I can't begin to say what a wonderful Rescue CVRR is!! I highly recommend this facility if you want adopt a rescue. I adopted my little dog from there 2 years ago and she is exactly what they said she is and I couldn't be happier. read more

Central Valley Rescue Railroad - My WONDERFUL CVRR rescue, Verity! Also known as Tutu. - Animal Shelters Near Me

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Adopted two dogs here over the years and 10/10 experience. Dogs and cats come fixed and vaccinated!

Compassion is the rule of the agency and its treatment of rescued pets and the people who adopt the rescued. A wonderful organization!!'

My husband and I had a great experience adopting our puppy from CVRR! Communication via email was great and very responsive. We're from San Jose so they were nice enough to schedule an appointment on the weekend, and hold him until our appointment, when we could make it out to see him. Suzie was so nice when we showed up and let us hang out with our pup for awhile in the outdoor play pen. She was very flexible and happy to show us other dogs that were available and was very honest and candid about dogs she thought would or wouldn't be a good fit for us or would be a bit more of a challenge energy or behavior wise. Ultimately we adopted the pup we originally came to see and it's only been 2.5 weeks but he's already fit into to our family perfectly and Suzie's assessment of his behavior/personality was spot on. Also, their adoption fee is very affordable!! Appreciate that they do the vaccines, de-worming, and other health care needs but still make it as easy/accessible as possible to adopt with a low adoption fee. read more

Central Valley Rescue Railroad - Animal Shelters Near Me

If you are looking to rescue a pet this is the place to go. Kudos to Central Valley, especially to Stephanie & the team at CVRR, we are so grateful to find the piece of joy that we were missing, thanks to Central Valley Rescue we found it read more

Central Valley Rescue Railroad - Animal Shelters Near Me

Bj the owner is rude, I understand it's a tough job but when we're in tears having to sign away our 3 black puppies, who have their vaccine records in hand. She could be alittle more friendly. read more

We adopted a puppy from this rescue group several weeks ago and could not be happier. The staff took a lot of time to make sure our new pet was a good fit for our family and we already could not imagine life without him. We were impressed with all the staff and the director. We recommend this rescue for anyone looking for a new fur baby. read more

I am very disturbed by the whole event this morning. Bj Motko the owner was being the rudest, I have not dealt with anyone like this in a very long time. Right when I pulled up she was stand offish rude and aggressive. What is her problem? So I am perplexed maybe I offended her cause yesterday I asked to borrow or buy a used dog grate. I just moved into a house where I can have a rescue dog. So money is tight but still I feel obligated to rescue a dog. I was actually putting the 150 adoption fee on my credit card. And tight on cash but I am fully capable of making everything work out for adopting a rescue. She never talked to me and has no right to treat anyone with that sort of disrespect. This whole morning was heartbreaking. From the posts online Stella looked healthy and in the video on FB she's walking good enough. They brought me to a dog that was scared out of its mind. She wouldn't even stand up, it makes no sense. It really didn't fully look like the dog in the photos or video. If that dog was really with a foster family I would not think it would be that way. The description of the dog was a American Pit and Australian Shepherd. That was not the dog I was looking at today. This frightened poor thing was a small lab terrier mix. That lady doesn't know me, I have been helping animals my whole life. I am a great dog owner. I still feel disappointed, disrespected and disturbed. read more

Best experience ever!!! They found the greatest dog for us. We love our Mookie and he seems to love us too...a match made in Heaven with the help of CVRR!!! read more

Kudos to Kelly & the team at CVRR. They were thorough & gave me all the information on Keegan-now Rocky I needed to complete the adoption. Rocky was frightened when I brought him home, but within a week he has learned to trust me and has become my constant companion. I found the staff at CVRR to be caring & helpful & I thank them for bringing such joy! Nancy B. Tulare CA read more

First impression is everything to me. So when I call an office I see that person as a representative of the company. I received no "hello, how may i help you" or thank you for calling Central Valley railroad Rescue" nothing. The person made me feel very stupid over the phone. So right then and there i knew this was not the adoption center for me. Yes, they might of been having a bad day, but come on. Professionalism, people! read more

I am frustrated and disheartened at the fact that I even have to sit here and write this post. I have been heartbroken after my dog Finnegan passed away in August. After living in California for a few months, I finally felt ready for a new friend to enter my life. I had no luck at the local SPCA and decided to look into non profit rescues - I came across Central Valley Rescue Railroad through an ad on petfinder. I was put off by my initial interaction with the director. I wanted to let her know that I had submitted an application for a dog online but was open to suggestions if she felt another dog would be better suited to my lifestyle. She responded with "this isn't pet smart, you can't just come and go shopping for a dog". I was confused as to why I received this tone but hey, it is a stressful time for everyone so I brushed it off. One of her volunteers, Donna, called me and I had a very pleasant interview and she had suggested that I meet a dog I had not seen online (which ended up being the dog I came home with). I am beyond grateful that Donna and the director, BJ, collaborated and suggested this dog to me because he is a perfect fit and i love him so much already. The interaction with all staff at the shelter was pleasant when I went to bring my dog home. I was told that he had a deep tissue wound that required some healing but no further veterinary care was necessary. Hey, I work in health care. I deal with wound care on a daily basis so I felt it was no big deal. I know what to do. BJ gave me a list of veterinarians in the area and suggested my current vet since they are a reputable facility and only 5 minutes from my apartment. I took my dog to the vet a few days later because the granulated tissue had sloughed off and he was left with an inflamed, angry wound that he would not stop licking and his limping became worse. The vet at Redwood took one look at his foot and ordered an X ray. To our surprise, my dog was missing the entire P2 bone. Gone. And BJ told me it was a tissue wound that was healing well. She did not disclose that he had an operation to remove the bone, leaving him wiht a non functional, painful toe. All 3 veterinarians at Redwood, the surgeon, and my two neighbors in NJ (also veterinarians) agreed that amputation was the best answer to prevent further pain and risk of sepsis or other systemic infection from the open wound. I texted BJ to let her know since I was confused.. she said he was fine? I received an attitude and condescending tone from that moment forward. My dog was in such pain that the vet prescribed a 24/7 dose of oxycodone to hold him over until the amputation could be performed. I tremendously disturbed at the fact that anyone thought this was a condition for a dog to live in. After BJ realized I was going to get the surgery, she wanted me to bring the dog to her Vet to convince me not to perform the surgery during the work day in the middle of the week. I work in healthcare during a global pandemic and cannot afford to call out for the sake of my patients who depend on me. BJ spoke to me in a condescending tone and offered to have me drop my dog off at her house and she would take him to the vet. I politely declined stating that I am not comfortable with that since it is my dog and I would like to be present to hear what the vet has to say in regards to this serious medical decision. She sent me a long, angry text message at how she was so surprised that I trust the other vets over her vet when I have only met them once. Did she fail to realize that I also only. met her once? I am an independent adult capable of making my own informed decision and have to make clinical decisions for my patients EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. I am shocked that she felt she had the authority and audacity to speak to a paying customer that way. Odie is having his amputation this week and I have no doubt in my mind that I saved him from a life of pain. If another person adopted him ,they may not have taken him to the vet and he could have developed sepsis. I am grateful that the employees matched me with Odie and I am so in love with him. I have no problem spending a thousand dollars in vet bills because I know in my heart it is in his best interest. Overall, I would not recommend adopting a dog from this facility due to their negligence and lack of professionalism. End Rant. read more

Central Valley Rescue Railroad - Animal Shelters Near Me

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So I was referred to this place by my veterinarian as my husband found a 6 week old puppy at his job site and we could not keep him. I did t want to take him to Animal Control being that they are not a no kill shelter. The owner answered and had no compassion at all, she was very rude and asked me where I was calling from (does it matter?) she stated she legally can't take in any strays but then said I can post it on social media and if nobody claims the dog THEN she can see what she can do.. you either can help me or you can't there shouldn't be no in between. She also suggested I call animal control first and was very away that there aren't any no kill shelters in the Central Valley meaning she rather me take the tiny puppy to animal control instead of her rescuing it. read more

Hey folks, I appreciate the fact that this organization is out of a private home the! Director has given up her life and home for the misfortune of dogs in one of the poorest counties in California. That said, I think the director is a saint. I have adopted 4 dogs from CENTRAL VALLEY RESCUE RAILROAD and she has been right every time. I am grateful she is proactive for the dogs and not the people. Go, BJ, GO read more

I adopted a dog from CVRR in March 2011 because I had adopted a puppy six months prior through them and liked her a lot. I wanted them to be about the same age and he was only a month younger than my other dog. Fast forward a year and I got married. Fast forward another year and we're expecting a baby girl. Because of the birth of our daughter, my wife and I decided that the dog's habits and traits were difficult enough for her and I to deal with and would be very difficult for a baby to deal with. The dog has bitten both of us on separate occasions, scratched us on various other occasions, and never stops licking. I would generally not put this dog's issues on the rescue organization, but as you may realize, there are contracts signed when a dog is originally adopted. They state that if I am ever at a point that I feel the need to give him away, that I have to seek the rescue's permission first. I did that via email. BJ, the director of the rescue, was neither rude nor polite in her emails, but told me to contact her again the following Monday, while she worked to find a foster home for this dog. On Monday, I followed up with her. Her reply was to bring the dog to her home at 11AM on a weekday. I work full-time, so my nine months pregnant wife offered to drive him to BJ's home. Upon arriving there, BJ was rude and insulting. She claimed that my wife and I did not know how to put a collar on a dog. She made other outrageous claims and insulted my wife and I for being willing to let the dog go because "he licks." Based on the fact that this woman would insult my wife who is obviously ready to deliver a baby to this world any day now, I have no faith in her abilities to be compassionate to humans or animals. Also, I have no faith in her to run a successful rescue operation. My wife and I were heartbroken to give this dog back, but we both felt strongly that it was the right thing to do for the dog and our soon-to-be born child. We had truly imagined that he would be adopted out to a family with lots of land and older kids. Based on the experience we recently had, where he was caged upon arrival at the director's home, alongside three other dogs already in cages, I can say that I will never work with them or their rescue group ever again. read more

I just adopted a little chihuahua puppy from CVRR and had the best experience ever. I submitted my application and received a response within a few hours and received a phone call within a day. Debbie was a pleasure on the phone and both Debbie and BJ were very nice and helpful in person. I don't understand the negative comments, but to each his own. I do understand that sometimes you get what you give and not everyone is polite to these people who are just trying to make a difference. So to CVRR I say thank you so much for my little lady bug.... she's being called Lexi....to those reading this review, please check them out. A very caring and hard working group of people with a difficult job! Thank you so much!!! read more

Central Valley Rescue Railroad - Animal Shelters Near Me

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Me and my husband were interested in adopting a young dog and we were very rudely told we could not adopt him because we did not already own a older dog. After we left the adoption site we called to talk to the director about how we thought our home situation would work for him the director was very rude and not willing to listen to what we have to say. That being said the volunteer that was helping us in the being very wonderful and very helpful. It's sad the representative brings such a negative atmosphere read more

When my husband and I moved back to the Valley 3 years ago, we decided that we finally had enough room and a large enough yard to adopt a dog. I cyberstalked CVRR and other rescues for weeks looking for the right fit for us. I kept circling back to one dog in particular, a cattle dog named Penny Ante. There was one problem - Penny was deaf and as a first time dog owner, I wasn't sure I could handle her disabilities. I finally went to a CVRR adoption event to meet the dogs in person. Fate intervened. When I introduced myself and told the director what I was looking for in a dog (large breed, short hair, moderately active, good with cats) she smiled and told me she had the perfect dog for me - Penny Ante. I explained that I had very little dog experience and I wasn't sure if I could handle Penny's needs. The director quelled my fears by looking at Penny and raising her hand. Penny sat. Penny responds to hand signals. Penny was the most well behaved dog at the event. The adoption itself took several weeks to complete. My husband and I spent a lot of time getting to know Penny at her foster mom's home and researching the needs of deaf dogs. We decided that deafness really isn't that big of a deal and that Penny was the dog for us. Penny had been in CVRR foster care for most of her life. She was four years old when we adopted her. Think about that for a minute. CVRR spent four years saving one dog's life. My experience with CVRR was so good that I started volunteering there last year. read more

Caller on phone was every rude, not helpful at all and was talking in riddles. She definitely do not have an ounce of customer service ability. She made me feel like I was very dumb. I was very disappointed for I felt that caller need to understand "people" even though she is working with animals. Although this organization was referred to me, but I will not hesitate to let my resource know what a bad experience I had. read more

We went to see one dog that we thought was a good match. Turned out that dog was not the best match for our family and they brought out Landry-now Rocket. He is the best addition to our family! Our pack is now complete! read more

We had a great experience with CVRR. I'm not sure what happened with the previous review, but everything they advised us about regarding our dog has been on point. They seemed very concerned about worms and fleas and sent us home with medication and information to take care of both. They also were on the mark regarding our puppy's temperament. They are definitely working hard at CVRR and did seem to have a lot on their plate, but by no means have they been dismissive or uncaring. I did have one subsequent conversation with the owner about a follow-up appointment for our puppy and she was very helpful and kind. read more

Actually, CVRR is the best Animal rescue group in our area. I would like to know of a local shelter that has the funds & that does all the testing as "SavannahV." states in her comments...I have voluntered for Valley Oak & Tulare County, to my knowledge they do not. I gues the bottom line is to not forget what the focus is when you are adopting a dog or cat from a rescue or shelter, you are saving a life! Rescue groups do the best they can, but they are not perfect... I would say they made a mistake adopting to you. read more

We adopted a young Golden Retriever from CVRR in May 2016. I found BJ, the director, to be very caring & great lady. I have read the negative reviews left here for CVRR. Really, you can't adopt a dog because someone didn't answer the phone to your liking? Adopting a dog is a lifetime commitment. How do those dogs feel when 2 years later you decide they just don't fit your lifestyle? I became a volunteer at CVRR after seeing how great the need is to find forever homes for dogs. CVRR does an amazing job with over 880 adoptions last year & now on track to our goal of 1000 this year. Is all about the dogs people!! read more

A year ago i was looking for a dog and i went to one of their events to see what was available. I explained what I wanted in a dog, large "preferably a German Shepherd" dog friendly, human friendly and really active. One of the volunteer suggested her foster dog that she had in her care for 6 months, then i met her and she was simply amazing she was everything that lady described to me. One year later she is still the perfect dog i have dreamed of, so a month ago i decided that since our experience was so good with our first dog i would go and get a best buddy for her and as i arrived i saw that gorgeous blond lab mix of about 8 months old. They offered me to introduce them to make sure it was the right fit, which i did and match made in heaven. read more