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October 2024 by em
Don’t take strays. What do they take? Luxury unicorns?
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October 2024 by Jesus Barrera
Very good service, very friendly
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October 2024 by GRACE TAYLOR
I LOVE HELEN WOODWARD and I only have postive things to say. If you are looking for a fur baby you have to come here. Helen Woodward is clean, the staff is so friendly, and the animals are so well taken care of. When adopting staff takes you through a detailed process and you receive so much helpful information and advice.
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October 2024 by Candace Miranda
Huge Facility. Very clean. They do great work here with their programs. Pets without walls.
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October 2024 by Amy Martinet
Great shelter, lovely people that work there. You must shop at their consignment store it is fab!
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October 2024 by Raine Porter
When we adopted our puppy from HW the process was fine and everyone was helpful. What really soured my mouth about HW is what they did after. At 5 months we found out our pup had end stage hip dysplasia, not the shelters fault. Me and my partner called HW to inform them of this because when we adopted our pup she also had a brother, and we wanted to let HW know. On the phone we explained everything to the lady, and they said they would call us right back so that they could get all the information to inform the owners of our pups sibling. We waited weeks and were never contacted again. As our pups condition is hereditary, we felt it was right that we informed HW. The fact that HW was negligent and never called us back honestly is just very shady. We even informed them that our pups original name was Mulan and her brother's name was Aladdin, and we were told that the records person would get in contact with us.
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October 2024 by Deborah Pontillo
They are wonderful and so are the animals! So well cared for here and the staff are kind and helpful!
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October 2024 by Robyn Miller
Very professional, clean and well cared-for animals. I've adopted through them previously, and will continue to.
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October 2024 by Sammy A
It was great! The environment was clean, staff were friendly, and it was overall an amazing experience.
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September 2024 by Michele Wagner
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 heartbroken.
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September 2024 by Phillip Kinney
Watch out! For those looking for the Humane Society, this org has paid google to be the first link to click. they hide their name in the website.
You are not rescuing a dog by coming here. Many dogs seem to be in their litters and cost $500. do yourself a favor and go really rescue a dog. This place is in a very rich part of San Diego.
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September 2024 by Natalie Lopato
I adopted my girl a bit over 2 years ago now. While her coming into my life is literally the BEST thing to ever happen to me and I would do anything for that girl I am upset the shelter spayed her so young that is why I would not give this place 5 stars. I adopted her when she was 11 weeks old and she was already spayed. Most shelters wait until atleast 6 months and it worries me for her future to not get those important hormones that she would have gotten if she waited longer prior to spaying. Our vet says to ideally wait a year prior to spaying.Luckily she has been a happy healthy pup overall so far and I really love her! The front desk people were a little rude too when we entered to adopt.
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September 2024 by Brooklyn Shorter
The center was very clean and the animals were adorable. We unfortunately were not able to adopt because the lady at the front desk decided we couldn’t adopt simply because we couldn’t get on the phone with our landlord to discuss the max pet limit. Personally this is none of their business, we have a large home that is plenty big enough for a dog. This was hurtful as we came in last weekend to get our application approved and ensure our home was ready for a dog to come home. We drove an hour to come to Helen Woodward animal center and had to unfortunately look elsewhere to adopt a pet. We really wish it would have worked out.
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September 2024 by Kristen Casazza
I think this picture tells you enough
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September 2024 by haley kubesh
Surprising how they have 4.4 stars with the many reviews I've seen about the RUDE staff with superiority complexes. My partner and I went in to adopt a dog today, which is something we have been discussing for over a year now. We are both nearly 23, but look younger, so we were immediately dismissed by them as adopters. They questioned our income and said we shouldn't "ask our mom for money for the dog" when we are adults and informed them we have a stable income to support the dog. BTW the adoption price for their dogs is $500, so obviously if we are willing to pay that we are serious about this decision. We already have two cats that we adopted elsewhere and know how to be amazing pet owners.
They were extremely condescending, and gave contradictory information, first saying that we would be able to take the dog we came to see home if we were both present to meet it, and then later stating that the dog could not come home with us without providing much details. Additionally, this puppy has only 3 legs, which is not listed on their website, and they said it has been in their shelter for an entire month when "usually their tripods go fast". Not sure why they would not take us seriously and consider us as adopters to provide an amazing and loving home for a four month old dog who has been stuck in the shelter for a month. Anyways, they completely demeaned us and we left feeling defeated. Would recommend going to a shelter that actually wants their dogs to get adopted and doesn't just take puppies and sell them for more than any other local shelters.
** One of the staff members did reach out to give us more explanation and apologize for the behavior of the other staff members, which we really appreciate. Self awareness and transparency when interacting with potential adopters is crucial, and we admire that at least one staff member was willing to give us clarity :)
