ComplaintsforHumane Society at Lakewood Ranch

• Initial Complaint

  03/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 3/11/24 I engaged via emails correspondence concerning an adoption of one of the shelter's cats. I responded to information concerning possible adoption through a website called Petfinder.com which is a nationwide website listing of available for adoption dogs and cats. I was informed that the cat I was interested in was both still available and a good match concerning my prerequisites and their requirements. I live in *********. Despite the distance I decided to fully adopt the cat from shelter named *****. I sent many emails which were responded to in a timely fashion; however at no point in any email or on the shelter's website was it stated that out of state adoptions were not allowed as per the shelter's policy. I received assurances that ***** was still adoptable and would be so on a first come first serve basis. Simba is of the ***** **** breed and highly desirable by some pet owners. I tried to contact by telephone but could not get an answer. As I stated I live in *********, and left my home state by car to adopt *****. I learned that the shelter was closed during the week and the first opportunity to adopt any animal was 3/16/24. I was 2 days into my travel when I received and email from the shelter's director informing me that the shelter can not allow out of state adoptions. There were to be no exceptions despite all the confusion and misinformation relayed to me by shelter staff. I have requested that changes be made to the shelter's website about the issue of out of state adoptions and to clarify communication. I was unaware that I was communicating with more than one staff member as none of them except the director used a name. *********************** director of the shelter has apologized but has refused to make any changes to the shelter's website. I informed her that the shelter has cost me money and time and that the entire incident could have been avoided. All I ask is that she make the changes to their website. Complete emails available upon request.

  Business response

  05/19/2024

  When ***** became available for adoption he was in a ****** home and so when animals are in ****** homes they are treated differently than animals physically at the shelter. So when he was posted for adoption we asked people on the website and Petfinder in his bio to please email my email address ********************* if they were interested in adopting Simba with information about their situation. We are a small shelter and we try and answer replies as quickly as possible. What happened was that ***** emailed me on the 10th but then also emailed the regular email address at the front desk to inquire about him. So, they answered him stating our hours we were open to see our adoptable cats. Thinking he was just asking about a cat at the shelter physically. I responded Monday to ***** that I did not do adoptions out of state because we normally do not unless it is a special exception. And this cat had over 20 responses I was trying to work through to find him the best fit. We have our adoption process listed on our website but it does not specifically state that we absolutely do not adopt out of state because we have some snowbirds who adopt from us or to someone that we are already familiar with. For animals in ****** we go through all the inquiries in the order they come in and then send them an application if they sound like a good fit and once we have the application approved we schedule the adoption. I have other inquiries I got before ****** I was working on and when he emailed me back that he was already on his way I was very confused and discussed that I could not adopt ***** to him and I apologized profusely for the confusion. He was going to show up on a Wednesday when we are not open to adopt the cat that is not physically here. He did not wait for me to respond to him before heading here and once we talked I explained from the very beginning that I could not adopt the cat to him. I explained that I was sorry for the confusion and that I was sure he would be a good cat owner. I was in no way trying to cause him stress or waste his time or money but he started coming here without any confirmation from me. The reason we are not changing our website is because of the exceptions noted above and it has never before been an issue. 

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