Found my dog and forever friend process went well staff was friendly. I would recommend shelter dogs are the best. read more

West Valley Humane Society - Dog - Animal Shelters Near Me - Caldwell, Idaho

The facility is clean and very busy. I am glad to see a line up out the door before opening for those looking to adopt. Although we missed out on the dog we wanted to adopt originally, by a mere 10 minutes, we found another dog, Miss Bean who was 14 years old and in pretty bad condition. We knew that we just had to have her and at first we had some poor and miscommunications with the staff; however, Emily stepped in and helped us with getting Miiss Bean (now known as Angel) to us. She was on medical hold for a few weeks but Dr. Sauer poored a lot of compassion and care in conducting 2 major surgeries on her. Overall, we are very happy with how everything turned out and are grateful to the staff and the volunteers who work there, as it can't be easy watching the mass numbers of animals that are turned in or brought in to them on a daily basis. God bless West Valley Humane Society. BTW, Angel has a long road ahead as we just found out she has an enlarged heart, fluid around her heart and lungs and a collapsing trachea, but her vet is confident that with proper treatments and care, she will do fine. She is an absolute joy and is doing very well and is vey energetic, for a 14 yo who just went through all that she has gone through. We will love and care for this little one and give her the comfort and peace she deserves. read more

See all

There are so many beautiful babies needing and wanting forever homes. I'm widowed and just lost my baby but the adoption fees are out of this world. One was 400$. What senior can afford that? I'm sorry but I can't. Good luck read more

minus stars!!! They DO NOT take in stray injured cats. Boise Dorman location told me they do and no charge to take in an injured cat. I called West Valley to confirm a drop off time. The lady said they DO NOT take in any animals even if they are injured. She said they are really not open. I asked if she knew a place and she said no... Such a horrible place. it is an animal shelter... DO YOUR JOBS!!!! Animals need help too... read more

Had a appointment for a vaccine at the clinic, took 20 minutes after scheduled appointment to even get him pulled back to the room, volunteer was fabulous! The front staff not friendly or helpful. I had previously emailed asking if they would be able to do a health email for my housing in college they agreed, upon arrival they denied this, after more conversation they said they would. Over a week of time has passed and I still have NOT received the paperwork for that health certificate even after calling several times. I have asked for when the information would be emailed did not get a response about a timeline. Do NOT go here if on a timeline. Very disappointed. read more

Went to West Valley Humane Society today and I about puked!!!, majorit's of the dogs had kennelcough and diarrhea!! I have been in lots of humane kennels and have never seen anything this horrible!!, Pity for Canyon county not funding better!!!!!!! shame on people for taking their dogs there!!! read more

Let me preface this by saying that as a whole the organization serves a valuable purpose, however, my individual dealings with the staff have been awful. I am hoping that this story/review will help others have more success in their dealings with the Caldwell branch of the Idaho Humane Society. A friend sent us a dog that was at the Caldwell branch of the Idaho humane society because the dog was a near twin of our GSD/Belgian Malinois. I initially stopped by to see the dog, only to be informed that "you have to make an appointment", when I inquired further the lady told me "We do not make additional appointments for dogs once they have a scheduled appointment because they could be adopted out, however, if you go online and fill out an app you will get put on a list to make an appointment for the dog if they don't get adopted" That night I filled out an app and 3 days later had an appointment on Friday to meet the dog. We brought our dog and kids to this meet/greet which went fantastic, the dog was a perfect fit. However, we had a previous commitment of dog sitting a friend's dogs while they were out of town and did not think it was right to bring home a new dog to our friend's dogs (in hindsight we should have called and checked). We asked if we could pay to put a hold on the dog for Tuesday, however, we were informed that they did not do that. Since they are closed on Sundays and Mondays we could make an appointment for Tuesday to pick the dog up but this would leave Saturday the dog could be adopted out. Seeing this as our only option we proceeded with this plan. Saturday came and passed and no-one had adopted the dog, so Monday night we went and bought her a new collar, leash, dog tag and bed in preparation for our appointment and subsequent adoption Tuesday. Tuesday morning, we got an email right when they opened confirming our appointment, which we confirmed. However, an hour later the dog was adopted out. I am happy and hopeful this dog is going to a good home, however, I am very disappointed in the lack of communication with the staff at this location. Is the policy no appointments when someone is scheduled or is it first come first serve, as many appointments as possible? While I am disheartened and my 4-year-old daughter is sad, these heartbreaks could be avoided by simply having and/or communicating official policy. If I had been informed of the actual policy, I would have scheduled to go into work 2 hours later rather than planning on picking the dog up when I got off. If you plan on using the humane society to adopt a dog, plan on there not being a policy and taking the dog home the day of as there is no consistent answer. While I am sad that we missed out, my daughter is very distraught and my hope is that this review might save another child from losing a dog they were sure they were getting. If I could leave the staff here a 1 star I would, however, I do not want to damage the reputation of the entire organization as this could be an individual issue or an issue with this specific location. read more

Animals seem to be treated well and frequently adopted. Facilities seem pretty nice for a shelter. They do not however actually seem to adhere to their own adoption policies. Contrary to the information on their site, and they convey over the phone, they do hold adoptable dogs and are not first come first serve when it comes to adoptions. They wasted my Saturday by telling me that they don't hold animals and that no appointment was needed or available for Saturday or to be told that the dog I wanted to adopt for the past week was on a "wait list" despite being listed as adoptable on their website. If a dog isn't adoptable take him off of the website. First come first serve and a wait list are two mutually exclusive concepts. read more

If I could I would give this organization ZERO stars. Worst business plan and terrible customer service. I am a life long animal lover and have gotten all my animals as hand me downs or adoptions. I visited this horrible example of an humane society and felt like a lower class citizen the way I was treated. It was possible that 2 unwanted dogs would have been adopted if we could have visited the animals, instead we we told to visit the website. DON'T DONATE to this cause. Your money will not be well managed. read more

kiayli was helpful and nice Facility was clean and they treat the animals with respect

Why haven't the doors open? They say it's because of stress to the animals... I have not found one shelter that operates this way, even though they say many do.. isolation kills. what are they hiding? Is anyone else worry about the quality of life on these animals? read more

The most amazing experience adopting our first kitten. Extremely friendly and patient staff. Would recommend them in a heartbeat.

We adopted our beloved hound from here about 2 years ago. The staff inside were friendly and polite, but my only complaint was that they're short handed. If my life weren't too busy already, I'd volunteer. That being said, I gave them only 4 out of 5 stars because of the Vet clinic! It's extremely difficult to get a hold of anyone; and they did treat his kennel cough that he came home with but it turned out that they gave him WAY too many pain meds for his neuter procedure and it took me almost an hour to get him from the clinic into the car. I got home about 20 minutes later and they called me, asking if I would bring him back to give him something to counteract the overdose. I wound up giving him allergy medicine at home and watched him subsequently sleep for over 5 hours. I strongly recommend finding a good local Vet clinic when you adopt from here & simply be prepared to pay their fees. As far as adoption goes--know your animals--do the research on the breed temperament and ask the staff if they get along well with other pets/kids they may be exposed to before you think about bringing them home. read more

You're better off just calling animal control if you find/pick up a stray. I brought a dog to the shelter after managing to leash him, coaxing him with a treat and toy, and was not given entrance. I had no way to call ( I was in the middle of multiple things & had no cell service ) but they refused to answer the doors and direct me to where I could submit him in intake and instead drive everywhere else finding a suitable shelter for the guy. Makes a person and dog feel like they're a waste of time to bother helping them. Nevermind I've heard nothing but negative things about this shelter in particular. Animal control was much more pleasant to deal with than these people ever will be. People need to stop supporting this shelter, or the shelter needs to SERIOUSLY improve on how they treat customers and employees. read more

this business needs a zero rating. do not donate money to west valley inhumane society in caldwell idaho. these people are pure evil the way the run that business. they do not care about the animals, they only care about filling up their pockets. i fostered a mom dog and her 6 puppies for a month. they took the puppies away from mom at 7 weeks old and neutered and spayed them all which the puppies are way to young to have that done. my vet said pups need to wait until they are 6-8 months old. the mom was still nursing all of them. they took the mom and spayed her and she was still nursing. my vet said she needed to wait 2 months after weaning before she could have surgery. i want this place closed down. they should not be in business. all mom's puppies but 1 are up for adoption on their website. i have been asking what happened to puppy number 6 and they won't tell me. i hope and pray that sweet girl didn't die while they did her unnecessary surgery. please do not support this evil business. you are not helping the animals. help me to close them down. i did adopt mom dog from there on friday, i know she is safe and well with me. please, please get the word out about this evil place read more

We filled out an application for a dog and they wrote us back saying it wasn't a good fit because we have a 2 year old. Okay. Made an appointment for another dog and when we arrived they let us know it was adopted so they couldn't let us meet it. We inquired about a 3rd dog and we're told it was now unavailable and being taken off the website. Since we were there and live an hour away they let us meet just one dog, the only one that didn't have an appointment today they said. We loved her. Their info said they -recommended- we bring our other dog. We didn't bring him because we are an hour away and he is old and big. He gets along with all animals, mellow wonderful guy. We wanted to adopt the dog we loved but they said we couldn't unless we brought our dog. Since their website says -recommend- we bring our dog we didn't think it was required to adopt. A little annoying but okay. We made a new appointment for the same day, we drove all the home an hour to get our dog, drove all the way back another hour to the humane society and when we get into the parking lot we have a cancelled message that the dog we loved was adopted. I'm sad and frustrated. Wish their system was a little more straight forward. Adopting an animal is a big deal and this was just a heart wrenching, sad process with this Humane Society. read more

West Valley Humane Society - Recommended really means required - Animal Shelters Near Me - Caldwell, Idaho

We have been active with the WVHS since we fostered kittens about a decade ago and have adopted a few of animals since then. A few years ago we noticed a decline in the quality of service when the new volunteer coordinator had come on board. They were having issues on how they treated potential volunteer applicants. I believe it is still in decline. The shelter has not rebounded to normal services post Covid-19. In addition to the restrictive adoption "appointments" and general lack of availability. It is simpler and easier to spend our time, energy, and money going to the Boise Humane Society for our adoption needs. read more

I had submitted lost dog information through your website a couple weeks before and after he was adopted out. No information was released to me I only found I only found out MONTHS after because a post of mine went viral and got a lot of attention. I sent MULTIPLE pictures and lost dog information through your website and called and no one gave me information until I found the information myself do not take credit for releasing any information because none of you did your job, no one called me after I submitted my list dog posts, no one called me back after the various voicemails I left. I asked for help, and was obviously heart broken because my dog of 13 YEARS was taken from me. Your staff was so rude and had no reason to talk to me the way they did. Reports were filed. I did submit the facial recognition pictures multiple times. I called so many times. I left so many voicemails. I left emails everywhere, I went down the contact list. Do not tell me reports were not filed when I remember they were. I remember calling and checking for the dog. Your staff was not just "explaining the process." They were rude and had showed no sympathy or understanding towards me, I was not asking anything I knew they weren't able to do. I was asking for options what was I able to do. I had questions and I specifically remember how harsh they were being with me. I'm letting you KNOW they were being rude check your staff. read more

After reading the other reviews I was hesitant to go here but I had a very different experience. We went first thing on Saturday morning and there was a short line but it wasn't too confusing. Everyone was polite. These are VOLUNTEERS that we should respect and appreciate! Things I wish I had known: A) you don't need to check in first. Enter the doors, make a right into the kennels. Look at all of the dogs and grab their paper hanging on the fence if you're interested in meeting them. Then take the paper to the front and ask them if you can meet. B) don't bring your dog from home until you know you really want to adopt that day. When you have to wait with another dog, it can get a little stressful. C) don't bother calling. They're usually too busy to answer the phone. We found a great buddy for our kids and our first pup. We had a great experience! read more

I just adopted a dog and I had a great experience. We went out on Thursday and the dog we wanted to look at had just been spayed so we brought our dog the next day for the meet and greet. It turns out she did not like our dog. So we ask for a recommendation. They looked through and discussed the dogs and found us the perfect dog. The dogs were instant friends! I honestly did not even see our new dog. when we looked the previous day. They took a lot of time helping us find the best dog for us, despite being incredibly busy. I called back the next day with a problem and they were very helpful and so was the vet clinic as I had shot questions! I would very much go there to adopt again They are a great group of people who are doing their best under difficult circumstances. Thank you all for the great job you do! read more

See all

I would give them no stars but since that's not possible I'll agree to one I asked for a little help with puppy food as this covid 19 has us all needing a little help here and there made an appointment was running late so called and made sure it was still ok that we came and got food my husband waited an hour even after calling and nobody ever came out and gave him food and than told us we had to wait 2 months because we already got food read more

They adopted out a pit bull out to a person who had no business owning a dog that serves as a weapon. As a result, a 4 moth old puppy was killed due to the direct negligence of the new "owner." Now this dog is back up for adoption with no mention of the kill..... this is a public notice for people with animals and small children... beware.... these animals and people are not vetted properly before allowing adoption. read more

It was a great experience from start to finish. Friendly staff and very clean building. Thank you!

My son and I volunteer at the shelter walking the dogs and snuggling with the kittens. I love that this shelter is a no kill shelter and the animals are adopted at a pretty quick pace. We fall in love with the dogs one week and when we return they have been adopted, which is wonderful. This gives us the opportunity to love on these fur babies when we have the opportunity to volunteer knowing they will be heading shortly to forever homes. The shelter relays on volunteers to help keep these animals happy and healthy. Please consider volunteering and sharing your love for animals, I know they will love you back during your brief encounter. read more

See all

Please adopt the pets from here-they really deserve to be LITERALLY anywhere else. Horrible place. Moldy water outside for the dogs, shit all over the ground, some of the dogs had been out there for over an hour in freezing temperatures. They forgot about a kitten in one of the closed rooms for over 45 minutes while it had been yelping for help nonstop. No one came to the front to help us out, and multiple times the front desk people would walk away mid conversation. When I adopted my cat from them, it took 3 different people to be able to accurately tell me how I should go about taking care of her post op, and then we originally left without her pain meds because they just forgot to give them to us and didnt tell us they had any for her. My cats spay incision is infected and even though this clinic says they will cover the fees and take care of the cat for free, apparently they only will if you owner surrender back to them and then readopt your cat after shes healed because "we wont help her if its not our cat". Im sick and disgusted by this place. I only want going to bring her back to get checked up there because it was supposed to be free for 14 days post op, but but if I have to literally give my cat back up for f*cking adoption because you refuse to help something that isn't yours. Its the epitome of selfish intent. They also wanted me tk leave my sick cat there for 2 days until monday and she stated, "with no 24 hour help, no icu, no medical staff will be there." HOW IS THAT A BETTER OPTION THAN ME WATCHING HER? She could have died in the middle of the night and no one would know till monday. Not to mention the horrible service of the front desk employees. The volunteer I could tell were really trying their hardest, but they were being rudely bossed around by the front staff who clearly doesnt know what theyre doing. I would rate 0/5 if I could. read more

West Valley Humane Society - My cat Raven I adopted from WVHC - Animal Shelters Near Me - Caldwell, Idaho

This shelter lied to my friend about the personality and safety of a dog adopted here. The dog killed her cat the first day and attacked her two dogs . The shelter say thats not thier responsibility or policy to compensate for damages or accept the return of the dog. So now shes either going to put the dog down or sell it to someone because of this scam artist shelter. read more

My initial experience was 5 stars and wonderful. However, shortly after bringing home a beautiful dog my family adopted I had to take her to Intermountain pet hospital due to their clinic not calling me back and with her recent spay surgery I had serious concerns about her stools and other issues. They performed a spay surgery on her while she had an active parasitic infection, allowed me to adopt her and who knows how many other countless interactions with dogs and people. They are lucky she didn't die from surgical complications. Their vet should lose his/her license and I will be filing a complaint with their oversight board for licensing. read more

We adopted our new puppy from here. We have cats, and children, so we met with a few dogs that would fit that category. Once we found the right dog for us, we were able to introduce him to our family dog and they got along great. It made a great transition for bringing a new dog to our home. read more

I had such a pleasant experience here! I filled out the application online, and heard from a member of their staff the same day. We emailed back and forth about my preferences, and she happened to have an appointment later that day to meet and greet. I didn't know which animal I was interested in going in, just a vague idea. They gave me time to visit with some in a private room. Once I decided, the process was super easy! I signed some paperwork, was updated on medical information, paid, and was on my way! read more

Everyone is so kind and they really care about these animals. Really great customer service!

The West Valley Humane Society staff and volunteers are awesome! I volunteer at the shelter and get to see the staff day after day. They are all helpful and compassionate. They truly love the animals. If you have had a bad experience there it is probably due to them being short staffed. Everyone I've seen busts their tails to make the animals have a positive experience at the shelter. The animals are cared for, loved on, exercised, given quality medical care, and fed and watered well. Please consider adoption! read more

Terrible experience all four times I had been there. Rude front desk, long waits with no direction, no signs to aid either. They seem very inconvenienced that you are even there haha good times. I'd like to mention that the front desk had three other people upset with how rude they were while I was there one of the visits. read more

This review is the completion in response to West Valley Humane Society's response please see review by Lora Evanouski: · The test requires very little time to complete and is highly accurate. According to the University of Wisconsin Shelter Medicine, "In general, testing should be reserved for dogs with clinical signs or recently exposed/high risk dogs. Because viral shedding can occur a few days before clinical signs appear, it can be helpful to test very high risk puppies even if they are showing no overt signs of infection..." You work with an at-risk population of animals, had at least one known case of parvo in your facility but fail to test unless the animal is symptomatic. If you wait until symptoms present, it is too late. Paragraph 3: I will not pretend to know if you or your staff was "devastated" by the destruction of any puppy. You have written a disingenuous and patronizing reply in response to me. Actions speak louder than your words. I can only tell you of the blatant disregard for her life by the lack of communication and lack of proper cleaning from your facility. The snide and insensitive remarks made by your office manger show her indifference and callous disregard for life. She laughed at our grief and told us to get a lawyer. It shows a complete lack of empathy and basic humanity, she does not care for me as a grieving individual or for the poor animal that you destroyed. You say you continually advocate for the rights of animals; I beg to differ. You continued to allow adoption of puppies after known cases of parvo at your facility. Common sense and responsibility dictate that you would put a full stop on adoptions, trace back the parvo, quarantine until known outcomes of health. But you did not. I would call that irresponsible. Paragraph 4: pet insurance. Yes you offer it for 30 days of free insurance. Because Mindy was infected with parvo as well as a severe case of kennel cough before adoption, it is considered a preexisting condition. Your free insurance was not an option. Your facility is closed on the weekend. I was left with only one option, to seek emergency care for an underlying condition. Parvo is a deadly virus and when a dog is infected it becomes supportive care. Supportive care means IV fluids, round the clock supervision, antibiotics, and antinausea medicine. Your organization betrayed my trust and subjected me to a horrifying experience. No, I can never trust you again especially with a life. read more

Hi all, I try to be understanding of others and I don't like to publicly be upset like this, but Tyler and I have been going through the wringer with West Valley Humane Society in Caldwell, ID regarding our new boy Biscuit and I thought I would share. We adopted Biscuit two Wednesdays ago (11/3). He began showing signs of Parvovirus on Monday 11/8, but at that point we weren't sure if he was sick or simply adjusting to his new food/environment. At that point he was still eating and appeared mostly normal. He stayed in the same condition until Thursday, 11/11 when he became very lethargic and stopped eating or drinking. I immediately made a vet appointment at West Valley for treatment as we were within 14 days of adoption and free vet services were promised to me within that timeframe. He was tested for parvovirus and his results were positive. I was informed that the incubation period for the virus is up to 5 days, and I took him to no high traffic areas or around any unvaccinated dogs (5 dogs total including my own), making the shelter the only place it makes sense for him to have gotten it. This in mind, I was given the option to either return him to the shelter to be treated or face treatment costs of potentially thousands a day at a private vet clinic. Not being able to afford the latter, I decided to return him to the shelter contingent on them updating me as to when he would recover. I was also told by staff members that I could call and receive updates on his condition and that I would be the first in line to readopt him. I understood that these were exceptions to normal protocol for them, and was very thankful to the staff that day and that Biscuit would be receiving treatment. I was lied to. I have called the shelter twice to check on my puppy and was not able to even determine if he is dead or alive. They have informed me that I will in fact NOT be receiving a call if Biscuit recovers from Parvo, and to continually check their website to see "if" he goes back up for adoption. My heart is broken. I would never have "returned" my dog if I had thought I would never see him again. The staff I have spoken to since dropping Biscuit off have been cold and calloused to me and my dogs situation. Their jaded attitude is disgusting and a shamefully black spot on the charitable organization they are meant to be running. I understand that I signed a release - it was what I had to do. My problem with West Valley is the lies they are willing to tell, and the character of those that feel comfortable carrying out this kind of response to dire circumstances. They have quoted short staffing as one reason they cannot update me on Biscuit (this I can understand) but if this is the case i am sure they are also so understaffed that their facilities are not being thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, hence the Parvo. I am utterly heartbroken by this. I miss him and hope he is receiving the treatment he deserves. I will be watching the adoption site for my boy, and hopefully he surfaces and can come home. Other than for him I will never be adopting or supporting West Valley in any capacity again, and I hope those of you who see this do the same. read more

We lost a dog and decided to try and go and see if we could look and see if he was there but once we got on site we found out it was by appointment only. I called from parking lot to the number listed on door no one answered it just kept ringing. I talked to a couple that was there and she said that they had to fill out a long form and she did but had been waiting all day to get in. I have been to this shelter before and never had issues getting in and seeing the dogs but after this bull crap and the family history and references to fill out I'll pass. And we adopted a puppy from here last year but once we showed up to get her they said someone else adopted her but she was still on website. They can keep there apologizes and stick them where the sun don't shine. read more

Run don't walk from this place . I know it's tempting to adopt one of their beautiful sad animals but they are fraudulent. They lie to your face about the weight of the pet even though they allege they know nothing of their breed , their parents or otherwise. They have already been through so many different living situations and fosters at such a young age that they also withhold info about their bad behavior habits such as biting , etc. Another bizarre thing they do here is insisting that their medium size breeds will all magically just end up being 45 pounds ... what it will end up weighing is nobody's guess not even a veterinarian's so I have no idea where they get/ make up this information . They also claim to fix them as pups between like 6-7 weeks as a little puppy so that is also way too soon and too young , the pets have very serious problems resulting from this . Again - No reputable veterinarian would consent to that . Not to mention You'll end up with a pet with pretty serious behavior issues . This place is a puppy mill . Who isn't interested in the welfare of the dogs . Just money . They have no behavior program in place for them and they claim to be " non profit " but they're not even a recognized humane society. The place upon entering is questionable at best and some of the front staff seem Shady as hell . read more

Worst place ever! A bunch of thieves and liars! No one there is friendly the manger is rude and disrespect! They told me it would cost a certain price to get my dog out when I went back they decided to add on more charges after I had a signed agreement of the charges! read more

West Valley Humane Society - Animal Shelters Near Me - Caldwell, Idaho

super nice staff and you know they care deeply for the animals. Unfortunately we have two escape artists but thankfully the very next day we found them at wvhs read more

Couldn't be happier to be contacted so quickly to see a cat that I saw online right before Christmas Day! i thought it would be at least a few days before I'd get to meet the kitty so I was impressed with the prompt response. The staff was friendly, efficient & took the time to make the adoption feel very special. read more

All the animals looked very well taken care of and the sweetheart of a dog that we adopted was clean, and they provided clear instructions on how to care for her and the overall experience was very pleasant. read more