Animal Haven

11 years ago, we adopted our first kitten here when she was two years old. She continues to bring joy to our lives, and the approval response for the adoption application took about 1-2 weeks after completion. I must say, I fully support the stringent approval process and review, as many irresponsible individuals lack the patience needed for animal care. Grateful for the dedication of the volunteers.

It’s very saddening for me to read some of the horrible experiences you all have had with Animal Haven…..My experience was top tier. One thing we must understand is that (AH) is a RESCUE not a kill shelter, that’s a big difference. I have adopted from kill shelters and you walk in and out the same day with your pet with very little information and no food, no toys, no integration plan. Animal Haven gives you the tools to be successful. This is NYC and like all our large cities people use pets for sport and don’t make them family and animal haven is not having that and I don’t blame them…..Ok I’m done preaching to y’all but really come on there is an application and if you qualify you get a pet if you don’t go to a kill shelter and adopt, there are animals that need your help there as well. I just adopted a beautiful puppy from them today and the staff was nice and welcoming. From emails to phone calls to in person visits. The process was fair conversations about bringing my puppy and 3 year old cat together was amazing. I am overall pleased with the process. I agreed with there policies even before I knew it. Prong, shock, choker collars are simply inhumane and just evil. They give us some food, toys, a leash and collar. My puppy had a fresh bath I paid the fee and we went home so he can meet his human and fur family. Special Thanks to Kate & Rose y’all made this process an enjoyable one.

Thank you for all the staff and volunteers for all the hard work they do to keep pets safe. I was referred by one of my colleagues who previously adopted his pet from here. We asked for any available male cats and the staff was really friendly, explaining how the process work. We went to the room and played with cats and that’s how we chose our lovely Loki (Colton previously). It was important for me to choose a no kill shelter. All the pets are well cared and held in clean conditions. They have glass doors in the rooms for transparency. I’m so happy that we were able to adopt our Loki the same day. It took us about 1,5 h to go through application process and I think it’s great that they are taking time to make sure the pet is given in good hands. We had a pet carrier bag with us and we took our Loki home right away. We paid the fee and they even gave us package of food for the cat to make adaptation process smoother as moving to a new home is already stressful. The first days Loki was hiding and didn’t eat much but we made sure to give him some time and space. Right now he is the owner of the house, playing , having fun and exploring his first Christmas tree. We’re very grateful for our newest family member! Highly recommend this shelter! Many thanks to volunteers and staff again!

Not to undermine the efforts for running an animal shelter, the staff here were super disrespectful, irresponsible, and unfriendly. The adoption process is super complicated without any reason. We applied to adopt a cat, and though they said they will contact us until 3-5 days, we didn't find out that the cat was adopted by someone else until we called them 3 days later. This was truly heartbreaking for me, and the staff was rude enough to hang up the phone without apologizing or providing any other information on how to proceed next. At least, they could have told us to follow up ourselves in the first place! If they truly care for animals, they should know that adoption is an important life event and shouldn't be this emotionally draining.

I left work early to go check out a poodle that I saw online just 2 hrs before I got to the animal shelter. I was unsure how the process went, so I was waiting around to be helped. There was a skinny Asian woman with glasses and a black Bob haircut behind the counter, so I asked her how do I go about seeing a dog if possible at all? She told me to pick one out on the tablet that they have at the counter. I looked but did not see Amal the poodle I wanted.she told me, "He is no longer," so I looked again . Then, one of the employees came in with 3 small dogs in his hands. I was trying to get her attention to ask her if one of the small dogs that had just come in was adoptable? The woman was very condescending and just rude. I felt unwelcome or like it was a problem for her to help me. It is sad bc I had my hopes up high about seeing a dog that I might have been able to take home to my family for the holidays. I left feeling really down. I wouldn't go back. People with attitudes like that shouldn't be in that kind of business. The place also had a sick animal poop smell that I couldn't get out of my nose for a while after I left the establishment.

I adopted from here a few years ago, but my little Dawson passed away in June. I lost my best friend and cried a whole bunch! Fast forward to October, I met a little doggy name Dot, it love at first sight! Dottie is a joy to be around and I’m so glad I made this move, even though I still my little Dawson, I still have lots of love to give, and besides, Dawson would have wanted me to save another doggy. Thank you Kate!