BARC Animal Shelter and Adoptions

I did not adopt a dog here but I will say that I inquired about one. I was expecting a professional response and what I received was not. I do not need an explanation or a long drawn out example of why you do not allow people with children under six to adopt. A professional response would read thanks so much for your interest, but we do not adopt into homes under the age of six. That states it all without going into some dramatic story and then calling it an irresponsible adoption. It’s simple be direct, don’t offend, and I go somewhere else and get one of the other million dogs on the waiting list to be loved. I’m writing this review in hopes that the organization will learn how to communicate more effectively because this could chase away future adoptions of animals that need good homes.

BARC steals dogs from private property and sells them for profit. BARC trespassed onto my property when the gate and fence were closed, stole my puppy from the front yard and left a note reading that if I wanted my puppy back then I would have to call BARC.
I called and not one clerk or receptionist answered the many calls I made. I left numerous messages with my name and phone number to which no one returned my calls. It was after 6:00 pm when I came home from work and found the note so I also called all day the next day on every work break I had to no avail.
Thinking that the BARC personnel can go into someone’s closed private property and steal owners’ puppies really frightened me and I became so physically ill that I had to go to the Dr.
When I went to BARC an emotional wreck, the Supervisor admitted to trespassing and told me that if I wanted my puppy back, I would have to pay $ 120.00.
I was appalled and told them that I had to look at my budget to see if any money was left in the bank since I am part of America’s working class, receiving a low salary, and have to live paycheck to paycheck.
The supervisor agreed to give me a few days to check my bank account. When I returned to the facility at 3200 Carr Street, Houston, TX 77 026, I took out my check book to write a check for $ 120.00 and the Supervisor stopped me when he saw me take out my pen. Naturally I assumed he would admit that he was wrong from stealing my puppy off of my front yard, but he said that since he gave me a few days to think about it I now owed $ 550.00 to retrieve my dog.
My mouth agape, I questioned him. He told me to pay or go away. I was upset, but loved my puppy so much that I wanted to save him.
As I began writing the check for the amount of $ 550.00, he instructed the personnel to get my dog. I waited for ten minutes only to be told that the BARC Manager sold my puppy earlier that day.
I was infuriated and called the Houston Police. The Houston Police Officers showed up and said that BARC legally in agreement with The City of Houston can go onto citizens’ yards (targeting low income neighborhoods) and steal animals to generate revenue for the City of Houston. Suzanne Hollifield of The Houston Police Department lies in Offense Reports so that innocent people will be fined and incarcerated in order to generate profit for the Police Department and City of Houston.
How many more innocents have to suffer at her behest?
I am telling you to help other low income families protect their pets from being stolen.
Thank you.

So, the reviews almost scared me away from visiting this shelter to adopt a dog, but I’m so glad that we did. First, this is my first dog. I was initially looking at breeders, but a co-​worker talked to me about animal rescue. I visited Friends for Life (awesome place, but they had few dogs at the time that I visited), and also the SPCA. They were nearly wiped out right after the holidays and only had larger dogs with too many health problems for an inexperienced caretaker. They were also very nice there. As a last resort, we went to BARC. To my surprise, they had quite a few puppies and small dogs (and a lot of nice large dogs, too).
Unfortunately, we arrived right at 5:29pm. The security guard and staff let us look around, but they told us that it would be too late to adopt. My son, niece, and I took our time looking at the dogs and saw a couple of puppies that we really liked. We went back to the front office and the guy was really busy, but he took the time to explain the adoption process and he warned us that the puppies we liked might not be there the next day because the rescue shelters come in and save them. He also told me the sad truth that some unhealthy dogs have to be put down. I am only sharing this because some people implied that the workers there are not honest, but that was not my experience. Anyway, they then told me that they opened at 9am — but not to the public, but to the rescue center and to come back between 12pm and 5:30 for $ 20 adoptions (Wednesday)! That means the puppies that are normally $ 75 to adopt would only be $ 20, which included them being neutered, microchipped, and first sets of shots, and flea treatment.
The next day, I picked my son up early from school and we returned to the shelter around 2pm. We were able to play with/​visit with 2 puppies that we liked, but we weren’t feeling completely sure. One puppy had a wound of some sort on his leg that they said *might* be a flea allergy (?). The other one had visible fleas hopping on him. They were from the same litter. The poor puppies had just arrived, so who knows what kind of conditions they were living in before. We were deciding between the two when one of the workers let us know that if we had time to wait, more little pups were in surgery getting fixed.
We waited a bit anxiously. There were people coming in right and left adopting little pups and some had their eyes on the ones we liked. Anyway, when the new pups came out, my son immediately picked one. We played with him. He was a bit down after surgery and she warned us that it would be hard to tell his temperament due to the anesthesia. She took the time and answered all of our questions even though it was really busy. We decided to adopt our little pup. She took him back and gave us the paperwork and she also gave me a ton of resources to read on how to take care of him. She also warned me that because his litter was a bunch of stray dogs that had only been in the shelter for one day, there was no health guarantee on the dog or any of their animals.
We went back to the office, I filled out the form, answered a few questions, paid the fee and voila! We got our new puppy. (We were able to take him home the same day because he was already fixed/​microchipped, etc. that day. If he had not been, then we would have had to get him the next day.) Our experience was close to perfect, but I took off a star because they made one mistake. After we left, they called and said they had not given us his surgery and shot records, which I really need for his first vet appointment in two days. They offered to mail it and I said okay because I was afraid of them holding it and losing the paperwork.
Overall, it was an A experience. I received an email to register his microchip for free (they pre-​registered him). I would advise people to give this shelter a chance. Look at the dogs online and do your research on the breeds (by the way, they can’t guarantee the breeds of a stray dog). Go when you have some time and also ask lots of questions. I will definitely either volunteer or donate to BARC. They are doing a great service for animals.

Adopted a nine week old kitten on September 19. Brought him home and he seemed ok but he scratches his ears and shakes his head a lot. Took him to Banfield Hospital and it was discovered he has ear mites. He is on 7 day treatment now. Shouldn’t this have been discovered at the shelter before he was adopted? He appears to also have a swollen belly possibly from worms. Supposedly he was wormed before leaving shelter. He also has sneeze attacks and has discharge from his eyes. Banfield advised that he may have a cold. Hopefully I can get some help from Barc for this kitten. He is a sweet little guy and I just hope he is able to have a long happy life with us. I do want to say the Barc facility was very nice and staff were very friendly.

Come on guys. Don’t give a bad review and scare away potential adopters. It’s a busy, stressful place, can you imagine working in a shelter? Would you rather staff be taking care of animals or walking around checking signs and available on the spot for all your questions.
Unfortunately, some animals will come out sick. They need to get out of there ASAP via rescue and adoption to reduce exposure to the things that make them sick. So for heavens sake don’t discourage people from coming here to adopt,
am I saying let them run a crappy place that is unsafe and unsanitary? No. I’m saying manage expectations and do your part to reduce the need for kill shelters
Vote to better fund shelters and public education so there less need for shelters. Come and adopt a pet from here!

PLEASE DO NOT TAKE A DOG HERE. IF YOU HAVE FOUND A DOG, THERE ARE MANY NO KILL ORGANIZATIONS THAT CAN HELP YOU.
We found a dog on the 4^th of July. He was a sweet little guy who let us pet him right away and I picked him up and carried him around looking for an owner. No one came to claim him and he had no tags, nor was he microchipped. Believing we were doing the right thing to a) help him be reunited with his owners or b) find a loving family to adopt him, we took him to BARC on the 5^th.
I was told he would be listed as a lost dog for 3 days and then put up for adoption. When his status hadn’t changed, I called to check on him and was told they were having a hard time taking his blood. He only weighs 25 lbs so I couldn’t understand why they couldn’t simply hold him or muzzle him. Surely most dogs don’t just sit there with their paw out waiting for the needle…
After a few more days and calls, we were told he had been tagged as a behavioral problem because of this and would not be eligible for adoption. We got the call on Saturday the 11^th saying his time was up and if we didn’t come get him, he’d be put down. I want to make it clear they do NOT have to tell you if they are going to euthanize a dog.
Obviously we rushed over to pick him up and in reviewing his file, blood had been taken on the same day they told me he they couldn’t. They also forgot to give him a shot even after I discussed it in person with the vet. I’m not going to go into how mismanaged the process was.
One week later we are fostering him and working with a no-​kill organization to find him a home. He is the sweetest dog who loves affection, gets along with our other dog, and has never been aggressive with anyone. To think he was going to be killed simply because he had never been to the vet before and was totally freaked out by the whole experience makes me want to cry.
The vet said they get 100+ animals every day so I know they are trying, but please do not take found pets here. The criteria for putting dogs down is far too loose.
A great place to start if you have found a lost dog is HOPE (Homeless and Orphaned Pets Endeavor of Houston) or Friends for Life. Both have a great list of resources on their websites.

I have adopted two animals from barc, a wonderful wonderful wonderful tuxedo cat with the strangest personality and a adorable silly little pup. Both animals are fantastic. The people working at barc have been very helpful and sweet. Adopting a puppy into a house with two young children is really very stressful and when I felt painfully overwhelmed I called and spoke with them for help and Abby from the front desk helped and encouraged me when I really needed it. Sounds silly but really for me it was great. Anyway, these animals need homes, they’re great animals, the staff wants to help get the animals into loving homes, so yes I definitely suggest going there for furry friends. It can be chaotic there because so many people want to adopt but it’s worth the chaos.

Do not take animals here. This is where animals go to be executed. To say the staff is ridiculous is an understatement but it’s a shame to see people in a niche job field that genuinely do not care about their jobs and are simply collecting a pay check. (Which is funny because they aren’t breaking any banks). We took a dog here and literally the next day they were trying to kill her off. To add insult to injury they claimed they had to and that if we couldn’t be there the next day by a certain then they would kill her. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this dog. On top of them taking on work they obviously can not handle they have zero customer service and treat people very poorly when it seems a person doesn’t agree with them. The lady told us word for word they put down healthy animals all the time. There are several articles exposing this company. Before you consider taking an animal here if you truly care about animals do a couple minutes of research.

I took a neighborhood cat in and I couldn’t stop thinking about her, unfortunately now that I call it was too late. She has already been euthanized, I called Barc today and spoke with a 311 agent to see how she was and I was thinking I’ll go get her if she wasn’t already adopted, the woman who I spoke to said she was gone. This woman, Miss Burt was very nice, excellent customer service skills. I am very happy I spoke with her. She eased my heart. I know I could’ve spoken with a rude woman who would’ve made me feel shittier. Miss Burt keep it up

This is a review for cat adoptions! I adopted my sweet adult cat there about two years ago. There were plenty to choose from and the staff was very cordial in helping to pick out and allow to interact before choosing a cat. My cat had no health issues at all and is a super friendly playful girl. The adoption was very reasonable. You did have to wait and fill out paperwork, but really just be a little patient and nice and it all pays off with a nice new pet.

I really liked this shelter to get my dog. The only thing was that there wasn’t a lot of directional help and I had to walk around for a bit to find my way. Everyone seemed busy but I was happy to get my dog.
3 months later and we are doing their manners training which is FREE if you adopt your dog from BARC

Adopted a dog from there and it had distemper when I called to report it they didn’t even care after I said I didn’t want my money back I just wanted to report it. They didn’t even ask which dog it was or anything. Horrible experience with all staff I encountered there even before finding out she had distemper. So sad that dogs end up there.

So I got here at 515pm and looked around for the dog I found online. We ended up finding him and finally started filling out the paper work. It was 532 and the employee said we close the line at 530. Wtf! Someone should of said something to me when I walked in. It’s a damn shame the lazy ass employees don’t wanna deal with anymore paperwork. They claim that they have so many animals and blah blah blah they need homes and this and that but yet the fucking turn people away from adopting them A waste of time. Now I have to wait til Friday because they are closed Thursday. Stupid! I hope he is still there.

I’ve read some of the negative reviews on here about this place and our experience was really good. My boyfriend decided he wanted to adopt a kitten so we went to Barc to look at the cats. It is pretty weird because the cats are kept in a completely different building and to get to that building you have to walk on an uncovered pathway (it was raining that day).
Once we got to the cats, we were surprised at how few there were. They had run out of kittens and had about fifteen cats total left to be adopted. This made me feel like they had a fast turnover rate, which is a good thing when adoptions are involved.
We walked around and looked at all of the cats. Some of them are in cages while others free roam. The ones that roam around are deemed more social than the guys in the cages. All of the cats looked in good shape except for one that definitely had some sort of eye infection. I was especially surprised at how little it smelt like litter boxes back there.
At the end of the day, we ended up picking an adorable four year old black and white cat with a great personality. Both him and his buddy were adopted that day. The only thing that slightly concerns me is that I have read other reviews where the animal has had kennel cough. Our kitty does not currently have it, but we were told he did.
I’d come back and adopt again from here. Can’t beat $ 20 for a sweet furry companion.

I am beyond frustrated with my experience at BARC. The only reason I’m giving 2 stars instead of one is because of ONE stellar worker.
Our experience with BARC is as follows:
On Wednesday we went to BARC. There were a couple of people in the waiting room (maybe 3), and several employees. We asked where the dog adoptions were and the response we got was «straight back, turn right, and follow the signs». We did that, but at one point the signs simply stopped and left us wandering the kennels completely unsupervised and lost. Eventually we found our way to the small dogs and spent some time getting to know them. We found a chihuahua and decided we wanted to meet him (with him outside of his kennel). To this point, I had seen no staff members in the dog adoption area. I had to go track someone down to ask questions.
I ended up wandering the halls, looking in offices for someone. Eventually we found a staff member who helped us take the dog out to a run where we could bond with him and introduce him to our chihuahua. This staff member was amazing. I can’t remember his name, but the dogs all loved him, he was extremely helpful, and very nice and knowledgeable. He really is an asset to BARC. The decision was unanimous; we were in love and wanted to adopt the dog!
We were completely prepared to take him home that day. However, he was still intact so we were told we had to come back and pick him up after he was neutered, though we could make him legally ours that day. We told them that we wanted him for sure and would absolutely come back after he was neutered. We filled out the paperwork and were told that we would need to pay the adoption fee when we came to pick him up.
We were told he would be ready for pick up on Thursday; due to work obligations we asked if Friday would work instead. We were told that Friday would absolutely be fine, so we made plans to come back Friday afternoon. Friday morning the family member who was supposed to pick him up had an urgent and unexpected doctor’s appointment, so we called to ask if Saturday would be okay or if I should leave work early to come get him. They said not to worry, Saturday would be okay and that he would be ready to go as soon as they opened. During this phone call we gave them our name and the identification number associated with the dog we were told was ours and they verified multiple times he would be available Saturday.
We arrived to pick him up on Saturday and were told that he was in surgery being neutered. When we questioned them about it, they pulled up his records on the computer. Turns out he had been placed in another rescue and our paperwork was completely lost, and the notes about us picking him up were gone. Not only that, apparently he had been with the other rescue since Friday morning, before we had been scheduled to pick him up! We verified multiple times that he would be available for pick-​up on Saturday and heard from more than one staff member that it was fine.
After speaking with the rescue we will be adopting through, we were told that there was no hold, note, or any indication there was any interest in adopting him.
Now we have to apply to adopt a dog we were told was legally ours, take another day off of work, and pay more than twice the BARC adoption fee because of their errors.
In short: I find BARC to be ridiculously disorganized in their customer service and actual adoption processes.

Please take a closer look on the pets before you adopt them. I adopted my little boy here on Dec 28^th, 2014. Sadly, he passed away two days ago due to distemper.
When I first went to BARC to check out the animals there, I noticed he was having mild coughing issue, the worker there informed me that it was kennel cough, very common for shelter animals, no need to worry. However, my furry dog was sick ever since i took him home. I had taken him to the Vet, fed him with medications. But weeks after, his health shown no sign of improvement.
I had to take him to see a different Vet to get a second look into his health issues, turned out my boy was infected by distemper virus. After the vet visit, the virus took over his health rapidly within few days.
I called the shelter to inform them about my dog, the lady who spoke to me gave me a different phone number to call. So i did, but no one picked up and i left a message. So far, no one has called me back. Hope they realize the seriousness of distemper virus going around in this place, and take any necessary precautions.
Please, Please be careful when you pick out your pet at this shelter. You do not want to go through what i have gone through with my dog. It was very heart-​broken to watch my dog suffer and not being able to help him a bit.
Good luck to anyone whose looking for adoptions here, as I will not return to this place again to look for one!

I was really impressed with this shelter. After visiting several dog shelters me and my kids came here. I busted my daughter out of school early and we set out to find our new friend. It was a very clean facility, no poop in cages with the dogs. They asked for my I’d when we came in. The staff was very nice and understanding when I was trying to manage a 2 year old and an excited 6 year old. They helped us find a sweet mild mannered Heinz 57. We made memories on way home the dog immediately took to my daughter snuggled then got car sick! He puked all over her and my new car. My daughter took it like a champ laughed hysterically and we all cleaned my truck when got home! B.A.R.C. Is very organized and our 1 year old dog cost is 25.00.

After recently losing our 12 year old chihuahua mix we were devastasted. After a few long and sad days we decided our broken hearts would surely heal faster if we got a puppy. We also have another chihuahua at home who lost his companion of 10 years. We didn’t want him to be alone. We went to a BARC adoption event at CityCentre but didnt find a good fit. So one of the very sweet volunteers encouraged us to go to the shelter. We mustered up the courage and drove straight there. We both knew this was going to be an emotional experience. As animal lovers the harsh reality was evident as soon as we walked in the door. Well meaning people dropping off unwanted or abandoned dogs and cats while a few smiling faces were leaving with new family members.
As we entered the first row of the room of dogs the tears just started running down our faces. We saw a dog that looked just like our sweet boy. Row after row sweet faces stared back a us. Some were lively, others looked like they had been through alot. It was very overwheming and we quickly asked for directions to the puppy room. Surely there was more happiness in the puppy room. A very nice lady asked a few questions and directed us to the available puppies. After looking at a litter of three chihuahua mix puppies we decided on the girl. She had two brothers. One of which was absolutely gorgeous but was very shy and laid back. The girl had spunk and was the first to lick us. We knew she was the one! As we completed the adoption process we encountered several more very nice staff and helpful volunteers.
Tonight our sweet puppy is home and we pray she stays healthy. If you are considering adopting a pet, please consider BARC. Not every story will end with a happily ever after but its not these animals fault that they ended up here. All animals deserve a chance at having a loving home.

I’ve been sitting on this review for a very long time without the heart to finish it. I don’t think there’s enough space to say what I really want to say about BARC. I’ve drafted this review over & over and I suppose it’s time to be as succinct as possible.
I adopted Marty here. Soon after (day or so), he developed what I thought was kennel cough. Two weeks of excruciating back/​forth to the vet every other day and several antibiotics, IV fluid infusions, cough meds, and swabs later, we found out he was positive for distemper. In the interim (while the swabs were still being sent to A&M to test for all diseases), my vet had recommended that I call BARC to let them know that Marty might have a) canine influenza (he wasn’t showing distemper classic symptoms at the time) or b) distemper. Either of which the vet suggested that the shelter needed to know in case of a pandemic. And so I called BARC and I was very angry/​disappointed at their nonchalant attitude.
After explaining the situation twice to the first person that answered the phone, I was finally put through to the wellness center. I asked to speak to a vet so I could explain the situation. Her response was, «oh. Well, bring him in and we’ll treat him for free.» I had to explain to her that monetary compensation was NOT why I was calling. I could give less a damn about the money on vet bills, I was just concerned about the other animals and infection spreading. To this, she said, «oh. Well, ok. We’ll look into it.» And hung up.
That was all folks. Marty died two weeks after I adopted him despite our best efforts. I don’t blame the shelter for that. I’m just angry that they didn’t care enough to look into the possibility of perhaps a change in practice to help stop the spread of diseases in the kennel or even maybe just show a bit of concern and investigate the source. For example: BARC allows people to take as many dogs out to play with in a single visit. While this may seem great to the person adopting, there’s also the risk of cross-​contamination of diseases from one dog to the next. This is a huge contrast to Houston Humane Society’s policy of one dog per day rule for their visit (and much cleaner shelter, btw).
There’s so many more things I could say about BARC but really and truly, the one thing that hurts me most is their attitude of indifference. I’m just glad I was able to give Marty a good home and out of that hell hole even just for a short while.

The only reason I’m rating this four stars is because we adopted my lil Baxter is from there. And I would still encourage and implore people to adopt their furry companions from there because you really do end up saving a life, as well as ultimately enhancing your own life. Otherwise this would more accurately be a three-​star rating. Because as you may suspect, it’s not the most generously funded city facility, I mean, I assume its principal purpose is animal registration and animal control. But since Houston is chockfull of irresponsible pet owners who don’t neuter and spay (cough cough, come on people!), BARC itself if bursting at the seams with homeless critters — it’s very bare-​bones minimum and BARC itself admits that it can’t guarantee the health of their animals, so you should ALWAYS schedule a check-​up with your private vet following an adoption.
We chose Baxter (then classified as «Chase») because he was being kind of cute and really friendly. Plus he was «free» because he’d been there awhile and BARC was participating in a nationwide Rachel Ray contest. So his «Purrferred Pet» rate of $ 15 was $ 0, but of course we still donated. Not too shabby for a neutered kitten — possibly on death row :*(, dewormed, rabies-​vaccinated, and a somewhat complete check up.
While we were posing for the requisite pet plus his/​her new owner photo, I noticed him sneezing quite a bit, residual blood specks by his nose and in the cardboard pet carrier. I mentioned this to the BARC employee taking our photo, but he hurriedly dismissed it and ushered us to take the photo and leave immediately.
Turns out my lil buddy had upper respiratory infection (feline herpes, which is highly contagious through touching noses, sharing bowls, etc. etc.), ear infection, and tapeworms. He had previously been treated for the respiratory infection and tapeworms, but again, AS YOU CAN VERY WELL TELL — probably not the most thoroughly. My friend adopted his perfectly healthy kitten there, so I guess you just need to be observant and inquisitive about the various listings on the potential pets’ display charts (I didn’t really ask what X and Y treatments meant and whatnot). BARC offers reasonably priced vaccinations and neutering/​spaying but it does not offer veterinary services otherwise.
Nonetheless, I am completely in love and not regretful at all (even with the $ 500+ vet bill) because legit y’all, he is the best cat I’ve ever owned. Endless love and not an ounce of aggression, even towards rowdy kids and my boyfriend — who persistently harasses him and treat him like a dog. I will definitely be adopting any future furry friends from BARC.