Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter

The purpose of my review is to comment on the tone of the social media postings coming from the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter. The postings, although **very clearly well-​intentioned**, are at times snarky and off-​putting. I consistently see postings that bash people who surrender their animals to the shelter — these postings include the stories leading up to specific surrenders and are peppered with dramatic enhancements like «throwing them away like trash» and «only to be dumped again!» — as a potential adopter, these kinds of attitudes make me uneasy. Although I’ve never given up a pet, I would like to think that a shelter sees themselves as the proper place to do so and is open and willing to help people who may very well be going through one of the hardest times in their lives (not everyone surrenders their pet purely out of an unwillingness to care for them). If someone leaves a dog out on the street then I would say that would be classified as «throwing them out like trash» — but not if they brought them to the shelter. Like I said, I do know that the shelter is well-​intentioned, but I do think that they could benefit from a softer approach when it comes to attracting potential adopters (and combatting the terrible practice of abandoning animals on the street).

Adopted our cat, Lulu, from the shelter last year in May. Everyone was very helpful through the whole process, and Lulu is doing great.

And now we have our newest baby! Thank you Toh. She is great, & everyone was super wonderful!

I got my pit bull from here almost a year ago already. My dog is amazing. When i adopted him he had a staph infection no big deal i had it treated with antibiotics and he was completely fine and all of his bald spots grew back quickly after. However, i do notice a lot of the dogs have dirty kennels when i am there. I also felt like they need to have some kind of dog run where the dogs can play, exercise and be social through out the day. It is so loud in there they should really help people look at the dogs i think they’ll have a better chance of being adopted if it were quieter in the kennels… the dogs should all have beds and a chew toy to keep them quieter. But other than that i feel the staff was helpful. my dog is amazing… and they do seem to really care for the animals they have.

Although they turned me and my bf down due to our long work hours, the people at TOH animal shelter were very helpful and patient. The bf and I were looking to give a dog a home and I immediately fell in love with Bruno, a 90-​lb bull and cane corso mix. He had such sad eyes and calm demeanor that I wanted to take him home and give him tons of love.
They took him out to let us meet him and play with him, and they took down our info. They require 2 references, and they do call them. Sadly, Bruno was a special-​needs dog who needed an owner that was home more, so we got rejected. However, they were willing to show us other dogs who required less care, so they didn’t completely turn us away. They really want to give these animals home.
We ended up rescuing a kitten we found in my friend’s back yard, and now she’s the princess of the house. I do thank TOH for their time and I hope the rumors of them mistreating animals is not true.

Took my dog Roscoe here in march because he was ruining the house too have them find him a home. after two days i felt horrible l let my boy go, i got him back but his bark was hoarse for three weeks and he was not himself until just two weeks ago, staff was nice and they have a rabie& temperpent shot. jury still out!

There are so many animals in need of homes here, yes there are a lot of pitbull mixes but don’t believe the stereotypes. So many of these dogs are loving, sweet and loyal. It can be loud and a bit overwhelming but if you take your time and ask the staff for assistance, you will find a great companion. Also have a volunteer program, minimum of 2 hours a week– very flexible, sign in and out when you can make time to spend with the animals who are confused about why they are not living in a cozy home yet

I adopted my Bruno here in November 2013. From the minute I saw him, I fell in love with him. The staff at TOH Animal Shelter were very friendly and made it clear that they had the dog’s best interest at heart. The adoption fee was $ 80, and my Bruno was neutered, microchipped, and given a bag full of goodies and treats. You are even given a list of vets that will give you a free initial exam! I am so happy that I found my baby, and I am so grateful for TOH Animal Shelter. Thank you so much!

Very non helpful staff. Packed with almost all pit bulls which are a banned breed for local homeowners insurance companies. No attempt to accommodate any requests for dogs. Very smelly and dark place I feel bad for the dogs. Gives you a frustrating feeling from just being there. All I am looking for is a medium to large friendly dog between 1 – 4 years old. I have a better chance of hitting the lottery than finding a non banned breed there.

This place is at the center of controversy for having mistreated animals — they have a guard at the desk now to prevent animal activists from any disruptions.
Thank goodness for the media. When cruelty happens. it gets easily exposed. Now things are far, far better here. But for years it was a horrible place to visit.
They used to sound militant when you came there, and you felt like it was their place. They were dominating sounding and bossy and cold. Never kind. The animals looked miserable and the feel was horrific. Like a high kill shelter — would.
Thank goodness for the improvements. When small dogs are in here they usually have a waiting list to adopt them. Large one’s are not that lucky.