Animal Protective Association

What a great facility! Dan and I went in here today to see the new front of the building that just opened three weeks ago. What a beautiful addition! With the new wing they have 3 visiting rooms where you can play and get to know your hopeful new family member, large receiving desk with three stations, a new conference room, and an admitting room.
We got to tour the facility from one of the volunteers and it was very impressive. Separate dog and cat wards that are fairly large and spacious while also having a different room for puppies as well makeup the housing section of the APA. Mistakenly, we asked to play with one of the dogs which of course I fell in love with but we learned Maplewood only allows two dogs.
If you are looking for a new friend/​family member for your home I highly recommend checking out the APA. Keep it up guys! Happy reading!

I am a volunteer at The Animal Protective Association. I have been with them since February 2012. This shelter has the best volunteer program! Volunteers go though an orientation, training on doing dishes and laundry, training on working in the cat room, puppy room, and, after so many hours under their belt, training on dog walking. There are also opportunities to teach education classes and guide tours through the shelter, as well as year round special events that are so much fun! Every person here cares deeply for the animals and they are consistently making adjustments to ensure the health and happiness of every pet. The staff does a great job to make sure everyone is working as a team and every resource goes to the betterment of the animals. I am very proud to be a part of this organization and I recommend it to anyone who is looking to volunteer, adopt, donate, or anyone who needs to give up their pet after all options are exhausted. This organization offers a great service to the animals and people of Saint Louis.

I have adopted here twice and both times had a GREAT experience!
I know some people have mentioned that the staff is a bit standoffish, however, I think that they are just a little (appropriately) unwilling to immediately gush about how great getting a pet is, and head right into getting you set-​up with a new family member. I respect the fact that they first ask certain questions to be sure you’re READY to take on the responsibility of caring for a live creature.
I certainly wouldn’t be happy to know that someone could just waltz in there, say they want a cat, get one and walk out without someone first getting an accurate feel for what kind of situation that cat is going to END UP in.
So enough of that, but either way, my adoptions went wonderfully — last year my boyfriend and I decided that we would like to bring a kitten into our home where we had, at the time, just our young female boxer, who is the SWEETEST creature to walk the planet — we knew they would get along well and allow our dog to have somewhere to direct her natural nurturing instinct.
The staff members took the time to answer all of our questions about bringing home a kitten with a dog, went over what medical exams will be necessary in the coming weeks, etc. The facility was clean, we were given plenty of time to hang out with a large number of kittens to get to know their personalities and so really had the opportunity to find the one right for us! Now we have had our Jennyanydots for almost a year — she is a joy and she is BEST friends with Lily!
Then more recently, in the fall, we decided that we would get one more kitten so that when one pet was tired, they had somewhere else to turn — we went back to the APA and had just as great of an experience — helpful staff, answering our questions, helping match us with OUR perfect fit. We now have Mr. Mistoffeless joined with our little family and everything is perfect — three friends to rough and tumble and hang out with each other.
Wins for the APA are definitely it’s knowledgeable friendly staff, it’s CLEAN cages, visiting rooms, puppy rooms, etc — these animals are very well cared for, and the fact that you’re really set-​up to succeed with your new adoption. Pets come with a free year of a lost pet recovery program, are already microchipped, spayed /​neutered and are clean, healthy and happy — great place that cares!

I’ve now adopted 2 pets from the APA Samantha my cat in June 2006 and now Blue my dog in July 2013. I recently tried adopting a dog from another stray shelter and it was a total disaster. They had no clue or info about the dog I was interested in. When I adopted Blue from APA. When the lady brought Blue out & we walked him outside she told me all about him & 2 other people came up & talked to me about Blue. Everything that they told me was true. The staff were very happy, friendly, organized & professional. This was not true of the other organization. The facility was also very clean & you could tell that the people genuinely cared. I cannot say that of my other experience. Keep up the good work APA.

This is a very clean, well-​run shelter. It’s the only place I’m comfortable adopting from or referring people to if they need to re-​home an animal. I think it’s great that they manage to balance an open door policy with only limited euthanasia. They often hold animals for months or even more than a year.
One thing that I’ve never seen another shelter offer is their two-​week health guarantee. If your animal gets ill in that window, you bring them back and the vets hook you up with whatever you need. Minor respiratory infections are incredibly common when you’re dealing with this many animals being together
I’m not a vet but all of this business about FIP piqued my curiosity so I did some reading and I highly encourage anyone who is concerned about these statements to do the same. Since this isn’t my field, I won’t summarize the findings but please do look at the facts for yourself.

Good place, happy workers and pleasure to deal with. Glad I can help and donate!

Ended up adopting a kitten here that I had to put down 8 months later because she had FIP, a fatal virus that spreads in areas where there are many cats. I don’t have any other pets, so all arrows point towards the APA. This is unfortunate because I do think the APA has great customer service and a very attending clinic. But that doesn’t change the fact that I adopted an already infected kitten.

This review is actually for an experience I had there about 2 summers ago. They might have changed the place since… cleaned it up, etc. I don’t know. So please bear that in mind when you read this!
Back in the summer of 2010, I decided I wanted to adopt a cat. For some reason I wanted an all white cat and so I used petfinder’s website to narrow down shelters in the local area that had all white ones. (Yes I am weird, I know.)
I finally decided to go visit a cat at the APA on Hanley since it was the closest one to me, and he looked adorable, had all of his shots, etc. There was no mention of him having any special needs whatsoever.
So I get there and I ask to be led to where his cage is. Holy crap. When I set foot in the room of cats, I sneezed about ten times. I normally do not have cat allergies anymore (I used to as a kid) but I was sneezing up a storm. All of the cats were kind of just… crammed in there wall to wall. Later on, I’d heard from a vet that almost all of the animals at this shelter end up with some type of upper respiratory sickness… not sure if that’s just because it goes around a lot in shelters or if they’re not adhering to some type of protocol or what.
Also will agree with everything Tracey W. mentioned in her review. People who work there are freakin’ crazy.
Anyway, I got my adorable little kitty and brought him home. He got along extremely well. It was really uncanny… a bit unusual. Over time, though, he exhibited severe behavioral issues. If I left for even a 1 hour long class, he would freak out and shred everything in sight. He would crap on the floor, etc. It was getting to be a real issue. (Even after months of owning him!) I called up the shelter and asked what to do and they didn’t have any advice for me. I asked my vet too and she didn’t really know what to say but she did say if I took him back to the shelter, he’d probably be put down. And when I called them again, they confirmed that. Jeez. It seemed as though he needed 24/​hr attention. He was like a dog, almost, in that he was crazy about people coming over to visit and would jump on them the way a dog does to greet new people at the door. Pretty insane. He even did tricks. But he was just PSYCHO and needed another animal or a small child with lots and LOTS of energy to keep him company.
Long story short, I ended up giving him to a woman who had many other animals (something like 2 dogs and a cat) as well as two young twin kids who wanted a new kitty. It ended up working out WAY better than my set-​up plus he didn’t get put down and I felt relieved about that. But yeah, wtf. They should have mentioned «do not adopt unless you own other pets or have a kid (s)!» That animal was clearly NOT happy living with a college student in a small apartment. He demanded attention that I just couldn’t give him, and I couldn’t adopt another animal. Whole thing was a big mess but lesson learned. The only positive was that he ended up finding a good, fitting, home and he wasn’t sick with the APA diseases… lol.
When I’d adopted him, I asked why he was in the shelter and they said the previous owners didn’t want him anymore because he was «too friendly.» Whut. I guess too friendly is one way of putting it but I really think they should have mentioned that he needed other animal or children companionship. I even asked if he had any other issue (s) like health, behavioral or otherwise and they said he was fine. Yeeeah not true.
I don’t think I’d ever go back to APA. I know this might sound crazy, but if I ever get another animal again, it’s going to be one of those crazy Savannah cats from a well reputed breeder. Maybe a Bengal or something. At least they know the animal’s history and raised it from birth. Yeah. No more shelters. Too much hassle and heartbreak. I miss my little white cat so much but time to move on I suppose. =/

You should see the HUGE goober grin on my face right now. I’ve been meaning to write this review for about a week now, but every time I sit down to write it, I get all teary eyed and emotional. Tears of joy, I promise. Is this what having kids is like?
Anyway, a few weeks ago, I welcomed a new addition to my family — Walcott! Yes, I’m a cat mom now. Who needs a man when I have the greatest loverboy kitty EVER?! More on that later.
I knew that when I adopted a pet, I wanted to do it from a reputable shelter. And the APA was at the top of my list.
I went in on a Saturday afternoon, and the first thing I noticed was how clean the place was! That’s always a good sign. The employees were super friendly as well. When I told them that I was kitty shopping, they were super awesome about giving me a huge book full of all of the cats on site, as well as letting me go into the cat room to look at additional kitties.
Armed with a piece of paper and a pencil, I walked into the cat room.
OHMYGOSH I wanted to take all of them home! So adorable. Each cat had a slip of paper attached to the cage with some information about them (whether they prefer being the only cat, if they get along with dogs, children, etc.). I wrote down the identification number of each cat that I wanted to ‘meet’, and went back to the front desk with the information.
At that point, each cat on my list was brought, one by one, into the private cat area. I felt like I was on the bachelorette or something. It was so hard to choose! I really did want to take them all home.
Long story short (I’m starting to tear up again), I found Walcott (well, his name was Spark, but I had to quickly change it!) simply irresistible. He is everything I could ever ask for in a cat; so affectionate and loving. He meows to me all the time, and he follows me like a baby duckling and purrs up a storm. SUCH a sweetheart.
After microchipping him and giving me LOTS of information on him (as well as coupons for food, litter, etc), I paid a donation to the APA (with cats, there’s no adoption fee) and was on my way.
The APA offers a 14 day health guarantee with each pet, which I ended up having to use when Walcott started showing signs of a cold a few days after his adoption.
The APA has a first come, first serve clinic on site, where I was able to have him checked out (for FREE) by the vet. I also received free antibiotics for him.
I can’t recommend the APA enough for adopting a cat or dog. I’m a happy happy girl. GREAT place.

Hands down THE cleanest facility for an animal shelter I’ve ever visited– No smell whatsoever and the staff are all very enthusiastic. I adopted my cat, Louie, from here and was extremely pleased with how they treat their animals and their followup to see how things were getting on after the adoption.
However, the best surprise find from this place (aside from Louie) was the vet who gave my adopted kitten his checkup. I can’t remember her name (short, blond, straight-​shooter), but she was fantastic! She understands that people are on a budget and is upfront in telling you when something is essential versus just a «nice-​to-​have» (i.e. shots, meds, etc). Really appreciated this. She also sent me on my way with free meds for the new kitten and when I stopped by next month to get a prescription for more, she did it again. Nice!
I usually take my cats to the St. Louis Cat Clinic in South City (love them too, btw), but I can’t justify the price difference for simple routine shots and checkups. I still take my cats there for more complicated procedures, but for your everyday, run-​of-​the-​mill stuff, the APA is where it’s at! Plus, the vet’s office is a walk-​in facility, which is perfect for me and my unpredictable schedule.
Highly recommend this place to anyone looking to adopt a new friend or if you just need to take your current pup/​cat in for a checkup!

My brother adopted a kitten (Gus) from here. They really care for their animals! Gus got microchipped there along with his other vaccinations and neutering surgery. When I took Gus in for his shots, the vet was really nice and attentive. The staff was awesome & very caring. Gus felt fine after the shot and was in good health. He didn’t feel a thing when he got the shot. I wish I could say the same for me whenever I get shots.