Woods Humane Society

Got my wonderful kitty here in August 2014. I’m so happy that I found such a wonderful companion at Woods — adopting 3 year-​old Olive (formerly Precious) was one of the best decisions I could make.
Only one complaint — I was told (and it appeared) that my cat was perfectly healthy, but found out very quickly that she had a severe upper respiratory infection. Poor thing weighed only 6 lbs and was in pretty bad shape the day after bringing her home. Two vet trips and $ 150 later she was perfectly fine. It would have been nice to know that she had the URI when I adopted her, but sometimes things don’t work out perfectly, I guess.
But besides that, Woods is a great place. So thankful that they brought Olive and I together!

We adopted the most perfect little angel named Lil’ Man from here. The people are great and the animals all come first.

If I ever adopt another animal this will be the place! Such an amazing place

I guess if my animal has to end up in pet prison, this is the one I want them to end up in. The staff was friendly and helpful. We picked out a ‘one and half year old’ puppy and after a few weeks we determined he was more like 6 months old but what eve’s, he’s still cool. Healthy and pooping solid like any good dog should do. I would take home all their dogs if I could but sadly my house is too small. They have a million cats but some people have allergies. Go free an animal from pet prison NOW!

I wish I could give this place a good review because we need more no-​kill shelters and I really want to believe they mean well. But…
My kids and I adopted our last cat there, and almost everything they told us about her turned out to be wrong. We were told she had been treated for fleas. I later learned that it had been over SIX weeks since her last dose, and she was infested with them. We were told that she was healthy. She had worms SO BAD that I could literally see them wiggling in her poop (sorry)! And maybe most importantly, we were told that she gets along with dogs. She doesn’t.
When I called them about a week after I got the cat, I was told that she had already been returned to the shelter TWICE, and that they didn’t think she would be considered «adoptable» if I returned her. I was told, «sorry she’s not what you expected, but if you bring her back, she will most likely be put down.»
So I’m now the proud owner of a flea and worm-​free neurotic cat who is so miserable in our house that I am trying to find her a new home. Thanks a lot, Woods. :(

Woods Humane Society is a poor excuse for a «rescue» organization. I have seen employees intentionally stomp on dogs’ toes to move them back from the gate, causing the dogs to cower in fear, and the 3 year old who was with me to burst into tears. I stayed because I was interested in a dog, I spent time with that dog, and was prepared to adopt her, despite the fact that I was loathe to give Woods any money. When I went to adopt the dog, I was told that she was already adopted.
A friend, Shelly, went a few weeks later to adopt a puppy she had seen online. It turns out that the litter had been exposed to Parvo, and 2 of the dogs had already died. Employees continued to encourage my friend to take a puppy home, not bothering to mention that the dog would likely die. They also failed to mention that once her yard was exposed to Parvo, her yard would be unsafe for any other puppy that hadn’t had all of her shots yet. Shelly opted not to take the puppy home, the puppy died the next day. That would have been incredibly traumatic for Shelly’s 2 young children.
I have since found out that Woods goes around to county shelters and takes their highly adoptable dogs, like puppies. They know that they will turn over quickly.
Another friend took her dog to Woods because she just couldn’t handle the dog, she had become ill and couldn’t give the active dog enough exercise. She was assured that a good home for the dog would be found. The dog was euthanized a few days later, without a phone call to my friend.
I will never go back there, I would rather patronize SLO County Animal Services, where I had a wonderful experience and found a fantastic dog with the help of wonderful volunteers.

Super friendly, helpful, involved, knowledgeable staff. We just adopted our first shelter dog, and the whole experience has been extremely satisfying. They even sent us home with snacks and food and bedding! (For the dog, that is.)

We adopted a puppy there so we loved Woods already but I want to say that we also had a kid’s birthday party there once and it was just the thing for an animal-​loving kiddo. I had to be persistent to finally reach the person who handles this sort of thing (I imagine they’re very busy!) but once we connected, it flowed easily from there. The kids were able to go inside the building before it was open to the public and help prepare things «behind the scenes» (feeding, cleaning, etc.) The adult staff (who supervised the kids’ volunteer efforts) were kind and patient. Once the «work» was done, the kids got to play with the animals, which was loads of fun. And they have a «Community» room which is perfect for games, opening presents, cake and ice cream, etc.

While I am partial to Animal Services next door (I got an amazing dog there a couple years ago and they do euthanize, so it feels great when you adopt from them), I thought I’d write a review for Woods because I had a great experience there.
The facility is clean and very nice. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable. You have to go through an application process if you want to adopt an animal, which shows how thorough and diligent they are about their animals ending up in good homes.
I went in on a Saturday and was interested in adopting a particular cat, but I expressed concern about it because he appeared to have a cold. They told me they’d place a hold on the cat for me and have their vet check him out on their next business day (Monday) and give me a call. They open at 10am and I got a call back from them at 10:30 that Monday morning! I was so impressed by their promptness and consistency. 5 stars from me!

We adopted our 2 year old siberian husky from here and they made the whole experience wonderful! It was hard to see the other animals that also needed homes but we were glad that we could give at least one a place to live. They only charged us $ 115 for our dog and it included microchipping, licensing for 1 year, spay/​neuter, up-​to-​date vaccinations, and a free vet visit.
If we need another pet we would definitely go back! Fellow Unilocalers you should definitely go here if you’re looking for a furry companion!

I’ve gotten both my cats here. My problem is that I want to take all the animals home! The animals seem to be very well cared for. I especially like that they allow you time with them before you adopt to make sure it’s a good match.

these people are so sweet and helpful. Bless their little hearts for doing the dirty work. I really appreciate them letting me spend lots of time with my dog before choosing to take him.