Menu
North Shore Animal League America

North Shore Animal League America review: Terrible service! 9

K
Author of the review
12:00 am EST
Review updated:
Featured review
This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback.

NORTH SHORE ANIMAL LEAGUE- STATES THEY ARE A NO KILL SHELTER... Though this statement may be true, they don't tell you that they have outside companies that do! Meaning you think you're making the right choice by selecting them- The truth is... You drop off your unwanted pet for whatever reason,you pay them a fee if animal is not spayed or neutered hoping as you believe someone will come rescue your pet & give a more loving home you could provide. You leave, you don't think twice about how pet is, thinking hey you sent to a "Non-kill shelter" but guess what? The truth is they have other companies they give your unwanted cats/dogs to... get this not only do they destroy animals, they also send out for lavatory testing! Yes you heard right! How do I know this: I adopted 2 beautiful cats, I loved them with all my heart... Every day & night they were by my side. I married the man I was involved with... we adopted these cats together. As time went by he's become more & more jealous of these 2 cats. He was a shift worker when he came in the morning the cats raced to the door to greet him them run to mom's side. Yes these cats were ALWAYS in my lap or around me. He grew more & more upset about the cats getting so much attention, it's annoying how they seem to be around you only when I'm home he'd say... I stated they are always around me,whether or not you're here. Well to think these 2 cats were the evil of the house... he made me feel guilty... after weeks went by I thought he'd relax, but things got worse he wanted me to get rid of them. I was 18-19yrs old I refused to just send to a shelter, As I knew they destroyed them. he called North Shore they assured us they don't destroy. Ok, I took both cats to be "adopted together" as I pulled up... I couldn't do it! I went back home... a few weeks went by again I HAD TO GET THEM HOMES as he said & I tried, but the only help I thought was ok was NOrth Shore, We went they charged me a fee for both (NO PROBLEM AS LONG THEY ARE ALIVE) the little boy was more due to not neutered yet. It was a Friday afternoon, they examined both cats asked if healthy, I gave health records, i stood crying my eyes out, they assured me they will be adopted together & i"ll receive notice when adopted. I thought great. We left :( Saturday morning I couldn't handle it I wanted my cats back! I called & called finally i got someone to talk to me, someone to check on the cats. I had the paperwork from them for drop off. the person on the phone said there's no cats here fitting those descriptions, I said I dropped them off yesterday afternoon they were in same cage one female,one male to be adopted together,she put me on hold. Again she came back ma'am there no cats here with your information you never dropped them off here. "There's no records of those cats coming in or out of here" I became irate/upset drove the 1hour and 1/2... my cats weren't there... they were gone! No one would listen to me... I spent day after day making calls crying my heart out... to find out YES THEY DON'T KILL THERE>>>>BUT THEY SEND OUT TO BE DESTROYED>> WORST YET THEY SEND HEALTHY ANIMALS FOR LABORATORY TESTING! Meaning my cats were either destroyed or tormented... IF I ONLY KNEW THIS BEFORE!

I've been divorced from this man for over 18 years & still I can't forget the horror of knowing my cats who I saved from the streets... I sent them to hell! PLEASE DON'T LET THIS BE YOU! FIND A LOVING HOME FOR YOUR PET! IF THE ANIMAL IS VICIOUS THATS ONE THING BUT PLEASE PLEASE... THINK TWICE ABOUT USING NORTH SHORE. I'll never forget this experience & to think I've donated to this Hell hole!

9 comments
M
M
Mike d1
, US
Jul 11, 2017 11:28 pm EDT

This place is really going down the tubes fast and something needs to be done BETH STERN! If only BETH knew how her staff is misleading, lying and disrespecting donors.

This is my story, last week a co worker of mine found a litter of 7 3-4 week old adorable kittens in a dumpster where I work. I immediately thought of north shore because of their non kill policy.
These kittens were in a dirty box with no food or water. I tried to go be them water and food but they needed to be bottle fed.

Long story short, I drive them there in hopes they would take them, clean them up, feed them, vaccinate them and find them a forever home. (Wrong)!

A young guy approached me in the parking lot asked me for my id drivers license and advised me to wait in the car with the kitty's. When he came back, he told me they were full to capacity and could not take them.

I have been here before and have donated as well. I also. Took 3 kittens here in the past for trap neuter and return.

I handed me a list of places in the five boroughs. I told him I was from queens and he said take them to rego park the acc on queens Blvd. He said they are 98% non kill. The only time they will put down is if they aerate really viscous or sick and old.

I journied of from port Washington to queens. I went I and explained this horrible story to 2 female employees. As I was explaining what happened at north shore, there was an angel of a woman standing there listening. She was there to donate food.

The employees already had there speech practiced as they tell everyone who walks through that door the same speech over and over again. She said that the guy at north shore gave me bad info and that if I left them they would be euthanized within 72 hours if they were not adopted.

The angel lady said wait here I am going to make a phone call. She came back in and said that she was taking the kittens. She asked to swap out the old crate that they had for her newer and more expensive carry case for the bigger one so that the kittens wouldn't be scrunched up together and they said no. She told me that she felt like taking the cases of food back that she donated. She also told me that she makes large cash donations as well.

The call she made was to her vet. Theses kitty's were taken bathed, Vaccinated and well fed every three hours. She made a very large donation to get cat that she has used for years in west Chelsea. God bless that woman for having a heart for these innocent helpless babies and SHAME on north shore animal league and nycacc in rego park queens.

Imagine all the millions of $$$$ that they receive. They are deceiving, disrespectful and most of all failing to do much, much more to save the animals. That's the whole purpose for the donations. They run it as a business and pat themselves on the back for the lucky ones that actually get saved.

I tried to upload a before and after photos of the kittens but could not do it. Thank God for the real animal lovers like myself and the lady at the acc that day. She sent me photos of the kitty's and they cleaned up real nice. The vet did a great job giving them a complete makeover from a dumpster to a living home.

G
G
Gregory Bushansky
, US
Sep 08, 2015 11:38 am EDT

During hurricane sandy north shore animal hospital came to my rescue. One of my dogs died in the hospital from the storm. The second dog needed a lot of medical treatment. My dog stayed for over a month until he was better to take home. The bill was over $4, 000.00 and we were told we did not have to pay one cent. They were my saviors.
To lose a home is one thing, to loss a dog is another.., but to save a dog is a blessing. I don't know what goes on in the shelter but the medical team is great

L
L
Lisa Tucci
, US
Aug 19, 2015 1:12 am EDT

Worst "rescue" ever! My aunt found the sweetest Pitbull yesterday and, although she wanted to keep him, her current dog didn't like sharing the attention. Her first call was to North Shore, an apparent rescue (I throw up in my mouth everytime I refer to them as that!) told her to take him to a local shelter, which means a kill shelter in NYC...My Aunt stood her ground and said she would never take him to a shelter because they would kill him and asked them what kind of rescue they are...The response, "Yeah, we know" and then they hung up on her! Luckily, with the help of TRUE rescues and friends, the owner was found and Scooby is now back at home being loved on! Thank god for truly good people, none of which work st North Shore! On a side note, my coworker adopted a puppy from you a few months ago and she has "acne", which means a deeper health issue (like my dog I got almost 30 years ago that you sent off to Teterboro to be killed)...Remember my name, because I plan on bringing down your whole bogus, no better then a puppy mill, operation! Total ###!

V
V
velascodesign
Orange, US
Feb 02, 2012 5:16 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I have read several stories from ex-employees/volunteers about this organization from various websites and I'm very disturbed by the amount of neglect they are claiming is occurring "behind the scenes". After reading these stories I have decided to cancel my monthly donation and have asked them to be removed from their mailing list. I hate that I have to do that but this is too much. Why doesn't anyone report them for animal neglect? "...areas can be neglected for hours at a time resulting in animals laying in their own urine and feces." Someone please report them for animal cruelty!

W
W
Weeser1
, US
Dec 29, 2022 1:42 pm EST

Please make a complaint to the State. This is horrible.

W
W
Wake Up People!
Brooklyn, US
Apr 11, 2011 6:54 pm EDT

North Shore Animal League is a big money maker. The owner gets $500, 000 a year pay check and why is it if you go to the pound they never have puppies but NASL always has puppies?

This is a review of the North Shore Animal League I found online:
As a former volunteer, I'll tell you the good, the bad and the ugly about North Shore.

The good:

1. There are lots of great animals up for adoption. However, I would steer clear of the puppies as I'll explain later in the post.

2. The staff is for the most part friendly and knowledgeable. This is especially true of volunteers (those in red shirts) as they are not paid to be there.

3. It is a clean facility - at least the parts the public sees.

The bad:

1. The puppies on the website are not in the shelter. If North Shore was a business - and in many ways it is - it would've been fined a long time ago by the BBB for this blatant bait and switch scheme.

2. Most reputable shelters will never adopt out a pet that has not been spayed or neutered. Not North Shore. They require you to leave a $75 deposit which you will get back when you bring back your puppy/kitten. I can tell you that a large percentage of adopters never come back to get this done which of course further worsens the pet overpopulation problem. Now why would North Shore, an organization that is supposedly set up to fight this problem actually be encouraging it? Cos they don't have to refund that extra $75 of course!

3. Many long-term "problem" animals are neglected - kept in the back away from public view in small cages. Partly because they are understaffed and partly because not enough people care, these animals behaviors get worse the longer they are there.

4. There are way too many animals and not nearly enough workers/volunteers. If this was someones home, North Shore would be called the equivalent of a hoarder.

The ugly:

1. The president John Stevenson makes an obscene amount of money - nearly half a million a year. To put this in perspective, the top ranking executive at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary - a charity that actually has higher revenue and expenses - makes less than a third of that. This information is readily available at http://charitynavigato... For the record, I never saw Mr. Stevenson once in my years there and I've been told by employees that he rarely makes appearances at the shelter.

2. North Shore will most likely not accept your animal if you should ever return it. Now I have little sympathy for most people that do return pets, but that said, it's almost criminal that a no-kill shelter will basically turn away their former animals and have them most likely end up in a kill shelter. Unless your dog is small, young and "cute" (e.g., not a pit bull), your dog will most likely not be accepted back after the 30-day return policy is up.

3. Conditions can be often disgusting - areas can be neglected for hours at a time resulting in animals laying in their own urine and feces. Of course this is only in areas away from public view.

4. At a recent major event, many puppies were not checked out by the vet staff before being put up for adoption. Because of this gross negligence many sick animals were adopted out and ended up passing away from the parvo virus. A large amount of the veterinary staff quit in protest.

5. Ask yourself why every other shelter does not have puppies, but North Shore seems to have an endless supply of them. There is a dark answer lurking there if you search deep enough. If you do adopt from North Shore DO NOT ADOPT A PUPPY.

So in summary, I would encourage everyone to adopt from North Shore as long as it is a kitten/cat or adult dog and NOT a puppy. I also would not donate a single cent to the organization until some serious philosophical/organizational changes are made. There are much more reputable charities out there to support.

R
R
RalphMacchiojr
Warminster, US
Jun 06, 2010 1:28 pm EDT

"lavatory testing"? I would be interest to learn more about the use of animals in 'lavatory testing'. I just hope no aminals were harmed in the making of my toilet.

G
G
Greenday
,
May 21, 2008 11:58 am EDT

Yes, North Shore ANimal league does claim its a no-kill shelter. Fact of the matter is, they routinely ship unwanted dogs & cats to local kill shelters. I worked at the North Hempstead Animal Shelter (a kill shelter) that often received unwanted animals from North Shore Animal league.

K
K
Kristina B.
,
Jan 24, 2008 12:07 pm EST

Omg that's terrible! Your ex husband is a real jerk for making you give your pets away though, good thing you got rid of him.