Animal Aid Society — Local services in Hampton

After losing our Chessie in December, we were ready to find a playmate for our rather active plot hound mix (a rescue) and Animal Aid Society has been around as long as I can remember. That alone, should speak volumes about this operation. Searching through their pics of available dogs, we made the trip with one or two pups in mind. We piled both of our pups in the car and made the trip down there where we were greeted by Joe, who has 29 yrs of volunteer service to this charity. He met our pups, and said the ones we had wanted to look at was definitely a no go, and instead suggested Maelyn. He brought her out to do a meet, greet and walk with our pups, along with a “play” time in a fenced area. They did great. He then insisted we come back in a few days and let them do it all again. And we did. We filled out the adoption papers, read all the rules, and held our breaths. A volunteer was sent to our home to check out bedding, feeding areas and fenced yard. We got the good news on the weekend and were able to take her home the following week. The whole process took about ten days...if you can’t commit to that, chances are, you won’t have time to commit to an animal.

Maelyn is a perfect fit for our home and it feels like she has been a part of the family forever. She’s settled in, and has made our home her home.

I said all that, to say this...the adoption process here is a long one, however, one that places dogs in homes to provide the best chance of success for not only you, but the pup as well. They have a lot of rules, with good reasoning behind each one, no matter how unreasonable or unrealistic the rule may seem to you, there is a legitimate reason behind it, ask if you don’t understand.

Finally, these volunteers are fantastic, this is a 365 day a year VOLUNTEER joint effort to keep this place running. These pups are well cared for, EVERYDAY! Taj majal, no, but they are fed, watered and are in environmentally controlled kennels. These volunteers are here, interested in the well being of the dogs, and do a systematic adoption process for a reason, they are not there to pander to potential adoptive owners.

Great job guys, you...

We visited this shelter earlier this month (May 23) and I was impressed with the set-up of their facility. The volunteers were friendly to us. We actually let there planning to come back and adopt. However after reading these reviews regarding their arduous adoption process, I had to reconsider. Don't get me wrong, I think every new potential owner should be vetted to ensure the best home for a rescued dog. A $280 adoption fee, personal references, and a questionnaire regarding your experience and intentions is already going to weed out many potential bad owners. I can even understand needing a vet reference. However if you're turning away new owners because their vet visits were irregular, or your previour/current dog missed a dose of heartworm protection (even saw someone was turned away because they didn't use Heartguard specifically but a different brand), or because they're single and may work extended hours....this all rubs me the wrong way. I am betting there are many dogs there who could've had a loving HOME (instead of a shelter) by now if it weren't for their pompous attitude towards potential adopters. We ended up going to Peninsula Regional Animal Shelter on Jefferson Ave a few days later and left with our new addition to the family. Their process is thorough but not complicated, and you can tell that the people there want these rescued animals to find good homes. I'm leaving this review as a heads up to people looking to adopt, and as a word of caution to Animal Aid Society. The dogs yall have there deserve BETTER than the shelter they're in right now, and by being so incredibly particular YOU are preventing them from finding good homes. I hope Animal Aid considers all of these negative reviews they receive and decide to make someone changes so the dogs they have can find their forever homes instead of continuing to live their lives in the shelter. Attached is a photo of our girl we brought home from Peninsula Regional. They have plenty of furry friends needing homes and the process is far less...

Save yourself time and heartache and avoid this shelter! Their adoption committee is clearly not motivated to match dogs with deserving individuals and families. Throughout our twenty-three years of responsible pet ownership my wife and I have rescued four animals. We are familiar with the need to be able to demonstrate good ownership through pet records to shelters but their process is broken.

We offered to provide all of our pet records (all unfortunately deceased), but were told the committee needed to obtain them directly by contacting the clinics we listed on our application. We submitted our application on Thursday and we’re notified via text on Saturday morning that they couldn’t get in contact with our vet in San Antonio and were stopping our adoption process.

The committee needs to do a better job considering the fallout for the individuals and families attempting to adopt. My wife and I waited 14 months after the passing of our dog to start looking again. While I was deployed, my nine year old son started talking about getting another dog. My wife and I decided it would be best to wait until my return so the dog could meet our entire family prior to adoption.

Two weeks before my return my wife and son went to the shelter and saw two dogs that were a great fit for our family. Upon my return, we went as a family and both dogs were still there. We took an application home that night and discussed which dog would be the best fit for us. The next day, I submitted our application and we were shocked that after less than 48 hours of effort to obtain vet records the committee would deny our application.

My entire family is extremely upset with their process and lack of effort. Additionally, if you are going to deny someone’s application at least have the consideration and courage to call someone like an adult instead of just sending a text. I highly recommend you avoid...