I believe this "rescue" is a scam. I have not been able to find any indication that they have…read moreadopted any dogs out. The amount of money they claim to have spent getting one of their dogs back from it's owner is inconsistently varies quite a bit. They have quite a few fundraising pages and are quick to pepper the internet with requests for donations. Their interaction with me was extremely suspect. I saw their dog, Nolan, on petfinder. When I emailed to ask about his availability, heartworm status and age, I was told he has to be adopted with their dog named, Lulu and I did not receive an answer about his current HW status. I asked for more information about Lulu. I found out that both dogs had been heartworm +, but Cindy Marabito wouldn't tell me if they had their vaccinations or had been cleared by a vet after their "holistic heartworm treatment." There was or is some kind of messy legal/custody battle over Lulu. Cindy wouldn't tell me if it had been sorted out. I had to ask: 4 times if they were fixed. I never got an answer, but Lulu's petfinder page now says she is spayed. 4 times if the legal problems with Lulu's custody were resolved. I still haven't gotten an answer. 3 times if they were now heartworm free. Finally Cindy claimed that Nolan was healed with raw and herbal diet/treatments. So I asked if she had verified with a vet that the treatments were successful. She refused to answer that too. 2 times if they were vaccinated, I never got an answer, but Lulu's petfinder page now says she is UTD on vaccines. Cindy sent this: "Both are raw fed and homeopathically treated, so would need to continue that lifestyle. Nolan was hw positive when we got him and totally cured with herbal..a raw fed dog treated with herbal will not become infected with hw or other parasites or disease..take a look at our website .... Health Page. It's amazing..none of our dogs go to conventional vets or ever get sick, get fleas, cancer, etc." I'm certainly not against raw or herbal, but this all just sounds like a scam or wingnut on the loose.

I've only known about Reunion Rescue for a short time, about 3 years now. I haven't been this…read moreimpressed in such a long time of the dedication and extra mile that Reunion goes to help educate and provide care for animals. Besides advocating for Pit Bulls, they are a Menagerie & melting pot of all kinds of dogs, cats, & birds that take it to the next level by feeding a raw & holistic diet. The knowledge and expertise is hard to find. I would highly recommend this group

I just recently adopted my new dog through GRR and it was an incredible experience start to finish…read more Yes, it's thorough and yes it takes time, but I definitely feel like that is by design and ultimately matched me with a pretty incredible pup - you shouldn't be in a hurry to find your next family member! The care and passion for each dog is apparent, and I had a whole support team throughout the process to ensure I had all the information and resources I needed to bring my Cooper home.

short version: most of the people in the org are nice but it all depends on who you get as your…read more"matchmaker". if you get Jennie Lou then I wouldn't waste your time and just start looking for another place to get your golden. don't waste almost a year like we did. just be careful on facebook a lot of the group posts are scams. i had high hopes for GRR, i've been following them for a couple years and they were the first people i reached out to about donating stuff when i lost my last golden of 15 years. After going through the intense interview process we were assigned a matchmaker. I thought this process would be exciting but it was not. JL didn't have the best communication, not hearing from her 1+ months at a time and even getting us confused with other couples. She was usually abrasive and condescending over the phone. I felt like I had to keep reminding her that we've had goldens before. We tried to suggest dogs that popped up on the website or facebook page and were reprimanded for doing so. We said that a main requirement was making sure the new dog got along with our current one but that never seemed like a concern to them. JL would call us about a dog that just came in that they didn't know anything about and give us a couple to hours to decide and we'd have to go pick them up in 2 days from the Vet right after being spayed. I felt like they just wanted to throw something at the wall and see what sticks. She kept telling us to trust the process (over and over again) so we did with one of these last minute dogs and it did not work out. In fact she wound up having giardia and gave it to our older dog. Then we got gaslighted for saying it was a bad match and I once again had to remind her that we've had young goldens before. This is when I started asking around and it seemed like everyone I talked to that had a positive experience adopting from GRR had a different matchmaker than us. Before giving up i sent an email to the GRR President and VP pleading to try one more time with a different matchmaker and instead of responding they forwarded it to ours and she proceeded to chew me out over the phone like i was a child. I was never mean or ugly or anything in that email. if there was room i'd paste the email in here. As I'm writing this it's been 3 months since we've heard from JL. No check in or anything. In that 3 months we've found another golden rescue (based in dallas), got approved and already have had the new dog a couple months now. We've also met several other people that used to get their dogs from GRR that are working with this new rescue now. They were assigned JL as well and just gave up and left like we had to. Hopefully you'll have better luck than we did with GRR.

Start to finish, a clear and transparent process to adopt our 2nd dog from Heart of Texas Lab…read moreRescue. All volunteers were communicative and responsive. Overall a great experience working with them.

We've adopted 2 dogs from HoTLR over the years (and have had 10 Labradors over the years - most…read morerescues) the latest was in Jan 2024. Our second Lab from HoTLR was used as a puppy mill prior to being rescued...like our last Lab She has a number of concerning health issues... Broken teeth, tumor adjacent to one of her anal glands, and She has such a severe limp, massive swelling in her elbows and has such a difficult time negotiating steps we had her limbs radiographed. The results? Severe bilateral degenerative osteoarthritis of the elbows - this girl is in pain ALL of the time. We have a 1 story house, with steps down to the back yard; we walk her around to the backyard now to relieve herself. Walks in the "neighborhood" are very short and only to "lubricate" her elbows. She does love to retrieve, but becomes disinterested quickly because of the pain she's in (our Vet prescribed an anti-inflamitory, 2 different types of pain meds, & glucosamine. We also give her turmeric, hoping it would help). We have had this sweetest of Labs for a little over 9 weeks - this week will be our last. We won't let her suffer any longer. SHAME ON YOU HEART Of TEXAS LAB "RESCUE?" for NOT DOING the right thing by not having our sweet dog euthanized when you obtained her. It's not about the adoption fee, or the Vet costs, it's about the DOG, and her quality of life. These folks search shelters and more all over Texas to get their dogs. That's where we'll go in the future.

It has been six months since we adopted a soon-to-be senior kitty who is 10 years old. We were very…read morehappy with our experience at this small shelter that was attentive to us as soon as we walked into the space. After a long day of waiting on kittens in Austin proper and watching them all get adopted before we got a chance to see them (I say this in the most loving & happy way too), I told my partner we should try coming to Pflugerville and see what the cats there. We were VERY happy we did. From walking in to signing the paperwork for adoption our experience was positive and loving. The volunteer that cared for our cat then was super sweet to us and to our cat as she said her goodbyes to her when she found out we wanted to adopt her. The volunteer took great care of packing our cat in the carrier and even gave us the blanket, a few cat toys, and her cat brush in a nice bag with other goodies, food, and even supplements from Tomilson's Pet Store (a great Austin pet store). We loved the sweet care and transparency around our adoption. Because we adopted a senior cat our adoption fees were waived and the health report the shelter provided to us was informative for us on determining what kind of care we would expect when we adopted her. I really appreciated the transparency from the staff about our adoption. They were professional and were very kind and patient with us on all our questions around our new loving cat. What a great success story it has been for us in adopting Dusty. She was a surrender from her previous owner but now is in our loving home and receives all the treats and wet food she wants in her senior days. Thank you to the staff and kindness of those we met and will not forget at this shelter. We appreciate your care and giving us an opportunity to love her forever.

I reported a vicious dog at a residence nearby that attacked my miniature poodle to both my HOA and…read moreAnimal Control. The HOA would require an owner to get rid of a dog, who is a disturbance, but does nothing about a vicious dog. I would not want to see a person lose their beloved dog, but if someone would address the issue and perhaps, give them a warning, the owner would ensure that the dog behaves better. After speaking with 311, I was informed that they could send the owner brochures on leash laws, since my dog was not bitten. That just doesn't seem to suffice and I implied that. Then, it was mentioned that an officer could go out to speak with the owner. I don't feel confident that this will be addressed. I Pray that this dog doesn't viciously attack another dog or person to the point where it is more detrimental. It seems the dog and his owner are being given a pass because my dog was viciously attacked without being bitten and the owner tried to remove her dog, after the attack. The owner should have removed her dog immediately, when I first asked her to get her dog. I believe that she felt like the course was clear because her dog started off just sniffing my dogs, before viciously attacking my dogs. Just sending leash laws without someone addressing this issue will result in a repeated attack. The dog clearly needs to be trained. Otherwise, this goes across as being acceptable.

I adopted my perfect angel, Penny, from Austin Sheltie Rescue and it was a fantastic experience…read more Sunni made sure that I could adequately care for a pet and ensured that Penny would be going to a good home. The organization was prompt and professional and I'd recommend them to anyone!

Faced with a health condition that compromised my ability to properly care for my Sheltie Jack, I…read morefaced the difficult decision to put him up for adoption. I had had Jack for 12 1/2 years, since he was 8 weeks old. I had never surrendered a dog and was unfamiliar with the process. Looking back, reflecting on my experience, Sunni Wiginton and Austin Sheltie Rescues, their practices, and the legal form she presents, do not show adequate concern for the forfeiting pet owner. In some measure, Ms. Wiginton hastened my forfeiture. Later it came out that even minimum concerns, for the forfeiting party, even when in the pets interest, were just not her concern. During the ensuing months, I realized there were no safeguards that would allow the forfeiting party to understand adoption quality. Worried about my ability to care for Jack, I completely failed to comprehend the possibility of his being placed in care substandard to even my diminished capabilities, much less the full care that had marked his life before my illness. Five months after surrendering Jack, doctors determined what was causing my medical condition. After treatment, recovery was relatively swift. As to the surrender though, what happened happened. On the chance Mrs. Wiginton had not found a standard placement, and providing direct upfront assurance I had no interest contesting the placement, I contacted Austin Sheltie Rescue to check on Jack's status. My sole interest was to inform about my health recovery with a request that Austin Sheltie Rescue communicate with the adoptive household that should the adoption not work, or in the case circumstances that might have to put Jack up for adoption again, I was available. These seemed to me to be very minimal and resonable requests. I was shocked how immediately Sunni Wigginton became hostile and defensive, and escalated on these simple requests to provide a safety net under the adoption. Had I been better informed, with the benefit of hindsight, I would not have surrendered Jack to Austin Sheltie Rescue. Sunni Wiginton closes all her communications with the statement, "I hope to be the person my dogs think I am." My experience is she does not practice her creed. Sunni has a bit of a dark side, two faces of Eve. The personality she exhibited during the forfeiture stage was absolutely not the same person I experienced later on. Beware, Austin Sheltie Rescue certainly knows how to serve a big dish of rude. Austin Sheltie Rescue, you could stand to buff up your practices to improve relations and transparency for the surrendering household. Solely in the interest of the rescued Sheltie, and should the situation arise where there are problems with the adoptive household, rescue services should facilitate notice. In closing, it gives me no pleasure to render this critical review. Society and community should value the effort of rescue organizations. Mistreatment of any party, the dog, the forfeiting former owner, the adopting person, gives a bad name to rescue operations everywhere.

My parents have adopted two amazing Boxers from ABR, have donated money every month for 5+ years,…read moreand have paid to name over 20+ dogs in honor of their late Carmen Miranda. So, imagine our surprise when my parents submitted an application to adopt and were denied - for the simple reason my mom missed a heartworm treatment for their current dog (they changed Veterinarians and it was overlooked). ABR posts on social media how much they need money and "new parents" - yet, clearly neither truly matters. Needless to say, my parents have stopped the automatic donations and are currently looking elsewhere to adopt their next angel - and for a new charity to support.

This review is not really for the organization as much as for their volunteeers. I am not one to…read moreprovide reviews but I feel like I have to in this case. I was approved to adopt from Austin Boxer Rescue and went to one of their adoption day events a few months ago. They are very organized and MOST of the volunteers are very nice. But the one dark haired lady who signs in visitors was the rudest person I have ever met. She was talking horribly about all the other volunteers and was rude to us (and to the other familes that came that day). Like seriously rude. It was very offputting for the first person we met to scream at us and others. I wish I could remember her name - maybe Tina? Tanya? That said, I worked with Justin and he and all the other volunteers were helpful and nice. I haven't found the perfect dog yet and am not sure I want to go back to their adopt day again. I don't want to be yelled at.

When it comes to compassion, there is not a more caring group of animal rescuers out there! GAO…read morepulls animals from our county shelter and puts them into foster homes until they find their forever families. Several friends foster for GAO and just love being part of the organization. Not only do they offer everything to make the foster experience pleasant, but they have great communication and work hard to get the pets out of foster and into a home. The amazing life-saving program GAO offers to our animal welfare community is priceless!

I have been volunteering with GAO for three years now and absolutely love all the work that this…read moregroup puts into these animals. They genuinely want them to go to the perfect forever homes and that is amazing! I also adopted two dogs from them and the process was easy but thorough. They made sure I had a vet and a great home and sturdy fence for my loves!

Such a good experience. Becca was very helpful and knowledgeable and obviously cares deeply for the…read morepuppies.

We got the sweetest Parti-Yorkie just before Thanksgiving. She has been the cutest, most loving…read morepuppy with the best personality I've ever encountered. Thank you, Prettiest Puppies!