Animal Humane Society

The volunteers seem to really love all of the animals they take care of. All of the dogs we visited wag their tails and and get very excited when the workers come by to check on them. Its extremely reassuring to know that the
animals are loved here.

We found our dog Maddie here on Valentine’s Day 5 years ago. It is now a tradition to say hello to the animals there each year at the same time. We always look forward to it. Highly recommend this location for adoption to anyone.
We also found our cat here 4 years ago. Most loving cat I have met in my life!

One of the nicest facilities we’ve ever visited. It is very clean, staffed by friendly/​helpful people, well lit, and the animals get tons of attention. You’ll need to come often if you want to find a pet because the adoption rate here averages 3 days with 7 – 8 being the longest that a pet will wait for a new family. We’ve been here twice and, on both occasions, the cats that we finally decided to adopt were scooped up by other couples right in front of us.
Additionally, their website is amazing. It has tons of pictures and descriptions. They even update it 20minutes after animals arrive or leave.

AOK, I give it a three star average only because my kitten i adopted in 2010 upon arrival home I noticed a large lump in his shoulder between the shoulder blades, I didn’t complain because paperwork states they are not responsible for the health pretty much, although they take exchanges. I looked at his vaccination record, and noticed they shot him up with vaccination 3 times within 6 months (while there) before adoption. I looked at the brand used and the site noted as his shoulder. He has been rather sick ever since, its been 5 years, most vets cant say much on the lumps without a biopsy. I heard the guidelines for vaccinating have changed to say not to vaccinate in the shoulder anymore due to the cancer rates in cats from vaccination. (not all cats react the same) But I have had 2 cats now that got large growths under the skin in shoulder after vaccination. I just feel they made a mistake in giving him 3 times in same spot in a short amt. of time. I hope they consider this going forward to please not do 3 sets on kittens before 6 months in the shoulders. They did him no favor by doing that. I wish with the US technology they could develop vaccines that kittens can just inhale or something so this doesn’t happen.

This was my first time going to the Animal Humane Society… and probably the last considering I wanted take home every animal that was there!
What a great facility! But even before I walked in, a mark was immediately made on me by watching the people in the parking lot. It REALLY Is a special «breed» (har har) of people that come here! Watching strangers quickly connect over any animal coming outside to head to their new home. This alone was so absolutely sweet.
I actually went to the Humane Society to donate some towels. I’ve typically donated towels to the closest vet, but when someone mentioned the needs at the Humane Society, it just felt «better.» I include this to spur anyone else on to do the same if they happen to be in the neighborhood, too!
I figured out later that I parked on the opposite end of the building from where I needed to be, but so glad it worked out that way so I could tour the main level. So clean, so orderly, and a whole lotta’ love in there!
I tried reallllly hard not to look at the animals (I have a chihuahua who is a 1 human kind of a guy), but couldn’t resist the bunny section (my sister just got a flop-​eared bunny a few weeks ago from here, so I thought I’d take pictures to taunt her (she’s got 2 bunnies and could be swayed into getting another ;-)). Adorable! Okay, I stopped to looked at every animal section.
Anyway, I am SO GLAD that the Humane Society exists! It’s obvious that they are doing the best they can to provide a transitional home for these sweet little animals. If I ever get another animal in my life, it’s going to be from here!

Birthday Party!
In addition to camps and story hours, did you know you can have a birthday party here? Ages 7 and up only please. Easy to request online, fast replies. Follow up phone calls to make sure we knew what to expect and confirm number of guests.
Grace led our group and I just sat back and listened as she taught the girls about the shelter and animal care. You know how some people who are really good with animals can be awkward with people? I wouldn’t be surprised to find out Grace also teaches 2^nd grade. Our craft was decorating a bandana and the kids could donate it to the shelter or take it home. We walked as a group to visit the animal rooms, cat and kittens, puppies, dogs, and rabbits and other small rodents. OMG. Then we washed our hands and ate cake in the party room.
Best kid party ever.

Buyer beware. I purchased a lovely female cat at the Humane Society. When I took her for a vet check, less than a week later, she was pregnant. The following week she delivered five adorable, but sickly kittens. I rushed to the vet again for antibiotics, and the kittens all thankfully survived. I called the Humane Society to tell them that they sold me a pregnant cat, and they offered to sell the kittens, but I declined, and we found homes for them ourselves. When I adopted the cat, never in my wildest dreams did I think I was adopting a pregnant cat!

I greatly appreciate the Animal Humane Society and the work that they do, however, our time with their Saturday morning playgroup was the worst experience I’ve ever had as a pet owner. (This even includes my experience at the University of Minnesota’s Veterinary Medical Center, after she had a whole day of bloody diarrhea.) BTW, this review does not pertain to this location’s adoption process.
My girlfriend learned about their Level 1 playgroup, that occurs every Saturday at 9:15am, from her friend. Since our dog, Cranberry, has grownup without ever being socialized, we thought this would be a great opportunity.
When we arrived, we learned that the entrance was located in the back of the building. (Although that’s noted on the bottom of the playgroup schedule online, I think it could’ve been better labeled on their website and building.) After ascending up the stairs to the second floor, we immediately found it.
A staff member at the reception table told us just to bring our dog inside, and we did just that. Unfortunately, Cranberry immediately started panicking, and she hugged our legs as we walked from the entrance to some open seats that line the perimeter of the room. We sat down and watched other pups chase and play with one another. Cranberry refused to participate and shivered in fear, underneath our seats. Dogs went to sniff Cranberry, but she snarled back. The moderator of the chaos saw what occurred, asked us to get out of our seats, and she aggressively yanked our dog by her front legs and pulled her out! Her tactics didn’t work, since Cranberry cried in pain and retreated back.
An assistant dog trainer came up to us and «explained» that a dog of Cranberry’s age (three) can’t and doesn’t need to socialize. Basically, the staff member said, «she’s too old» and «set in her ways.» Later, the moderator stopped the entire playgroup, looked directly at us, and then said. «if your dog is not playing nice or is too shy, you and your dog must leave.»
Isn’t the purpose of playgroup to socialize your dog? Not to mention, the moderator passive-​aggressively communicated this message, and indirectly hinted for us to leave. She could’ve told us face-​to-​face. You know, like a professional.
We exited the room, and a different woman lectured us, which differed from the info we received inside. Are you confused? Yes? Exactly.
I don’t plan on returning to this playgroup, and my girlfriend and I have already found another. I wish the Animal Humane Society well, but I hope they improve their Level 1 playgroup. They could start by being more empathetic.

Horrible Horrible Horrible. Was looking to add a dog to our family as our 14 year old was getting up in age. We fell in love with this sweet German Shepherd mix. We discussed with the staff our needs. We have dogs in our home and we needed a good healthy dog. The staff assured us that the dog was healthy and up to date on all shots. We thought about it for a few days and decided to adopt. The day we picked her up, the staff told us to wait to go see a vet for two weeks in case she developed kennel cough. Thank god we didn’t wait. The next day we took her to our vet who diagnosed her with whipworm. A highly contagious parasite that once exposed in your yard, will not go away. I called the GVHS and they were extremely
rude. They admitted they don’t do fecal tests because they are too expensive. This highly contagious parasite has now been exposed to my 14 year old dog. How can they knowingly state that they take care of all vaccinations when that is not the truth!?! I’m all for adopting but they should of tested and evaluated her before adopting a sick dog who could infect other dogs!!! Will never go here again.

This is a wonderful animal shelter. The staff is super friendly and the animals are super cute. I adopted my dog from here 4 years ago, they made the process go smoothly and were efficient. All animals are neutered or spayed before they are adopted unless they are too young or too small but then it is the person’s responsibility to get them neutered or spayed since they are trying to avoid an overpopulation of animals. This facility is pretty big but they do a pretty good job of keeping it clean. If you see a pet you are interested in, they have visiting rooms for you to be able to spend some time with the pet. I still visit this place with family or friends that are looking for a new pet or just to visit the animals. I don’t need another pet right now but when I do, I will definitely come back here to adopt! Saturdays right when they open seems to be when most of the animals are taken upstairs and ready for adoption. If you are looking for a young puppy to adopt, I would go there right when they open. They also have many older and senior pets that need a home too. This is a great place to scout out a new family member.
They also offer boarding, training classes and play groups here. I haven’t tried boarding or training classes but I have taken my dog to a play group time here. He loved it. They divide play groups by age and sizes so it is a good experience. They have a trained senior dogs with the puppies to lead them in good play habits. I heard they offer discounts on training classes if your pet was adopted from the humane society. This is a great place. Adopt a pet!

My pup’s been to be featherweight play group (for dogs under 10 pounds) multiple times and really enjoys it — always happy to go in. It’s well-​organized and there are handlers to break up fights and make sure everyone’s getting along. And of course, it’s indoors — great for Minnesota winters!

This HS is nice, but so very expensive. I feel bad writing a review and giving a HS a three star review but I feel if some of the dogs were a little bit less expensive they could be adopted. I adopted my dog in November of 2012 and she was 7 years old and cost $ 315.00 I have had rescues and understand the cost of running such an operation and I understand the arguments as to why dogs are so expensive, but «isn’t the goal to get dogs into homes?» In the end, my dog was perfect but I just wish that people with smaller budgets and big hearts could have and opportunity to bring home a new family member. If you want to adopt from here bring a lot of money.

I adopted my kitten from the Humane Society in August 2012. The process was nothing but smooth sailing. When I had to take my kitten to the vet for ear mites a few days after adopting her, the Humane Society covered the cost of the medication, as it says it does for 30 days after adoption. It made the process much less stressful.
As others have said, it’s really wonderful that you feel no pressure to adopt when you’re wandering the place. This means if you want to go in and look around to get your animal fix — you can! I’ve been several times since I adopted my kitten, with no intention of coming home with another pet. Everyone is just so friendly and laid back — it’s a very comfortable experience. Plus, the facilities are very clean.
I’ve had so many good experiences, and feel so strongly about the organization’s mission, that I actually just applied to be a volunteer and am attending my orientation session soon. I really can’t wait! It’s a wonderful, wonderful place.

Welcome to the family… Franco!
The hubs and I had been sporadically window-​shopping for a dog. He knows that I have a soft spot in my heart for pit bulls (and other breeds suffering from negative stereotypes) and had been looking for a sweet rescue. We found one online with this rescue location, but arrived too late to pick him up. Perusing the aisles of options (which were approximately ¹⁄₃ full), we happened across Franco.
This place was top notch from start to finish. I appreciate that humane societies are completely NFP and rely on donations, fees, etc. to fund their business. This means that societies in the «respectable» part of town are going to be considerably nicer than those in less affluent parts of town, so I didn’t expect necessarily to be run out of the building by the smell of puss and poop. That said, this place is top notch.
Disclaimer: We came specifically to bring home a new pup. I didn’t walk into the cat room because I knew the ramifications would be dire.
The dog runs were very clean and well tended. The dogs themselves were also very clean, well-​tended, and seemed quite calm and comfortable. Every staff member (and there were PLENTY) was knowledgeable, attentive and genuinely concerned about pet placement. The entire process was smooth, provided ample support and was quite thorough (we were there for over an hour). Even the front room is amply supplied with everything you will need to bring your new loved one home with you. If you require additional time to prepare your home before bringing your sweetie home, they also will allow a 24-​hour hold once you’ve identified your new best friend.
It was nice to also realize that Purina partners with the society to not only provide the food for the sweeties for free, but provide new parents with a free bag of food upon adoption.
This location had cats, dogs, rabbits, rats… they even noted that a chinchilla had been brought in and adopted out just days before. The facility is beautifully comforting inside and out (as comforting as a jail cell can be) and the staff were absolutely stellar.
If I had one negative observation, it would be their management of their phone lines. When calling to check on the availability of a specific puppy noted online, it was very difficult to actually get someone on the phone. The line will only allow you to hold for so long before disconnecting the line and requiring that you call back. It would be ideal to have someone man the phones since you can ‘window shop’ online and people may frequently call for additional information on a particular pet.
I would highly recommend this location based on our experience. We have a new addition to the household, due, in large part, to our experience here, the support provided by the staff… and a huge soft spot for homeless sweethearts.

I have never been to any other AHS, but I am aware this is the main location in MN. It is very close to my house and I have gone many times just to get my animal fix. I did adopt my cat here 4 years ago during the summer when they ran a special to help get the older cats adopted at a time when most people want kittens. She was so precious when I pulled her out of her cage to pet her. She basically crawled up my shoulder and didn’t want to leave. My only complaint was that they weren’t very clear with me why she had been adopted and then returned. She was a lot of work to train for months since she was a stray cat. I had to learn, (still learning) how to deal with a cat who has front claws!
The facility always seems to have lots of visitors, volunteers and pets to be adopted. The dogs always look so sad in their concrete cages, but I remind myself i know they are being taken care of. I know they offer kids summer camp/​classes and dog training classes as an additional piece to their services.
Please go here and adopt an animal who could use needs love!

It’s about a year after we adopted Nori — we now have TWO dogs from the Humane Society.
Our second, Tofu, we adopted on February 13^th. It has taken the last 5 months to settle in. He was about a year old when we adopted him and seemed have no history of living in a house before. He was scared, submissive, and had a tendency to pee anytime in our vicinity (mostly submission and excitement urination). The volunteer warned us of this when we adopted, but we were so smitten that we underestimated the amount of work it would take to get him to where he is now (no more diapers and rarely has issues.) Tofu had 3 kinds of worms when we adopted: tapeworms, roundworms and heartworm. The Humane Society only caught one of these (the roundworms) and sent us home with medicine for that. Our vet caught the rest and it has been expensive to bring him back to fully healthy. He also had fleas still when we adopted, even though he had been given a flea bath at the facility. It would be easy to fault the Humane Society for these misses, but I have the inclination to give them the benefit of the doubt.
On the Nori front, when we were in training at the Humane Society we would regularly run into the trainers and volunteers at the Lake of the Isles Dog Park. Surprisingly, they would often continue to help train while we were there at the same time, giving pointers on socialization and even stepping in a few times when other dogs would be too rough with her. More than I ever would have expected, given that they were on their own personal time!

The dog training program is great. The best thing to do is sign up right away when you get a new puppy, and progress through each of the levels starting with Puppy Kindergarten. The staff is knowledgeable, caring, and always willing to share their knowledge.

Beware when you are going here. This is a private business not a not for profit.
I was dropping off a stray cat a couple of years ago when a customer of theirs was returning a dog that he had adopted from them a few days earlier. The dog (a larger breed) had obvious hip problems. He had told the woman at the desk that he had taken the dog to his vet who diagnosed with severe hip displatia. There was no way a vet a AHS could have looked at this dog and given it a clean bill of health. To add insult to injury, AHS would not even refund his money for the dog after he had spent over $ 100 at his vet. They instead would give him a «credit» to be used with X days to buy another dog/​animal from them.
This place is only about one thing $$$$$$$$$$$$$. It is not about the animals
Please read comment from AHS rep: His attitude seems to be Caveat Emptor when getting an animal from AHS Golden Valley.

We used their boarding service regularly and had nothing but fantastic experiences! They were always very nice an very accommodating for our dog aggressive dog. I love how they let you write down a schedule for your animal — on Monday she gets her red toy and a rawhide, on Tuesday she gets a walk, etc…
Make sure to make a reservation well in advance around holidays. They book up fast, probably because they offer such great service!

I adopted a pup in Dec from the Golden Valley location. They were helpful, and the pup came spayed and chipped. Since then, I have been going to a Teen puppy play group on Sundays at 1pm, $ 10 a pop, and it is run by some super awesome dog trainers. I very much recommend going to their playgroups (I have not taken training here, as I am taking it elsewhere) but the trainers seem super great and very intuitive and I have learned a ton.
I have gone to another place in south mpls for a puppy playgroup, and it was not run by a trainer, but an office person who did not do a good job at all, so I wish I had discovered the play groups at AHS earlier!
Highly recommended for teen pups! And they have a small dog playgroup too!

Adopted a kitty from here last week. The whole process was easy, and it seems that everyone who works there really cares about the animals.
Their website is updated in real time, so you can check out the animals online, before you go in. Once you are there, you can walk around and pick out a kitty you like. You can take your kitty into a visitation room and see how she does with you. That was a nice touch. All the info regarding your pet is displayed right there, so you know what you are getting.
The fees I thought were a little expensive (kitty will be around $ 200), but its all for good cause. The shelter will also cover one free vet visit and all medication for 30 days. Our cat actually needed some meds, and they were ready in half an hour and we were given a three months supply. There is a return policy too, but there is no way Im returning my little fur ball. She is adorable.

Our little puppy Ajax really enjoyed Saturday play-​time. He got to scamper around and pounce on other dogs and generally just do as puppies do. The event was well organized and fun for everyone. The dogs got along great with the assistance of some adult dogs who help police the rambunctious pack.
Give it a try. Your dog will enjoy.