Nicole S.
Yelp
Adopt somewhere else! This one is a mess. My current dogs are from other local rescues. Maybe this place has become too big for its own good. It is disorganized, the communication is awful, half the staff we encountered were unprofessional, judgmental, and egotistical. The rest were friendly.
We are ideal dog adoption candidates. To start, we were judged by one application answer, putting "as long as it takes!" for how much time we'd allow our adopted dog to get acclimated in our home. We are not ones to return dogs. But apparently the "correct" answer to that question is 3-6 months. The process from here was an unorganized mess. Our dogs we brought with us were kept in a small nook with a couple staff members, adding to their anxiety and stress from a long car ride and now being in a strange place. We were told someone will bring us back to see the available dogs. No one did. We already repeatedly said after thorough review of their website, there was a dog we were interested in. After asking two more times, we were told no one brings you back, you can just go. In the back room, we find out the dog we're interested in is being kept separate where people are not allowed. This could have been communicated right away.
After meeting and falling in love with the puppy, we find out she has some behavioral issues. The lack of transparency about this on their website is concerning. All puppies had the same blurb online, gets along great with all dogs, etc. Seems to be some bait and switch behavior. This puppy we were told lacks confidence, is timid, "pancakes" to the ground. A lot of fear-based behaviors. We can work with this. We've rescued a dog with behavioral issues before, so my concern was 100% about why they weren't up front about this on their site.
We then met with the "behavioral trainer." She immediately judged our dogs saying it was "an odd pair" to have one larger dog one small. It felt very uncomfortable and judgmental. She then judged the fact that we use a prong collar, was very fixated on this collar, and repeatedly asked if we wanted a lecture from her on these collars. After 6 years of pulling issues, training, harnesses, etc, it was determined this is the best option for our dog. She then asked us how we introduce new dogs to our dogs. SHE IS THE TRAINER!! It is incredibly concerning that this woman is allowed to make Dog to Dog introductions when she does not know the proper methods, taking into account current behaviors, age differences, environment, etc. She then made us put on an alternate collar and leash so SHE could handle our dog for the interaction with the puppy. I've now learned from my own research and talking with an actual certified trainer that everything this woman did was beyond wrong! The initial interaction was the dogs going straight to each other and they let the puppy jump up and bite my dog. My dog reacted. The puppy reacted back. The "trainer" insisted my dog's reaction was from fear. It's more likely to be pain from sharp puppy teeth leading to fear as well as now distrust in this strange person controlling these poor interactions. I understand some puppies can bite. This is for the agency to know, communicate, and adjust the interaction accordingly. Instead of improving her tactics, the "trainer" let the puppy and my dog interact again, had tense body language, and quickly yanked my dog away. My dog needed a break. She was anxious and not at all her normal self. The puppy kept wanting to interact, she seemed to have no issues with our dogs at all. But the "trainer" decided she didn't like this and asked if we wanted to see other puppies?? The "trainers" behavior and actions during this whole ordeal was appalling.
It was heartbreaking to think we were about to be going home with a new family member, but did not due to poor handling by the "trainer" resulting in poor initial interactions. I will never adopt from this company and I will never recommend this company to anyone.
