The following review is opinion, based on my individual experience, and what I witnessed firsthand. Your experience conceivably will vary based on a number of factors. This forum is being used because of its tremendous Internet presence and I want as many people as possible to be aware of what I went through before making the decision of which shelter to use. Ultimately, if you’re going to adopt an animal versus buy one from a reputable breeder my best advice is to consider many factors before making a decision.
With that being said, my review is about Pawsibilities located in Twinsburg Ohio. They are the Stow Humane Society and let’s face it… How can anyone have something negative to say about an organization whose sole purpose is to do good for homeless animals? Simple, put a bunch of horrible employees and there and make it feel like a prison camp. I moved to a nearby city in 2013 and joined a fitness club which caused me to pass this facility at least three times a week if not more. I’m an animal lover, and frequently visited the well-funded and highly reputable “other facility in Russell Ohio”. I understand that not all places are equally funded and facilities will differ from place to place. What you do have control of is the caliber of person that you employ. I wouldn’t hire any of the employees that I encountered at Pawsibilities to shovel horse manure.
Have you ever met one of those know it all, uppity, pet snobs? You know the type… They think they know everything there is to know because of what they read on the Internet and believe every ridiculous story that insane organizations like PETA throw out on social media. This is the kind of person that will lecture you in a pet store that if you don’t buy “designer” dog food you’re practically torturing your pet. What’s worse is that these morons actually think that you don’t have a right to own an animal unless you care for it the way they think you should. Sound like any dictators we learned about in history class? I agree with the obvious, no animal should be chained to a porch or a tree, starved, mistreated, or in any way abused. The differences I learn the facts about a subject before I spout off my opinions especially in front of someone else’s children. These are the types of people that I encountered at Pawsibilities.
My 10-year-old daughter has been asking for a cat for years. My wife and I agreed that when she turned 10 if she still had an interest in an animal like that we would allow it under certain conditions. First of all, the animal had to be adopted at a Humane Society (lots of cats are in need of a home) and the obvious… She had to care for it etc. She saved up five dollars here and there, $20 from grandma, and put together the outrageous sum of $85 to adopt a cat from the shelter. That’s not a joke, $85. I agreed to stop in with her and my wife to see what animals were there. As soon as you walk in the door you feel like you’re visiting a prisoner at a county jail (not that I have first-hand experience with that). The people behind the counter are exceedingly rude and act as if they’re doing YOU some kind of a favor. Last time I checked, they desperately needed people like me to come in there and take the animals off their hands… And pay for the privilege of doing so. We made it about 50 feet into the dog area (just curious) and had to turn around. It was seriously like sticking your head in an outhouse on a 95° day. The smell was so atrocious and nauseating that it physically made you sick. I don’t know if these animals had a worse life where they were taken from or if it’s worse at this place.
Notwithstanding that, what we were able to see before we turn around were rows and rows of cages filled with pit bulls. These didn’t look like Caesar’s dogs… These looked like vicious animals that were insane and bouncing off the walls, not just barking, but actually snarling and showing their teeth. What kind of person has so little judgment that they would display animals like that, or worse adopt them out? I don’t care what the idiot pitbull lover say… You know, “it’s not the breed, it’s the owner… Or pits make wonderful pets, or I would trust them with my children before I would a golden retriever.” These type of sophomoric idiotic statements also come from people who have their heads filled with half-truths and an IQ just above 70. The truth of the matter is pitbull’s like many other breeds that were specifically raised for fighting are dangerous. Why in the hell would anyone buy an animal that “might” attack their child or spouse or neighbor etc.? I know, I know, not all pit bulls are bad but that’s like playing Russian roulette. If the hammer falls on the wrong chamber… You die. Is it really worth the risk? Well adopting a pitbull can be someone else’s problem but what became my problem was that these animals terrified my child who wanted to leave immediately. Employees were standing around and not one came over to talk to us and explain that the dogs were just excited etc. or any other BS that they want to come up with. They couldn’t even do that.
So we made it to the cat area, it smelled better but just as sad. They have dates on the cages when the animals arrived and some had been there for years. This I know is not their fault and is probably an effective way to guilt people into rescuing the animal to avoid living in a tiny cage. I approached the one of the girls who work there because God knows three had walked by and not one offered to help or asked if we had any questions. I got one that practically took offense to every question I asked and was openly combative with me in front of my daughter. What really galled me was that she was lecturing us about animal care and was wrong. I am older than this person by at least 15 years and have raised one or two pets in my time. I don’t need some bratty little high school dropout spouting off completely absurd rhetoric especially in front of my child. What was discussed is not necessarily important; it was their behavior and attitude that was so irritating. The simple fact that this person was irrefutably wrong about so many of the things that she was saying was infuriating. Not just because I know that what she’s saying is ridiculous but because she’s actually talking down to me because she knows that I disagree. There was a point in which we were discussing the fact that this particular shelter will “repossess” your adopted cat if you allow it outside. My daughter said “daddy, you let so-and-so (name of our last cat) outside.” I simply pointed out to her right in front of the employee that although her intentions are likely genuine her facts and information are wrong.
I’ll spare you the play-by-play… It was a bad experience. The people there were atrocious, the place felt like a concentration camp, and frankly this place should just be out of business if they are going to operate like this. I would rather people stop visiting this particular Humane Society and go to the ones that put a heavy emphasis on customer support and education then rely on the adage that it’s not about the people it’s about the animals. Please, remember if this place goes out of business those same animals will just go to a more reputable shelter. Believe me, based on first-hand experience I think you be doing them a favor.
So did we get the cat? You bet, my daughter fell in love with one in particular and after an agonizing conversation with that girl we made arrangements to come back within 24 hours. Please note, she made it crystal clear to my 10-year-old daughter and wife that they will give the animal to someone else and never allow us to reserve another animal if we don’t come for this one within 24 hours. It was set as a threat and taken as one. Just ridiculous. So we came back the next day and dealt with the lowest class piece of white trash that I have dealt with in a long time. I walked in the door and came up to the prison guard who just stared at me. Seriously, no greeting, no can I help you, she just started me like she was confused why was there. I said “okay… We’re here to pick up a cat that we reserved”, she seriously just stared me and didn’t say anything. I turned to my wife and almost started laughing. I turned back to the woman and said “I’m sorry, I don’t know how else to say that… Did you not understand me?” My wife chimed in and said we are here to adopt an animal that we reserved and the adoption n**i said nothing and just turned her back and picked up a clipboard and handed it to my wife. This one completely snubbed me, again in front of my daughter and if it weren’t for the fact that my 10-year-old was seriously standing there with a cat carrier I would’ve made one heck of a scene and then walk out.
The minutes wait for about 20 minutes before they brought the animal out and this particular volunteer was actually very pleasant and polite. Now it’s time to pay the piper and as I stated above my daughter took a great deal of pride in the notion that she was paying for her cat with the money that she earned. I told the horrible woman behind the counter that my daughter saved up her own money and wanted to pay herself. That nasty b* seriously said nothing to my 10-year-old and reached out and took the money out of her hand. Now, I don’t know if this woman is just retarded, beaten severely as a child, or just has absolutely no manners but what kind of low brow piece of garbage is rude to a child? Thank goodness my daughters too young to pick up on these subtleties, but let’s be honest it’s what separates the social classes. Not money, it’s class. I had to say something I was so appalled at how this woman was behaving that I actually said to my daughter less than 3 feet away from that nasty person “don’t worry about it, they don’t have any manners here.” I told her that I was proud of her and we left. Naturally I got in trouble in the car because my wife was upset that I was rude LOL, fact is I just reached my limit.
So we went to a shelter to get a pet and we got one… Was I ripped off? Not in the traditional sense, $85 for a cat is cheap when you consider what some purebred breeders get for an American shorthair. Where I feel particularly ripped off and slighted is how we were treated. I know for an absolute certainty that you can get high quality people to volunteer at these types of places and do not need to rely on low class people to represent your organization. The reason I’m writing this review is because you may be considering going to this particular place and I would hate for another person to be treated the way that I was. From our first visit to the second we walked out the door it was unpleasant. We were treated like we were rubes who probably shouldn’t have an animal by employees who have more earrings in each year than I have fingers on both hands. The one thing that sincerely irritated me during our initial visit was that little know it all (but seriously knows nothing, probably has to write her name on the palm of her hand so she doesn’t forget) seriously set forth to explain to me that the previous breed of dog that I owned was nothing more than a hybrid animal that was engineered to be a “pitbull on steroids”. She was referring to an Italian mastiff that we just had to have put down and my daughter is still upset about it. So hearing this idiot disparage our family pet was infuriating to me and made my daughter sad in the process. I did take the liberty of correcting her, explaining that that particular breed actually fought with Roman soldiers before Christ was born. That that particular breed is not what she thinks it is, it is in fact an accepted breed by the American kennel club and that she should take some time to learn more about it if she wishes to have an opinion. I’m absolutely not kidding when I say that her response was “I hope the fad of owning a dog like that ends soon, God knows we don’t need any more of them here we can’t adopt them there to mean.”
So you be the judge, maybe you think my story is pointless and should not have any impact on whether or not you adopt a dog from them. That’s your call, I personally think that rewarding laziness and clildish behavior for a business is a terrible thing. This place should not be open, their animals should be handled by other shelters and the employees should be euthanized :-) (just a joke)
One final thought… I actually asked if they euthanized animals there and at first she said no. So I asked if they would just keep an animal indefinitely or would actually adopt out a potentially dangerous dog. Of course she started vomiting out excuses which ultimately came to “we hate to euthanize animals but sometimes you don’t have a choice.” It’s not the fact that they euthanize animals that bothers me; it’s the fact that they will smugly tell you how there a no kill shelter when in reality they put down dogs there when they think it’s necessary. There simply full of BS, that’s my opinion, my other opinion is you should just look up the Geauga Humane Society, the difference between the two will blow your mind.
PAWSibilities Reviews
The following review is opinion, based on my individual experience, and what I witnessed firsthand. Your experience conceivably will vary based on a number of factors. This forum is being used because of its tremendous Internet presence and I want as many people as possible to be aware of what I went through before making the decision of which shelter to use. Ultimately, if you’re going to adopt an animal versus buy one from a reputable breeder my best advice is to consider many factors before making a decision.
With that being said, my review is about Pawsibilities located in Twinsburg Ohio. They are the Stow Humane Society and let’s face it… How can anyone have something negative to say about an organization whose sole purpose is to do good for homeless animals? Simple, put a bunch of horrible employees and there and make it feel like a prison camp. I moved to a nearby city in 2013 and joined a fitness club which caused me to pass this facility at least three times a week if not more. I’m an animal lover, and frequently visited the well-funded and highly reputable “other facility in Russell Ohio”. I understand that not all places are equally funded and facilities will differ from place to place. What you do have control of is the caliber of person that you employ. I wouldn’t hire any of the employees that I encountered at Pawsibilities to shovel horse manure.
Have you ever met one of those know it all, uppity, pet snobs? You know the type… They think they know everything there is to know because of what they read on the Internet and believe every ridiculous story that insane organizations like PETA throw out on social media. This is the kind of person that will lecture you in a pet store that if you don’t buy “designer” dog food you’re practically torturing your pet. What’s worse is that these morons actually think that you don’t have a right to own an animal unless you care for it the way they think you should. Sound like any dictators we learned about in history class? I agree with the obvious, no animal should be chained to a porch or a tree, starved, mistreated, or in any way abused. The differences I learn the facts about a subject before I spout off my opinions especially in front of someone else’s children. These are the types of people that I encountered at Pawsibilities.
My 10-year-old daughter has been asking for a cat for years. My wife and I agreed that when she turned 10 if she still had an interest in an animal like that we would allow it under certain conditions. First of all, the animal had to be adopted at a Humane Society (lots of cats are in need of a home) and the obvious… She had to care for it etc. She saved up five dollars here and there, $20 from grandma, and put together the outrageous sum of $85 to adopt a cat from the shelter. That’s not a joke, $85. I agreed to stop in with her and my wife to see what animals were there. As soon as you walk in the door you feel like you’re visiting a prisoner at a county jail (not that I have first-hand experience with that). The people behind the counter are exceedingly rude and act as if they’re doing YOU some kind of a favor. Last time I checked, they desperately needed people like me to come in there and take the animals off their hands… And pay for the privilege of doing so. We made it about 50 feet into the dog area (just curious) and had to turn around. It was seriously like sticking your head in an outhouse on a 95° day. The smell was so atrocious and nauseating that it physically made you sick. I don’t know if these animals had a worse life where they were taken from or if it’s worse at this place.
Notwithstanding that, what we were able to see before we turn around were rows and rows of cages filled with pit bulls. These didn’t look like Caesar’s dogs… These looked like vicious animals that were insane and bouncing off the walls, not just barking, but actually snarling and showing their teeth. What kind of person has so little judgment that they would display animals like that, or worse adopt them out? I don’t care what the idiot pitbull lover say… You know, “it’s not the breed, it’s the owner… Or pits make wonderful pets, or I would trust them with my children before I would a golden retriever.” These type of sophomoric idiotic statements also come from people who have their heads filled with half-truths and an IQ just above 70. The truth of the matter is pitbull’s like many other breeds that were specifically raised for fighting are dangerous. Why in the hell would anyone buy an animal that “might” attack their child or spouse or neighbor etc.? I know, I know, not all pit bulls are bad but that’s like playing Russian roulette. If the hammer falls on the wrong chamber… You die. Is it really worth the risk? Well adopting a pitbull can be someone else’s problem but what became my problem was that these animals terrified my child who wanted to leave immediately. Employees were standing around and not one came over to talk to us and explain that the dogs were just excited etc. or any other BS that they want to come up with. They couldn’t even do that.
So we made it to the cat area, it smelled better but just as sad. They have dates on the cages when the animals arrived and some had been there for years. This I know is not their fault and is probably an effective way to guilt people into rescuing the animal to avoid living in a tiny cage. I approached the one of the girls who work there because God knows three had walked by and not one offered to help or asked if we had any questions. I got one that practically took offense to every question I asked and was openly combative with me in front of my daughter. What really galled me was that she was lecturing us about animal care and was wrong. I am older than this person by at least 15 years and have raised one or two pets in my time. I don’t need some bratty little high school dropout spouting off completely absurd rhetoric especially in front of my child. What was discussed is not necessarily important; it was their behavior and attitude that was so irritating. The simple fact that this person was irrefutably wrong about so many of the things that she was saying was infuriating. Not just because I know that what she’s saying is ridiculous but because she’s actually talking down to me because she knows that I disagree. There was a point in which we were discussing the fact that this particular shelter will “repossess” your adopted cat if you allow it outside. My daughter said “daddy, you let so-and-so (name of our last cat) outside.” I simply pointed out to her right in front of the employee that although her intentions are likely genuine her facts and information are wrong.
I’ll spare you the play-by-play… It was a bad experience. The people there were atrocious, the place felt like a concentration camp, and frankly this place should just be out of business if they are going to operate like this. I would rather people stop visiting this particular Humane Society and go to the ones that put a heavy emphasis on customer support and education then rely on the adage that it’s not about the people it’s about the animals. Please, remember if this place goes out of business those same animals will just go to a more reputable shelter. Believe me, based on first-hand experience I think you be doing them a favor.
So did we get the cat? You bet, my daughter fell in love with one in particular and after an agonizing conversation with that girl we made arrangements to come back within 24 hours. Please note, she made it crystal clear to my 10-year-old daughter and wife that they will give the animal to someone else and never allow us to reserve another animal if we don’t come for this one within 24 hours. It was set as a threat and taken as one. Just ridiculous. So we came back the next day and dealt with the lowest class piece of white trash that I have dealt with in a long time. I walked in the door and came up to the prison guard who just stared at me. Seriously, no greeting, no can I help you, she just started me like she was confused why was there. I said “okay… We’re here to pick up a cat that we reserved”, she seriously just stared me and didn’t say anything. I turned to my wife and almost started laughing. I turned back to the woman and said “I’m sorry, I don’t know how else to say that… Did you not understand me?” My wife chimed in and said we are here to adopt an animal that we reserved and the adoption n**i said nothing and just turned her back and picked up a clipboard and handed it to my wife. This one completely snubbed me, again in front of my daughter and if it weren’t for the fact that my 10-year-old was seriously standing there with a cat carrier I would’ve made one heck of a scene and then walk out.
The minutes wait for about 20 minutes before they brought the animal out and this particular volunteer was actually very pleasant and polite. Now it’s time to pay the piper and as I stated above my daughter took a great deal of pride in the notion that she was paying for her cat with the money that she earned. I told the horrible woman behind the counter that my daughter saved up her own money and wanted to pay herself. That nasty b* seriously said nothing to my 10-year-old and reached out and took the money out of her hand. Now, I don’t know if this woman is just retarded, beaten severely as a child, or just has absolutely no manners but what kind of low brow piece of garbage is rude to a child? Thank goodness my daughters too young to pick up on these subtleties, but let’s be honest it’s what separates the social classes. Not money, it’s class. I had to say something I was so appalled at how this woman was behaving that I actually said to my daughter less than 3 feet away from that nasty person “don’t worry about it, they don’t have any manners here.” I told her that I was proud of her and we left. Naturally I got in trouble in the car because my wife was upset that I was rude LOL, fact is I just reached my limit.
So we went to a shelter to get a pet and we got one… Was I ripped off? Not in the traditional sense, $85 for a cat is cheap when you consider what some purebred breeders get for an American shorthair. Where I feel particularly ripped off and slighted is how we were treated. I know for an absolute certainty that you can get high quality people to volunteer at these types of places and do not need to rely on low class people to represent your organization. The reason I’m writing this review is because you may be considering going to this particular place and I would hate for another person to be treated the way that I was. From our first visit to the second we walked out the door it was unpleasant. We were treated like we were rubes who probably shouldn’t have an animal by employees who have more earrings in each year than I have fingers on both hands. The one thing that sincerely irritated me during our initial visit was that little know it all (but seriously knows nothing, probably has to write her name on the palm of her hand so she doesn’t forget) seriously set forth to explain to me that the previous breed of dog that I owned was nothing more than a hybrid animal that was engineered to be a “pitbull on steroids”. She was referring to an Italian mastiff that we just had to have put down and my daughter is still upset about it. So hearing this idiot disparage our family pet was infuriating to me and made my daughter sad in the process. I did take the liberty of correcting her, explaining that that particular breed actually fought with Roman soldiers before Christ was born. That that particular breed is not what she thinks it is, it is in fact an accepted breed by the American kennel club and that she should take some time to learn more about it if she wishes to have an opinion. I’m absolutely not kidding when I say that her response was “I hope the fad of owning a dog like that ends soon, God knows we don’t need any more of them here we can’t adopt them there to mean.”
So you be the judge, maybe you think my story is pointless and should not have any impact on whether or not you adopt a dog from them. That’s your call, I personally think that rewarding laziness and clildish behavior for a business is a terrible thing. This place should not be open, their animals should be handled by other shelters and the employees should be euthanized :-) (just a joke)
One final thought… I actually asked if they euthanized animals there and at first she said no. So I asked if they would just keep an animal indefinitely or would actually adopt out a potentially dangerous dog. Of course she started vomiting out excuses which ultimately came to “we hate to euthanize animals but sometimes you don’t have a choice.” It’s not the fact that they euthanize animals that bothers me; it’s the fact that they will smugly tell you how there a no kill shelter when in reality they put down dogs there when they think it’s necessary. There simply full of BS, that’s my opinion, my other opinion is you should just look up the Geauga Humane Society, the difference between the two will blow your mind.