Blue Earth Nicollet County Humane Society (BENCHS)

Wesley Dunster

2024-02

What a great experience! We met a new member of our family a month ago and he's been home with us for 2 weeks now. Thank you, team! A very special shout out to Miss Tiffany for going above and beyond to help make this happen! And staying in touch to make sure we have everything we need

Brian Ende

2024-04

my family met a dog at petsmart that was being fostered and fell in love with him. contacted benches to start the adoption process. since he was recently acquired and not even on their website, we had to wait a week for him to be neutered. we waited a week and on a Monday we set up an appointment for Saturday to complete the adoption and pick him up. two hours before our appointment i received a call saying that due to a utterly incompetent staff member the dog that my family was so excited was already adopted. after reading other reviews apparently this is common

ASH H

2023-05

I've adopted both my pets from here. The staff has always been kind. Our vampire cat (Edgar) we adopted 10 years ago and our pup (echo) 4 years ago! They have a room you can go into with the cat of your choice to see how the cat interacts with you. Which is perfect!

Hailey R.

2019-05

They are a great location for adopting cats and dogs. They include up to date vaccinations and neutering/fixing of the pet in the price for the pet. Cats range from $25 (long time residents/ FIV +) to $140 (kitten). Dogs are anywhere from $160-340. Once you fill out the pre-adoption forms you can play and interact with the animals. You can also volunteer with this organization if you need volunteer hours. See the pictures attached if you want to see some cute cats.

Katelyn R

2023-11

Went near the end of August for the first time. Was checking out a couple cats they just got to see if any were mine that I'd lost awhile ago. Turned out one was(took her home obviously)Place is super clean and all the critters look healthy and mostly happy(they'd be happier if someone took them home ok) staff are helpful and friendly with questions and letting you go see them, long as you filled out an application and got approved

Felix Phoenix

2024-04

I'm grateful to have adopted my cat Corndog from here. They are wonderful at helping animals find their furever home!

Taylor S

2023-05

I got both of my beautiful fur babies from BENCHS, and I hope to get more there in the future. Great people that truly care about what they are doing. Thank you ❤️

Nick Westlund

2023-10

Very clean shelter and I loved that there was a volunteer playing with the kitties. Not only are they in a clean atmosphere with and abundance of toys, but also receiving that human interaction and while being loved on.

Felicia

2022-05

!! NOT A NO KILL SHELTER !!Look up how they treated a pit bull named Darby and you’ll see why I say that. Darby had issues with nipping (not biting and no bite history) and was with a wonderful foster family who was making amazing process with her. She was great with their two dogs and was starting to finally trust humans until this shelter told the fosters to bring her in to meet a potential adopter and then proceeded to euthanize her behind the foster’s back. Disgusting. You should be held accountable.

tammi madden

2023-07

Would give zero stats if I could. Our application was accepted for a cat that was still available for adoption. Drove 1.5 hours to find out someone had adopted him the day before. Why accept an application if the cat is gone? We had gotten there before they opened so if he was gone the day before, don’t accept our application. Spent 4 hours driving for nothing. And no apologies or anything. He was still showing available when we got home! Won’t go back.

Marcus Corbin

2019-05

Benchs is a fantastic place to adopt a cat or dog. First, I was very surprised and happy to find out they are a no-kill shelter and the animals seem to be in a very tame environment.My girlfriend and I found the most perfect cat online through petfinder and found out he was out benchs. After arriving to see the cat the first time, everyone was so nice and answered all our questions. We put a soft hold on our cat to get some things ready. A couple days later, we got our new cat Benny with some easy paperwork and an very affordable adoption fee. Thank you very much Benchs for your great service and giving us the opportunity to start our lives with Benny.

Xena Warrior Princess

2020-05

Really nice staff & knowledge about the animals. I came in to adopt a cat & was able to spend time choosing the right one. The descriptions on the cats are pretty entertaining & was certainly accurate on the one I choose. My new buddy is pretty awesome. His new name is Nyx, formerly known as Jameson.

Tyler Vaughan

2023-07

BENCHS is the bomb. I have got two cats from there. The staff is so great!! They know the animals well and you can tell they’re well cared for. Communication is very clear, if you read the emails you know exactly what to expect!! These one star reviews are ppl who clearly didn’t read any of the information that BENCHS clearly lays out in their communication with you.

Jasmine Harper

2018-05

We got our dog Cherry from BENCHS. She was saved by them from Corpus Christi, Texas; she was in a kill shelter and was facing death. Thank everything for BENCHS! We are lucky to have her. They made the adoption process fun but they also know how important a good match is. I recommend people adopting from BENCHS or donate to this no kill facility.

Hodge Files

2019-05

Love this place. Adopted a dog from here. The girls working here are friendly and knowledgeable. Happy to have found them.

Emma M

2023-05

The Blue Earth Humane Society has some of the most gracious and caring people. Over a year ago they had helped me with a situation with my cat. They took my cat in and they treated him with so much love and respect. I really appreciate this organization and we need more people like Wyllow and Debbie!

Sarah Lake

2023-08

Fantastic place, fantastic people. Really is the best animal home in mn.

Anna Thompson

2023-12

The people here are caring, knowledgeable, and helpful! Easy adoption process and clean as it can be facility

Bradley Suess

2020-05

We g9t our amazing dog from there only down fall was told she was dog aggressive but she was and is not....they should know more about the pets they adopt out...she is the little white and brown pup with the big white Pitbull his dad is the other brown and white one in background

Dosiah Jackson

2023-05

I’d give zero stars if I could. You guys make me sick. How dare you charge someone to come pick up THEIR OWN CAT, and then turn around and sell it to someone else when the owner couldn’t afford it. You did this KNOWING the cat had a loving home & let someone else adopt the cat anyways. You could’ve easily put a hold on it or worked out some sort of payment plan, but that little $150 must’ve been too hard to resist. CLEARLY you care more about $ than the pets and owners. Shame Shame Shame.

Grace Cone

2023-05

BENCHS is an amazing organization where I have adopted four of my own pets from, as well as had the privilege to work there. It is a welcoming community of people who love animals, and want nothing but the best for them. I will always support BENCHS, and encourage anyone else in the Mankato area to as well!

Pamala Pater

2023-05

A family of someone I went to HS posted this on FB. You decide for yourself who was in the wrong.💔😡💔😡💔😡My family and I are very heartbroken over the loss of our family cat. Zeus has always loved smelling the fresh air outside and his little adventures. Normally returning in a few hours to once in awhile a few days. He went on one and was picked up by Benches. As soon as I saw him on their website named " Big Grey" I called and went down with all veterinary certificates and paperwork proving he was mine to bring Zeus home. Benches told me that it would cost me $166 plus another $20 for him to be chipped. That's $188!!!! I, as a one person income household I could not afford this ridiculously high price tag on my cat's head! I cried and begged them to work with me on the price. They refused and told me that he is being put up for adoption in 12 hours if I can't come up with the money. Instead of working with the loving owner of the pet that was found and bringing him back to his home, they turned around and sold him to a stranger for $150. Less than what they were charging me. This was Zeus's first time in Kitty jail. He is a very well taken care of cat. My family just got him neutered and up-to-date on all of his shots.This was a unnecessary separation of a family in their beloved pet. This is very unfair to both owner and pet. I hope that something can be done about Benches and the City of Mankato who contracts through them to relook at their policies and prices so that no other family has to go through this kind of grief.

Jacey Roeber

2023-05

Lindsey was super helpful and understanding! We bothered her for weeks looking for our new furry friend till we found the purrfect one! Will always be thankful to BENCHS for helping us find our new furry family member

Christine LeClerc

2023-05

Since the 90's, I have adopted multiple pets from BENCHS. It's been a mixed bag, but the best outcomes have come from fostering, prior to adoption.Most recently, we fostered what was thought to be a pregnant female dog. She turned out to NOT be pregnant, but she still needed heartworm treatment, before becoming adoptable. We agreed to continue fostering, until she cleared heartworm.At first we were not sure about adoption. We already had 2 dogs and 2 cats, and this dog was not getting along with the cats.After about 6 months, she and the cats seemed to be tolerating one another better. We were becoming hopeful about adopting her.In June, we received a call to bring her in to BENCHS for a heartworm recheck. When I brought her in, I was asked to wait in the lobby.The BENCHS staff treated me like I was planning to adopt and generated some paperwork. The records included a list of vaccines, two of which had expired in April, and others were due in 3 days. I brought this to their attention and questioned if they were planning on bringing her up to date on vaccines?Then it got weird. They told me that the vaccines were my responsibility and cited some foster papers, which I had supposedly signed. They said BENCHS was only responsible for heartworm treatment, and I was responsible for all other medical expenses. I explained that we never agree to that!When I asked to see the signed agreement, they couldn't produce it. They told me I would need to take her to a veterinarian for updated vaccines. I became upset at this point and explained that, in the past, the adoption fees always included up-to-date vaccines.I also explained that we had never received any records initially, regarding health history or vaccines (even though we had requested records several times). We had to call and ask when flea and tick and heartworm tablet were initially due, so we could keep her on a schedule. If we had received her papers, we would not have let her vaccines expire for 2 months!At this point, several staff were looking for a signed foster agreement.The front desk gal continued arguing with me. Then she went back to discuss matter with the veterinarian.It was humiliating. They were treating me like I was trying to get something for free. I don't like to argue, and normally I would have backed down and just taken her to my regular Vet for vaccines. However, due to unforeseeable expenses this month, I was counting on vaccines being included in her adoption fee.When they couldn't find or produce any prior signed paperwork, they finally agreed to bring her up to date on vaccines. Their veterinarian did so while I completed the adoption papers and paid the adoption fee. Most importantly, I took our girl home!Even though this experience was not positive, she is a wonderful dog and totally worth it!! Unfortunately this will probably be the last time I do any fostering for BENCHS.

Lilsk8 RemindmeofPlilbit

2023-05

You played yourselves for $150. How embarrassing. Was it worth it?*to anyone who isn’t aware what this is about; BENCHES decided to sell out a cat for $150. They did this KNOWING the cats original owner, who they had tried to charge $188 to pick up the cat. Not a chance that this healthy cat ate/drank up that much money. BENCHES held this cat for ransom & sold it to the first bidder when the owner couldn’t afford the ransom, extorting the cats real family out of their own pet.

Elizabeth Nelson

2021-05

Met my best friend here. Hank and I are doing great he's such a big dork ❤ we start puppy training this Saturday!

Brian America

2023-07

The people working there are nice.I Just adopted Lilac today!

Kristina Kelley

2022-05

Very hard to communicate with.My partner and I stopped by on a whim one day and found a cat we were absolutely in love with. He was not available right away but we asked if we could be updated if and when he became available, and we filled out the pre-adopt form that afternoon. After waiting over the weekend, we contacted them to ask if they had seen the application so we could set up an appointment, and they said they would contact us later that day. They did not, so we decided to check again the next day. Again, they said they would call us back or send an approval/denial email. Again, we did not hear back. Currently waiting on the third method of contact. It is incredibly frustrating when you fall in love with an animal and can get no answers on whether you can adopt or if they are even still available.

Samantha Guerrero

2022-05

I was automatically declined to adopt a cat because I am on probation for a property damage charge. I made it clear i have received treatment successfully. It’s not a violent or drug offense. I was stunned to realize I was going to be labeled as not fit to adopt because of a minor incident. This place seems to have a strong prejudice. Their prices are high and are not flexible or easy to work with. Adopt elsewhere. There are many stray animals in need of love and care that will be FREE. Animals will not judge you the way they do.

Zahra Jangbar

2022-05

When I made appointments to see kittens at their shelter they claimed that they didn't have any young kittens. This happened multiple times. Come to find out they put all their kittens at PetSmart and chose not to tell me to persuade me to adopt older cats.Second, more serious problem is that when I adopted two kittens from PetSmart, they were sick without anybody noticing. I've had to take them to the vet twice and give them antibiotics. I paid $200 for each of them with the understanding that they had taken care of medical issues and were ready to come home. I don't know how long they were sick and suffering without anybody caring for them.Really disappointed in this organization, would not recommend adopting from them. They clearly don't properly care for their animals.