Houston Humane Society — Attraction in Fresno

I have to say I am very impressed with the overall care and attention received here at the Houston Humane Society. I recently adopted my new best friend Cielo, a 2 yr old rare breed, merle Yorkie, all white w/ blue eyes. I noticed he was very sensitive w/ his skin & his eyes, & I knew immediately he was special. It ultimately took me about 2 weeks to review every possible Veterinary location imaginable. But when I noticed my pet eating grass / weeds/ plants and becoming sick vomiting, w/ diarrhea I knew he had to be seen asap, (in addition to needing his annual vaccines). Let me say I'm extremely picky with where I go...from the overall ambience / atmosphere/ attitudes & vibe altogether, to the reviews, the location, & pricing, my choice of selection was here, HHS...and I thank God. From the front desk representative Daniella, to the Tech assistant, to the maintenance ladies tending to the lobby area, and all the way to the Veterinarian, Dr. Hoobler, a very special Thanks you all!!! I'm super thankful for the genuine knowledge, passion, and attention to every detail they demonstrated to me today. I am beyond grateful!!! I regret that I was initially disappointed with the thought of not being able to go back / be present for the exam/ treatment/ vaccines, etc... but that was not the case at all, I felt vey much a part of the entire process of this visit. I was taken into a consultation room to speak privately with the tech regarding every concern, & he had me wait patiently there until they completed any diagnosis/ exam/ treatment etc.. I literally felt I was there every step of the way. The tech was extremely knowledgeable, very kind, and soft spoken going out of his way to print off the particular, " baby's breath plant", my dog had got into/ ate (which ultimately caused many symptoms). I regret not remembering his name but he was amazing, and super kind gentleman (I will certainly have to find out at my next 2 wk follow-up appt). He carried my baby the entire time and assured me he'd never be left alone. For whatever reason I thought they would be put into a kennel/cage awaiting the doctor and that was not the case at all. I scared myself for no reason because they go w/ the tech straight to the vet / doctor & immediately right back to you as soon as they are done. More than anything, I was taken by the true love, care, & compassion they all showed with everything that they did. Also the fact that the doctor took time to come speak directly to me more than once( at least 3 seperate times during my visit) made all the difference in the world. She took the time to write down any special instructions and recommendations to assure if there was any confusion or additional questions / concerns. If I could give 100 stars I would, so here's to you ALL at the Houston Humane Society!!! Thank you, Thank you Thank you!!! ...For everything you do, many many Blessings to you all!!! Looking forward to my...

Edit: I raised the rating to 3 stars as I appreciate the organization’s response to my original review. It is not easy to run a large public shelter and they’ve done an impressive job in many areas.

Original post:

Unfortunately our recent visit to Houston Humane Society was very disappointing, due to a simple but serious staff error: they failed to post proper notice and inform visitors of the animals that have already been adopted but yet to be picked up, causing us to waste almost our entire visit on animals who were not actually available.

We visited on a Saturday afternoon, looking to adopt a cat. We recently lost our beloved cat whom I adopted from a DC shelter 15 years ago, so it’s bittersweet to be in a shelter and going through the process again. Houston Humane Society’s adoption center has a “help yourself” style of visit: as you enter the lobby, you can proceed to freely visit and interact with the animals, who were divided in many individual rooms. Information sheets were on the doors. There were also (simple handwritten) paper notices on some of the doors stating that one (or more) of the animals inside have been reserved (with a pick-up date).

The issue we encountered, however, was that those notices were not consistently and timely posted. It turned out that animals without the reservation notice on the door may not be available either. To make it worse, my husband had asked a female staff member at the front desk about two specific cats (two blackish kittens) we were most interested in, before we went in their room. In retrospect that would have been an excellent time for her to mention the crucial fact that THOSE KITTENS HAD BEEN ADOPTED THE DAY BEFORE, but she didn’t bother. Instead, she gave us instructions on how to enter the room (those kittens were marked as high risks for infections). Believing they were available, my husband, our 8yo son, our previous cat’s godmother who flew in from LA, and I spent well over an hour, taking turns sitting in the room, observing them closely, discussing considerations and logistics, imagining them being part of our family. When we finally came back out to the front desk to discuss paperwork and adoption process, only then did the same female staff member casually tell us those kittens had been unavailable this whole time. Needless to say, we were very surprised and disappointed. What a waste of our time! Not to mention what a disservice to the animals who were available, as our time would have been better...

Please don’t take your pets here. I had the most traumatizing experience. I took my dogs in for a dental cleaning. Mind you I brush my dogs’ teeth at least once a week if not more and they eat dental treats twice a day. I thought it was a simple cleaning and what could go wrong. They told me one of my dogs might have to have 4 tooth pulled but they would know more once they get in and clean it but if they could save it they would. Well they didn’t save them and not only did they pull those teeth but 5 more that didn’t need to be pulled. And then lied about it when I came to pick her up saying they only pulled 5 teeth when in reality they pulled NINE!

My other dog, who my vet said didn’t need a dental cleaning, I dropped off also cuz I figured what is the harm in getting her teeth cleaned. In the original appointment they said her teeth were good. No teeth need to be pulled. And the proceeded to pull FOUR teeth.

They never talked to me about of this change in plan. They never called me for consent.

This is NOT informed consent if I don’t know what you are going to do. If you had called me to ask me I would have said to just clean the teeth and NOT pull ANY.

And then did THREE days I have been calling to speak with the vet (Tony Malone) or the vet in charge and neither of them have had the balls to call me back. The supervisor of the clinic just called me and apologized. He said that the other teeth they pulled were maybe questionable and possibly cause a problem in the future. That is NOT a reason to pull their teeth. I brush their teeth all the time and I know those teeth were fine. My dogs had no pain. There were no cavities. My dogs were eating fine. They just had a vet who was plier-happy and started pulling all my dogs teeth.

I am a physician and it is completely inappropriate for the medical professionals not to call me back and talk to me about my concerns. I will be talking to the board about their vets licenses. I also should be talking to a lawyer about this inappropriate care, lack of concern, lack of communication, lack of informed consent, and basic lack of decency and respect they have shown me and my dogs.

My dog whose 9 teeth were pulled can’t stop visibly shaking. She is so scared. Even in my house she is shaking.

This is the most traumatic experience I have ever had. I wanted a dental cleaning and that was it. I will NEVER EVER let someone touch...