Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association Inc

I adopted my second dog from the shelter this weekend. Got her home and it was not but a few hours later she began to have seer diarrhea and vomiting, to the point she was lethargic and we were worried she may not survive the night. We took her to the emergency vet and got the minimal treatment possible to get her though the night at a cost of $215. As soon as the shelter opened back up we took her for more help. When we got there we met another new owner who had brought her puppy from the same litter back for help also. We left with medicine and our puppy. Two days later she is worse. The medicine the shelter gave her only makes her worse. I got back to see if they can help and to ask if there was any way they could help with the $215 emergency vet bill, treatment for our other puppy (in case he got the parasite), and for help if our new puppy was not better in the 5 day period. For all of those I was told the responsibility fell on me as a pet owner and I was on my own. Specifically, I was told "it is in your contract". So even though they allowed a litter of puppies to be adopted while sick, they refuse to do anything to help past treatment for her for the 5 days. Pathetic.

I adopted a cat from them a few months ago that they labeled “special needs” and had been there for months. They claimed she had “bilateral patellar luxation” and would not be able to leave the shelter without getting a surgery they had priced at about 5 grand. I fell in love with her and seeing her there broke my heart so I agreed I would pay for the surgery and took her home. She had been reliant on narcotic medicine for months because the vet said her pain was too severe to manage any other way. Right after bringing her home, I noticed she was wheezing and had a horrible ear infection. KCHA’s policy is that you can bring your animal in within 14 days for medical treatment if there’s an issue. I brought her in and was sent home with anti itch cream for her ears and was assured it was not an ear infection and that they could not hear her wheezing. I took her to my personal veterinarian 2 days later to ask for more information about her surgery and to get her ears and breathing checked out. She had ear mites, a bacterial infection and a yeast infection of the ears, an upper respiratory infection, and was diagnosed with asthma only 4 days after leaving the shelter. None of this was caught by the staff or the veterinarian. They claim every animal is “fully vetted” before being placed for adoption, but I was left paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars to make sure she was healthy aside from the leg issues. After meeting with an orthopedic specialist about her leg issues, he described what had happened to her as “inhumane abuse and neglect.” She had been diagnosed with this condition without even an x-ray to prove her condition to be this specific one, and had been given WAY TOO MUCH medication for her size and condition. After getting the x-rays and MRI, she does have a form of this condition but it is so minor that she does not take any medication whatever. She was prescribed medication to deal with the symptoms of getting weened off of narcotic drugs she had been on for months, and said that once the drugs were out of her system, all she would need is to move around some more and use the legs and she would be absolutely fine until she was at least 10, (she is only 2) and could be re-evaluated then. Today, I’ve had her for a little over 6 months and she is an entirely different cat. She runs and jumps and has no problems whatsoever. She is lively and happy and isn’t in any pain. After reading about Tank’s story and other ones similar to mine with other cats, I felt compelled to tell hers too. I know for a fact they need a new veterinary team, and possibly new management and workers to make the shelter a safe place to be for animals that need help. What they’re doing to animals isn’t humane and my heart goes out to all of the animals that have to be seen by this vet and have to be taken care of by such careless people. If you are going to adopt or have adopted from KCHA, I STRONGLY encourage you to get them seen by another veterinarian IMMEDIATELY and to not trust their opinion on the health of your animal.

I would give ZERO STARS if that was an option. Horrible place. Horrible staff. DO NOT support this shelter. Don't donate. They had reputable rescue offer for Hank an English Bulldog. That rescue would have spent whatever was necessary for his care. Instead they literally lied to the rescue, claiming the dog was on hold for a court case and could not be released. Then within an hour, they killed him. This was AFTER a local veterinarian REFUSED to euth Hank for them (confirmed with vet that they refused to euth). Clearly the dog's condition was treatable if a vet refused to euth. Go read the comments on the original thread. Former employees telling their experiences. Staff change needs to happen at this shelter. Original post: https://www.facebook.com/shane.snyder.54/posts/2517369038302428

Not like they used to be. I adopted and while there saw animals with open wounds and bleeding in the runs. They fight against people trying to adopt. I came in person and called about animal I wanted and it was like pulling teeth. They would rather get rid of them. I thought it was a no kill. I had to call board to get my animal. I used to volunteer there, they do not seem to care now.