We've had a very positive interaction with Legacy Rescue, a nonprofit rescue service that enables…read moreadoptions across the Atlantic. We ended up with a GORGEOUS Golden previously from Serbia. A previous near-feral furry baby that had basically shut down and now we are seeing him come out of his shell. The wait was fairly long, the bureaucracy in different European countries was abundant, but he arrived home and we're delighted. Today we had the programmed visit from the Chairperson of Legacy Rescue to observe the progress of our furry family. It was festive, it was fun, and it was a celebration of how our common help can give a new life to a living being.

Legacy Rescue is a wonderful organization that prioritizes what is best for the dog. They follow a…read morethoughtful process in selecting families which may upset people who aren't chosen but Legacy cares most about doing right by the dog to ensure a lasting and successful adoption. We were fortunate to be chosen to adopt one of their rescued dogs and he's been the perfect addition to our family. We can't recommend Legacy enough but encourage all to trust in their decision whatever it may be.

I so appreciate the care and attention the staff and volunteers invested in the dog I adopted from…read morethe Boston Animal Control and Shelter. Bella the pittie mix was in their care for over a month, during which time they treated the multiple serious conditions this abandoned dog came in with, including surgical treatment for a painful eye infection. When I met Bella at the facility, I got to see her interact with several of the caring staff and volunteers: Bella was obviously very comfortable and attached to them all. It was touching to see each person take a private moment to sit on the floor, pet her and say their personal goodbyes. From the copy of the extensive veterinarian medical records I was given, I can see that Bella's vet care was proactive, thorough, expert, and regular. Perhaps most importantly there was evidence that Dr. Walz sought and valued the insights of the staff and volunteers who provided daily and hourly care to Bella. For example, medication was issued for a finite period based on the observations of the attentive staff (hives with which Bella came into the shelter reappeared after she ate a peanut butter treat, then a few minutes later ate a bee in the play yard). Bella and I have now been together for weeks and I am learning more about her behavioral and trust issues from being abandoned that will take us time to heal with patience and training. Realizing this makes me all the more impressed with how comfortable, safe and happy she demonstrated herself to feel when I observed her in the care of the shelter staff and volunteers.

I got my Maltese from this shelter 13 years ago. Sidney had been found as a stray. The shelter did…read morea great job neutering him, giving him vaccines, estimating his age, and telling me about some of his unique behaviors. Yesterday I had to make the painful decision to euthanize him because at 15 years of age, he was in pain. When I am ready to adopt again, I will return here.

There is no better way to describe Lance and his two other trainers as miracle workers. I have a…read more1.5-year-old cattle dog/husky mix who is extremely fear reactive. It was impossible to walk by other dogs without a huge scene or even people without him growling. Baths and nail cutting were out of the question as the local groomer told me to never bring him back, and when I attempted, he would become aggressive towards me. I have always believed in Kevin and thus have been to A LOT of trainers in search of helping him reach his full potential of being a great dog. Away from his fears, Kevin is the sweetest dog. The number of people who told me he was "incurable" and that I would have to simply manage with what I have the rest of my life left me deflated and hopeless. Then I stopped to chat with a woman who was walking her German Shepherd one day and she told me I had to go see Lance. A week later I was sold. Lance has been a blessing. He has achieved more with Kevin in a matter of months than others said Kevin could accomplish in his entire life. While Kevin still has some work to be done, he now can walk by dogs without a scene, LOVES pets from people and even just this week had his first bath and nail cutting without any issues. Kevin's sister is another shining example of Lance's work. She was returned to the rescue by a family who said she was heavily resource-guarding and acting aggressively. My mom adopted her but was worried she was too much to handle. Since working with Lance, Luna is a new dog and easily the best dog my mom has ever owned. It is not just Lance's abilities to train dogs that are so incredible, he is also there for the owners. He understands and allows us to speak our minds and even vent with frustration about the different obstacles we have faced during the training process. He is ALWAYS available to the owners and truly loves what he does and the dogs he works with. I really cannot say enough great things about Lance and his team. If you are struggling with your dog, Lance is the answer. I rarely write reviews but this one was necessary because I empathize with the difficulty of finding great trainers--Lance is beyond great.

My husband and I took both of our dogs to Lance: first, our ~3 month old puppy, and then later we…read moretook our 10 month old pup who had already developed some bad habits. With both dogs it was clear that Lance is some sort of dog whisperer. He always seems to know how to respond to the dogs in a way that will correct the behavior, and he did a great job of explaining the corrections to us so that we could try to understand how to best manage our dogs while on walks, in our homes, interacting with other dogs, etc. When we first started our classes with Lance he stressed the importance of training us (the humans)--and I think he does a great job of trying to train us in addition to the dogs. We always looked forward to our classes with Lance and enjoyed seeing the progress made by our dogs. There is nothing better than saying "down" from across the room and having your dog plop down in the blink of an eye. If you want someone who not only knows his stuff, but knows how to impart important tips to the dogs' owners, Lance is your guy. PS: make sure you come to class with jokes :)

We have been clients at The Urban Hound for 15+ years and we have never been disappointed. The…read moreservices are amazing and consistent whether it is day care, boarding, training, grooming and all staff is totally dedicated to their roles. If you or your friends have dogs this is the best of the best.

Urban Hound is a great space in the city, especially if you don't have a yard. They aren't however,…read morepuppy friendly. The puppy day care only runs to 5 months, so my extremely well socialized 7 month old went into the normal play group. My dog frequents dog parks and has playdates often- all of which have gone swimmingly. She is also in her second training class, and is very smart. When we had our "temperament test" at UH, I expected this to go smoothly as well. I got a call shortly before the day was over that my dog was not allowed to come back until she was closer to 10 months, as she has "too much puppy energy"....I mean, maybe because she's a puppy? When asked what this meant, they told me that she was high energy, and not picking up on social cues. Yes, my 7 month old mix is high energy, I'm not sure whose puppy isn't! However, she has never missed social cues from other dogs she's played with. I have a hard time believing in this one setting she couldn't catch a hint. I respect that maybe my puppy is too energetic for the typical play group at UH, but perhaps extend the puppy age range, especially if you're making judgments related. Safe to say we will not be returning once she's 10 months. We will find a daycare that recognizes a puppy has energy like a puppy!

Sam and Rob are the most wonderful guys ever!! They took the best care of my Gussy while I was out…read moreof town. I will continue to use their services not just because I love them but also because my Gussy loves them too! They take care of your pets just as they would one of their own. I will recommend them to anyone and everyone. I will only ever trust them to care of my furry family members!

I used this company a few years ago. At first it did not work out, but after some discussion all…read moreis well. They are very pet loving people and are great with animals. Thanks Rob!

I went to Gifford because I got a pair of cats from them decades ago without any problems. Times…read morehave changed. Don't bother looking on their website because you might fall in love with a cat that you will likely not get. THEY pick your cat for you based on THEIR idea of which cat will be best for you. And you won't get it soon. Here is a direct quote from an eMail I got from Gifford. "We work by way of a matchmaking process, where we seek information from applicants about what they are looking for (or not looking for) in a cat or cats. Based on that information, and once a person makes it through our approved adopter list (which can be a bit lengthy at times), we review cats in care against the applicant's information and offer meet and greets with 1 or 2 cats or pairs of cats we think fit what a person is looking for. We email you their profiles ahead of time and if you want to meet them, we set up a time and if they don't seem quite right, we would try again based on your feedback about the offered cat(s). We don't currently have appointments where people can come meet multiple cats without working through the matchmaking process. If you are OK proceeding with our matchmaking process . . . ." No, I am not OK with that. Talk about arrogance. They also did not tell me if I was on their "approved adopter list" even tho they did say their interview with my vet went fine. And they only other thing they said about wait time was that kitten season was coming up so I shouldn't have to wait too long. I'll get a pair of kittens elsewhere. :-(

The staff was very friendly and patient while we decided which kittens to adopt. All the cats here…read moreare in a good environment!

Lovely, professional, reliable, reasonable! Angela runs a tight ship. Would recommend without…read morehesitation.

Best trainers ever! I've worked with them with two of my dogs in a row and the second is almost 19!…read moreI would recommend them without reservation.

We have been happy customers of Brookside walk and train for 9 years! Dinyee is a fantastic trainer…read moreand fundamentally understands dog behavior. She centers on communication and structure for our dogs; this has helped keep our dogs calm and less anxious. She has helped our family with approaches to use at home to build those skills. We starting with training for our rescue dog and now for our new puppy. With both dogs we learned so much and this continues to improve everyones quality of life! We also use Brookside Walk +Train for daycare and boarding. Both services keep our dogs environment consistent and are really convenient!

Had a 1:1 consultation with Dinyee to see if this place would be a good fit, and she was so…read morealarmingly hostile we left in the middle of the appointment. She also did not look at or interact with our dog, and kept correcting us about information that we clearly would know as the dog's owners. Based on the positive reviews she must be doing something right, but I'm not interested in interacting with her again (and I usually like everyone). My partner and I still talk about that bizarre experience.