Dakin Humane Society

Disappointing. The folks I talked to were pleasant enough; I applied, replied to the email to be interviewed, and despite my family and I picking out 4 different possible cats, all had been adopted (including one who showed up on the site about 20 minutes before my interview). I sort of get it, this happens - presumably they're volunteers. Except - Dakin reaches out to say they've updated the site and I should inquire about the current cats - I go back to the site - and the same cats that were already adopted are still on the site (and remained so for almost a week after). Then I get adoption notices for cats I didn't even interview for (even though I never received notices for the cats I officially inquired about).

I very much received the impression they wanted to choose a cat for me rather than let our family pick.

When I first inquired, I should have been told the pet was adopted, not strung along just to bait and switch me to another cat.

Long and short story - they'll waste some amount of your time and energy. I recommend moving on to other rescue groups who are a little more pulled together in their adoption process.

Amazing. Staff is friendly and professional. Took my two male cats for they neutering and shots. Extremely affordable and easy drop off/pick up. No mistaking who's animal is who's. They give you step by step instructions for before and aftercare. Will be going back to have my female dog spayed.

Awful experience. Our dog has some sort of allergy and we have been to this place 5 times and in this time they've done 1 test for ring worm. They recommended an expensive dog food that our dog has been on for 30 days and his skin is getting worse. The doctors ego is so big that he's still telling us it's a food allergy even though the prescription food is all our dog eats now. At this point we've spent the same amount of money here as we would have with a specialist and the results are worse. The doctor needs to stop thinking he knows everything and should have done more tests to narrow down what our dog is allergic to. This place is only good if you have normal dog problems but anything out of the ordinary then you will find yourself in a revolving door of uncertainty.

Brought my kitty there! Its was very fast and prompt for my cats spay. I have a very healthy happy kitty! And the instructions for at home care were very clear!

We adopted out two beautiful cats (Manx and Himalayan) and named them Thelma and Louise 12 years ago. They unfortunately passed unexpectedly 6 months ago from an unknown malady and we are looking for 2 more kitties.
we will attempt to adopt two from Dakin once more. In the past they were courteous and professional, but it took a lot of time to get through the process of adopting.

I was looking for a cat, and right from the beginning the staff was very helpful and professional.
I picked out a 10 year old tuxedo cat but he needed teeth and gum worK.
I was able to pick him up three days later, and the surgery had been done at no charge.
The staff was incredibly nice. The woman that went over the paperwork with me was very helpful, and answered all of my questions.
If I ever need another pet, I will absolutely use Dakin.

What a beautiful operation! We had long been waiting to add a kitten to our family (which already consisted of one mature female feline) and we drove an hour to Springfield chasing this dream. Our day began with perusing Dakin's easy-to-use website, oooo-ing and aww-ing over all of the little ones needing adoption, then we hopped in the car and headed west!

Dakin's location was easy to navigate to, had loads of parking, and had the looks of a pretty organized operation. Upon stepping inside we saw loads of wonderfully clean and well put together spaces for all sorts of animals available for adoption (cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, and even a snake!). There were a couple very large cat rooms with loads of things to climb, hop on, nap in/on, catch some sun, or squirrel away (was like a cats dream room really). "Spirit cats" (the shy solo type) were in their own quiet space and the number of visitors in here is limited as to control the kitties' stress levels. Really just SO many beautiful felines looking for a home it made my heart melt! You could really tell that this isn't your typical country shelter, the animals are happy here and are well cared for, setting you up for a seamless adoption.

I'd have taken them all if I could have, but we were in the market for just the one teensy cat. We walked up to the desk and asked if we could see any currently unclaimed kittens and the lovely young woman behind the desk noted that they actually had just taken in a found box of three males (two grey and one tuxedo) and that while the tux was still available he was currently in surgery for the big snip! She checked with the vets and the manager and they said that we could take him home hours after the operation (commence operation joyful dance). We sorted out paperwork and adoption fees (about $250) with the front and when our little one was ready they brought him out to us in a towel, purring up a storm.

Absolutely recommend Dakin for pet adoption! But they're popular, so call ahead and put a deposit down if you see a critter you're interested in!

DELETED MY REVIEW A "no kill" shelter that routinely lines up animals and euthanizes them all the time if they are "not adoptable" beware brining your pets here as they will most likely be euthanized if they do not sell.
Many friends I know have brought animals here as well which have been euthanized. I have heard countless horror stories from current and past employees detailing the sad days they have to euthanize whole groups of animals. If you are a true animal lover please do not support this cruel organization.

We were promptly greeted by a team of adoption coaches who showed us where to look for our desired pet which was a cat. We looked around at all the available animals but noticed that a few that were online we not out for viewing. They were happy to let us in the office area where those cats were staying in individual rooms.


I found the staff friendly and professional. Never did I sense they were all about the money. We ended up picking a cat that didn't have a listed adoption fee. I was pleasantly surprised to see the fee was only $59. I thought that was extremely low considering the cat was up to date on shots, vet checked, fixed, and came microchipped. I did give an additional donation because I wanted too I was never asked or pressured into donating.


The process was quick we were in & out and we left with the cat the same day. They double checked everything was fine and even made sure to apply flea treatment that was due the next day before we left.


I had looked at a different shelter during my adoption journey and they denied me due to the fact I was honest and said my views on letting a cat go outside would depend on the cats preference. I could tell that Dakin was very much about the cats preference on outdoor living and they didn't hold you a contact saying the cat will only stay indoors.

I was also shocked that they actually took the cats preference into consideration when they were feeding it the preferred food that was on the surrender paperwork. They actually bought the cats preferred food and gave it to us with her for no additional cost. I was not aware of this before deciding to donate money on top of my adoption fee. I'm especially glad I did make an a donation.


I know the MSPCA has all their cats eating the food they prefer and they pressure you to buy that specific food from them when you adopt plus they pressure you to donate money.


I would definitely adopt from Dakin again and I would love to thank Harley's family for surrendering her because she is such a sweet cat!


EDIT TO ADD AN UPDATE-
It's been a week Harley has adjusted so well. She had her first vet visit today to get established with a local vet. Using the free vet certificate was easy. I love the vet we picked and Harley did fantastic until the dental portion of the visit. She even tolerated the nail trim better than I expected. We picked VCA animal hospital in Lancaster. They were the closest to us and offered full services and amazing hours. The staff was friendly and they sent us home with a very generous welcome gift. I'm looking forward to having them care for Harley in the future.

We went to Dakin to get my dog nala spade. We also asked for a cone, and to get her nails clipped. The cone keeps falling off her head, because it doesn't fit. And they did a TERRIBLE job cutting her nails. Not happy.