Helen Woodward Animal Center — Local services in Solana Beach

I'm deeply saddened to write this review, as we’ve found the most beautiful, sweet-natured puppy who has been with us for about eight weeks. She is approximately six months old and weighs around 50 lbs. Unfortunately, I must echo the concerns raised by others about the lack of transparency from HW. I genuinely wish I could share a positive experience, but our situation has been far from what we expected.

From the beginning, we noticed discrepancies in the information provided about the puppies. Dogs from the same litter were labeled as different breeds, seemingly to increase their chances of adoption. For instance, our girl was labeled as a Labrador, but after a DNA test, we discovered she is 0% Lab, she is 65% Great Pyrenees—a significant difference. We were also told she was 4 months old but when we took her for her "free" vet visit they said she had all adult teeth, so she was most likely 6 mos?? Also, our dog had a cold when we adopted her, she seemed fine when we met her but they did disclose she was treated for kennel cough but after a recheck at the HW Vet, she wasn't sick anymore, but when we got home with her, she was constantly sneezing up phlegm, so the vet at HW was not honest on the paperwork.

Shortly after adopting her, we noticed she was frequently lying down during walks and had a noticeable limp. Initially, we didn’t think much of it, assuming it was nothing serious since she is a puppy and there was no mention of this by HW or in the paperwork. We were told she had been returned for medical reasons, but no specifics were provided. At the time, we were in the midst of a critical medical situation with our 16-year-old daughter, and getting her this puppy was a life-long dream. The adoption process was happening while we were administering IV treatments to our daughter, and given the circumstances, we didn’t focus on the medical issues with the puppy. HW was aware of our situation as they saw us administering IV therapy to our daughter.

What’s puzzling is that her sister was still available for adoption on the same day. If our puppy had been returned for medical reasons, why was her sister still there after she was returned? Something doesn't add up.

Unfortunately, the situation worsened. We learned that pet insurance has a six-month waiting period for coverage and doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions. After our puppy’s limp worsened and her leg buckled during a brief walk, we had no choice but to take her to the vet for X-rays. It was then that we discovered it was the WORST CASE SCENARIO, she has a torn cruciate ligament and hereditary hip dysplasia—conditions that the vet assured us are impossible for us to have caused. There is no way the shelter was unaware of this, yet they chose not to disclose these severe issues.

The cost of the necessary reconstructive hip surgery and ligament surgery is well beyond our financial means, especially having our daughters exponential medical bills to deal with as well, it's a very very very HEAVY situation. A second opinion from another veterinarian confirmed the severity of her condition, with the vet commenting, "Oh nooooooo, her hip is trashed."

We are devastated. We adopted this precious puppy with the hope of bringing joy to our sick daughter, and now we are facing a very serious situation with an otherwise PERFECT dog.

I wish the shelter had been honest with us from the beginning. It would have saved all of us this devastation.

We are...

Please read all the one star reviews. They are all TRUE! I wish I would have done my homework before heading toward this place. If your last name is not $$$ do not bother coming here. Also, if you have children, do not make an attempt to adopt a puppy here as their excuse is the puppy suffers anxiety. Well, yes they do, I would too, if I am a pup and want to run and play! It is undefined at 2 months of age ... Okay doggy experts check out the pups environment first and then make that determination if your place is not causing this. We went to this place because I have always had dogs growing up and always had a dog as part of the family (not to mention I was fooled by the amount of stars this place was given.) We wanted to adopt (Who cares about the price, yeah its pricey) but, what got me the most is that this people lie to your face. I walked in one day and asked to see a pup and I was told that he was not available that he had a media appointment the following day, to come back the following day. So, as a dog lover knowing that this pup was going to do excellent in his new habitat, I got there the next day and a volunteer told me that this pup was NEVER on the list to see the media and he was never taken to KUSI news. Okay, so another older woman came to me and informed me that this dog was not adoptable to a family with small children in the house due to anxiety (Wait, they were perfectly fine me coming back the following day to tell me this?). So they gave me as many stories as they could come up with. She also went ahead and told my husband how things should be in the house as far as rules and other ways of educating our child (My child was not with us mind you, we were just honest people.) Kidding me right? We are not neglectful people. Furthermore, who are they to think they can assess what kind of people we are and what customs we carry in our home. So, now we got lectured the Dos and Donts with a family, completely offensive. Middle class people are fully capable of taking care of animals!!! Do not be deceived!!! Sometimes we end up being better doggy parents than those who have to travel for work and never have the time to spend time with their animal. Social or Economical status should not matter. We should all do our homework. No joke, this place still has that poor pup for adoption, with sad eyes in his beautiful face. Very saddened that they believe that they can determine if the dog suffers from anything (besides a noticeable disease, such as kennel cough), especially anxiety at 3 to 4 months old, give me a break. I will never come here, I am deeply saddened that the wrong "policies" or liars continue to run this place. I can read through the lines, I will never come back here. If I am paying for the adoption why are these people so choosey on who can/can't adopt a pet? I am shocked that a animal shelter would treat people worse than dogs. We went to another animal shelter in Bonita , and found a beautiful dog (2 yrs old, stray) that needed a home and a family so badly. I do not regret any moment of it. My dog is happily thriving in her new environment and no social status was needed to adopt her, just love, something money will...

We woke up on Sunday to a KUSI news segment showing adoptable pets for the 3 day memorial weekend. It stated all active military could adopt a pet for olnly a $35 chip fee. We woke up early Sunday morning to arrive around 11 AM at Helen Woodward to see the kittens that were still available. My son is in the army 20 years old, he was very excited to adopt his first kitten. He brought his girlfriend along to look at the kittens. He filled out a partial application with all his personal information to get the process started. We were then taken back to look at the kittens. We had to go back out to the front office to let them know which kittens we were interested in looking at. We visited with three different kittens.. My son decided he would like two kittens, he wanted to give two kittens a good home and also playmates for each other. It was very hard for him to choose the two kittens he wanted to give a home. Upon careful consideration, he chose two kittens to adopt. We went back out to the front area, spoke with a couple of different clerks and stated he wanted to adopt two kittens which they were thrilled . We waited for them to get the adoption paperwork, ready for both kittens for about 20 minutes, then we sat down with the finalization For another 30 minutes. After going through each file for both of the kittens.and completing the application, after the last signature, we were then given the total price which my son thought would be $70. For two kittens. Too our surprise in shock really the gal quoted him $250. We were told there’s only one military adoption per family. This was very disheartening being nobody said anything to us upon arrival or during this entire ordeal, especially after they knew he wanted two kittens. There was nothing on the sign when you walked in only an A-frame that said military adoption day $35 chip fee.. my son did not want to have to send a kitten back, so of course we had no choice but to pay the $250. I think it was very unfair and they should have only made him pay the $70 in which he intended to pay in the first place. I called and spoke to whom I believe was the director the following day. I explained to her that it was unfair that there was nothing stating there was only one adoption per military family. I left the phone call feeling like nothing was going to get done. I was trying to put into perspective on how two siblings would feel if their parents said they could both have a kitten and in the very end they couldn’t afford both and had to put one back. I really feel like they should compensate my son and return the rest of his money. Our military men work hard, they don’t make a lot of money for what they sacrifice on a daily. I just want families that are considering adoption from Helen Woodward to ask questions or even call ahead of time when another function like this comes along so you’re not surprised at the last minute. The Director did tell me she was gonna talk to her staff. I believe all the signage should say one pet per family. I also believe the news should have known and stated that information as well. Thank you for your time and God bless...