P.A.W.S. Animal Shelter 57 Lemons Branch Road, Bryson City, NC 28713

"Unable to get anyone to call me back when I left multiple voice-mails. Apparently they have "no room", but around the holidays will take in every dog they see. Got told they don't take owner surrenders, but whenever they got news coverage they were singing a different tune. Don't waste your time here. They are unprofessional. I come here every year for vacation, and every year I have gotten the same unthought responses when I come to them about animal concerns, or animals that I have tried to find owners for, but cannot. Your best bet would be to go to any other shelter, or rescue. You would have more luck there, than this "organization"."

"Went there to adopt a dog that’s good for hiking and explained how my dog had recently passed away that I had for 5 years. The woman was very sweet at first as we are talking about the dogs there. She had one she wanted me to get and I walked it around and even though it was a cute dog I wasn’t interested in that particular one. She then became rude to me asking why and I said the dog just wasn’t that interested in me and I just wasn’t that interested in her and she said well she’s a shelter dog what do you expect. The dog I had before was also a shelter dog, and I work as a dog groomer for 4 years and worked at a vet for a few years in Alabama I know dogs, and it’s ok that it wasn’t a good fit. There was a shepherd mix I was interested in that I also met and she was very interested in me and she actually interacted with me and the other one just wasn’t. She just kept being rude about the fact I didn’t want the other one and I said it’s a lifelong commitment I want a good fit and how I had my other dog for over 5 years to which she responded that’s not long, my dog died, I didn’t get rid of him after 5 years he died after a surgery and she knew this. I have no idea why she did such a strong switch on me bc she was very nice when I first got there."

"Wonderful owner and staff. My family and I were staying in the area from out of town and found a young cat hanging around our air b n b. The poor kitty stayed around the house our entire stay and we couldn’t find any owners, so we went to PAWS to see if they could help the little guy. He did not have a microchip, had fleas, wasn’t fixed, and seemed to be breathing funny. We had planned on taking him home but learned we couldn’t take him across state lines, so the owner took the cat in to make sure he could get healthy and be cared for. She didn’t have room for any more animals yet she was caring enough to make an exception. This is a wonderful shelter that is really making a difference and truly cares about animals."

"Well, i applied for adoption of a small dog. I am a full-time traveler with a small camper. I was told my situation was inappropriate for a pet. She never called me to ask questions. Never called references. Just went purely off the tiny application. Dont go here for a dog. And dont call, they never answer phone. Additional....oh look at this. Once i give bad review they acknowledge i exist. If you had called me, i would have told yu my primary vet is in orlando florida. I went to cherokee vet 2 times in 4 years. But yu never called me. Yes i travel...but between florida and here. Once here, i am stationary. Car sick is not a problem. They get used to it. But did yu call me on this? NO. The FACT REMAINS....yu arbitrarily rejected me with zero effort to find out about me at all. Yur methodology stinks I REPEAT....STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE. GO TO JACKSON CTY SHELTER INSTEAD Regarding Jackson Cty Shelter, they have more dogs, and the adoption fee is between $60 and $90 cheaper than paws. Oh.....and paws gets dogs from Jackson Cty !!!!"

"They did a great job helping us to find our perfect fur buddy! They were sweet and super cautious as they should be with adopters! We can't thank P.A.W.S Animal shelter enough for bringing Olaf in to our family!!"