Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA Adoption Center — Local services in Burlingame

I came in with my son and there was many staff, some smile to you and many give you a sense of attitude . The front desk there was a women who had a certain sassiness. No one is clear to you how long the wait is going to be to see a dog. So they ask you to sit, now I waited 20 mins seemed forever, politely I ask when the seeing time will be. She said “Well were busy right now showing other dogs, you haven’t even waited that long, some wait a half an hour.” With so much additude. Her facial expressions were as if she ate a sour candy . She made me feel uncomfortable and even my six year old said she’s not very nice. Now I don’t know how staffing situations are, but walking in there there is just so much staff you would think that someone can help. You see just some staff just walking around just looking at dogs and some that are just sitting around. Also when I looked at some of my chosen dogs paper work, I asked her how much & she responded “Well these dogs need training , they cost more”. Now I then I thought to myself, that’s not what I asked you. Regardless I’m going to have training classes for my dog. Now I don’t mind paying. These staff shouldn’t assume that customers are not gonna go all the way for their new pets. Politely they should give information. They just need to be a little more open to letting us know how long the wait is, POLITELY. Some of the staff you would think would be so happy because there with these wonderful animals all day but some of them act like they don’t want to be...

This adoption center is really clean and the staff are friendly. However, the system for waiting to meet a dog is flawed. Waiting time can reach beyond 3hrs!! I understand that we can't rush big decisions like these. However, each family should come prepared to meet the dog. If they're not ready (owned dog is not on site, waiting for a family memeber to arrive, etc), the slot should be given to the waiting family who is ready. My experience was that my family including my dog was waiting to meet with a dog who we want to welcome in the family. A lady arrived before us and asked to meet the dog that we wanted to meet. That's alright. She met with the dog for an hour or so and that is still fine by me. However, she wanted her husband to meet the dog as well. Her husband took 2hrs to arrive at the center. Then that's when they started the deciding about the adoption. I asked the staff if that was fair. According to the staff, the priority is given to the first one who enters the door. That's sound and fair. What unfair to me is that my family was ready but we had to wait for someone who was not ready. In the end, we waited for 4hrs. I'm happy that the family who took forever decided to adopt the dog. But what if they didn't and I gave up waiting earlier? That dog could have missed...

This is a beautiful, airy, tidy facility with a seemingly small team of sincere and attentive caregivers. Spaces for dogs and cats are generous; the animals have clean blankets if it is safe for them to, nourishment, and engagement with the staff or visitors. One is welcome to meet any number of animals and to visit for extended periods, and staff check in without being pushy. They keep detailed records on each animal, though there was some confusion about the vaccination series my adopted kittens underwent. The kittens were from different litters and estimated to be about the same age but experienced different vaccination schedules- perhaps due to different foster experiences? The facility sells the litter (pellets), dry food the animals have been used to (but do ask about wet food and/or supplements!), and even litter starter kits for new cat parents. Lastly, the SPCA regularly receives hundreds of animals- please visit if you're curious. I visited several times before being truly ready, and still didn't feel quite ready when I left with my kittens, but they've since brought me immeasurable joy! Once home, the SPCA continued to be a great resource. One has 14 days to call-in (or even bring an animal back in) if there are health or housing...