San Bernardino City Animal Shelter — Attraction in San Bernardino

I adopted a puppy (named him Austin) from here on 11/25 that was about 10 weeks old. I wasn’t allowed to take Austin home until 11/27 after he was supposed to be neutered (too young for growing puppies to begin with because it could mess with their growth if fixed too early). I got a call on 11/27 from the vet that Austin couldn’t have surgery because of an upper respiratory infection. I had to pick him up because the shelter was closed on Monday. I picked up his antibiotics (Clavamox) and took him home to try to nurse him back to health. I called the shelter either Tuesday or Wednesday to inform them that they need to check the other puppies he was sheltered with to make sure they’re ok (assuming it was at best just a cold and at worst the new mystery dog illness going around). It didn’t seem like the staff were even concerned and I was told that younger puppies were now being housed with Austin’s remaining sibling at the shelter. I took him to two more vets in a span of 3 days to see if what I was doing was enough. He was on antibiotics but still wasn’t improving. On 12/09 his breathing started sounding funny. I took him to the ER where they did x-rays and determined he had pneumonia. They prescribed me a second antibiotic (Baytril) to give him with the Clavamox to help fight the pneumonia. On the night of 12/13 he started having cluster seizures. He had 3 within an hour and then a 4th on the way to the ER. At the ER they said all of his symptoms were classic signs of distemper and due to his age (about 12 weeks now) his chance of survival were very slim and would cost thousands because it had already become a neurological issue. I was heart broken. I had spent hundreds of dollars already trying to nurse my new baby back to health only to find out that there wasn’t anything else I could do. He had to be euthanized and my heart literally hurts. It was so sad that the ER vet cried with me because she said I did everything right except adopt him from this specific shelter because it’s one of the worst. There needs to be a change especially with how puppies are handled in a shelter environment since they’re immunocompromised. This whole experience was traumatic and sadly avoidable had the shelter did a better job with puppies. If I could give zero stars I would. I called again on 12/14 to inform the shelter so they could notify the adopters of Austin’s siblings to get their dogs tested for distemper. I pray they do the right thing and notify the adopters to save them from spending hundreds just to figure out what’s wrong with their new baby even though the shelter is aware of...

After reading some of these reviews it looks like my dog was one of the lucky ones.

After many years of wanting a second dog, we decided to visit the San Bernardino Shelter in late May. We had a good experience the year prior fostering and adopting a kitten from there, so we thought the same shelter would be a great place to look for another furry friend. It turned into a nightmare.

We had done a meet and greet with our kids, all went well, and decided to adopt this adorable 10 week old puppy. During the adoption paperwork I caught a note on her file that said, “Intake: Sick”. When I asked the woman helping us with our paperwork she said there was nothing on her file indicating she was sick, that they put her on antibiotics just incase when they brought her in since she “seemed a little blah, but found nothing wrong with her”. We took her word for it, and finished signing the papers. Brought the puppy home, and everything was fine for the first day and a half.. And then suddenly took a turn for the worse.

We brought her home Tuesday. By Thursday she began coughing. I called and made a vet appointment for Friday. The vet advised for us to call the shelter to see if they could help narrow down what she could have been exposed to. When we called the lady at the front desk was unhelpful and said, “Well, all the dogs have a cough”. Really? That’s your answer? They offered to prescribe her more antibiotics, but that was it.

We brought her into the vet and did an x-ray, blood work, stool sample, and PCR. Early tests showed she was starting to develop pneumonia, but the vet was unsure what caused it before getting the PCR results. He was very much concerned about it being distemper or parvo based on how she was behaving, and bracing us for the potential of losing her. Our family was devastated.

We took her home and waited for her PCR and fecal test results, trying to keep her hydrated and comfortable as possible. Poor thing was fighting for her life. Her tests later came back positive for Adenovirus, Pneuvirus, Mycoplasma, Giardia, and Coccidia - the poor dog! $1600 in vet bills and a lot of stress on our whole family later, we were able to get her on all the medications she needed. She’s thankfully made a full recovery, put on weight, and is now living her best puppy life.

We had thought really highly of this shelter from our first experience last year, but now our family will never adopt from here again. Thankfully it looks like our family is getting a happy ending, but other reviewers and animals have not...

Yesterday, our family dog, Brownie, escaped from our backyard while we weren’t home. As soon as we realized she was missing, we searched everywhere and checked online for any updates. Later that night, we were relieved to learn she had been picked up and taken to our local animal shelter.

We immediately had my dad go to the shelter to bring her home—but what happened next was incredibly upsetting.

We were told that Brownie had been sent to a vet and that we’d need to pay nearly $700 in fees before they would even consider releasing her to us(not to mention the additional $300 just to release her). When we asked why, especially since her injuries were not life-threatening, we were told the shelter had approved the treatment without ever contacting us.

What makes this even more frustrating is that Brownie’s injuries are several years old. They’ve been fully healed for a long time and have never caused her pain or required medical attention. We called the vet directly, and they confirmed that the injuries were not recent or serious—and that the shelter gave the go-ahead for the treatment anyway, without our knowledge or consent.

My brother followed up and spoke to a receptionist named Shannon, who said a supervisor would call us back. No one ever did.

What’s even more upsetting is that the shelter knows fees are continuing to accrue daily—$15 every single day Brownie is there—yet no one has taken responsibility or reached out to explain anything. We’re shocked and angry that they would continue to ignore us while the costs climb higher and our dog sits in their facility.

To top it all off, we were told that if we can’t pay the $700, we only have two options:

Brownie could be euthanized.

Or we could pay $60 to permanently surrender her to the shelter.

Brownie is part of our family. She didn’t deserve this. And we didn’t deserve to be blindsided with a huge bill, threats of euthanasia, and a complete lack of communication—especially when the situation was never urgent to begin with.

We’re sharing this because:

Other local pet owners deserve to know how this shelter handles situations like this. There needs to be real accountability, transparency, and compassion when it comes to animal care decisions. And because we are still trying to get our dog home—with no returned calls, no answers, and growing costs hanging over our heads. If you’ve been through something similar, have advice, or can help in any way, please reach out. We’re heartbroken, frustrated, and just want Brownie back home where...