Charlottesville Albemarle SPCA

They have great PR, but it is badly run. They have lots of volunteers but nobody is running the asylum. While they are no kill, it means they are overcrowded because they don’t know how to properly run good adoption campaigns. And, so while they will take in strays, they will NOT help people who have give ups, or troubled pets. If you call and ask, they tell you you need an appointment, and then THEY NEVER EVER CALL YOU BACK. You fill out the paperwork, and NO CALL, ever. Because they don’t have the space. Because they are poorly run, and incompetent. They take your tax dollars, and the head of the shelter is overpaid, (just try to find out how much!!) and refuses to hire good staff, relying instead on mostly volunteers, who never seem to know what to do. This place needs an overhaul. But by all means, keep the person who does the PR because the image and fundraising people are terrific. This place hauls it in, no doubt about it. I’ve known lots of shelters, and lots of rescue agencies. I’ve supported Best Friends and Alley Cat Allies for many years. This place could learn from them, but I suspect they are too busy making money for themselves to care.

Gosh my wife and I love this place. We go there about once a month to play with the dogs and cats they have. Their staff am truly cares about the animals and taking care of them. The building is nice with cool rooms to take animas into if you want to play with them. Go visit!

Haven’t been here too long, but so far this is the best pet care center I have ever seen!
They have a no-​kill policy and accept ALL strays. SPCA also tries very hard to match all animals to an appropriate home. They do their best to fix all animals and keep them healthy, physically and mentally.
The shelter also relies very much so on volunteers and are very appreciative of their volunteers. You can dog walk, hang out with the cats, bunnies, ferrets, etc. and probably a number of other tasks! It’s pretty flexible and easy to get involved with.
There is also a foster program that I think is great for people thinking about adopting, but aren’t sure if they are ready yet (volunteering is also good because they give a training session that teaches you how to handle the animals).
Hopefully I’ll post more after a few more weeks volunteering with SPCA.

They oversell and under deliver. The animals at this shelter can do no wrong in the eyes of volunteers and employees. The most negative thing they may say about a pet is it would do well as an only pet, or would not do well with kids.
If its a dog who chews or has behavioral issues. or is a cat who is declawed, it’s really up to you to find that out yourself. They wouldn’t mention anything negative about any of their animals. They’re very dishonest in this respect and it ends up with animals going to the wrong home routinely. its just my opinion no kill shelters will give pets away to anyone, and say anything they can to get you out the door with one. They didn’t ask us for ID when adopting or verify address/​employment/​anything.
Yes I want to adopt and support shelters over breeders, but I don’t want to get home to find any major surprises about the animal I’m getting. especially when I know they’ve spent the time thoroughly getting to know that animal. (trust me they have)
I don’t doubt they mean well but its a disservice to the people and animals looking for the right companion
It’s a fine place to go so long as you spend a substantial amount of time getting to know the animal you’re interested in. I was naïve going in maybe. Each SPCA is different, some better than others I’m sure. I’ve learned through experience this one is one to be careful with.