Tri-Lakes Humane Society, Inc. — Local services in Town of Harrietstown

My entire experience with the shelter was so unprofessional.

It took an entire month between visiting the shelter and applying to adopt a cat, and finding out through asking my landlord if they'd spoken to know that my application was declined. They did not email me, or call me, despite having all of my contact information. In the in-between, I called them multiple times asking for updates on my application, and trying to give them more information, however I wasn't able to speak with anyone who could actually help me.

I am not leaving this simply because my application seems to have fallen through, I don't mind honestly if they have determined my home is not a good fit for the cat I applied for. I am, however, deeply frustrated and upset by the lack of professionalism I experienced. They were difficult to contact, between email addresses that aren't checked or can't send email, and calling only to speak to someone who couldn't answer my questions or direct me to someone who could and told me to call back another time. I would have preferred to find out my application fell through by being contacted by the shelter, and not by me having to ask my landlord if they'd spoken with them. I was sent on a wild goose chase for an entire month, only to get ghosted at the end. I don't even know when the communication between the shelter and my landlord took place.

If you own your home, I imagine you will have a better time with them, however I recommend renters...

My sister’s cat recently got out in Saranac Lake and was found a few doors down from her house. My sister’s cat suffers from alopecia, or hair loss. She has taken her cat in for this problem in the past, and it was non-responsive to treatment. When my sister called her to claim her cat, after seeing it posted on social media, with proof of ownership and vet records the staff at Tri- Lakes humane Society began to accuse her of neglect for her cat having this condition. Even with papers saying she was seen for the condition. They bold face looked her in the face and compared her cat with the hair loss disorder to a human child being neglected and talked down to my sister very rudely. They held my sisters cat longer than necessary until they could take it into the vet to “confirm it wasn’t neglect.” my sister had to wait until the next day to retrieve her cat after Rue could be cleared at the vet. If anything being away from my sister, and in a strange location, scared and with strangers, even though the people who captured you were told, it was behavioral and only unsightly and the cat was seen for it, would cause her to chew upon herself more. I can see where their intent was, but to straight up tell someone that they know she neglects her cat, despite having that paperwork, proving the cat was treated for the condition. SHAME ON YOU. Very tone-deaf, rude, and arrogant staff. To accuse one of the best pet parents I know of neglect with NO...

Great, friendly, and knowledgeable staff. Best of all, it's a no-kill shelter for all but the most extreme cases! One experience I can share to illustrate their level of care is this: one night at around 2:00 am I came across an elderly, blind dog just wandering around Lake Flower Ave by the ice cream stand. I called the Saranac Lake PD and within 20 minutes a wonderful young lady came and took care of the poor defenseless thing. While I was waiting, I just held her in my arms (not the young lady, the dog). That poor little poodle mix was so scared she was shaking uncontrollably. I felt terrible for her, but once I spoke with the shelter lady, I had no doubt that she was going into caring arms. Thank you so much again for that experience and for all the love you give to the quadrupeds in...