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January 2024 by Shailyn S.
No one introduced us to any of the dogs and weren't even able to interact with them despite signing a waiver. When asking questions, just got an attitude. You're a company that desperately promotes wanting to find fosters for these poor dogs yet don't make any effort when people come in. Also, can't adopt under 25. Only reason for 2 stars was cleanliness.
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December 2023 by Gaby M.
The staff is beyond rude! I got verbally attacked on the phone because we told the lady we aren't still thinking about adopting. She started yelling at me and told me I'm an unstable person and said many more things. Beyond unprofessional! Go the county shelter, where they will treat people with respect not like animals.
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December 2023 by Isabella Xing
nice place!
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October 2023 by Andrea E.
We had been so pleased with our doggies from Shelter Hope in the past that we were successful in finding the perfect one again! My husband spotted the new pupper on their website. First we called to make sure that she was still available and then we made an appointment to meet her. Our new 2 year old dog is a dachshund mix which we were excited about because we were familiar with that breed. She is absolutely fantastic! Sweetest dog we have ever had. She had recently given birth and we even got to meet her puppies. We made the introductions with our 8 year old dog and they got along very well. We take many walks per day and now my husband accompanies me on our walks again. She has really enriched our lives.
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October 2023 by Betsy R.
We adopted our puppy from Shelter Hope in May of 2021. At the time, puppies were still in high demand in the midst of the pandemic and it was hard to even get a rescue to return a call or respond to an application or inquiry. Shelter Hope got back to me the next day, scrutinized my application, interviewed me over the phone and allowed me to come meet the puppies I was interested in that day.By the time I went, I had been looking for the new canine member of our family for around 6 weeks. This was my first dog, and I ideally wanted an Australian Shepherd or something similar. Shelter Hope had a litter of them. When I arrived, one of the puppies quickly staked his claim on me. I shared video with my husband, paid the $550 in cash, and brought him home. Kim was kind enough to provide her cell phone in case anything went wrong as puppy health can change quickly and she wanted to make sure we had her a resource. Having jumped through all the hoops to adopt, I felt at the time that they were doing me a favor by trusting me enough to give this rescued puppy a home.By day 3, it became apparent to my husband & I that this puppy had a fair amount of pit bull in him based on his stance and musculature, which became more pronounced as he grew. We ordered a DNA test. Not a cell of Australian Shepherd in this dog - almost exclusively Pit Bull/American Staffordshire Terrier (a pit bull sub-breed) and Husky! We love this guy, but he is not what we thought we were signing up for. Having not been a dog person previously, I was not adept at picking up on dog breeds. Now I can spot pit bull breeds from a mile away based on standard characteristics like their coloring & patterns, eye shape & ear shape. I find it hard to believe that an experienced dog rescue can't do the same.The adoption paperwork I signed explicitly stated that the breed of the dog was not guaranteed and not grounds for invalidating the contract. So why make claims about the breed at all if you also argue you have no background on these dogs and don't know for sure? It felt like we were being scrutinized and interrogated to the nth degree in this process, but it was a one-way street: they don't bother to back up their own info or use DNA tests before making breed claims. Despite all their questions, they're not setting owners and dogs up for success if they provide inaccurate information. We were even turned away from using a doggie daycare because of the breed of the dog. If we had been counting on this facility, that would be a problem.I was compelled to finally write this review today because I see they are *still* posting puppies that are clearly at least part bit bull and describing them as Beagle & Jack Russell mixes. Anyone who knows dogs can see that is not apparent in their appearance, and I want people to be able to make the informed choice we did not get to.Ironically, we live just as close to Bakersfield as we do Thousand Oaks, but there are no puppies in the Bakersfield shelters because they're all pulled by rescues in LA (including our guy)! It's frustrating that, instead of adopting from the publicly-funded shelter, we had to pay steep LA rescue prices AND navigate their gatekeeping and judgment on who they deem worthy of adopting. Now that there's such overcrowding everywhere, this gatekeeping seems particularly counterproductive and I wonder how many fine potential pet owners are deterred as a result.I'll also say that we had a fine experience with Dr. Singh for both follow-up appointments and our dog's neuter. His office is no frills and bare bones, but in some ways we actually found that a refreshing change to all of the up-charging going on at LA vets.
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July 2023 by Kate A.
Run! Run to anywhere but here. Staff is beyond rude, pets are ridiculously overpriced. It's a wonder any pet gets adopted through this sh@# hole. Zero stars.
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July 2023 by Jamie Allen
The dogs are clearly well cared for. The staff are very kind and helpful. We were only asked standard questions that ensured our new pup was going to a proper home. We love our new family member!
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June 2023 by Terry K.
Went in to see kitties to adopt. Was asked if I own guns as if it was their business. And ejected me even before the application process for being under the age of 25 (I'm 23). I felt as if I was prematurely judged potentially for my appearance as a young Asian male. Very unprofessional and extremely offended by their pretentious nature. I just want to ask the owner of the shop - "who are you to judge others and who are you to deem people worthy or not?" I just know people refer to yelp for honest reviews and this is my honest experience of this place and staff.have a great day
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April 2023 by Laura Clifford
5 stars for a seamless, easy, accommodating and thorough process. Owner Kim has a real genuine passion for saving animals from horrible illegal backyears breeding puppy mill slavery. I adopted this beautiful frenchie Kim rescued from being used as a breeding machine. Wonderful volunteer staff was kind, friendly, and answered all of my questions. I was not asked about my political beliefs; all questions were intended to confirm that the animal was going to a safe and loving home. I don’t usually ever post reviews but I was shocked at all of the malicious reviews on here that I read when I got home and suspect that many of them are not genuine. They were not the least bit reflective of my experience. I would highly recommend this shelter and supporting Kim’s efforts in all that she does to make a difference where so many turn a blind eye. My review was neither solicited nor requested by Kim anyone at this shelter.
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March 2023 by Katie Muirhead
Excellent experience with an thorough application and interview process. The prices cover vet bills (chipped, immunized, neutered) and super nice people. They really cared about the dogs and helped us understand their personality. They even started a group chat so we could ask any questions that come up (or provide update pics that they’d be happy to receive).
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March 2023 by Tina H.
I found the love of my life thru Shelter Hope. Boo Boo an q AwwwwcAwww a d Caroline Cusumano is there a champion who is always shouting out to her friends and strangers to help us either donation rescue your fostering. There's no one else like her in the world the capacitor, she has to take care and help animals in needKim the owner Shelter Hope is an Angel a guardian Angel to animals
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February 2023 by Priscilla V.
To day I was at the Thousand Oaks place and the Woman EXTREMELY unfriendly as the place not cleanI was after at Paw Works they were so nice and did adopt a little Dog
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February 2023 by Jennifer H.
We couldn't be happier with our recent addition, Gizmo (formerly Arctic)! Everyone at the rescue was extremely kind and loving to their puppers. She gets along so well with her new brothers and sisters -- cats, dogs, and a bun! Special shout-out to Raquel and Imogen for their help with everything.
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February 2023 by Fay Menkin
I did see a lot of negative reviews, mostly based on political issues with the owner. Can only speak from my own experience but we adopted a beautiful puppy, Finn, and couldn’t be happier. The process was fairly easy too with no mention of owning firearms? Not sure if we just missed it.
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January 2023 by Mind Marter
Owner is an amazing lady. Found a great dog that i was grateful to bring into my home. She's so kind and sweet and her and everyone else helping the community is just wonderful
