North Central Animal Shelter — Attraction in Los Angeles

If I could give zero stars I would. This place has been nothing short of a nightmare with trying to redeem my dog. My dog was taken there after getting out of my grandparents yard while I was at work due to it being an unfamiliar area to him, he was an intact male and I was in the process of getting his exemption for the neuter requirement. The day he got out of the yard I went to get him out of the shelter and they said they can’t because it was after hours, the next day I went during my lunch break and the staff were rude and not letting me interact with my dog, yanking him along and told me he cannot go home until he is sterilized. I fought with them for 2 hours and during that time they were rude and lacked the knowledge of neuter exemptions. They also told me they would charge me $47 a day he was in there if I wanted to fight them on the surgery to get his exemption processed. I agreed to get him neutered thinking he would get released sooner but no he has been there for 8 days and on top of that they charge more to redeem your dog than to adopt. Their adoption fees are $105 and to redeem my dog it was going to be $122, luckily I was told about the financial assistance they offer, that they don’t want you to know about! You have to request it at the time of check out. They gave my dog vaccinations and flea treatments with out my consent, which they could have gotten had they called me because I gave them my contact info the first day I went to try and get him out. They gave him an oral flea treatment with out a proper medical history, which could have resulted in seizures. I tried to call multiple times to check in him while he was there but no one answers the phones. The paperwork they gave me has so many errors as to his age and expirations on vaccines and licenses. Fast forward to him actually getting the neuter surgery the clinic called me to tell me in order to proceed with the surgery it will be an additional $60 due to my dog being brachycephalic. This is something that is not covered under the voucher from the shelter for the surgery and the shelter isn’t transparent about it when going through this process. They are very unorganized and unprofessional. The shelters are not over populated due to no one wanting to adopt or because they want designer dogs the shelters are overpopulated due to the way the shelter conducts business and how money hungry they are. Charging people to redeem their dog, forcing medical treatments, just tallying up the bill for their own gain. This place needs to be shut down and the city of LA should be ashamed of this scam they...

A friend had recommended this shelter to me, and this is the first time I’ve ever tried to adopt a dog, so it was a big thing for me to commit to do this. When I arrived, no one was out to help me look at the dogs and the setup of the building was very awkward. I found a beautiful dog I almost immediately fell in love with. Finally figuring out which office to go to, I asked about adopting her. They radioed to someone to help me out near the kennels. When I went back out there, the attendant was dismissive and rude. He didn’t make eye contact or seen like he had any time for me or my questions. He didn’t give me any information on the dog other than that she would be available in a week. Walking back inside, the original attendant I had spoken to at the desk took my info and was excited for me to adopt her, he even let me give her a name! A week later I called the night before her availability, and they told me she was still there but i had to be there at 8am and if other people wanted her, they would choose who the owners would be. I showed up at 730am and there was a girl already waiting. Eventually 4 of us wanted to adopt her. They marched us in, and made us stand against a wall. No one was telling us how we would be chosen. They then brought the dog in for a brief second which was heart wrenching for each one of us knowing only one would get her. Then a woman told us there would be a silent auction for the dog. We each had to write down an amount we’d pay for her. A girl next to me was sobbing. I felt so horrible by this point. Eventually I lost my bid of $350 for a dog I really wanted; but also didn’t know anything about because the shelter was so unhelpful at letting me interact with her or get her info. I had bought her a bed, bowls, food, toys, and was ready to give her a great home. I was so crushed by this experience it makes me never want to adopt again. I feel like the shelter might be baiting these dogs so people like me will bid high for them so they can rake in the cash. I do not recommend this shelter and shame on them for toying with...

I understand wanting to get as many dogs adopted as possible, but the staff here was so misleading about a dog’s health condition who I just adopted a few days ago.

She had crusty, leaking, goopy eyes and when I asked about it, a worker told me they had given her antibiotics for her. I called later to see what kind so I could tell my vet, and it wasn’t marked on her health intake form- and they said they had no record of her receiving antibiotics. She also must have some sort of trachael issues- her breathing is raspy and she’s hacking a ton- but again none of that is recorded on her form. I looked at the form when I got home, and saw that they had marked her as having fleas- when they said NOTHING to me at the shelter. I also saw on her tummy that she probably has ring worm- again not disclosed to me or even marked on her chart. I have another dog at home and that information should be verbally communicated before a dog gets adopted. I’ve been letting her sleep in my bed and on my dog’s bed and now that is going to be an issue for my other senior dog and I.

I called them and of course- they say that now I’ve adopted her, I resume all financial responsibility- which is what I was willing to do, but I also think they withheld information about this senior dog so I would just adopt her without knowing how extensive her medical treatments might be. This shelter is shady, and ofc I won’t bring the dog back bc I don’t want her in that environment, but they just will adopt a dog out to anyone before really making sure it’s a good fit, and that the adopter knows the extensive state of the...