On its website, Alachua County Animal Resources describes its mission as committed to CARE, which it defines as community, adoption, reuniting, and education.
The agency’s services include running an animal shelter, managing pet adoptions, investigating animal cruelty cases and enforcing animal control laws.
But Alachua County Animal Resources routinely has received negative reviews on its Google page over the years. The severity of the claims varies, with noticeable themes being mistreatment, poor customer service and seizing animals.
Animal Resources is aware of the public’s perception of its work.
“We do have some one-star reviews,” said Gina Peebles, Alachua County’s assistant manager and current interim animal services director. “But we also have multiple five-star reviews.”
Adoptions at Animal Resources increased by around 12% for the third quarter of 2025 from 1,238 last year to 1,333 adoptions in 2025. Meanwhile, the number of animal deaths and losses for the shelter decreased from 37 to 29 for the third quarter of 2025.
But the public still holds conflicting opinions.
“Zero stars if I could,” reads a one-star review by Griffin Davis, who recounted his negative experience attempting to save a litter of abandoned kittens.
Just a scroll down, however, Christina Garcia writes that the facility is in her “top 3” and that she loves her newly adopted dog.
Peebles said it is difficult to have a “broad brush response” to people’s complaints due to the variety of scenarios the shelter deals with.
Franziska Raeber, the director of development at the Humane Society of North Central Florida, said she has also noted that situations regarding the animals and prospective owners follow a case-by-case basis, making it challenging to track where a client has had a poor experience.
When Dakota Fellows, 27, brought his husky, Kona, home from the Gulf Coast Humane Society, he thought Kona would be his forever companion. But after the involvement of Alachua County Animal Resources, their time together came to an end.
After an altercation with his mother, animal services were called to remove both Fellows and Kona from the property. When they arrived, he said the animal service officers told him that if he refused to surrender his dog, he would be charged with animal cruelty.
“Me, being reluctant as I was, I didn’t want to have that kind of thing because it looks bad,” he said with his lip quivering.
Kona was housed in the shelter, and Fellows had a limited time to retrieve his dog before it would be legally put up for adoption.
“You have five days to reclaim them if it has indication that it's owned,” said Peebles. “Come the sixth day, we can, by law, then adopt it to another family.”
Peebles urges pet owners to have their animals chipped with personal information, allowing the shelters to contact them if their animal ends up in its care.
Fellows said he was unable to arrive in time. He said he tried to work something out to get his dog back, but before he arrived, he received a voicemail from the shelter notifying him of Kona’s adoption. And Animal Resources was asking for the fees he owed for Kona’s care.
“I'm not sure if anything can be done,” said Fellows with a shaky voice. “I barely sleep because I know that he's not there.”
Animal care is an emotional business, said Raeber. When Animal Resources, a government entity, must seize an animal or bring up charges, people get upset, she said.
The resource center is tax-funded and had a 2025 budget of $6 million, a $1.5 million dollar increase from its $4.5 million budget in 2024, according to Alachua County data. The department has maintained its purpose in promoting the adoption of shelter pets and the importance of the human-animal bond.
Tiffany Love, a 27-year-old resident, is also unhappy with the shelter’s management.
Love and her husband had found a dog, Duke, on the shelter’s website. They were set on adopting him.
When she adopted Duke, Love was handed seven pages of information on the dog’s health history from the past year. The shelter had been giving the dog medication every day until two weeks before Love got him.
Keeping him healthy costs over $200 a month, she said. The shelter was aware of his allergies and health concerns but did not reveal any of this history until after the adoption was in process, Love said.
“They just handed it all to me in a packet and didn't really mention his extensive history,” she said. “They just told me, here's your microchip, make sure you update your address,”
When a dog is adopted through Alachua County Animal Resources, a complimentary check-up is provided at select veterinary locations, and Love said she took advantage of the opportunity. The outcome was not what she expected.
“I walked out with a $300 bill,” she said.
Duke had two severe ear infections that needed to be treated. Frustrated, Love decided to call the shelter to complain that her complimentary check-up ended with a hefty fee. After much difficulty, she was finally able to reach someone at Animal Resources and was met with a slew of legal jargon over the phone.
Alachua County Animal Resources has a vet clear all animals before they leave the shelter. That policy is similar, if not the same as that followed by the Humane Society, said Raeber, adding that the two shelters are confident in the health of the animals once they leave.
“We make every attempt to provide good quality veterinary care for the animals in the shelter,” said Peebles.
Some of the animals in the care of Alachua County Animal Resources are adopted very quickly, she said, giving staff less time to uncover any underlying health history.
Peebles said that when someone decides to adopt an animal, they are provided with its medical information. Though not standard practice before an adoption, a prospective owner who inquires about an animal’s history can review its health documents before the process occurs.
“They’re doing really the best job they can with the resources they were given,” said Raeber. “Their facility is also in discussion to being upgraded. They need that.”
The Humane Society and Alachua County Animal Resources work closely together for a common mission: providing animals with the best care possible until they find their forever home. The Humane Society is also currently assisting Animal Resources with spay-neuter services. These procedures prevent unwanted litters that can be difficult to care for.
With Animal Resources constantly at capacity, it has been taxing for both the staff and animals, said Peebles. Adoption fees are currently waived and will remain so until kennel space is freed.
Alachua County Animal Resources has been maximizing its resources, said Raeber; still, many clients remain aggravated. Although Love said she has found her forever pet, she is still disappointed with the service she received.
“I really feel like they could do better,” she said with a sigh. “I feel like they could do better easily.”