My Nonprofit Reviews
AngelaVel
Review for Sacramento SPCA, Sacramento, CA, USA
I was very surprised that the SPCA employees of all people would discriminate against our family's pitbull. A while back we attempted to adopt a cat that had already been at the shelter a long time. When they were looking over our sheet they seemed concerned when they read that there was a pitbull in the home and asked a lot of questions about her personality. I understand that they want to make sure the cat will be in a safe home, but I felt that my dog received a higher level of scrutiny because she was a pitbull. The employee told us stories of how it was hard even for her to control her dog and prevent it from chasing cats. They never asked to meet Nova, if they had they would have seen that she is a VERY well behaved dog. I didn't think it fair that the employee would assume that just because she couldn't control her dog we couldn't control ours. They told us to "think on it and come back if we were still interested in the cat". We came back repeatedly, called, and emailed only to get the same answer. It's no wonder the poor cat had spent so much time in the shelter! In the end we gave up and adopted a kitten (Thor) from Craigslist. Thor and Nova got along great and even when he pounced on her tail and batted her face, Nova would just look at us as if telling us "please make him stop". We are thankful for Thor, but we feel that an institution which protects animals should have a more open mind about bully breeds. Now I direct my donations to the city shelter instead.
More Feedback
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
Hire staff that are more accepting and understanding of bully breeds. Instruct staff to withhold their judgement of a family pet if they are impartial to the breed. Hire a more racially diverse staff.
How would you describe the help you got from this organization?
Some
How likely are you to recommend this organization to a friend?
No
How do you feel you were treated by this organization?
Badly
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2013
We feel badly that you left here thinking that we were being discriminatory toward your dog. We never discriminate by breed. In fact, we adopt more pit bulls into new homes than any other; however, that doesn’t mean that we don’t take the extra precautions that are necessary with the breed. As you know, pit bulls have the ability to become overexcited, whether in a negative or positive way. Because of that, we do ask additional questions and take greater care in placing them into new homes as well as placing other animals into homes with them. Is it possible that we may not have conveyed that well enough and instead caused quite a bit of confusion? If so, we’d appreciate the opportunity to clear things up. If you’re willing, please give us a call so we can speak about the details of your experience. You can reach our adoptions manager at (916) 504-2858.
