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American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA]
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2.1 11 Reviews

American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] Complaints Summary

3 Resolved
8 Unresolved
Our verdict: When using services from American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] with a poor resolution rate, be vigilant. Understand the common pitfalls other customers have faced. Prepare thoroughly for any interactions with their customer service, and consider alternative solutions if your issues are not addressed satisfactorily.
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American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] reviews & complaints 11

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2:22 pm EDT
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American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] Donations for ASPCA

Those commercials are awful, deceiving and not doing any good for animals that need it. Rather than trick or make someone feel broken hearted, why not show good deeds. Why doesn't more of the money go to the animals. If everyone there at the ASPCA gave even 1/4 if their salary you would not need those commercials. It is disgusting.

They are super long, emotionally devastating and on several channels. Food Network, TBS. I have written to those stations as well.

Desired outcome: If you must make commercials show the good outcome.

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1:45 am EDT

American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] Poison control

Called ASPCA Poison control [protected] at 10:45 pm on 5/28/2020 because the emergency vet told us to contact them to make sure my mothers dog was going to be okay. After waiting 15 mins on there automated phone service a lady asked us the weight the height and type of dog we had and then asked what happened, My mother told them she was taking her medication and dropped one from her table and her dog Bella tried to eat it but my mother got to it before she could crunch on it. Bella started acting a little funny so she called me and we rushed her to ER, Blue Pearl Animal Hospital (Highly Recommend them). After Explaining to the lady what had happened she wanted my moms credit card info to charge her 75.00 to find out if the dog needed medical attention. These people are Extorting those in emergency situations. These bottom feeders preying on people in need are the (ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center) and they say they care about animal what a joke! We googled it after being told they would not help unless we paid them 75.00. At least google had our backs.

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11:34 am EDT

American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] Poison control hotline

On 19 august 2018 810pm our puppy injested prescription gabapentin and tramadol by accident. We immediately called our local er who told us to call aspca poison control. We got an automated menu and were on hold for over an hour. We showered, gave the pup hydrogen peroxide to make him throwup, waited 15 before he threw up but pills didn't come up. Still on hold. Called another animal er who suggested the same protocol still on hold. Drove to an er checked in explained the situation waited 20 minutes for a doctor to find information to see if it was dangerous, still on hold. After an hour someone from aspca finally talked to us charged us 65 dollars for the info. If it would have been detrimental our puppy would have died waiting.

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Is American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] legit?

Our verdict: Complaints Board's thorough examination reveals American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] as a legitimate entity with notable strengths. Despite a 27% resolution rate on customer complaints, which invites a closer look, American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] stands out for its commitment to quality and security. Clients considering American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] should delve into its customer service record to gauge compatibility with their expectations.

American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] earns 94% level of Trustworthiness

Perfect Trust Endorsement: American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] achives 94% ligitmacy per Complaints Board. Highly recommended, yet always stay vigilant.

We found clear and detailed contact information for American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA]. The company provides a physical address, 8 phone numbers, and 2 emails, as well as 4 social media accounts. This demonstrates a commitment to customer service and transparency, which is a positive sign for building trust with customers.

American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] has claimed the domain name for aspca.org for a long time, which suggests that the website is established and has a history of being in operation. This is a positive sign, as it indicates that the website has been around for a while and may have a reputation to maintain.

Aspca.org has a valid SSL certificate, which indicates that the website is secure and trustworthy. Look for the padlock icon in the browser and the "https" prefix in the URL to confirm that the website is using SSL.

Aspca.org has been deemed safe to visit, as it is protected by a cloud-based cybersecurity solution that uses the Domain Name System (DNS) to help protect networks from online threats.

We looked up American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] and found that the website is receiving a high amount of traffic. This could be a sign of a popular and trustworthy website, but it is still important to exercise caution and verify the legitimacy of the site before sharing any personal or financial information

However ComplaintsBoard has detected that:

  • Despite a high level of trust, our investigation found issues with American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA]'s service, including poor customer service, lack of accountability, and responsibility to resolve complaints. Customers may face long wait times for responses, receive generic or unhelpful answers or no response at all. Only 27% of 0 complaints were resolved.
  • American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] protects their ownership data, a common and legal practice. However, from our perspective, this lack of transparency can impede trust and accountability, which are essential for establishing a credible and respected business entity.
  • We conducted a search on social media and found several negative reviews related to American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA]. These reviews may indicate issues with the company's products, services, or customer support. It is important to thoroughly research the company and its offerings before making any purchases to avoid any potential risks.
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2:01 pm EDT

American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] Commercials

The ASPCA has commercials on nearly channel and they are running every day. If they spent all that money on the suffering animals they show in the commercials, instead of on ads, they could help many more animals.
I will write letters to every network that shows ASPCA commercials and boycott any that show them. I am sick of seeing these mistreated animals!

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12:35 am EDT
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American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] Animal poison control hotline

I would like to request a refund for service received on 7/6/2016, Case # [protected]. My dog swallowed one of my blood pressures meds, containing amplodipine and benazipril. (generic Norvasc). I called within 30 minutes of the ingestion, after carefully checking to see if I could find any remains of the med. which I could not. These are fast acting meds, therefore the window for therapeutic intervention is only 1 hour or so according to the literature. I was put on hold for extensive wait times on several occasions and disconnected once and had to call back. By the time they came up with a recommendation to make the dog vomit with a home-made peroxide solution, which was about 35 minutes after the initial call, and over an hour after the ingestion occurred, it was too late for induced vomiting to be effective. The admin. told me to take my dog to the vet, where the vet would either induce vomiting or administer some other undisclosed treatment. I questioned why paying an emergency vet a few hundred bucks to induce vomiting after the window of opportunity had passed would be worthwhile. To cover their ###, she suggested the vet might give some other undisclosed treatment. After an extensive search of the literature on potential effects of overdoses of these drugs, I determined that it would be highly unlikely that this dose would cause serious short or long term damage to my dog. As a former scientist and BD rep. with practical training in veterinary toxicology, I determined based on available literature on the web, that the risk of not taking the pet to the vet did not outweigh the exorbitant fees charged by Pet Emergency hospitals, who may/may not have been able to do anything besides hydrating the dog, which we did ourselves. BTW, the dog showed no symptoms except some fatigue. I paid the ASPCA a $65 fee, which I believe wasn't earned, due to their extreme slowness in reacting to an emergency situation and their questionable recommendation to visit a pet emergency hospital.

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7:53 am EDT

American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] The money still was in process and no one replied to my emails

I decided to donate money for animal protection. I wired money to the company www.aspca.org. It was two weeks ago, but my money was still pending. I have no idea why money still hasn’t been transferred. I tried to contact the customer services, but it was busy all the time. No one responded to my messages and emails. I wonder if there are people, who faced the same problems.

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7:58 pm EDT
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American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] Cruel heartless people

o my sister has a beautiful pug his me is Brisco he is very sick and has kiney
Problems..we took him to the Aspca so they could treat him..he needed to be hospilazie
AS soon as possible..so they took him in we had to wait 3 hours just so they could see him..they saw he was very sick..anyways b4 they could see him they charged my sistrr 1900 and that was just one day ..the next day they called my sister and told her the dog didnt want to eat...like hello he is there..arent ya doctocs..animal lovers...so they went on to say my sister needed to pay more..if not she had to come get dog...and thats what happened.we are heartbroken with this..he is a part of our family.what happens to all the donations..they get...this place robs ur money and all the people that donate money STOP

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slynn1
Orange, US
May 30, 2014 9:30 pm EDT
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They act like they care, but that is about it.

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12:24 pm EDT

American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] Petshealth care insurance is a disgrace!!

I have been a client of the ASPCA Petshealth Care Insurance Company for over 11 years. I recently submitted claims on behalf of my Li'l Girl, totaling approx. $3000.00, The 1st claim totaling $1400.00 was reimbursed for a total of $300.00. A previous claim of $320.00 was reimbursed for $75.00. I am awaiting the process of the otherclaims, but do not hold much hope on the 80% reimbursement as stated on their policy. I will be lucky to get 25% reimbursement.

Sadly, my Li'l Girl passed away recently, at the age of 18. I miss her very much, and I wish we were still together. My claim problems started with this company when Li'l Girl was jumping around like a kitten, and appeared to be doing really well. But sadly, theClaims dilemma continued and continues, when she took a turn for the worse, and then sadly passed. It is a shame that such a dreadful Pet Insurance Company exists, as I would like to grieve without having to deal with them anymore, but I feel more strongly than ever, that I have to help get the word out to others regarding the deplorable behavior of this company.

I am writing to Warn others to stay away from this Pet Insurance Company. And if you are an existing member, cancel your Policy, and shop elsewhere. There are many Fine Pet Insurance Companies out there. You never know how good any Company is until you have a claim, or an issue. You can pay Premiums for Years, and think you are with a Reputable company, until one day when you need to file a claim. Get out now before it is too late.

The ASPCA Petshealth Care Insurance Company will process your claim, and take 6 weeks to do so. And then when you Appeal their decision, they will deny you in 2 Days, as they did me. They have many exclusions in their policy, in addition to the following Despicable Exclusion. There is a 180 Day Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion Rule, which also applies to Renewals of existing policies. This means that if your cat has an illness on June 30, and your policy Renews on July 1st, you and your Beloved Pet will NOT be covered under this 180 Day Exclusion Rule. There are many sad stories where an owner found themselves not covered, and could not afford treatment which would have saved their Pet's life. Or people going into debt because they thought they would be reimbursed, only to find out that this company pays maybe 20-25% of a claim if your lucky. This is most likely due to the Hartville Group being a Penny Stock, and the CEO's want to grab as much of your premiums as possible, so they can buy their Yachts, and Fancy Cars and Houses. No doubt, that these Executives are getting 'Filthy Rich' off off the Illnesses, Accidents, and sometimes, though very sad, the passing of your Beloved ones...

What is deplorable is that when you submit a claim for procedures done by your Vet, the Petshealth Care Plan will twist, turn and manipulate the reasons for the procedures, so they fit their many exclusions, when in reality, the Vet ordered the procedures for an entirely different reason, which would have been covered under the policy. When there is a benefit of a doubt, this company will NOT find in your favor.

They promise emails, and callbacks, etc but you will never receive them. When asked, The Hartville Group will say that the ASPCA has nothing to do with them regarding theInsurance, yet the ASPCA name is plastered all over the website, in addition to all claim forms. I asked for the Executive contacts emails of the ASPCA, but James the representative of Hartville Group would not give them to me. I asked for the Consumer Affairs and Better Business Bureau contacts in Ohio, BUT James refused to give them to me. This tool promised to contact me, but never did.

I did the research myself regarding the information I needed, and have contacted the ASPCA and Hartville Group. I am awaiting responses. The ASPCA is overwhelmed with complaints about theirInsurance, and I hope they change.

It is a shame that the ASPCA endorses such a Deplorable Pet Insurance Plan that the Hartville Group is in charge of. The ASPCA does many good things for animals, which are very commendable.

The ASPCA stands for the Best regarding standing up and having a Voice for those who do not, BUT The ASPCA Petshealth Care Insurance Plan Administered by The Hartville Group is the total opposite. The Welfare of your Beloved Pet is at the bottom of their list. In fact, they most likely re-choice when they have to pay for euthanasia, as your Pet will not be a burden to them anymore. But then on the other hand, the Hartville Group is probably saddened by the loss of your pet, because they will not be able to collect any morePremiums. After all, they don't pay much of any of the claims anyway.

Li'l Girl is not with me anymore, and on behalf of her, I just want to warn others to stay away from this Abominable Pet Insurance Company.

I feel that Pet Owners should carry Pet Insurance for their beloved pets, just as they do for their children, BUT shop around, and NEVER Purchase Pet Insurance with the ASPCA endorsement on it, or with the Hartville Group name on it. Don't let the poor values and business practices of this company make you not trust other PetInsurance companies.

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slynn1
Orange, US
May 06, 2011 10:10 am EDT
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I am sorry for your loss, and the nightmare you are dealing with currently. I hope with time, you find another companion that brings you as much joy as she did. Thank you for the warning about ASPCA, I wont purchase animal insurance from them.

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4:32 pm EST
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American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] aspca killed oreo the dog thrown from a roof

The ASPCA is supposed to protect the animals.

Tha ASPCA killed OREO the dog thrown who was beaten by his owner and thrown from a rooftop in Brooklyn, NY.

In November 2009 ASPCA president and CEO ED SAYRES issued a statement to try and justify the killing of OREO by the ASPCA

DON'T SUPPORT THIS ORGANIZATION that KILLS instead of saves animals!

PLEASE Google the story

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Gayle Whitt
, US
Apr 30, 2016 8:09 am EDT

I live in Ohio and we are shown the ASPCA commercials about abused animals. It is horrible but showing the abuse on TV is a disgrace. Showing people helping is one thing but this is terrible. I hate your commercials and would never give money to them. Just a way to play on peoples sympathy and we have no way of knowing if the animals shown were really helped...Shame on the ASPCA for doing these awful commercials. G Whitt

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Suzanne Silva
Uncasville, US
Jan 21, 2015 3:34 pm EST
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I feel your story would best be told and complain to the proper organizations such as Dept. of Consumer Protections Agency, etc. and the BBB because most people look at these sites as well for information.

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susan niznik
CedarCity, US
Mar 11, 2010 6:17 pm EST

this really shocked me as I was! a member.My husband and I rescue animals just because we love them and their creator.I have sent letters to them that we have 12 cats, 4 dogs, 2 goats, birds, fish and keep adding. they are all fixed and well taken care of by God and us(no contributions of any kind).I still sent money to them because they never replied to my letters and kept sending gifts and asking for donations.We have a hard enough time keeping them healthy, fed, and they live inside(except the goats)and that would change if it was possible.I had not heard this story so thank you for keeping people like us informed.I will continue rescuing animals as long as God makes it possible but no more guilt for groups like these who exploit animals and take advantage of those of us who care more than words can express.I do blessBest Friends In Kanab, Utah.Their stories are positive ones of all that have been helped not by guilt of abuse or 5 minute commercials of tortured animals with songs playing throughout that would break the hardest heart.I pray my
Lord and Savior will intervene on those who are less than honest about helping His beautiful creatures with unconditional Love like His.I know they will be reconciled with Him when thaey are called Home by Him.I know this because His Word says that all flesh
are covered by the precious Blood of Jesus.In His Word even the animals talk.Baalam's mule saw His angel and kept obeyiny God's messenger when Baalamdidn't even see because his heart was hardened.God let the donkey talk and dealt with Balaam.There are so many Biblical scriptures that assure us of animals being in Heaven with us.So please God;Keep watch over your loving creations and those who defile them and Your Word.In Jesus almighty name.Amen

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American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] Failure to investigate complaint

I emailed a complaint of possible animal cruelty to the ASPCA in NYC as per the information provided on their website as stated below, I did get one response that they take it seriously, and would send an 'investigator' to check.
I still observed what appeared to be still possible animal cruelty and made another complaint, again via email and never received a reply, a few months later, I made one more and they replied back with a statement stating that to report a complaint I would have to call to file a complaint.

To say the least its apparent that they( ASPCA) have become extremely lazy in not accepting my online complaint, even though there website says that I could make the complaint, they totally disregarded it, instead of following up and just emailing it to the right person to investigate.

Where do I Report Animal Cruelty?

In NYC: Cruelty situations involving animals in New York City should be reported to the ASPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement department at [protected], ext. 4450, or [protected]@aspca.org.

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Marjorie Sunderman
Fairfield, US
Mar 10, 2009 5:00 am EDT
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I submitted an application to adopt a German Shepherd, I want only a German Shepherd because we had one in the past and she was the most loved lap dog in the world, she lived in the house, loved us devotedly, and when she died of old age and cancer, I cried as if I had lost one of my children. I knew I could never replace her, but wanted another like her. I had a break in while I was home, and became motivated to get another dog. I made the mistake of telling an over zealous volunteer that a dog would have alerted me when the intruder came through the gate and when he tried every door and window until he found one he could break through. She jumped on this and turned me down for an adoption saying I wanted a watch dog, and they only did pets. I don't know what this was really about, since she twisted every word I said and was determined to deny me a dog from the beginning of our conversation. I have a huge yard, (I bought this house for Abby our dog because the Condo didn't suit her.) I can't help wondering if this woman was really the sort of person who is qualified to find homes for dogs or if her only power is the power to withhold. Would she rather see an animal put down rather than adopted with the job of alerting it's mom to danger? Or what? I hope you aren't holding your breath waiting for me to make a donation to your organization.

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American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals [ASPCA] $60 to ask a question?!

My dog swallowed some claritin and I was really concerned about her. She's a big dog but she's still a puppy (6 months old).

I looked up the number for animal poison control and gave them a call. Since it's free to call poison control for humans I figured it would be for animals too! Boy was I wrong! They were going to charge me $60 to ask a question. What if the medication had no affect on my puppy? Then I'd be paying $60 to hear someone say "She'll be fine". I think it is ridiculous how the ASPCA claims to care about animals, yet they wouldn't help me help my dog. I was donating monthly to the ASPCA but I refuse to now. Because what have they done to help me lately? Not save my dog! Who happened to be a shelter dog! So I saved her life once, why can't they help me do it again?! I'm very very mad. I got in touch with a local animal hospital who was VERY helpful. After 2 previous ones turned me down and told me they would charge me $90 if they had to call poison control themselves. So much for caring about all animals.

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Socalgal1005
, US
Sep 08, 2018 3:13 pm EDT
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The aspca helped save my dog’s life. My little dog got ahold of a potentially fatal medication that the aspca immediately consulted with the vet emergency dr about. Why is it people expect any profession involving animals to offer their services for free as a way of proving they love animals?! I love my job, as many of us do, but nobody is asking us to do it for free to prove that love! And, none of us would agree to do so! We all have bills to pay and that’s what we work for - money to survive! People, were all in the same boat! If you don’t work for free, neither should anyone else!

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Karena Smith
, US
Apr 11, 2018 7:15 am EDT

Just last week in April 2018, the ASPCA raided an animal sanctuary in New Mexico called Paals for Life/Dreampower Foundation. Their facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/Paalslifelongsanctuary/

Not only does ASPCA conveniently leave out the sanctuary’s real name in the news, but deceived the public into thinking that the Owner was some horrible human who intentionally abused her animals

The fact is, the 460 acre Paals for Life ranch in New Mexico was a sanctuary for dogs and cats who would otherwise be designated by animal welfare officials as unadoptable or expendable due to physical or mental age-related conditions. This was their mission statement long before the ASPCA raided them.

The ASPCA’s solution is to bash the sanctuary, steal the animals, destroy the ranch financially, claiming to rescue the animals and bring to their shelters to be put up for adoption? Whaat..?

When people ask the ASPCA on their FB page about this, the ASPCA refuses to answer and eventually deletes the comment if you keep pressing the issue. In fact, they delete most comments that are not positive or from Donors who want answers.

My question is why would the ASPCA not help a fellow cats/dogs sanctuary to get back on their feet? Why would they bash them publicly and destroy the sanctuary financially so everyone suffers including the remaining animals?

There can only be 1 answer and that is that the ASPCA is a fraud. They claim to care about animals but their agenda is really to profit from destroying no-kill sanctuaries like Paals for Life.. Donations and adoptions is all they care about, but I’m convinced that these rescue animals never make it to the shelter to be put up for adoption. 😥

What can anyone do about this? How can we break this story and let the public know what is really going on?

Here’s a few great links to research, which provides enough facts to bring heavy suspicion to the ASPCA’s agenda.

Owner of Paals
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/paals-life-kim-venturo

The horrible truth about the ASPCA
https://itisnotreal.blogspot.com/

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Christine P
, US
Jul 16, 2017 9:58 am EDT

I had the same experience. My cat is like a dog and gets into anything that is left out on our counters. She ate an entire milk chocolate bar in the middle of the night and when I woke up she was already experiencing diarrhea. I googled it quick and it said any amount of chocolate could be lethal because of the sugar and caffeine. My cat is a rescue and had panleuk as a kitten (basically distemper for cats) and already has neurological damage from it. I called 3 vets, one of them being an emergency 24 hr hospital, and they all told me to call poison control. I was scared that if I paid the $65 they would just tell me to bring my cat to the vet. I would not be able to afford $65 PLUS vet fees and would be much more willing to actually have someone examine her hands on rather than listen to her symptoms over the phone. I was left with no choice. Poison Control told me I had to pay $65 before they could give me any information. I paid it, then they told me my cat was fine and to keep an eye on her. Wow, thanks...seriously? It's a money making gimmick and they should not be charging for emergency situations! Especially when they end up just telling you "your pet is fine." Again, my cat is a rescue. She's from North Shore Animal League. I've donated to them and I go to their events regularly. If you want to support a program besides the money hungry ASPCA, I suggest North Shore. They're the nations largest no kill shelter and are truly giving and compassionate individuals.

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Jeffery Kile
, US
Mar 27, 2017 8:32 am EDT

Same experience as many others here. We had our dog get into some rat poison. Quickly googled and gave him Hydrogen Peroxide to induce vomiting. We called this number hoping to receive assurance, or that the dog would be fine given the amount eaten and his size.. No, their only suggestion was - "See a vet". They were much more concerned with collecting their $65 than anything else. I totally understand that the ASPCA is a non-profit, that their funding must come from somewhere, and that someone is consulting a professional veterinarian somewhere about my problem, but for Pete's sake, have some compassion or understanding. If your only suggestion is, 'see a vet' why do you exist? Why not have a website that says, in big flashing letters, "SEE A VET"?

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DarciLouise
, US
Oct 09, 2015 1:34 pm EDT

Has anyone tried to dispute the charge that they charge to tell you "You should probably take your dog to the vet" .. ? Seems ridiculous to charge someone to tell them to take their pet to the vet, when the whole reason for calling the Poison Control is to avoid going to the vet!

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Julie Wheeler
Boynton Beach, US
Mar 06, 2015 1:12 pm EST

My Golden Retriever @ 70 lbs. ate a fairly large onion the other night and I know they can be poisonous so I called ASPCA Poison Control last night after the On Call Emergency Hospital told me to call them on my way into there office. I never called ASPCA Poison control on the way and the vet on call seemed puzzled as to why I wouldn't call. I told her she was a veterinarian and I would assume she had some type of education that would be considerably better than me looking up answers on google but she said No... She could treat my dog for toxicity but really had no clue what doses were needed for my dogs weight and based on how much she ingested.

So, I ended up calling ASPCA while they were making my dog vomit. The ASPCA charged me the fee of $65.00 and there was no way of getting around it. I was assigned a case number and the vet actually had to call the Call In number and speak w/ one of the ASPCA vets to get direction. I was offered two choices of treatment. One was X-rays, fluids, overnight stay, blood work etc. for the tune of $1500.00-$1700.00 or they just administered fluid under her skin to keep her hydrated in addition to the making her vomit. I chose that option and all together it cost me: $336.00.

I really think that ASPCA charges way to much considering most emergency situations are going to be costly and the customer should be offered the option to pay what they can since so many donations are sent into ASPCA. That's just my opinion.

Also, if your dog eats onions. Induce vomiting right away: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/03/15/how-and-when-to-induce-vomiting-in-pets.aspx and keep them hydrated. If you do this within the first hour of ingestion your dog should be fine and you won't waste the money like I did.

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Hlasell
Nederland, US
Feb 10, 2015 9:46 pm EST

The ASPCA poison control saved my dog's life. I accidentally gave her Zyrtec D which has pseudoephedrine which is extremely harmful to dogs. I had taken her to the local emergency clinic and they sent me home with acepromazine pills to give her and she would probably be fine. I was not satisfied and after waiting 3 hours there was no change so I called the ASPCA. They were very patient, asked several questions to determine the extent of her poisoning and answered all my concerns. They provided me with a case number and told me to go back to the clinic because there were many more things the vets needed to do to help my dog. They said to have the clinic call them and reference the case number so they were prepared to help. It wasn't until the end of the call that they asked for the money, which helps fund the help they provide. On my way back to the clinic I called the clinic to give them the case number and told them to call the ASPCA. By the time I got there they had received a list of items to do for my dog along with consequences if it didn't work. I will be always greatful for their help and if you don't feel that $65 is worth your dog's life or to help other people's dogs that are in danger than you probably shouldn't own pets.

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Tellhowitis
, US
Jan 16, 2015 11:56 am EST

The staff at the poison control are all legit people. They all are veterinary professionals that use their knowledge they learned in years of schooling and an extensive database of substances animals get into to let you know if your pet will be alright or not. They do not just "google" your answer but ask toxicologists that work there as well.
Poison control hotlines for humans are funded by the government and your taxes pay for it, why it is free for you to call.
The animal poison control is non-profit and has to charge a fee to keep their door open.
Your regular vet may want you to get a case number from them because they are they experts in the field of toxicology, just like how your human doctor refers you to a cardiologist for your heart problem. They refer to the ASPCA for toxic exposures to get you the best and more accurate medical advice out there.
In no way or shape it is a scam.
Oh and donations to the ASPCA go to several programs they have, not just one. Your money is being well used for the care and handling of animals.

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junki
New York, US
Dec 11, 2014 3:03 pm EST

The reasons you shouldn't be charged a whopping $65 is because 1) it is an emergency TELEPHONE response system. There is nothing costly about a phone call. 2)You don't even speak to an "expert", just some telephone operator who looks up certain keywords on a database. 3) Sometimes it is just useless general advice that people are already doing, so why charge when there is no actual service provided? I've volunteered with the ASPCA for almost fifteen years and watched them become a self righteous organization that turns away so many needy animals now because their reputation and funding can finally afford to do that. Meanwhile, kill shelters like Animal Care and Control in NYC don't have the funding or manpower to even keep the animals they rescue alive despite being forced by the city to accept EVERY animal surrendered to them on a severely limited budget.

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M J Aguirre
, US
Oct 08, 2019 11:47 am EDT
Replying to comment of junki

very sad. I just became a pet owner 21 months ago, and would pay these fees to help my 4 legged family member- but it haunts me that for those who simply cannot pay 65$ their pets may die for lack of medical attention. The process should be re-evaluated. I understand my 4 legged baby cannot vote, however, I can. No pet owner should be turned away from the ASPCA hotline. Why show the late night heartbreaking commercials if they won't help on the phone. It makes me sad to know that someone's pet may die because they didn't have 65$.

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Leximama
, US
Dec 11, 2019 11:20 pm EST

Yes I agree. I had to call bc my yorkie at a price of dark chocolate. They told me to monitor her and if she throws up 3x or more to take her to the hospital. I paid $75 for this advice and still may have to pay to take her to emergency hospital smh

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Anytime51266
, US
Aug 18, 2014 9:30 pm EDT

I called today also and was told a charge of 65 dollars needed to be paid before she could get a vet to look up the answer. I can google myself for free. I called animal control 2 years ago about my dog and there was no charge then so why all of a sudden.

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Socalgal1005
, US
Sep 08, 2018 3:02 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

One is funded by tax dollars, the other is not. You should have googled for free as a first step, instead of looking for free stuff. That only exists for humans. Animals don’t vote so nobody needs to promise them free stuff.

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