Helen Woodward Animal Center

Stephen burns

2024-03

I had a great experience my very first visit. We were welcomed immediately and shown to the 3 kennel areas for the dogs. We made our list of ones of interest & got to meet with 3 of them & were able to walk out shortly after with our new pup! Process is seamless & easy and they make sure you’re very well informed on the history of the dogs.This place is much nicer than many other Animal Centers in the San Diego area, and extremely clean! Definitely can recommend this place.

Misty Aguilar

2023-12

I adopted a Husky mix who was 2 yrs old and had lots if energy. He was transferred from East County animal center because no one adopted him. They had a hard time and were told he would not make a good pet. I fell in love and took him home. After 2 weeks of training he was amazing. He was my therapy dog for 16 years. My vet was amazed he lived until he was 18 yrs old. He changed my life and my children's too. My grandchildren used him as a couch. Helen Woodward gave Buddy a chance, and saved his life. I will forever be grateful.

Cyrus Blose

2024-04

Me and my husband today adopted baby Riplee, it was the best choice we made!!She is so amazing and cuddly and especially her little sassiness!Everyone was amazing with helping us with options! If you ever need to find a dog for you, Helen Woodward Animal Shelter is right for you to look!

Sarah Twamley

2023-05

We took a private tour with a group and saw how amazing the volunteers and workers are with the animals. In the canine boarding area it didn't even smell like there were dogs in the room!Horse surgery unit is impressive!We enjoyed hearing about the programs for comforting kids, and people. People with disabilities comforting the animals as much as they are receiving comfort.The "Orphaned Objects Resale Store" is fun and really bringing in the funds to support the org and fostering departments.Thank you!P.S. It is a great place to adopt a pet and view and meet your new furry friend!

Harris Clemon

2024-01

Worst adoption process in the city. Filled out application was told to come in early. Treated me like a second class citizen because I'm gay and have a Deaf partner who can't wake up to a phone call cause he sleeps during the day

Deborah Vande Berg

2024-03

Adopted my dog Jack, aka "furry child," from Helen Woodward's. He was chipped, neutered, health checked & vaccinated. We camp, run trails, swim, visit Dog Beach, and generally hang out together doing all the fun stuff! Dr Gaeto is his Vet at Helen Woodward's Companion Animal Hospital, too!Hands down the best place to adopt a dog.

Wendy W

2023-11

We adopted Oreo (formerly known as Janice) from HW on June 1st, 2022. She has become a member of the family ever since. We walked around the kennels and jotted down a few names we liked. Then we had some private outdoor interaction sessions with the dogs and a professional trainer. I had a different dog in mind, but my mom liked Oreo because of her energy and outgoingness.Oreo was 6 months old and it cost 450 USD to adopt her. We were told she was healthy and spayed (It turned out she was indeed really healthy: never got sick except occasionally rashesfrom food allergies). She was labeled a terrier-mix but we didn't know what that meant. A vet from elsewhere told us she looked like a pitbull mix but it remains a mystery until we do a DNA test. I saw on their websites a lot of the dogs are pit-tull-looking dogs labeled something else. We then learned a lot of bad stories about Pitbulls. Oreo definitely changed my mind about pit bulls, even though it was still a difficult process to train her and I don't recommend first-time dog owners to get one unless they are ready for the extensive training and the frequent judgments from others).We were told that she was a rescue from Texas and she should not be home with a young child. HW also acknowledged the time and effort the owners need to put in because of the absence of training/family from her childhood. What she needed was training, socialization, and a lot oflove!She was already potty trained before coming to the house. She did have a playful bite thing where she liked to bite people's hands for attention in a non-hurting way. She has gotten muchbetter with private and group training sessions. During her first few months at my house, she chewed 3 pairs of shoes and 2 of my packages. After she got older and we bought her chew toys, she no longer destroyed the house. We then found out that pit bulls are not super energetic and are a low-maintenance dog breed once she is trained. She loves to take naps in her little bed. Somehow she leamed to go on the couch when people are asleep. She never goes on top of the counter to reach for food. She doesn't have separation anxiety (mainly because we didn't let her go upstairs at night, cratetraining will also be very helpful on the first night). She IS however very reactive to other dogs on walks but she never shows aggressiveness when we have her in the dog park. So it was mainly our fault for not socializing her much when she was young. Right now she is attending socialization courses to help her get better. So yeah, socialize your pup! And do a lot of puppy training &crate training.She is the perfect dog I have never imagined a perfect dog would be. I am glad we chose her on that date and we didn't give up on her. We took her on camping trips, ski trips and wewill take her everywhere we go!

Cindy M

2024-05

We board our African Grey here and we wouldn't take him anywhere else. The people are so nice, it's clean, Buddy is so comfortable there. They have a separate room for exotics away from dogs and cats, but still in a space that they can see people come and go.

Nina Haines

2024-04

Lots of things to chose from, clothes and furniture etcThere are so many little rooms and nooks to explore, full of almost everything you can think of!

Elias Diaz-Kincaid

2024-03

The staff was amazing. They are super friendly and you can tell they love their job. They truly care for the animals and ensure they go to a home that will actually be able to keep them. Anyone who posted a bad review probably got caught lying on the application form and were turned away. It happened while we were there to someone else.

Helen Larkin

2023-05

Genuinely wonderful place to get a pet. The animals are well cared for, the staff is friendly and knowledgeable, the site is spotless. The staff interviewed us thoroughly and spoke with every adult in the household to be sure they were all okay with the adoption. They went to considerable trouble to make sure we and our new pup were a good fit, and that he would be going to a safe and loving home.

Raul Vazquez

2024-03

The manager was very rude to her own staff the ladies helping her were older than her the least she could do was show them respect. I felt bad for the employees there for starts. Oh and if the word guard comes out of your mouth when talking about a potential 140 lb Great Pyrenees/Anatolian Shepard blend you will be denied I mean they expect the dog to roll over for a belly rub if an intruder enters your house. Ridiculous. There dogs are “companions only” Please.

Keff Ramos

2023-07

My experience at Helen Woodward Animal Center was magnificent and it went splendid, they staffs were so nice and they were very knowledgeable. They sit down with me and make sure I understand all the responsibilities that comes with a dog! They discuss diet and other stuffs. An amazing experience indeed

Michele M

2024-02

I haven't been to this clinic but, when I called to ask for specialty surgery Gwen the outreach coordinator helped me with so much information. She was willing to talk to me when many clinics weren't. Other clinics wanted me to pay $250 just to even speak on anything related to my dogs illness. Customer service and compassion goes a long way.

Elizabeth Dorsey

2022-05

We adopted the perfect new member of our family “Sly” here. I would rate our new pup at 10 stars but the Helen Woodward animal center gets 3. The staff was curt and acted annoyed by my inquiries about the dogs in the facility. I have owned dogs before and knew exactly what i was looking for: size/breed/traits. I filled out their paper with the info and only found one dog from walking around i thought would be a good fit: Sly. After returning to the counter i was told he could not go home to a family with children, even though it was not listed on his description and we had the whole family there to meet him (which was the only requirement shown). Instead we were told to go find another dog. I asked how i should find another dog that fit my family when the needs of the dogs listed were not accurate. I was told the only way to know was to check a big binder but they wouldn’t check the binder for me. Instead they pointed me to a German shepherd or a lab mix neither of which were breeds we were interested in and had told them nothing over 40lbs. So they said we could get a puppy, brand new puppy and i said no we don’t want a brand new puppy, thank you we will just leave and look else where. And then they said oh wait maybe you can meet Sly, and so we met with him and he was perfect and wonderful and we were willing to adopt him but then we had to go through another interrogation about whether or not we could handle him.I don’t mind the thoroughness but the whole process was kind of demeaning. It wasn’t “hey let’s work together to find a good fit for your family” it was “don’t ask me questions about the dogs, just write down the names you want and we will tell you if you are good enough or not”The dog i picked out from the beginning was exactly what we needed/wanted and I’m so thankful we ended up bringing him home. But i can’t in good faith recommend this shelter to others. We ended up with a great match because i ignored their rudeness and bossiness and held my ground about the type of dog we would and would not adopt. If we were an unassuming family that entered that day we would have been sent home with a hyper large breed heavy shedding untrained puppy that would not have worked for us at all.I believe the purpose of their system is to find good long term homes for dogs, but the way it plays out feels more like a puppy mill.

Natalie Graber

2024-01

If I could, I would adopt all the animals! I have been going to Helen Woodward for years. This facility has grown so much in that time. The new remodeled area for the dogs and cats is great. I highly recommend adopting an animal hereThese animals are well cared for. There are so many sweet cats and dogs.

Maya Williams

2023-05

Fabulous place to go! You can tell the animals are well-taken care of, and I am so happy with my dog that I adopted from there! She has all of her shots, her microchip, and was spayed. Also, she definitely has some training and I think she might even be potty trained. We all love her- thanks so much to this shelter!!

sunita

2021-05

I adopted an adorable puppy here. The staff is very helpful and courteous. They tell you fairly all the information you need to take care of your newly adopted pet. I am very happy 😊*****

Si T

2024-05

False advertising! They pretend to want to help dogs in need! I have emails from them asking me if they can take my puppies because they get adopted fast but refuse to take adult dogs that were found homeless. That is not rescue work - that is dog flipping! False advertising! So when I have puppies posted for adoption they reach out to take them, but when I tell them I found strays and they have no where to go, they just give you a canned message! So sad!!! Horrible place and when I told them I'd expose them to the media, they stated they will report me to the police. LMAO. Shady! Shady! Sounds like desperate dog flippers that don't want the public to know how they really operate. You can see the truth to this when you see the images that are posted! Puppies! Anyoe can find homes for puppies! What about the real rescue work? Horrible horrible people pretending to do rescue work.

Tom Cuccurullo

2024-01

My girlfriend and I come here often looking for a kitten. The staff is very friendly and they keep the place very clean. I love what they provide for the animals. We currently have yet to find the kitten she is looking for, but will continue to come back to love on the animals here.

Toni Singh

2022-05

What a wonderful facility! The staff was very knowledgeable and helpful throughout the whole adoption process. They even supplied us with a gift bag of goodies and a free first vet visit. Plus, our puppy was already chipped and spayed when we got him. Anyone is welcome to go look at the animals up for adoption however the staff does want to know that you're serious about adoption before they will allow meet-and-greets. Would highly recommend and if we were to ever adopt another pet we would 100% come back here. So glad we found them! FYI, the map took us to their main office which is around the corner from the shelter location which is across from the Rancho Sante Fe Fire Station on El Apajo. They are open daily for walk-ins! (Had to add some pics of our new cutie )

wendy tutor

2021-05

We adopted our wonderful puppy and renamed him "River". He's added a lot of joy to our family during these Covid times. He's so smart, responsive and energetic. He walks 4 miles a day and responds favorably to edibles while training. He is 5 months old. In the future he will live near the Colorado River with our daughter. We are jointly training him in all aspects. We all enjoy him and he's starting to socialize in a more positive manner. Thank you Helen Woodward for all you do!

Neil Kennedy

2023-11

The facility is gorgeous, they do a good job vetting adopters, the adoption process is same day, and the pups are super cute. My only complaint is the adoption fees. Puppies < 6 months are $500. Dogs 6 months to 3 years are $385. That's a lot for a shelter dog, and the workers complained about how full the shelter is as soon as we got there. For comparison, trained herding dogs as pets are $500, and my pure bred German shepherd was $400 from a breeder.

Duncan Engel IV

2023-05

Helen Woodward is where I got my puppy, and I couldn’t of been more thrilled with the experience. The volunteers are very helpful as well as kind and the diversity within the dogs is astonishing. Although occasionally they will not label the dogs certain bully breeds, I was super happy with my little puppy pitbull!!

Coco Chanel

2023-12

RUDE AND UNREASONABLE! I’ve adopted from here in the past and everyone was wonderful, but this time was very different. I have 4 pampered fur babies and was looking for a kitten, but was told I am not allowed to adopt from them because I let my cats outside and “coyotes are a danger to the cats”: I informed the worker that 1. The cats are supervised the entire duration that they are outside (never more than 15mins), 2. They are in an enclosed backyard with no way in or out for them or any other animal, and 3. I do not live in an area with coyotes. I totally understand that coyotes are a danger to cats and kill cats all the time, but this is not a possibility in my situation, yet when I attempted to reassure the worker that the SUPERVISED and ENCLOSED space was at least a 30min drive from any coyote, she cut me off and said I was not allowed to adopt from them ever again. She had a rude attitude like she was having a bad day and this treatment was pretty unreasonable given my adoption form is pristine and I am a well qualified pet owner. Also, when I called later the same woman picked up and kept cutting me off when I spoke. If this business is really worried about outdoor cats and coyotes, they should at least put something on their website that outlines this so that people do not fall in love with a kitten only to be turned away harshly because they let them get a little vitamin D now and then.

ruby flores

2024-03

My 12 yr old had a ton of fun, Made friends, and a super fun experience.

A V

2024-04

If you're lonely consider a dog from HWAC, they have many nice dogs there who want to have a human companion. Cats too, although it's not as easy to tell what they want.

Katherine/Kaytee Macdonald

2021-05

We have driven down to the Helen Woodward center from Orange County to meet (and adopt) both of our dogs. The staff put the animals' safety and long-term happiness first, always. Woodward apparently rescues from several high kill shelter states around the country. You can tell when you tour the facilities and meet the puppos that every resident gets tons of attention and love the whole time they're there... And the knowledgeable team takes time with adoptive families to carefully set expectations and let you know *exactly* what to expect. Worth the drive and the time to find your new family member!

Chelsea Day

2023-08

When we adopted Trooper in March, he went by the name Charlemagne. He was shy, scared and a little sick. Our adoption experience was excellent. I just want the staff to see how happy and healthy this sweet boy is. Light of our life.

Pamina Bagchi

2020-05

Adopting from Helen Woodward is one of the most pleasant and rewarding experiences of my life. We adopted Mustache five years ago, and I consider him my first-born child. When we adopted him, the center was clean, well-run, organized, and extremely compassionate. The staff members were so kind, helpful, thoughtful, caring and informative. I love this place and can not recommend it highly enough.