Dakin Humane Society — Local services in Springfield

I recently had dealings with Dakin for the purpose of rehoming animals. I had heard about them through an animal shelter, and also read their reviews online, prior to contacting them. I sent them an email & was impressed that they responded quickly to me & the person that I first communicated with (I believe Amanda was her name?) was very helpful & professional. Rehoming pets is a process, but Dakin does seem to genuinely care about the welfare of the animals they handle. The woman I met with was kind & seemed like she knew a lot about animals. I did not get her name, as we only met briefly in the parking lot. The only reason I'm not giving more stars is because of the way I was treated by one of their staff via email, prior to rehoming the animals. I had originally set up an appointment with Dakin that happened to be on a day that I was to drive my friend to a medical appointment for a procedure. I did not expect that their appointment would at all interfere with my appointment with Dakin, as they were hours apart. However, my friend whom I gave a ride to, ended up with severe pain & complications following their procedure & ended up requiring emergency room assistance. With me being their ride, I had no choice but to drive them to the nearest hospital, rather than back home as planned. Realizing the time, I knew it was not possible for me to make it to my appointment with Dakin, so I attempted to call them several times, but I wasn't able to get through, because of my poor cell phone service. I then tried emailing them instead, which I was successful in doing, and explained my situation, being sure to apologize, and also told them that I would need to reschedule asap. I had expected that they would have been more understanding of the circumstances, and offer me another appointment, without any issues. Instead, I received an email from a staff member who more or less reprimanded me for not being able to keep my scheduled time & lectured me about the importance of keeping appointments. She also expected that I still make it out to Springfield that day, despite my living an hour away from Dakin, and my friend being in the ER, with me as his ride. I again apologized in another email, asking when I could reschedule, questioning them about specific days/times. Rather than simply providing me with their hours of operation, whomever emailed me instead told me when they weren't available, which was in no way beneficial to me, seeing as I was hoping to reschedule. Eventually I was able to reschedule, but I arrived a few minutes early. I called once I got to their parking lot, as directed to do, to notify them that I was outside the building. My appointment was for 3pm, but nobody assisted us until about 3:15/3:20pm. I'm not petty, so I'm not complaining that I had a brief wait. I'm just wondering why it was acceptable to them to make me wait, yet it wasn't okay for me to cancel when an emergency arose. I was also told over the phone after arriving, that we would be next in line. Although, we watched as a staff member came outside and helped another customer before we were assisted. I just wish that they would've treated me a bit kinder, seeing as I was just trying to do the right thing by rehoming these animals, that I had taken in out of pity & cared for out of the kindness of my heart. I know that they're doing people a favor by taking in these animals, but we are also doing them a favor by taking these animals to them to find them homes, when we are no longer able to provide appropriate care for them. I had kept these animals for much longer than I intended, because I could not find anywhere for them to go, and then I heard about Dakin & fortunately they were able to take them for us. I would recommend Dakin to anyone looking to rehome a pet. However, I would strongly suggest that they treat their customers/clients more respectfully if they have to reschedule an appointment, due to unforeseen circumstances. I'm not an irresponsible person who frequently misses appointments. I'm sorry if that was the impression...

This place is horrible. The first time I went I fell in love w my kitten, i asked how much he was and they told me $200, so the next day I called early in the morning to pay the $200 bc I needed some time to get it, and I didn’t want anyone else to take him, so when I called, they spoke to me in a condescending tone (per usual) if you don’t wanna work there get another job is first… but also I had to ask “okay he’s $200 right?” Bc they just demanded a card # without even going over pricing. “She then proceeded to tell me “uh…no…he’s $475” my heart broke bc I had gathered exactly the amount I was told previously. I told her that this was not the price that I was told yesterday and she just told me “okay so do you have the money or not” not okay for people who are trying to adopt your animals. I honestly had no clue what to even say bc I was just in shock w how she was speaking to us so I just hung up. We wanted the kitten so bad that all of my family helped to put together the adoption fee anyway. We went to go pick him up and pay, they gave us a time to pick him back up bc they stated he needed an exam. This exam would consist of a thorough check and to make sure he didn’t have any fleas or mites. When we picked him up we got the exam paperwork that stated that there were no fleas, ticks, or even flea dirt. As soon as we brought him into the car we can see that he was extremely lethargic and infested with fleas. Not just a few, but INFESTED. I felt so defeated and I called and asked them why they would lie on the exam and say there were none or even signs of flea dirt. They proceeded to tell me they didn’t see any and that they were so sorry and if I wanted to do preventative care for free in exchange. I kindly declined and thank God I had a friend who does professional grooming so she knows how to do flea baths and he was all set. But to up the price on me like that for a kitten that’s literally infested w fleas is insane. Then let’s go into how he had a neuter appt, I was already in shambles the whole week before bc this is my first kitten, and I was very nervous for the procedure, when bringing him to the appt I was already a mess and had been crying all morning due to being nervous for him. They literally snatched him out of my hands and took him from me without even saying anything. Didn’t even let me say goodbye to my baby. Thank God at least they did that right. And you best Believe I checked him AGAIN for fleas as soon as he got home. I did also ask for a cone for him so that he wouldn’t be messing with the site, and their response to me was “we don’t think it’s necessary unless he starts to pick at it” ….. isn’t that the point of the cone so that he doesn’t start to pick at it??? Anyways didn’t even get the cone I asked for. Then I was told he was receiving two vaccines but I only decided the paper work for one, when asked about the second one, I was told “well if I told you he was gonna get it he should’ve got it” I’m not asking what he SHOULDVE got, I’m asking WHAT is it he got. These people are so rude, and for most of yall being volunteers why volunteer if you’re gonna be miserable. Do...

This is a great place with excellent medical care and programs. I respect them for the compassionate work they do helping animals. However I do wish that if I find an injured or stray animal in need could come to them for help without the judging. That the staff at Dakin would exercise unconditional positive regard for the animal and that person bringing the animal in. I shouldn't have been be made to feel like I shouldn't be there with an animal in need. The staff, all but one was very unwelcoming and some flat out rude. Dakin clearly did not want to accept this cat in need of medical attention for what appeared to be an infection as a result of being homeless. Then after taking custody of the cat the questioning and comments were suggestive that I know the owner or I am the owner but lying about this injured cat. Even after telling them that our town ACO told me to bring it there and that I know our town has a contract with them to accept and pay for these cats it still was an unwelcomed surrender. It is my hope that this review helps them become more aware and welcoming to people bringing in an animal off the street and actually glad they noticed it needed help. After all those homeless, discarded animals are the ones that need it most, and why most donate to your establishment for them! There should be something like a "safe haven" system for animals as it took days to figure out where and how to go about getting injured animal access to help. Dakin did take the animal in but I've yet to see it available for adoption. The cat even tho injured was friendly. Anyway I now understand why people either don't get involved or just leave the box outside the back door type of situation. So Dakin, if that's not what you want people to keep doing then you must create a better system for people who go way out of their way to help animals in need. Clearly, there isn't enough help on the outside where these animals roam for months on end starving, sick, injured, suffering from many easily treated conditions. No matter what city it came from or the way it got there, just kindly...