El Paso Animal Services Center — Local services in El Paso

Animal Services was very rude and resisted taking in the stray cats we had already spoken over the phone about over the phone the previous day, Wednesday 8/24/22. OBVIOUSLY WE WOULDNT HAVE TAKEN THEM THERE HAD THEY REFUSED OVER THE PHONE but instead they informed me they accepted cats Sunday- Thursday 11-5.

Here's the backstory because it matters: They returned my call, same day a few minutes before their 5 pm closing time after leaving them a voice-mail on Wednesday 8/24/22 They allowed me to explain that a stray cat wandered into our fenced patio then cried until we went out to check and discovered newborn kittens there.... not all had made it and they were freezing cold. I live in an apartment and already have 4 dogs that will not tolerate them being here plus we're at capacity with our pets and don't need to risk being penalized by property management. More importantly, Momma cat was not nursing or keeping her babies warm. So we bought formula, provided a box, blanket and heating pad and were trying our best to feed them every 2 hours or so. My daughter who was off from school on Wednesday took charge of kitty care all Tuesday night and Wednesday while we were stressed out trying to find fosters or shelters since the moment they came to us. We only had that day to find someone since school resumed the next day. We were so excited and relieved that Animal Services had agreed to take them and that they would go to a place where they could be taken care of for the time being and our home could go back to normal with our 4 dogs being able to have free range in their own home again.

Our next challenge was finding a way to get the cats there since their hours of operation are within our work and school schedules... the only person for the job was my husband who was driving in from out of town next day- Thursday 8/25/26

When it was my husband's turn to be assisted the person had a bad attitude and basically scolded him. They were asking for alot of details such as what time kitties were born, birthweight.... things we would not know. They told him we should've left the kitties alone & not moved them...(in our patio?!...no.. we live in apartments remember?!). Then they said we should've just put them right outside of our patio (with all the wandering dogs and the rain and the cold leaving them to die since Momma didn't know how to care for them?! No!) They took his license (unsure what the point of that is) and went back inside then came back a while later, still with a bad attitude and a disrespectful tone with cage in hand. My husband grabbed super friendly and gentle Momma kitty in his arms which was handed to the person who, with aggression, grabbed her and stuffed her in the cage then proceeded to tell my husband they would be released back into our neighborhood. We later on saw a kitty wandering around in front of our patio that very same evening... unsure if that was the same cat especially since our dogs scared it away. With the way they handled the situation we wouldn't be surprised if they were petty enough to bring them right back and abandon them.

The point: THIS IS ANIMAL SERVICES..... you are there to help out in situations such as these! Mistake#1: If you couldn't take them you should have said so in the first place and everyone working/volunteering there should be on the same page Mistake #2: Rude, bad attitude, disrespectful tone I don't care if you're short staffed or stressed. We went to you for help for these kitties in which you mentioned over the phone your available times to take them in and never said otherwise. Had you said you couldn't we would've understood. The disgusting way you handled it when we showed up was definitely unnecessary and UNempathetic people like that don't belong at a place like...

Very terrible experience. My family and I met a dog that we instantly fell in love with at the store Academy. His name was Pedro and he was being walked by his fosters, they told us he was available for adoption or to even foster him but that we needed to go to the shelter to fill out paperwork. We met him on Thursday May 9th in the evening around 4. Come Friday morning my husband and I decided to go and try to foster him, after filling out paperwork and being told that the fosters were on the way and bringing the dog, the guy who was helping us told us since our address was in Santa Teresa we would not be able to foster him BUT that we can adopt him. He even told the fosters to not bother showing up since the dog was only 4 months old we couldn't take ownership till he was neutered, we said we wanted to adopt and for him to find a neuter date but while waiting he recommended we go home so he can set up a date for said neuter operation. Saturday I called first thing when they opened at 11 called on both our phones 4 separate times and finally they answered and told me that they were still trying to find an appointment to get him neutered to call back the next day. Sunday comes around and once again I called and spoke to someone named Joe. I give him the dogs ID number that they provide them and the whole situation about our address and why we couldn't take him that day and Joe told me he was off on Friday but that he will do everything he can to find a neuter date so we can adopt him and that he will call me back as soon as he gets one. No callback at all that day. Monday comes I call once they open and I get the same conversation with Joe again and that he will call me before the day ends if not first thing the Tuesday morning. Later on that day my intuition was telling me to lookup the dogs ID number on their website and it says "this pet has been placed on hold or adopted". My heart shattered but hopeful that he was coming home to us. Tuesday May 14th comes I decided to call AGAIN after 2 failed attempts at calling and them not answering I decided to drive to the shelter while continuing to call. I arrive and speak to a guy at the front desk asking to speak to Joe and see why the dogs been taken off their website. While waiting I see the original guy who was fostering and go up to ask him if he still has Pedro and he tells me the dog was picked up yesterday by other people who were interested in fostering him. I decided to wait and speak to someone else and this time a girl helped me and told me since Joe was the one who was helping me that I would need to speak to him, and told me he's off today but that he would call me back when he comes to work the next day and even told me if you don't get Pedro there is plenty of other dogs you can adopt. NOT ONCE did Joe or anyone that I spoke to tell me that ANYONE else was interested in Pedro. It is currently May 19th and Joe has yet to call me or even give an explanation as to why they all gave my husband and I the runaround. You would think that their goal is to get pets ADOPTED not just fostered. I just hope wherever Pedro is that he is loved and has...

After finding a lost dog during yesterday’s rain, finding no chip, and exhausting many options, I decided to turn to animal services and seek more information. It was the WORST decision possible. Instead of conveying a sense of security or faith in their services, they perfectly fit the cold and cruel stigma of a kill shelter. The woman at the front was insensitive, uninformative, and lacked even the most basic of customer service. Upon arriving with the lost golden retriever, I asked her for information on the options they offered and she simply asked me for an ID and instructed me to come back when I had one. After running back to the car she simply took my ID and started typing. She did not inform me as to what she was doing, what my ID was for, what procedures they followed. Nothing. I then asked her what were to happen if I left him, to which she coldly said “We’re a kill shelter, nobody claims him after three days we put him down.” Then another employee, without consent, came and gave the dog a shot. I asked him what that was and told the woman that I had not made the decision to leave him there to which she replied that with the vaccination, he would now need to stay. I offered to pay the vaccine and at this point, I asked to speak to a supervisor or manager. Although the supervisor seemed genuine, she simply informed me that once that shot was administered, they legally had to keep the dog. There was no transparency in the process, I was never even asked if I wanted to drop him off or I just needed information. I was asked nothing at all and was offered no information. They took the dog without consent, without confirming I was turning him in, and without informing me that they were intaking him. If I would’ve known that the people on this place operate on a “I don’t care, we put them down” mentality like that of the woman in front, I would’ve never set foot in that place. Furthermore, although I made the supervisor in charge aware of the kind of service her employees were delivering, and she apologized for the lack of information prior to them taking the dog, hardly anything was done to remedy the situation. The director couldn’t even bother herself to speak to me. I was offered the possibility of coming back in three days if nobody claimed the dog and was given a card with the dogs information.This was one of the most upsetting and disappointing situations I’ve experienced. I will never make the mistake of taking a poor animal to the...