Greater Birmingham Humane Society

We had a great time at the Humane Society. I am very impressed with the workers and volunteers how they take care of animals and I have deep respect for them too. They are doing a great job for others to view the animals that’s not want it right now at this moment but I think all pets should be adopted to a home. The humane society is doing a great service for own community. I would like to give a special thanks to all the workers in Humane society.

I adopted a kitten from here 2 weeks ago. Sweetest kitten ever. They said he just needed one more shot, but he was perfectly healthy. Next day, took him to the vet, got the shot. Well, the next day, I noticed what looked like a scratch under his eye… Then the day after, it got bigger. It continued a few days, with me thinking he maybe got irritated by something and kept scratching it. A few days later, my kittens face is covered in the worst scabs I’ve ever seen and most of his hair is all gone! I took him to the vet. They ran tests and found out he has ringworm! They said he definitely contracted it from the humane society.
His suffering breaks my heart. I’ve invested so much money into this cat because of a disease he got from the humane society. It’s highly contagious and I have a 2 year old!!!
So I’m having to quarantine my cat for however many weeks or months it takes for him to heal. This is not acceptable. I know if I took him back to the humane society, all they will do is euthanize him.
When I say it’s bad, I mean horrible. 90% of his face is a huge scab that’s been clawed over and over with no hair at all :[
Please pray he gets better soon.
He’s such a sweet soul and doesn’t deserve the pain he is having to endure.

A couple months ago I went to the GBHS on a Saturday morning in hopes of finding a puppy to adopt. I was there for over 4 hours and found the sweetest little Australian shepherd mix girl. I paid $ 100 for the adoption fee plus bought food, a collar, leash, bed, crate, toys, treats, dog bowls, and everything she would need. Two days later, on Monday afternoon, she wouldn’t eat her dinner and was experiencing loose stool. After not eating and being lethargic for another two meals, I took her to her first vet check Wednesday morning at 9a.m. The vet examined her and a parvo test came back positive. He 100% recommended that I take her back to the GBHS and that there was nothing that I could do as she was so weak at only 11 weeks old. When I took her to the GBHS, they were incredibly cold towards me and took her away without me even saying goodbye to her. Not to mention I did not get a single refund or the option to adopt another healthy puppy. I am highly unhappy with this establishment and do not feel comfortable with their pre adoption processes and am infuriated that I spent all that money for 3 days.

I have only been to this location once, but have been thoroughly impressed. We went on the craziest day of the year. But the staff handled the mobs of people like champs.
We have been wanting a pup for a while now. So when we saw they were doing a special for a «no-​euthanasia» campaign, we knew the time was right. We showed up a little after it started. By that time, we had 68 people in front of us. They were very intentional in making sure that in all of the chaos, that the animals were still being put in as good of a situation as possible. It is obvious that is an impossible task with hundreds of people coming through. But they did everything to make sure it wasn’t a pick out a pet and leave type of deal. The facility was well set up to see the animals without interacting. So you can’t «mass shop» by constant interaction with any one you wanted.
You could only choose three animals to see for the entire day. You had to bring the ENTIRE family the pet would be living with… including other pets. They had an individual employee talk with everyone thinking of adopting. We picked our three; and by the time they called our number, two of ours were gone. But we still agreed to see who they named Bravery. She truly is a brave little one. Three and half months old and found wandering the streets of downtown Birmingham by herself. She was so loving and adorable, we didn’t need to see any other puppies.
She had developed what they called «kennel cough». They wanted the vet to see her before we took her home. We were given all of the medicine she needed and even provided her first bag of food. We had to read through all of their stipulations and sign an agreement. They were constantly educating through the whole process. And we still have to take her for a vet check-​up within 5 business days. She had a giant Christmas bear they gave her that she attached to after being rescued and being spayed. And when they realized she was being adopted, they made sure that bear left with her.
We got the phone call later in the day that the vet cleared our newest family member and we could pick her up the next day. But we wanted her immediately. So we went up there at about 8:00 (9 hours into their day), and they were still going strong. The crowd was thinner, but still chaos. And the staff was giving it 100%. We were still given instructions the whole time. So after all the paper work and explanation, we were given our beautiful new puppy. We named her Sugar, but calling her Shug after the late, great coach.
Overall the staff is friendly, knowledgable, and caring. Even on a day when they may have to give more than their all. The facility was clean and organized. We are very pleased with everything.

So after the failure of the volunteers the vet failed us. My gf saw another kitten she was interested in and went to go meet her. I also went. We did end up adopting her as she is beautiful and adorable. Took her for her well kitty check as per the shelter and found out she is sick. The kind of sick that won’t go away and is contagious to other cats. So my well cat is also no longer well. This is not acceptable. I beg you to go to another shelter for any and all adoptions.

5 stars just because our recently adopted healthy kitten from the Greater Birmingham Humane Society has poured liters of pure happy into our hearts.
Sparkling, spacious facility with helpful and patient staff.
It’s $ 50 to adopt a kitten which is a steal since most shelters charge $ 100+ to adopt wee cats. I have to admit that I wasn’t too wild about the You Can Only Meet 3 Pets a Day policy since I don’t live close by and have to schlep down Lakeshore, but oh well. I know it’s a rule that has reasoning behind it. The whole process is reminiscent of a doctor’s office and waiting room since in order to interact with the animals, you fill out a form and then sit in a private room until the pet arrives. But the staff lets you spend as much time as you want getting to know the furballs, and they don’t try to rush you into making quick decisions. After all, you’re going to be spending years and years with you new family member.
There’s also a pet supply store on the premises, and the GBHS also has non-​canine/​feline pets. There were rabbits, birds, and guinea pigs when I was there.
Adopt!

Great people, great mission, great facility. Can’t help but love the work they do here. We adopted a pup a few months back and it was a great experience. They make it very easy to complete the adoption all in one day. There are a lot of animals there that need help and they provide top notch care until they are adopted. Our puppy was already neutered and had two sets of shots so we only had a couple of vet visits to make sure everything was completed. We’ve been back for some training classes that they run for a very reasonable price and I like to go drop off some toys from time to time as well.

GBHS is a great organization with a very nice facility in West Homewood. The dogs are kept in open kennels with plenty of space and are taken outside for frequent walks and play time. You can search the animals they have available for adoption online before going to visit them. They have private rooms where you can meet and interact with different dogs and talk with the staff about their history.
We adopted our dog three weeks ago from the shelter and can’t imagine life without him! He is a sweet boy and we are very thankful that his former owner took him to GBHS. The people that work there are very nice and definitely have the animals’ best interests in mind.
If you aren’t looking for a new pet, consider shopping at their on site store for your current pet — proceeds go back to the shelter!

i recently visited the gbhs with my mother, to find her a new dog, she had recently lost her «baby», and wanted a new companion. we found her a lovely bassett-​hound mix, about 6.5– 7 yrs old. he is so mellow, not a barker or howler. she is so happy to have a new «baby».
while we were there, my husband and i spotted a 4 yr old white german shepard. we were not there to adopt, we had lost our shepard of 13.5 yrs last summer, and were heartbroken. to say the least, we fell in love. we are the now proud owner’s of a beautiful white shepard. all the volunteers/​staff members were so kind and true animal lovers. it makes my heart happy to know that the gbhs is a place animals get a second chance to find the right home. kudo’s to all the folks who work there!!!

There is not many wonderful things you can say about a animal shelter other than Thank God we live in a society that cares enough for creatures that can’t take care of themselves to setup places like this.

The GBHS is one of the better humane societies that I’ve seen. I have both adopted from them and volunteered there for a while.
The volunteers go through some training to make sure they understand how to handle the animals and have more in depth classes based on their interest. I’m more interested in cats, so that’s the area I chose. They are very clean and safe and have plenty of rules for the volunteers so that all of the animals have the best care. My favorite part was playing with the kittens!
My dad and I adopted a dog from there back when they were at their other location — Lomb Ave, I think it was. Then I adopted a cat about four years ago. The screening process seems to be pretty careful and takes into consideration the temperament of the animal and the environment that it will be going into.
Of course they aren’t perfect, but in the world of humane societies, they are definitely toward the top. Go visit them! Even if you aren’t looking to adopt, it’s a very nice, airy facility and you can play with some of the animals.

I LOVE THIS PLACE. If you are in need of a new addition to your family, I highly recommend going here before anywhere else (or to an equivalent). I was very pleasantly surprised at the facilities — a lot cleaner than I was expecting of an animal shelter– and everyone was very friendly and helpful. I really liked the partnership that they have with nearby animal hospitals; it’s how I found the perfect hospital for my Lion :)