walk in and out of the staff area including one lady with orange hair who came up simply to reprimand an elderly lady and then laugh about with staff members after while the entire lobby has been waiting hours on their feet while one staff member chit chats and laughs about her own comments as our entire day is held hostage in the stinkiest room I've even been in. read more

I can only speak for Janina who answers the phones. She is such an amazingly kind and compassionate human being who genuinely cares for the animals well-being. She takes the time to answer your questions and is as I said the most thoughtful person. She is highly knowledgeable and I am so happy that the animals have someone who is so caring. If all people were like her, there would be no animal suffering in the world. read more

Aye fuck this place receptionist rude af, like as if I know the rules to animal shelters off the top of my head lol that's why I called and asked dummy read more

Spoke to Michelle via email. Of course my tone was probably not in the best of spirits considering they are charging me twice this year to license my dog. She didn't tell me exactly why I was being charged twice, just that it happens frequently and copy and pasted me some crap: · L18 runs from August 23, 2018 to August 23, 2019, even though it was paid in January. Technically, it should have been paid in August 2018 when the rabies vaccination was administered. · L19 (the bill you recently received) runs from August 23, 2019 to August 23, 2020. · Next year's bill will be due August 23, 2020, etc. · If a license isn't paid by the due date, a $42 penalty will be assessed. · If payment isn't received, we move forward with collection proceedings. We give people at least three and a half months to pay before moving forward with our collections process. Still doesn't make sense why I paid in January and now am being charged for this August. Sounds like a con. read more

The shelter carries out an important service to the community of providing homes for dogs and cats, and fixing animals to control populations. I adopted a cat from the shelter. She was very affectionate and playful, and I fell in love with her. She peed on some furniture and it turned out she had health issue that caused it. I couldn't have that smell in my house or deal with a special diet with my other cat free feeding. I wonder if that could have been diagnosed beforehand so she didn't have to bounce back and forth. When I walked through the aisle of dogs and they barked so loud I saw a couple tiny dogs that were shaking and terrified to be there. I'd love to see the shelter work with the Sonoma Humane Society in providing space for the dogs that are scared to death. Comparing the shelter to the SHS is a little unfair since the the SHS gives animals their own comfy rooms, but with that resource I hope they can work together. read more

I went here 3 times. The first dog bit someone who came to the door. Sigh. Very hard to return her. Went back and was talked into a totally different kind of dog so I learned something which was nice. I took her home. She was described as getting along with others in the home. There were multiple problems with this dog including a problem with her throat and a $175 vet bill within 4 days. But she stole my heart, so I did everything I could think of to work through the challenges, including dog lessons. One of the issues was her biting my son's ankles and barking hysterically. I discussed this with the dog trainer and she said it was likely this dog would never get over this bad behavior no matter what i did. I was soooo sad, but determined to keep this dog. Unfortunately, about 4 days later, she bit my son. I called the shelter and had a lengthy conversation with the manager. It was stressful because they said they only accept surrendered dogs on certain days and that there was a waiting list. What!? I said there was no waiting as this dog bit my son. They said bring her in. I brought her in and I was charged $55 to surrender her. What!? This is after paying the adoption fee, the vet bill and $300 on supplies. I called the manager and left 2 messages that day after driving home (Saturday). I received a call back the following Tuesday. I said I did EVERYTHING possible to keep this dog and was heartbroken. He said they can't make exceptions and you can only return a dog within 2 weeks and I waited 3 weeks. I said THIS DOG BIT MY SON. It shouldn't matter how many weeks (within reason of course - not several months). He said they can't make exceptions because then everyone in the public would try and return dogs after 2 weeks. What!? I said I would have to tell people on social media about this unpleasant experience, because I felt like I was being penalized. He said "don't threaten me." What!? Anyway, I'm now on week 4 of my 3d dog and we love her to death. We got her from the Sonoma County Humane Society on 12. They were so disappointed to hear about my experience at this shelter that they discounted my adoption fee. They also told me I had 4 weeks if anything like biting occurred and I needed to return her. They agreed that biting my son's ankles and then biting him was not a dog that would change and that I was right to return my 2d dog to the shelter (without being charged a surrender fee). The trainer also agreed. We all talked about how sad it was to me and my family. I hope that dog got adopted by a single woman as that's what that dog needed. If you think you've found YOUR animal here, be careful because if it ends up having an irreversible problem, you'll have to pay extra for your good deed of trying to rescue it. read more

I have had nothing but good experiences here. The staff has always been friendly and helpful. Recently I've been helping with a colony of feral cats, All the kittens were sick when brought in and all of them couldn't be saved but I witnessed the care and time they took nursing a few back to health. So I don't understand what some of these reviews are talking about. I think they do a great job. read more

Sonoma County Animal Services - First kitty I took in. - Animal Shelters Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

I had to take 5 of my cats there they work with me very well until there was room for them! , people were outside looking in my vehicle hopefully to adopt them ? I was crying because I was so sad for having to give up such awesome cats but I had to move out of the country to the city but the shelter people took good care of ME and comforted me and all my cats ! I knew my kitties babies were in good hands with this shelter as I lefted! Even though I was broken hearted overall. My son did his Senior High school Program there and extended it there with Greg Morrison so I really knew my kitty babies would find good homes and be treated right with this shelter ...Thank you all there for your kind words to me on me day there with cowgirl,wrangler, babyface,babymoo,kittymoo,God bless you all And God Rest my Mahalo Dog who you had the privilege to keep tags for ,for 15years !my next Anamils will come from you if I can! Sincerely Judy Bedient read more

I found the love of my life at this shelter. A fantastic dog named Poppet who is now answering to Sophie. Sophie was reluctant at first to leave the shelter. She now is treated like a queen and very happy. Thank you! read more

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Respect and empathy is severely lacking at this animal shelter. I walked in with my brother to visit a dog I had been looking at online. The dog was currently in "office time" and was not readily available to see. No problem, I was happy to wait. A woman in the office told me that I needed to fill out an adoption form in order to visit with the dog. I filled out the form using my parents address, as I am currently renting and would like to be the first to talk with my landlords. My boyfriend and I have been talking about getting a dog for some time, and have only just begun to look for a dog. We are in no hurry to rush into the adoption process, as we want to find the dog that is right for us. Regardless, to visit with a dog at Sonoma County animal shelter, the adoption form must be filled out. After filling out the form, a woman with white hair came back and rudely told me that I wasn't listed as the home owner. At this point I could have given my parents contact info (as they are well aware of me using their address in this process) but the woman proceeded to tell me that the dog I was interested in was a lot of dog for me. EXCUSE ME?! Who exactly are you to tell me how much dog I can or cannot handle? I am a petite young adult female (so I see where the judgement is coming from) yet I have also worked as a vet assistant through a company that worked side by side with Sonoma County animal shelter to vaccinate their shelter animals. I can confidently say that I know when a dog is "too much" for me. To judge a potential pet owner while knowing nothing about them is rude, inconsiderate, and plain stupid. read more

I brought a stray "friendly" cat to the shelter but before leaving it, told the desk clerk to notify me if it was deemed unadoptable and I would take her back. They said they can't call but to call every few days to get the status of her. She promised they would not euthanize without posting in her notes the day that was going to happen but they did not think it would. I called back the following day and wouldn't u know they put her to sleep. I was furious and told them someone yesterday said it would be posted days before that would happen and to keep calling. Their response was "well they would have never said that". Bottom line is they lie and never bring a stray there, let them live in the wild before subjecting them to automatic death. read more

Sonoma County Animal Services - Here's the sweet "vicious" cat they put down unnecessarily. - Animal Shelters Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

We had a small kitten come to us with an injury. I was told that they would do everything to help it. While she was here, my daughter's were holding her and she was purring away for the day we had it. My vet saw it and thought it may have a dislocated hip but repairable if dealt with quickly. I was convinced to take it to the shelter via Pet Care which works in tandem to the shelter. There she sat for days without treatment but she was not kept for the promised 5 days to allow an owner to fine her. Finally she was euthanized. I was not notified at all but told to wait for it to be adopted. I told them I was interested in adopting her and even tried to give them a form. They claimed she was hissing and fractious and but the hip was never xrayed or given proper diagnostics. This place will not bother with proper care. I think they just want to make $$ via adoptions. They even told me they have lots of space for cats at the time and make every effort to make her adoptable. DO NOT send an injured cat to this shelter. It will be it's death sentence. Sad that they receive County funds such an operation. :( I also contacted Pet Care and explained what happened. They were equally shocked and will do an investigation. Basically, they just didn't want to bother. I wonder how many cats get thrown into the "just don't bother" dumpster? I would like to know those numbers, wouldn't you? read more

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I love the professionalism exhibited by the staff at this animal shelter.They deal with the best and worst of people and animals. Last Wednesday, a litter of puppies came up for adoption. I had been watching their website, and showed up twenty minutes before they opened. I was the third car in line. By the time the gates were open, eleven cars were waiting. The staff handled this well, assigning numbers to customers interested in the puppies. If you're going to get a puppy from the shelter, you better show up early. Number 1 took the puppy number 2 wanted she was all up in their face about it. It looked like conflict would escalate. I was number 3. Number 2 took the good part of a half hour choosing their puppy. With all these people viing for puppies, the place was a madhouse. Everyone helping with the dogs and applicants were cool and courteous even when customers were not. *** If you surrender a litter of puppies, your adult dog can get neutered or spayed for free. The puppies get neutered or spayed. It's a win-win situation. It looks like the shelter adopts out the puppies first day. Every time. I believe they take great care of the animals in the shelter. They are always courteous on the phone and in person. Furthermore, their website is easy to use. I browsed it regularly until I came across these pups. Love my new dog! read more

I might be slightly bias since I got my favorite girl Mila here. This Shelter has a great staff. They do everything they can to get animals adopted. I appreciate the staff tremendously for taking care of my sweet girl before we found and fell in love with her. read more

The Santa Rosa Animal Shelter, off of Airport Blvd.is a HORRIBLE place to adpot any kind of animal. The animals are all great there, but the STAFF are rude, inconsiderate, horrible people. I have tried to save an animal twice from them, and every time I go to pick the adoptible animal there is always a problem and each time I have left with NO pet. I'm NOT the only person who has had problems with these people in the past. I now feel as if they do NOT want anyone to adopt any animals from them. This is the only animal shelter I have ever been to that makes it a horrible and almost impossible thing to adopt an animal. You would think they would be more welcoming and happy to thier customers who are trying to SAVE AN ANIMALS LIFE FROM A POUND OR WORSE! Please, please do SOMETHING about these horrid people at the Santa Rosa Animal Shelter, off of Airport Blvd. read more

Called at 3 to report a poor lost puppy, and said they were on there way, and NEVER showed up!!!!! I'm so astonished with this "service", you guys should be ashamed of yourselves. Horrible service. I would give you 0 stars if I could. read more

We went 8 months ago to take a look at the dogs they had available. We found a nice quiet large dog (just what we were looking for) but after talking with one of the trainers about the cats we have in the house we opted to not adopt that dog. After continuing to look at the other large dogs they had available we had a one on one visit with a very stressed out young German Sheppard they had, I originally walked right past him because he was the loudest dog they had. As soon as they took him into the small area that they had for the one on one visits a he calmed down quickly. We talked to the handler about this dog, our past dog experiences and our current pets. She offered some very strong suggestions about introducing the dog to our cats in order to protect all the animals. After an hour talk and visit we decided to go ahead and adopt the German Sheppard and 8 months later have no regrets what so ever, he was already house and crate trained, very quiet once we got him out of the cage he was in, has a very sweet and adorable disposition, and very well behaved. The staff were extremely helpful, knew a bit about our dogs history even though he wasn't surrendered (he was originally adopted from there as a small pup and was a frequent visitor because he likes to pull a Houdini on his previous owners until the decided to not pick him back up the last time). He was there for about 6 weeks before we asked him, so if anyone says they euthanize animals within days of getting them they are lying. We're thinking of adding to our animal family very soon and plan on going back to the same place. I've recommend this shelter to everyone who mentions that they are thinking of getting an animal. The staff were very helpful and very knowledgeable. Their adoption fees are about 1/2 of what everyone else charges and include the neutering, microchip, and all the animals shots so they obviously aren't in it for the money. We were able to add a great pet to our family for less than we spend getting 1 night of takeout for our mid-sized group. read more

I found a dog online I wanted to adopt. I called ahead of time to see if I could come visit. They said yes, the dog was available, come visit. Approx 1/2 hour later I walked into the shelter and they said she just got adopted..!!! I proceeded to walk through the shelter to see the other dogs. It was very, very sad. It was very loud, the dogs were highly stressed, it was mainly pit bulls, and I left there feeling sick. The people were not friendly or helpful at all!!! read more

Right after the Oct 2017 fires, my rental property tenant found a mother cat with 5 kittens. A short time later, another mother cat gave birth and then another. we had 16 kittens plus Moms. Two died from being so close to Old Redwood Highway, but we tried every weekend to catch some of the kittens. We did catch one mother cat and 3 kittens which you took in. We took two others into your organization. The week before your promotional kitty weekend, we were able to catch two more kittens which we brought to you facility. At that time, your volunteers informed us that they had been fixed and Forgotten Felines had dropped them back off at the property. I called them and they stated it was your decision to get cats altered and returned. I pay taxes on 3 properties and feel like this was a slap in the face. My rental property is occupied by a disabled person who can't afford to take care of the remaining 6 kittens nor can afford to feed them. I am shocked to see your organization upholds these standards. I have tried to contact you via facebook but received no answer. Diane S. read more