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

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

Wonderful place to find a new furry friend! You can walk in and look for an animal for as long as you want without being watched. I adopted my cat here a few weeks ago and they have been nothing but wonderful from start to finish!! Also, you get a discount at most vets for the animals first check up. Highly recommended! read more

St Joseph County Humane Society - This is Malia (originally Carly). I adopted her earlier this year and she is still as healthy and active as the day I got her! - Animal Shelters Near Me - Mishawaka, Indiana

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I had some free time on my hands so I stopped in to see if I could spend a little time with the cats, and was told that I have to go online to fill out a volunteer form before I would be allowed to visit with the cats. This form is so they can get your information then pester you for donations. I have in the past adopted dogs and cats from this "shelter" with no issues what so ever, but I will no longer do any business with this place. I have donated food and beds and even medications after my pets died, but no more I will travel out of the area to donate to shelters that aren't run by dick heads. read more

Tried to surrender my cat due to moving, the rude woman at the desk said they would not take my cat cause they had no space, I told her I tried to find another home for my cat but was unsuccessful and that the human society was the last resort, this lady assumed I was gonna abandon my cat and threatened me with using the authorities (police) if I abandon my cat but in the same sentence said they would provide a safe place for the cat. It took me getting rude back for a manager to come on scene with a better professional attitude and directed to a safe place for my cat. It was hard departing from my cat and that employee made it even more difficult. Service can be better read more

Great place to be able to adopt animals for convenient fees especially since they're up to date on shots, neutered/spayed, and microchipped. We've adopted a cat and a pocket pet from there (pocket pets are not spayed or neutered unless they came in that way.) But, attempting to adopt a dog turned into a little disaster. The way the meet and greets are set up, it isn't quite the way they should be handled. Considering that these were suppose to be experienced employees, they put two dogs who absolutely don't know each other face to face resulting in a barking fit and nipping. My dog isn't always like this, we've been able to go to dog parks and slowly get use to dogs through the period of time there without complications. I've watched dogs over at our house with no issues for days at a time. I guess the process surprised me. Hopefully staff can be taught ways to do meet and greets and improve likeliness of pets being adopted. read more

We had a great and painless experience adopting our 2 year old female Pittie Mix. We went to the shelter to take some donations for Christmas time. We had to see the animals and then asked to have play time with 3 of them. We fell in love with one and I had an approved application on file and we ended up bringing the dog home the next day after doing a doggie meet and great with our other dog. Everything went smooth with the adoption process. She was originally 200 but all bully breeds were only 50 that month so that was cool. Only complaint is the lady who runs the front desk is kind of snotty to put it nicely! The rest of the staff seemed friendly though. read more

St Joseph County Humane Society - Free at last! - Animal Shelters Near Me - Mishawaka, Indiana

Adopt from SJC Humane Society! If you can't adopt, volunteer! If you can't volunteer, donate or just come to socialize with the animals! The animals are spayed/neutered and up to date on all their shots. The employees spend time with the animals and can tell you about their little personalities. In July, I adopted an adult male cat named Hugo. He's quickly become the feline love of my life. Since then, 2 friends of mine have also adopted from the SJC Humane Society with great outcomes to report as well. ADOPT/RESCUE, DON'T BUY. read more

St Joseph County Humane Society - Animal Shelters Near Me - Mishawaka, Indiana

Well I honestly thought I could adopt a pet here and give it a loving home and security, apparently I wasn't good enough because I put on my application to adopt and I never heard from them. Then I tried again not only to get a job but to also adopt again once agin there where rufe to me like a girl named Jen was very rude and I wasn't satisfied with how she treated me yet I didn't get mad or belligerent but rather hurt because I still was trying to give them a chance and get a pet i heard so many good things about them and so far I was treated with disrespect some of the ladies in there are ok but some I felt were racist and thought I wasn't good enough for a pet like I was desperately trying to find a pet and I came to them hoping to get one but i feel if your not the right color your not good enough for a pet smh I'm still hurt because I'm nice guy and I felt disrespected and not appreaciated mostly because of my race I'm good enough to take care of pet but if your black obviously you can't have a pet I guess some of them took air from Donald trumph read more

HORRIBLE PLACE , My dogs escaped the yard after the gate latch broke, they were taken here. Everyone was completely rude with me. Once I got my dogs home they had a horrible case of Kennel Cough ~! Which they are not taking responsibility for. But instead told me that It was my fault because my dogs were not vaccinated against it. So I spoke with my vet who then told me. That its not standard or even asked, unless you plan on boarding your animals somewhere. The place was filthy, even for a non profit animal shelter. I hope that nones animals have to go here. I dont wish it on any animal. read more

Much better than pet refuge. At the Humane Society you aren't followed around and being bothered constantly. Here you are free to look around by yourself. You also aren't expected to make 5 separate visits and bring in the entire family to meet a cat like they expect at pet refuge. Humane Society is also much cheaper to adopt. 40 dollars for one cat or 80 dollars for two cats. Pet refuge charges 100 dollars for one cat. read more

I would NEVER adopt a dog from the St. Joseph County humaine society in Mishawaka located on Grape Rd. They are A SCAM!!!!! My sister Connie Trujillo and I adopted a two year old female pitbull on 12/11/2017 she seemed very friendly. We originally did not want to consider a pit but that is pretty much all they had at the time. Kennels of pit bulls. Paper info next to her kennel said her name was Athena a two year old female they had for 6 months she was super friendly and safe for children 6 years old and up. We paid the $200 adoption fee then left to Petsmart to spend another $300 on crate, food, bed, toys and etc. At the pet store , Athena tried to attack a male associate. I thought maybe she didn't like men. Then when we took her home she was fine, even slept in the bed with my sister and two kids. Two weeks later she attacked my niece's girlfriend( who is black) I thought maybe she is not used to be around black people. Then a couple days later her daughter's 6 year old friend. I thought maybe she was territorial. My sister bought a lot of books to educate herself and work with the dog training. She made a vet appointment for a well check and get her associated with her new vet on 1/22/18 I went with her because of all the incidents she told me about and the dog is a very muscular dog and has knocked her over before. I have over 10 years experience with large powerful dogs. I've been taking my two mastiff to this same vet Parrett in Plymouth for over 10 years and never have I had an issue. I was walking Athena on her leash when she tried to attack a man. I walked her over to my sister and handed her the leash so I could go and buy treats as I turned around and walked away she attacked me from behind. I would of got bit but she only got a hold of my sweat shirt and not my arm. We were using a prong collar which are highly recommended by some trainers" I have personally always used them when I take my other dogs out". It did correct the pulling issues Athena had. After this incident my Vet told me she urgently recommended that I return Athena due to her serious aggression. Athena would not even let the Vet or any of the techs near to exam her. They had to stay on the other side of the table out of view of the dog because she was focused on getting at them. The vet said the dog was a great liability because of her strength she could seriously injure or kill someone in a short amount of time. We decided to take her back on 1/29/18 . We could not risk our kids or anyone else's children after seeing what we seen and knew. At first when we called they said they would give us another dog but of THEIR CHOICE who they felt would fit our family better. But then after she handed Athena over changed their minds and said there was nothing they could do. They kept saying NO REFUNDS there is a contract and the dogs temperament is not guaranteed. And the worst part is they tried to blame us and say we didn't keep the dog long enough (what until she actually injured someone) and that we used a prong collar (which is not illegal and in trainers opinions are a great and effective tool)and that we made her attack. Everyone has their opinion about prong collars and again they are NOT ILLEGAL! the shelter does not recommended. No where in the contract does it say that it is banned to use. All of those poor dogs in the shelter you would think they would jump to get them a good, loving forever home instead of eating and walking around in feces in those small concrete kennel. Maybe I made a mistake to choose a pitbull but I was assured Athena was sweet and gentle and I DID NOT want to be that person who condemns a dog because of their breed. I honestly just wanted to give her a chance and be that person who made a difference in a dogs life. I always thought responsible owners were people who took care of their animals, did the right thing. We took her back because that was the responsible thing to do. I know I could not live with myself if Athena hurt someone. St Joe HS do the RIGHT thing, offer my kids another dog!! read more

Those who spend time visiting or volunteering at the Humane Society know it provides a great service for pets who ends up as residents through no fault of their own. The people who post negative comments on here tell everyone right off in their reviews that they weren't responsible pet owners, so their pets got loose, were taken to the Humane Society (instead of being found injured or dead along a roadway) and they're disgruntled that they had to pay a fee for their irresponsible behavior, so that they wouldn't repeat their actions. Hence, they're blaming the Humane Society for their poor choices. Great pets live at the Humane Society. We have five we love immensely. Wonderful place to find a furry family member. read more

Absolutely wonderful staff doing an amazing job finding homes for misplaced animals. I love my little dog that I found there. Friendly, helpful and truly care about the animals. Great place and affordable fees. Thank you so much for everything. This is the office in Centerville MI read more

My 2 bird dogs got out of the house in the middle of the night because my side door was not shut all of the way after doing some construction. These dogs normally don't run far from home and always come back. To my chagrin, the dogs didn't make it home. I looked everywhere and called the police an the 2 animal shelters in town. First on the list was the humane society. I filled out a lost dog report over the phone and they said they would call me if they found them. I sent them pictures via email and thanked them for the help. After 48 hours of 2 missing bird dogs I started to get really nervous. A friend of mine said that I needed to go look at the humane society myself because they don't really look for your dogs when you call. Sure enough my 2 dogs there and they had been dropped off at the shelter 2 hours before my first phone call to them. 200$ later, i had my dogs back smelling like they had slept in their own piss and shit. Come on humane society, at least look when someone has a lost pet and it wouldn't hurt to clean out your filthy kennels. read more

Such a great animal shelter! I just adopted my cat, Sailor Jerry, from HSSJC and could not have been happier with my experience. They really care about the animals. I know that she was in great hands before I found her. read more

It's awful !!! The staff are not friendly !! My puppy was filthy and after paying all the fees to get him back he was so dirty smelled and looked like he was sitting in his own waste !!! He is sick he won't eat or drink I want to know what went on in there !!! My pup is not the same !!! read more

Read all contracts before signing! Be aware of dishonesty about dogs temperaments!

If I could give this facility negative stars, I would.My dog caught and injured the leg of a baby grey squirrel that ended up scared to death under a bush in our yard.Believe it or not, when it saw me, it crawled straight towards me, climbed up on my foot, and hung on to my ankle!Poor thing! Anyway, I let it sit there for a minute, and when it didn't show any signs of letting go (sharp claws! -- but too cute!), I put gloves on, picked it up, and transported it to the SJCHS in a cat carrier.Those two women who perch on stools behind the front counter couldn't have been more rude.I barely got out of my mouth that I had a baby grey squirrel, when the biggest one (on crutches), interrupted tersely that I had misidentified it (who cares?), and then went on a tirade about how I shouldn't have touched it and that now they would have to try to feed it and teach it to be wild, and that it probably wouldn't survive anyway.(Believe it or not, this is the Reader's Digest Version.)On and on she went.When I told her that I didn't appreciate her making me feel like a criminal for bringing in an injured animal for help, she exclaimed,"Well you didn't SAAAAAY that it was hurt!"She hadn't given me a chance, nor had she bothered to ask ME for any information, she was too busy telling me what all I had done wrong.I repeated that it was indeed injured. I was irritated, but cool.Then she told me that I could wait outside.I asked her calmly and incredulously if she was kicking me out.She said that I was yelling.(I wasn't even close to yelling.In my experience, people who realize that they have been acting incredibly bad accuse you of yelling.)Then she grabbed her crutches, got up off her perch, and left.Nice.Thinking she would tell the truth, I asked the other perched one if I had been yelling.She said, "Yes, you were."Incredulously, I said, "I was yelling?"She said, "You were argumentative."I said,"I was argumentative because I disagreed with her and asked her questions?"She said, "Well, no." Case closed. This place is horrible. My children are now haunted by these two awful women, and are worried that they will not care for the baby GREY squirrel. Yes, Grey. I researched it after I got home, and, you guessed it-I was right!Don't have anything to do with this place. Wasted taxes!! read more