It's been a while since I adopted Honey Bun. I rescued her on June 26th, 2021, she rescued me in July 2021. She has really come out of her shell, is a very intelligent Shih Tzu, who does amazing things, that I didn't teach her. She is very polite, likes to play with her toys and chase a ball, she like to run, and gets the "zoomies". Because I live in a Condo, that doesn't allow dogs (I have two letters from my doctors), I usually throw the ball down the hallway, when we come in from doing nature things. She gets excited and ready to chase it. I had her for 4 months before I heard her bark. She is very protective of me, especially when I came home from the hospital after several surgeries. She calms me when I get frustrated, and seems to sense when I need that calming. I'm really glad I got her. Thank you. read more

Happy Tails Rescue - Honey Bun relaxing on the deck. - Animal Shelters Near Me - Fridley, Minnesota

See all

Still 5 stars! Had our second dog spayed at Happy Tails this week and the experience was every bit as good as our first. Great folks who actually love animals. Their prices are amazing compared to local vet offices. read more

Happy Tails Rescue - Price List - Animal Shelters Near Me - Fridley, Minnesota

I was a foster for Happy Tails. The first dog was everything was great and it was fairly fast to find it a permanent home. The 2nd dog I worked with extensively to train but overall wasn't a good fit for me to foster it so I asked them to find a different foster. Some of the issues included me being mildly allergic to its breed, the dog occasionally showing signs of aggression to my elementary school daughter, and overall destructive behavior that I worked tirelessly to wear the dog out and train it. After months I asked for them to find another foster due to my concerns. The response was i just need to work harder to get it a permanent home. I went to every foster event but it wasn't happening and had an upcoming trip so asked for a temp foster at the minimum for my trip. They doubled down on the its my fault I didn't find a new home for the dog yet (with little to no support or resources on their end). It came to the point where i basically told them they had 7 days to find this dog a new home or I would be dropping it off and they acted like I had never indicated i needed a new home for him before and they were in a huge scramble. 7 days passed and I showed up and dropped him off. The poor volunteers there that day didn't know what was going on because of the overall terrible management and lack of communication. Then they blackballed me. Which I didn't care about because I had zero intentions of working with them again anyway. read more

This organization was investigated for animal abuse and neglect. https://www.startribune.com/police-raids-shed-light-on-minnesotas-weak-laws-fragmented-oversight-of-animal-rescues/600663269 They will intake animals that other rescues particularly in the south that have completely vetted or haven't finished vetting and pay no money for the animals and not pay transport costs and then sell them for top dollar and give everyone else nothing. They pretend that to finish vetting on the animals and send out animals that aren't ready for new homes despite them costing hundreds of dollars. read more

Owners and staff could deal with both pets and adopters honestly and ethically. I was assured that the dog I adopted would be "wonderful!" with my two French Bulldogs. After a period of gradual introductions between the dogs, the dog I adopted attacked one of my Frenchies. It took literally two men to get her off. When I tried to communicate with the rescue to return the dog, I was told to complete their surrender form. The surrender form requires you to state that the dog has shown no aggression to humans or other animals. Obviously, I couldn't sign such a statement. What if they readopted the dog to another unsuspecting family with a small child? The potential was horrific. The owner was nasty and dismissive in emails. An extremely unpleasant person who had no interest in doing what was right for either the dog or us. Just wanted the dog back with a statement showing no aggression, so they could get another adoption fee from another unknowing adopter. Google this organization. Do your due diligence. read more

About a dozen dogs and cats are in need of new homes as police continue to investigate a case of animal neglect at a nonprofit animal rescue in Fridley. Police executed a search warrant at Happy Tails three weeks ago, after receiving a tip about maltreatment at the facility. animal mistreatment allegations are not new. For years, Happy Tails had already been taking heat from unhappy customers. "19 of those animals actually needed urgent medical care. They had conditions ranging from severe upper respiratory infections to skin conditions that were infected and very, very itchy. We did have a dog that had severe muscle wasting in their hind end, so we had animals that were experiencing a lot of pain and suffering," read more

I adopted a sweet kitten named Doc (later renamed Freddy) from Happy Tails in August 2020. As soon as Doc came home to us, his primary vet informed us that he was pretty severely malnourished. We also quickly found out he had tapeworms. After getting some weight on him and getting rid of the worms, the news got much worse. After showing signs like lethargy, bloated belly, inconsistent appetite, diarrhea, and increased thirst, we took him to the Emergency Vet on a Friday night when he seemed weaker than ever before. There we found out he was suspected to have wet FIP. We were advised that there is no cure and we were told to euthanize him. We took him to his primary care veterinarian who came to the same consensus - wet FIP. His vet also told us about FIP Fighters, so we tried Mutian. Long, depressing story short, we unfortunately lost Freddy 11 days into his treatment. I am disappointed to have gotten ourselves into a situation like this - one where improper care of our kitten was evident at such a young age. And to see all of the other awful reviews regarding this organization... (1) man, I hope what people say is not true, (2) based on experience, I suspect it is all true, and (3) what can we do to make this organization get themselves together? Please take better care of your rescues and be more transparent. Had we known Doc's history in fuller detail, he may have had a better chance. He was such a sweetheart, and he was mine and my boyfriend's first pet of our own. What a sad way to start. But I'm glad we adopted him so we could give him his best chance at recovery and good health and get him away from this place. (To clarify, he was being housed at a PetSmart near the Twin Cities when we adopted him.) Happy Tails: Do better. Answer your voicemail. And care for your clients. read more

Our sweet kitty was claimed to be healthy and immediately came home with a terrible upper respiratory infection and tapeworms. Her eyes had so much drainage that she could barely keep them open. Shelter told us the wrong gender and didn't know her age or anything about her background. They clearly do not care for their animals properly with basic veterinary care and do not keep them in healthy conditions. We have had this kitten for less than a week. They accepted zero responsibility for illnesses clearly contracted while in their care and not disclosed at adoption. I have been to many shelters I love and I have never felt strongly enough to post a negative review about one, but I believe the animals at Happy Tails are in danger. Our first cat had many similar issues before being rescued by a different shelter, but that shelter TREATED AND DISCLOSED THEM (Ames animal shelter is amazing)!! I want to get animals out of this Happy Tails, but be prepared for a hefty vet bill because this shelter will lie to you and will not help you. Update: her stool tested positive for two parasites and she also has an upper respiratory parasite. After no eye drainage improvement and struggling to breathe with a stuffy nose, we had to put her on an antibiotic. Five prescriptions and two vet visits in two weeks were required to fix everything that Happy Tails ignored. Don't try to email them - the problems they caused are going to be blamed and burdened on you. Animals need to be saved from this shelter. read more

This is a no kill shelter which my family loves. The staff is very helpful in assisting us with the animals at the animal shelter. I love the amazing cat that we ended up adopting. They also have a fun rainbow macaw that lives there and we got to see him dance. He is beautiful and we enjoyed spending time with him there as well as all of the cats and dogs. They have some dogs on site, but others are in foster homes and you can see them by making an appointment. read more

See all

If I could give negative stars I would!! We Adopted a 5 month old kitten 4 months ago from them through Petsmart. Last week her stomach blew up like she swallowed a watermelon. Vet said she had FIP/LIVER OR kidney failure or all 3. She was yellow in the gums which was jondice. This morning she was barely able to walk and limp and bleeding from the mouth and nose and her breathing was erratic and labored. Within 20 minutes of getting her to the vet, she looked like she was dead! We had to euthanize her this morning and the lady Ive been texting with through the rescue was vary rude this morning! Do not get an animal from this rescue. Our Poor Kalani came from Houston TX apparently. I CAN NOT EXPRESS THIS ENOUGH! DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT ADOPT FROM THEM! read more

Where do I start? I wish zero stars was an option. I adopted a cat and it died less than 24 hours later. The cat had only been at the Petsmart for a single day and the organization claims the cat was fine and not showing any signs of medical issues when he left and that he may have gotten a cold due to changing environments. The Petsmart employee who introduced me to him even claimed he wasn't wanting to eat the dry food provided to him. He was bone thin. His spine stuck out. He had conjunctivitis of his eyes. He clearly had respiratory issues and would hardly eat. I had him in my home for less than 24 hours when he passed away. As someone who's had cats since my birth I am not stupid enough to believe that a cold would kill a poor kitty in a single day. There is no sympathy for me or my poor animal who was clearly neglected by this organization. Happy tails seems to only care about the $255 they got from me for adopting him, which I don't care about receiving back. They are denying everything and taking no responsibility whatsoever. I'm so sick over the loss of my boy. He deserved better than this. Happy tails needs to be investigated for negligence. This is so sad. I hope for the sake of the animals that someone looks into this organization. A cat doesn't become deathly ill in less than a day. Or less than two days. Based on his symptoms and other reviews I have read in multiple other places I believe my sweet boy passed from FIP. FIP is a death sentence for a cat. It's super common in rescues and catteries. It's never going to stop spreading until they are held accountable for their actions and something is done about their ongoing negligence UPDATE: someone called today and offered me another cat or the money. They explained they'd struggled with his health and claimed he was ok a week prior to him being sent to Petsmart for adoption. read more

See all

Well looks like I was fooled too. I fostered 20 dogs through here and by the end was met with a very strange, emotionally charged situation where the owner and her husband ganged up on me when I tried to speak to them about an odd situation that I had questions about. I wish they had the best interest of the animals but I'm not so sure that is the case after all. Fair warning to fosters and adopters-- don't foster here. read more

Happy Tails Rescue - Puppy, foster puppy - Animal Shelters Near Me - Fridley, Minnesota

Adopted a German shepherd / husky mix and was charged $650 and told that she was spayed. Even provided me paper records. Later to find out our dog was never spayed after she went into heat twice. read more

We rescued Adeline on Nov. 17, 2022 with some issues regarding the adoption. Got her home and she was a little love. After a couple weeks was finding she really needed another dog and we were told she could be in a home without another dog. She was very needy and needed much love and affection which we gave her. She wanted to play and she would bark, paw and mouth you to the point I have black and blue marks all over. She was not being aggressive just frustrated. She had big paws and strong jaws. We did get a behavioral trainer but the issues with the barking, pawing and mouthing were not getting any better so we decided to surrender her. In dealing with Laura Westphall, in some respects helpful but at one point she told us they would get her into a foster that wanted her and could meet her needs. I totally resented that remark. We loved and took very good care of her. Now back in the system, her adoption info is exactly the same as when we adopted her which is ridiculous. She cannot be in a home without a dog and I certainly don't think there should be young kids. I feel that she will be adopted out again and because her issues have not been addressed she will be back into that horrible system again which will not be good for her. She is only 5% Shephard. I so wish Happy Tails could be shut down. Cindy Gutz read more

Do not adopt here. They gave an adoption of a sick kitten without disclosing it. She had an Ear infection and ringworm within a week of getting her; so she in all likelihood was sick when we bought her for $200z. They refuse to reimburse for the excess medical cost and said to return her if we want. Returning her is in humane and I'm shocked Laura the director suggested this! I have been involved with cat rescues for years and I've never seen anything like this. There are plenty of reputable places to go and save yourself some heartache. read more

-Star. Please do not go to this place. I bought a dog( she was young) she was in the hospital 2 days after we brought her home and extremely sick. Called the one girl right away to tell her and she said we are not liable no more. I told her that the pup was obviously sick when he got her. She didn't care. I turned them into better business bureau then. They had cats walking and throwing up. The big bird was there then and you could just tell he was sick. He was far from a happy bird. When our pup was spaded it was barely an office. Just a table and when you walk in there all these cats and dogs are laying on the floor. It looked like a morgue. Very shady place. Can you imagine the hospital bill plus adoption fee plus a vet bill after wards I had. They wouldn't help with nothing and they have you sign papers to that effect as well, however you believe you have a loving furbbay you are taking home but they no better. I wonder how these people sleep at night being dishonest and having a very cold heart. read more

Happy Tails Rescue - My poor baby was so so very sick. - Animal Shelters Near Me - Fridley, Minnesota

STAY AWAY FROM THIS "RESCUE"!!! These people are HORRIBLE!!! I have never experienced such rude, condescending, SHADY, GREEDY people involved in a REPUTABLE animal rescue in my life. They will rush you through a visit with a potential pet, the "contract" is the most biased, ridiculous thing imaginable, their "Obedience Training" is MANDATORY, (this will be mandatory for puppies at REPUTABLE rescues, not for adult dogs), it's just another way to financially gouge potential adopters. They list their animals as vetted ie: vaccinated and spayed/neutered, and microchipped prior to adoption. THIS IS FALSE. Unless an animal had this done prior to arriving at Happy Tails, they allow their animals to go unchecked, without shots and unfixed until after they are adopted. This leads to the question of exactly how many "accidental" litters occur as a result. Any REPUTABLE rescue will do reference referrals and require home checks. Happy Tails will ASK for them, HOWEVER Happy Tails DOES NOT check references, which is MANDATORY for any REPUTABLE Rescue organization, nor does Happy Tails do a Home Check, both of which is MANDATORY for reputable Rescue organizations. This organization is one huge RED FLAG after another, and it appears to just get worse year after year. I wonder how long it will be until they are shut down for good. If you are looking for a truly REPUTABLE rescue that will help you find a pet best suited for your home, there are MANY in the Twin Cities area that will go above and beyond to make sure that you and your pet are a great fit. HAPPY TAILS ONLY CARES ABOUT FLIPPING THOSE ANIMALS FOR MONEY!!!! read more

Awful customer service with no regard for nuance in their adoption policies.

Response back was quick, however completely unwilling to work with families regarding adoption fees. My husband recently got in a major car accident and was trying to setup a plan within only a week and they were unwilling to assist. Quite sad actually due to the fact the dog would have been loved and forever happy in our home but I guess money is more important than the animals themselves. Would not recommend. I will continue looking elsewhere read more

Happy Tails lied about the health of my dog. Instead of treating her bacterial infection, they gave her steroids to treat the symptoms as opposed to treating her sickness. They gave her a diagnosis without testing her. The only way to identify demodex is through testing. read more

If thinking about adopting please read the reviews and the contract before signing!! Please share!! This Rescue needs to be held accountable for thier actions. If you have had experiences with the staff from Happy Tails Rescue please share in my comments. So I have been thinking about what to do about this.... I have been fostering pups through Happy Tails Rescue since the pandemic started. Yesterday I picked up my latest foster Ruth. Tim and I noticed right away that something wasnt right with her. Most dogs that go through the foster process are super scared but she seemed different. She was listless instead of tense and scared and infested with fleas and ticks. This morning when I checked on her she had explosive diarrhea sometime during the night. I knew right away by the smell of the feces that she had parvo. I got the ok to take her to an urgent care. When I arrived they were already full but did check on her. The vet tech said she needed to be seen asap. I got the ok to take her to another urgent care but the were full also. That place recommend I take her straight the ER. So we headed to the ER. She was diagnosed with Parvo there. I asked the vet tech if my dog Stella could get it and she said that there is a possibility. Stella is vaccinated but they have seen cases of fully vaccinated dogs getting it!!They took Ruth in for an assessment and the vet called me to let me know that he recommended that she stay for treatment but the director at Happy tails rescue wanted me to take her to different foster for treatment. I waited for the director to message me about where to bring her. I waited for a message for a half an hour and finally messaged her. Some other lady messaged me saying I needed to bring her home and let them how she was doing. I told them right away that I was not comfortable bringing her back home because I could not confine her properly to ensure that Stella (my dog)wouldn't get it. As Stella has lyme disease I worry that she may be more susceptible to contracting Parvo. I also talked to the vet tech who came out to assess Ruth and let her know I was uncomfortable bringing her home and she agreed that it wasn't a good idea. I asked if Ruth was okay if she stayed there until somebody more equipped would be able to pick her up from Happy Tails and she said yes. I decided at that moment that I wasn't going to Foster any more for them so I deleted myself from the group message I was in and the foster FB page. I had a feeling from past dealings that the director was going to try to pressure me into still taking her home.. She called me 8 times while I was driving and when I didn't answer she texted me this.... I am very sorry for whatever is going in your life to make you be so selfish :( It must be awful to live that way We will be sending you an invoice for all our dog supplies and I hope that in the future you can find other ways to channel you issues & not take them out on homeless animals Ricco and Ruth will find good hearted reliable people to help erase the damage you did of abandoning them once again so soon after their original owners did - we will help them learn that not all people are like you and their last owners Again I hope you can find whatever peace is missing from your life I was dumbfounded at her verbal abuse at first but as I thought about it I wonder how many other people she has done this to... *For a little back story about the dog Ricco she was talking about... He was my previous foster who had to go to a temporary foster when we went on vacation 7 weeks ago. He escaped the temporary fosters yard and has been loose since. I came home from vacation (drove 300 miles from a cabin up north)for a day to see if I could find him. I did see him but was unable to capture him. I waited till now to foster another dog hoping that he would be found and placed back with me. There wasn't any sightings for weeks so that's when I decided to commit to another dog. I can only take one foster at a time. We did get spottings of Ricco the last couple days. (When Laura sent the abussive message he was still loose. ) Thankful this evening The Retrievers were able to live trap him!! The Retrievers have been trying to get in contact with the director to see who was going to pick up Ricco for two days even before he was caught with no response.. I know this is a long post but she needs to held accountable for her actions. After doing some research on Happy Tails Rescue I found that "the director" is also the president, Principal, and customer contact so making a complaint to Happy Tails Rescue would be fruitless!! Please read reviews before adopting from them!! -this is not my experience but a friends. I also got two parvo positive puppies from them and it has scarred me and my husband for life. It's obvious Laura is in over her head and in capable of handling a crisis in a professional manner. read more

Do not Foster here. These people that work here should not be operating this rescue. Super shady people that are extremely busy unorganized. Last minute vague information and that is when they do communicate with you. They don't understand or care about communicating with the fosters. The staff is rude and could care less about you when you are there to pick up the puppies. Probably the worst experience I have had with any store ever. We have since moved on to another place to foster dogs and are loving it! Look up Seconal Hand Hounds! Way better place to foster. read more

STAY AWAY. We adopted a dog in mid-April. He was listed as "good with people, good with cats, good with kids!" We were shocked by the speed of the adoption process and how quickly they appeared to funnel the animals through. Our pup was listed as a 9 month old dog on their site. Clerical error- he was really 1 year 9 months old at the time. We found out VERY QUICKLY that he was EXTREMELY reactive. Within the first few days of having him he bit a neighbor, and nearly attacked a few more people while outside. We were absolutely shocked and confused. After $1,000+ on training, we have worked with him but he still needs to be muzzled around new people and in hallways. He also I found out after adopting him, was RETURNED from a previous adopter due to not doing well with cats and knocking a child over. So WHY was he listed as a good with everything pup? He was listed as perfectly healthy, heart worm negative from a test in February and has been on preventatives with us. We had him dewormed after testing positive for tapeworms earlier this summer. Flash forward to this week- after an emergency visit he tested positive for heart worm and will need to begin the 5+ month grueling process of treatment. I am *extremely* disappointed in Happy Tails, for their lack of investment with the animals they are funneling through, and with the seemingly untrustworthy nature of their animal vetting and records. We love our dog. We would not trade him for anything. But we have worked DAILY since April to overcome issues we weren't informed of from the rescue. I am horrified to think that if someone who wasn't prepared to spend copious amounts of money and TIME on training and vet bills that our dog would have been back to round three+ of waiting to be euthanized. He literally couldn't ride in the car without lunging and losing his mind at bikes and large vehicles THROUGH THE CAR WINDOW. For weeks! This has been intensive daily effort and now we are looking at spending $2,000+ to complete heart worm treatment. Find a rescue that is reputable and cares about their animals. I found out most of the info we know about out dog by asking on Facebook for a connection to his original rescuer in Texas who was able to tell me about his backstory. There needs to be more proper communication and health and behavioral vetting. It makes me livid to think my sweet dog has potentially been fighting heart worms for most of his life and now (for a dog who usually hikes 5-7 miles PER DAY) needs to be on exercise restrictions for 5 months. If you care about the dogs you rescue, set your adoption families up for more success by giving accurate information about the animals you are selling!!!! Thank god for COVID and working from home so we could make the hours of daily training happen to literally rehabilitate this pup. If you adopt from this rescue, you better get immediate pet insurance, and be prepared to have no idea what you're getting. Learn which muzzle companies and brands are best. Find a vet who can handle reactive dogs. Research dog behavioralists. Find family who will take your other animals if their initial impressions aren't correct. Who knows what you will actually get from Happy Tails. We will cherish every year with our pup and hope he is one of the 95% who are successful with heart worm treatment. I am thankful we know as much as we now do about reactive dogs and training (which we were forced to hit the ground running on in order to handle the fact that our dog tried to attack every person he walked by). But, we will never rescue *from here* again. Always rescue. Always make sure the rescue you go to cares about their animals and is reputable. Happy Tails is not that. read more

We love our dog and We are thankful that Happy Tails brought him into our lives, but that's the only good thing I have to say about them. We adopted our dog in April 2020. He came from a shelter in Oklahoma and, aside from a tail injury, Happy Tails reported he was healthy and provided vaccination history. Shortly after bringing our dog home, we took him to the vet to get his tail checked out. At this time, we learned he had heart worms. Fully grown adult heart worms that were producing larvae. The paper work from Happy Tails stated he tested heart worm negative. At the point, we shared the documents with our vet who informed us that, despite our adoption contract stating our adoption fee covered a vet exam by happy tails, the rescue did not perform a veterinary examination prior to adopting out our dog. When we asked about this, the director was rude and dodged our questions asking for proof of a veterinary exam. Our vet informed us that at one point (according to record from Oklahoma) our dog was given a medication for kennel cough that was known to give false negatives in basic heartworm tests and commented that if they were presented with a dog in this medication, they would do a more thorough test to avoid that issue. We were happy to see our dog through this care, but a heads up about the costs and time required for heartworm treatment would have been helpful. I should note we also have two cats that we exposed because of this. After a good deal of pushing on our end for accountability, the rescue ultimately gave us the option to reimburse for about half of the medical expenses or take the dog back. It isn't about the money for us. We just want the rescue to uphold their end of the adoption contract and provide adequate veterinary care for the animals they were adopting out. We understand that some things can be missed and you can never be fully sure of the health history of a rescued dog, but failing to provide even a basic veterinary exam is simply unacceptable. read more

The main lady is just money hungry. She doesn't take care of the pets if they need to go to the vet while they are in foster care. She also does not take care of the fosters and demands too much of them. She is not nice. The pets have nothing to do with this review. I am glad they are finding homes and I hope they are all good homes. I adopted my pet there and I am grateful for her. Do not buy training from them. They will screw you over. read more

I visited Happy Tails Rescue about a month ago, in search of a kitty to adopt. The volunteers weren't very knowledgeable but nice enough. I asked why the large Siberian Husky was in a cage for a very small dog, and the volunteer made an excuse about someone coming back to get it and take it for a walk. I didn't believe that was the case, all she needed to do was place the dog in a very large cage that was empty. She was not amenable to doing that because more dogs were coming from somewhere. I asked the same about why the larger cats weren't in bigger cages and she said more cats were coming from out of state. Cats and dogs from out of state? I have my suspicians that it's not accurate. I sent an email to the manager about the large Siberian that was in a very small cage. She said the dog wouldn't be there very long, and the cage was not too small. We were dismayed after touring the shelter and decided not to go back when they received more animals from out of state. read more

Terrible rescue. They don't give a crap about the animals. They take in more than they can care for. They break their signs contracts. When there is an issue with an animal, they won't do anything about it even if you ask for it to be rehomed. Which led to my last foster being euthanized. Terrible. Unprofessional. Absolute joke of a rescue. read more

These people did an absolutely HORRIBLE thing to me. A few weeks ago I found a little puppy through an acquaintance of mine who is fostering him on Facebook. His name was Toby. I just lost my soulmate dog in October not long after I lost my dad and I've just been heartbroken. There was something so special about this little dog that I found so I went to meet him and fell in love! His foster mother pretty much reassured me that I would be the one receiving him even allowing me to give him a name. Through the next few weeks she would send photos and videos of him while I was waiting on the application to get approved. In my heart and mind this little dog was going to be mine! THAT was until the phone interview from the owner of Happy Tails called me. Never have I met a more cold and rude woman in my life! Aside from understandably putting me through the third degree out of protection for the little dog she was just plain rude. Thankfully she approved my adoption in the application! I had my heart set on this little guy! On a Saturday night she approved the application in by Monday morning I awoke to a HEARTLESS text message telling me " sorry for the disappointment but she's giving my little dog to his original foster mother KIM" I was so upset that I misunderstood and thought it was his current foster mother KIM" that was all she said. No call no heartfelt apology no explanation!!!! She approved the application and gave me my dog and took him away saying that fosters get the first choice!!!! Anyone with integrity would say fosters get the first choice BEFORE an application is approved! I was left looking at my little puppies new bed and sweaters and toy box full of toys without so much as a phone call from this despicable woman SYD!!! That's her name! In fact I was left to suffer the entire day. Even worse, when I misunderstood and reached out to the puppy's foster mother thinking she was the one that was keeping him I couldn't believe it and I received a big fat F U as a message back to me. The entire adoption process was so unprofessional and emotionally traumatic for me! These people have absolutely no regard or care for the emotions of the prospective adoptive parents! They are I cruel and unprofessional ! SYD should not be running an adoption service because she is cruel to people! In my 35 years of living in Dallas and working in animal rescue both with horses and dogs I've never met anyone like her! Kim should be ashamed as well for keeping a little puppy AFTER age was approved! It was WRONG sand CRUEL. I will never forget what was done to me and never have a good thing to say about this place! FYI if you put an application down and get approved understand these people will take your dog away from you they have no scruples! read more

Happy Tails Rescue - Animal Shelters Near Me - Fridley, Minnesota

This rescue does not look out for the best interest in their animals. I fostered with them and I've worked with rescues before but sadly do not recommend happy tails they are rude and unprofessional. read more

The adoption process is a pain in the butt and they make you sign up for training before you can leave with the dog. Also I was told my dog had been De-wormed and fully healthy but when I got him home I found tapeworm on him and in his poo. Not at all happy with their services but I love my dog and glad he is out of that place. I asked them about the worms and they said they dewormed my dog and was good to go. But obviously he was not. I'm still glad I got my dog even though the adoption fee was $500 and my training I had to sign up for was another $100. Just ridiculous. And from other reviews I see others have had the same worm issue. This needs to be fixed! Letting dogs go home with worms is not good business. read more

Happy Tails Rescue - The dog in question! He's adorable and I'm so happy I got him. But I am not happy with Happy Tails. - Animal Shelters Near Me - Fridley, Minnesota

I submitted an application for a cat named Butter online on Friday 1/15/21. I received a confirmation email which stated they would send another email letting me know the next step to take. I received another email telling me to meet Butter at the Petco in Brooklyn Park and let them know if I wanted to adopt. I drove an hour to Petco, he was there and there were no signs saying "adopted" or "pending". I called the rescue to have them come so I could sign the adoption papers and pay. I waited 3 hours for them to call. When they did they indicated he had been adopted by someone who came in and paid for him after I applied but did not have adoption papers. Happy tails is no better than breeders selling animals through Petco. All they cared about was the money not who they adopted him to. They do not answer their phones or emails if you have questions and the woman I finally spoke to was one of the rudest people ever! read more

I went to them for a dog after mine went to heaven. They were very nice and easy to work with. I did find a dog we named him Pablo, he has been the best addition to our family. He loves his new home and we love him. Can't wait to go back to get him a play mate. read more

Happy Tails Rescue is Unreliable business . They are unwilling to work with you . They sell dogs With parvo and And distemper. The puppy we got Kooky which we named Ruger was Adopted on March 31st and died on Thursday the April 22nd from the diseases. When we email them we got no Apology and not there problem attitude . We asked them to call us and never did once .He was neutered at 1 or 2 months old which is to young to do that. Given pain pills which I never heard of . He's never been around other animals in our care cause we didn't want him to be to Active after the surgery. Hey happy tails why don't you check the animals you sell before Adopting them out .. we are going to a lawyer and spreading the news about your unreliable and unwilling to work business . Hope to shut you down too . The foster person we picked puppy up from having issues too read more

Another case of not disclosing sickness/health conditions. We rescued a cat and when taken to our vet for an adoption check, was found to have a grade 4 heart murmur, a viral respiratory infection and a skin condition (bald spots on back of legs and face and back) This cat was passed on as a healthy kitten but its growth is stunted because of the heart condition. We reluctantly returned the cat because they never should have put it up for adoption with such serious health conditions without disclosing it to potential adopters. Well guess what? The cat is back on their site for adoption, still not revealing the health issues, so now another unsuspecting adopter will have to find out the hard way like we did. They aren't even disclosing it's actual age. It's 2 months older than what is listed. (Disclosing it as younger so they can get more money? hmmm) I feel sorry for the cat, but this rescue has a no refund policy and many reviews saying they adopt out sick animals, some even dying within months of being adopted. I realize there are no health guarantees with any animal, but they have vet records showing this one is sick. You can read other reviews of sick animals being adopted out. This is not an isolated case. This rescue needs a thorough investigation. I don't want to say "shut it down" because rescues are obviously needed. But they are clearly only interested in fast turnarounds and don't care or disclose the pet's actual health conditions. So I would say, do not adopt from this rescue unless you are prepared to pay extensive veterinary costs. read more

I also had a bad foster experience here. They seem to care more about getting animals out the door then about the health of the animal. I am worried they are a rescue mill. When a foster person questions their policies they quickly blame the foster for not reading the contract information. This policy would be fine if they actually took care of the sick animals that they take in. I also understand that these animals are from high kill and sick areas. That isn't an excuse for providing poor care for the animals. I had a pup who was sick the entire time we had him and they still decided to go through with neutering him. After that, he ended up with a bad case of kennel cough. They did give me a prescription but never once did they offer for him to be seen at a vet. Once he was adopted, his new mom brought him straight to a vet to be seen where he was xrayed and shown to have such severe pneumonia that he only had one part of his lungs clear. Then, they blamed her and me for going through with the adoption because she signed the contract and blamed me because I didn't read the contract (side note I was never given a contract to read). They knew I was in the process of adopting him and I was never once told he should not go ahead because he was sick. This is not the first questionable interaction I have had with them. This one just cemented what I was already worried about. When I look through other reviews on here it is obvious it is them responding because it is the exact same language they used with me when I questioned them on this. I too was not treated in a professional manner by them. Yes, fosters and adopters be careful of this group. There is a reason they get an F rating on the BBB. read more

This place needs to be shut down. It is a PUPPY MILL running under the disguise of a nonprofit. The foster homes are not checked, though they claim to be. The foster parents aren't trained and don't even know what the most common virus is and what signs to look for. We are heartbroken. We visited a puppy Saturday and were told that she was tired from her meds. An alarm went off for my husband, who is familiar with puppies, but the foster assured us that it was just the meds making the puppies lethargic. We were able to pick up our puppy Sunday and the foster parent put a lethargic puppy in my arms and said that she threw up water from the car ride down. My husband and I got into the car and looked at each other. The first words out of his mouth were, "that's a sick puppy." We hoped it was just the car ride, but she threw up twice at our house, then had watery diarrhea in our yard. I made an appointment at a fantastic clinic for our puppy the very next morning. The vet said that this puppy's condition was absolutely perpetuated by neglect. We called animal control immediately. The visit cost us and we were also given an estimate for $1000 worth of tests and care. We kept trying to contact Happy Tails, but were refused a contact phone number and only allowed communication via email. My husband finally paid $20 for tax records (happy tails is a non profit so this is public), in order to get a contact number. We reached Priscilla, the treasurer, and 20 minutes later received a call from a different foster asking if we were surrendering the puppy back. We took the puppy to a hospital and the new foster family stayed with her. The puppy has Parvo and we are now unable to get another puppy for another year because the virus can live for up to a year, and there isn't a fool proof way to clean everything. Lots of bleach can help, but we can't bleach our carpets. I am appalled that this "rescue" exists. They take in as many animals as possible, forcing their fosters to live in animal hoarding conditions, they don't check their foster homes and they will do anything to make a buck. They do not care for the animals they receive and what's worse is that they are now KNOWINGLY allowing the Parvo virus to spread and not take necessary precautions. They told us that our sick puppy would be placed up for adoption again, though our vet said she was on death's door and needed a week of hospitalization to even have a chance of surviving. Happy Tails Rescue in Fridley, MN gives these foster families sick animals and make it incredibly difficult for them to get care. we waited 7 hours with an aggressive search for contact numbers. Laura Westphal, the director NEVER called us back after numerous requests and attempts to speak with her to find care for our dying puppy. My family is heartbroken. My kids, 6 and 4 have wanted a puppy for years and now we have to wait even longer because of this careless puppy mill. Not to mention the hundreds of dollars we have now lost on my husband missing work, food for the puppy, a crate, a carrier and toys. I'm making it my mission to get this place shut down. DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY. Read the other reviews, my family and this tiny puppy are not the only victims of this puppy mill. read more

Happy Tails Rescue - Sick puppy with Parvo virus from Happy Tails Rescue, Fridley, MN - Animal Shelters Near Me - Fridley, Minnesota

I adopted my dog from Happy Tails in April 2020. Given that nothing was "business as usual" early in the pandemic, I decided to ignore some red flags during the adoption process. Happy Tails did not do a very good job of advocating for my dog, who we quickly realized had reactive behavior. We were not prepared to deal with this behavior. Happy Tails did require that we complete training, and we paid for three sessions with a trainer they endorsed. Unfortunately, the training had to be over Zoom and the trainer only fulfilled one of the three sessions we had paid for-- $50 each. Then they stopped responding to messages and phone calls. I contacted the rescue after the trainer ghosted me to see if they had any additional suggestions to support us, we were really struggling with how to handle this dog. Their only response was to ask if we wanted to surrender him back to the rescue. Ummmm, no? We have since moved to a home that is better suited for our dog, we have paid for private and group behavioral training and he has been medicated for about 1.5 years. Hundreds and hundreds of dollars later, the answer to that question "do you want to surrender him?" is still NO. We also discovered with a little digging in social media that he was an adoption fail x2 before we came along. I would never, ever recommend someone use this rescue to find a furry family member. There are plenty of ethical organizations you can consider instead. Happy Tails should not still be in operation, they use living things to profit. read more

Is there a "negative" star button? I adopted a 9 week old kitten on June 3rd, (and despite veterinarian care) on June 20th he died. After much back and forth, Happy Tails would only use that fee towards another kitten. Was it the knowing that that kitten brought ringworm into my house as well the deciding facor for their "generosity"? I hesitantly agreed to look at another kitten.... I stopped by your adoption center and I've never been so disgusted! At LEAST 90% of your cats were sick with something. They all had diarrhea. And if they didn't have a respiration issue, they had gunky eyes. A good portion of them were at least partially feral. You call yourself a rescue?!? Your no better then a puppy mill where the animal is kept in miserable, unsanitary conditions! I wouldn't even wear the clothes that I wore to go to your center back into my home for fear of whatever disease I would bring back to my animals. My kitten that I got from you that DIED 17 DAYS AFTER ADOPTION already had brought ringworm into my home. And I saw his brother's there - which broke my heart again, because I saw how big Wyatt WOULD have been if he had lived. They were the only truely friendly kittens there and even them, I wouldn't risk the health of my pets just to get those poor animals out of your "caring hands". I WANT MY ADOPTION FEE BACK!!!! I REFUSE TO SUPPORT AN ORGANIZATION LIKE YOURS!!! You should be ashamed of yourself and your unethical business! You are not "rescuing" the animals when you barely provide the basic health requirements! I saw a poor black, medium hair kitten there that was crying because she felt so ill. She had diarrhea coating her tail, hanging from her butt, and was trying to poop more out at least 3 times in the under 15 minutes I was there. How can that be acceptable to be 8 inches from another supposed healthy kitten and not in isolation at a vet clinic?!? Your animals that are supposedly ready to be adopted look like the poster child of the "before" pictures of the Humane Society rescue videos. Do you just have Sarah Malachlin playing on repeat to make yourself feel better about what you do - because after all, at least they're not out on the street freezing to death? You were the first rescue that I had dealt with, so I never even thought to look at reviews. I wish to God that I had! It would have saved me heartache. At least Wyatt got to be loved for 17 days before he died. But that "at least " does NOT make up for the horror that is your rescue!!!  I gave you so much leeway in my head, thinking no rescue could purposely be that criminally negligent. I finally relented to give your animals a second chance - because, surely, the majority of them have to be healthy. HOW WRONG I WAS! I'm leary of all rescues now because of your criminal neglect, incompetence and greed. With having to pay cash for the adoption fee, how easy is it to pocket the cash and not claim it? Because it sure didn't look like it was going back into care for the animals. How sad that you don't even care enough to hold yourself to a higher standard for the sake of those poor animals and the people that might want to welcome them into their home. Or let's be real, hold yourself to ANY standard that's higher then jailable. I DEMAND MY ADOPTION FEE REFUNDED! read more

if you're looking for a place to get a puppy, this isn't it. You can ask about multiple puppies, put in multiple applications and they basically tell you that you aren't good enough. they have all these cute pictures of puppies online but when you inquire, that animal always seems to be unavailable, even if you reply within the same minute the posting goes up. They also leave old posts up of cute puppies that they don't really have for adoption any more. all you will really find here is rejection read more

As a 2 time adoptor from Happy Tails and a current foster, I can promise everyone, Happy Tails is not a puppy mill as some of these uneducated reviews say. The dogs are brought to Happy Tails from shelters and other rescues, and are housed in foster homes. The center doesn't house the dogs, volunteer fosters do in their own homes. And neutering and spaying is a requirement at Happy Tails, the complete opposite of what puppy mills stand for. The People that are complaining, are mad they got a dog that was sick. How can anyone guarantee the health of a pet? Most of the dogs are strays, they've been exposed to alot. Others are complaining they didnt get refunded for returning their dog? SHAME ON YOU FOR NOT WORKING WITH YOUR DOG TO FIX THE PROBLEM AND GIVING UP ON THEM! You do NOT deserve a refund and please never get another pet again. read more