Mutts Matter was not transparent and made us feel safe when adopting a dog recommended for euthanasia by 2 separate veterinarians due to unprovoked aggressive behavior (records of 4+ bites in 6 months prior to our adoption). One of the vets is still undergoing physical therapy to regain use of hand. We tried many types of dog specialists to help, but were not successful. I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS RESCUE TO ANYONE. Mutts Matter has questionable ethics and put my family and community at risk. Some dogs are dangerous and Mutts Matter chooses to adopt them anyway. read more

I am sure they are doing excellent work for these animals in need. It is important to note that they are all volunteers. But they are not proactive, lack transparency in the adoption process, and do not communicate well when compared to other shelters. It seems they are not in a hurry to place these animals in homes. You need to be willing to wait months I guess. It is too bad, because I am sure these animals are missing out on wonderful families that would take great care of them. We went through another shelter and adopted a wonderful puppy in need. Completely different experience. read more

I attempted to adopt a dog from MM last fall. I got all the way through the adoption process, including a home visit in which the volunteer conducting the visit told me that my home would be perfect for a dog. Soon after I was told that the dog I was looking for all of the sudden needed to be in a home with another dog. After several back and forth emails (in which I was reminded that just because I had chosen a certain dog didn't mean I was going to get THAT dog) I decided to try another agency. I was promised, though, that they would contact me as soon as they had a dog that would work for me. To this date I have NEVER received communication from them regarding another dog, although there are several on their website that are supposedly up for adoption. The worst part is, that sweet little dog that I originally wanted to adopt is STILL waiting for a home. Happily for me, I went through another agency and adopted an amazing, loving dog (also rescued from a bad situation) and she is thriving in my single dog home. read more

Minimal if any communication. They try to talk you out of adopting the dog you applied for. They want vet records but never respond to the vet. They call and leave a message but no call back number and when you call the number they called from and leave a message no one returns the call. Funny and suspicious when a dog is listed for adoption on the site for months and months and multiple people apply but no one every gets a call or email. But amazing the dog is still available for adoption and why wont anyone adopt it? maybe because no one ever calls or follows up with the applicants. I understand its volunteer and thats great but dont make it seem like these animals are in desperate need of a home when you have willing homes and families ready but you wont call them read more

After reading several of the reviews by other reviewers, I am in agreement that Mutts Matter Rescue is very poor with communication. My wife and I put in an application to adopt a dog about a month ago and have not heard back from anyone from Mutts Matter Rescue outside of an email a few weeks ago thanking us for contacting Mutts Matter Rescue and to be patient with them. Now we see that the dog we wanted to adopt has an "adopting pending" by his name. No one at Mutts Matter contacted any of our references, they didn't call our Vet and they didn't even interview us. I am not upset that we weren't selected. I am upset that they did not do any due diligence on our application and have not given us the courtesy of at least telling us why we weren't selected or that they even chose to go with another applicant. read more

I am very concerned from my volunteering with this organization and interaction with the head that it is an extortion enterprise. It seems that on many occasions they find caring people who volunteer and then make threats to the animals the volunteers have grown to love in order to get them to pay up money to adopt them even after they have been financially supporting and caring for these dogs over a long time. When I disagreed on the care of one of my fosters they called the vet and cancelled their scheduled vaccines to punish the dogs for my disagreeing. The manager Melanie Samet delights in recounting how she denies fosters the adoption of the dog that has bonded with them because there supposedly a lot of medical expenses paid by the org as part of the normal business that she would like to get back. Is there any government regulation of these rescues. read more

The team at MMR care deeply for their dogs. You can tell from their rigorous interview process, follow up when you have adopted, and large network of resources available for MMR adopters. They take the responsibility of finding a forever home for their dogs very seriously. This is an excellent rescue with an excellent group of volunteers running operations. Great experience with them. You just need to be patient. When you read a bad review here from disappointed applicants just remember....MMR is always trying to do what is best for their rescues to assure a great outcome for all. This is a great mission! Keep up the great work MMR!!! read more

Like others have said. I do not believe this is even a real address. They will not give you the address anywhere on their website. I am sure it is a scam. I have emailed, called, face book and Twitter. 13 contacts to them. No response. So after a week, I had 8 of my friends try to contact for different dogs on their site. No response and it's been 2 weeks. Volunteers seems to be their excuse for everything. Why no address and no response. They could have had 9 dogs adopted! Where are the donations going?? Very sad situation. We had our heart set on specific pictures. Pictures are all they are. read more

My family decided to adopt a dog,we wanted to rescue a dog so we went though the adoption process with muttsmatterrescue after going though the background check we were approved for adoption,after going to their website,www.muttsmatterrescue.com, we picked out several young dogs that we would have like to met to see if they would be a good fit with our family,but every dog we inquired about we were told they were not a good fit,so after trying for almost 6 months and over 10 dogs we tried to adopt we have decided to go to other organization that is more customer oriented and generally seems to want place their dogs.Muttsmatterrescue has no customer service at all the lady we dealt with was very condescending almost all the time,save your time and go with a different adoption organization to deal with. read more

My husband and I saw a dog that we were interested in adopting and filled out the adoption forms. Though it took some time to hear back, we had a phone interview and then a home interview. After seeing our home, the volunteer told us that we should hear from another volunteer in regards to meeting the dog. A week went by and we did not hear so we emailed the same person who came to our home. She was "surprised that we did not hear anything yet and the care coordinator would be reaching out to us." It has been nearly one MONTH and not one email has been sent to us. We had to find out sadly that the dog we were interested in was adoption pending; we asked in our follow up email if that meant we did not get the dog. No one responded to us and the dog is how off the site. A simple common courtesy email saying that he went to another home would have been very helpful. My husband and I have since chosen to stop our weekly donations to Mutts Matter and support another rescue. read more

I thought anyone who committed their time to rescuing animals was a wonderful human being, a true angel on earth. I was wrong. Since losing our beloved Peanut last December, my 10-year-old daughter had been scouring Petfinder.com in search of our next pug. Peanut was our second rescue. Our first was Cairo, who I adopted from a rescue in California. He lived to be 16. We adopted Peanut from a local rescue. I reached out to them when we were ready to adopt again, but they didn't have any good matches for our needs. My daughter longed for a playful, energetic dog, but loved pugs. Odie and Spud's Petfinder listing caught my daughter's eye. Given our experience, I was excited about the idea of having two pugs; double the love, I thought. Our application was quickly approved, in part due to our experience and impeccable references. Our joy quickly turned to horror and sadness. First, Spud attacked Odie. Then he bit me. Then he bit my daughter. Then they got in a violent brawl with each other in my front yard witnessed by several neighbors. After several discussions with my veterinary clinic, fellow pug owners, rescue volunteers, dog lovers, behaviorists, trainers, friends, and family, we made the heartbreaking decision to return the dogs. But our horror wasn't over. When I contacted another rescue to indicate interest in another pug who had become available in the mean time, the representative contacted the organization in charge of Odie and Spud to learn what had happened, a common practice for rescue organizations with the best interest of animals' at heart. I still don't know what the president of the organization said, but the story did not match mine. She did not indicate there was an issue of aggression or biting with the dogs. What's more, whatever she said would have impeded my ability to adopt another dog had it not been for a trainer who witnessed the behavior and came to my defense. In the end, truth and love triumphed over the lies. We brought home our sweet pug a few weeks ago with special thanks to witnesses to the aggression in the other dogs, including a professional trainer. The president of Mutts Matter Rescue is an ego maniac who does not have the best interest of dogs or people in mind. Oh, and the dogs were advertised once again on Petfinder, with no indication about the history. I notified Petfinder and was told the issue would be researched, but the ad was never removed until the dogs were adopted. I hear through another rescue that they are doing well. I certainly hope so. Perhaps they are in a home with an alpha dog to keep them in check? Enough time has passed since one of them was neutered? I will never know. But I know what we experienced with the dogs and the people with this organization and it wasn't good at all. read more

I have applied to adopt one of their dogs. After I filled out the application and a confirmation email, I never heard back from them. I understand MMR is a volunteer based rescue, but I have been to other rescues similar to them and had better experience. I would appreciate at least an email saying they will not move on with my application or something. read more

Ugh reading some of these negative reviews is maddening. Look just because you put in an application in on a dog doesn't mean you are guaranteed to adopt that dog or even get an email back. The dogs are all going to wonderful homes, even if it isn't yours. I have adopted 2 dogs via MMR and have since fostered 20 + for them, they all have gone on to live amazing lives with people who love them. We can all do better sometimes, but to the people complaining about never hearing back and saying ridiculous things like "i guess they don't want to adopt the dogs out" - please realize that ALL of the dogs are being adopted - maybe you were a little late to the game, maybe another applicant was a better fit, maybe you sound like someone who would write a negative review about a volunteer based RESCUE. Sometimes volunteers have their own lives (divorce, family, jobs, medical issues etc) to contend with which can interfere with the rescue mission for a week or so. If you don't hear back, calm down - don't take it personally - be happy that these dogs are in capable and caring hands, many of them have come from horrifying conditions. We're all human - flawed and capable of making a mistake but some of us humans are taking active steps to help as many animals as we can. This isn't easy so stop making it harder than it already is. I know what joy MMR has brought to literally thousands of dogs and families - don't let a few haters deter from that. read more

Inquired about a dog in two different ways (adoptapet.com & directly on mutts matter website) no answer or anything back from anyone. False hope. Highly disappointed. Got an email from adoptapet.com asking if I adopted the pet I was inquiring about bc he's now pending. Atleast have the decency to notify someone who is interested in services from your organization. Rude. read more

I'm so sad to see bad reviews about Mutts Matter Rescue. My husband and I adopted a dog from MMR a few years ago, and have since fostered two dogs from MMR. It is an all volunteer organization so sometimes communication may take more time, but it is worth the wait and/or follow-up. MMR is a fantastic organization and I would highly recommend adopting through them and/or fostering! read more

I have adopted two pugs from Mutts Matter in the past few years. The process was seamless and easy, the dogs had been really well taken care of by their foster family and they even followed up after the adoptions to make sure all was going ok. They clearly care immensely for the rescues, ensuing good matches between dogs and their prospective adopters. When it comes time to consider another pug, I will definitely be reaching out to Mutts Matter once again. read more

My wife handled all of the process up until the application itself, so I can't comment on anything before that. Starting at that point of the process I had a terrible experience every step of the way, some of it related to communication and others to a combination of "I know everything" attitude and laziness. From the start, we emailed the application in twice, because they missed the first email somehow. It happens, I can forgive that. Next, every email we got was in all-caps because it was the only way the volunteer (who stated early on it was the only way for her to read them). Again, only a minor inconvenience, but being an IT professional and a former programmer would have preferred accessibility settings like zoom so it doesn't affect your customer service and improves your overall ease of use on the computer. Next, we had the home visit, which went great. The visitor was nice, enjoyable to talk to, and didn't walk more than 10 ft into our house or interact with our current dog at all. But it resulted in an email along the lines of "home visit went amazingly, we want you to have the dog". Almost last, we get an email about a week later from them saying "sorry, your dog's not confident enough for the dog you're applying for". If they had any reason to actually judge that, I wouldn't even be writing this review, but we were told she wasn't confident enough because we were able to crate train our current dog. What they ignored was the amount of time and effort that we had to put into getting her to enjoy her crate, and that everyone that actually knows our dog (including the obedience trainer we took her to) immediately comments on how confident she is...but since no one ever really met her, how would they know? Finally, and as far as I'm concerned this is the nail in the coffin for me. After we were denied for an idiotic reason, we emailed back a polite letter pointing out the details they may have overlooked and that we hoped they'd take a chance to meet our current dog. 2 weeks have passed and not even a response apologizing, explaining their decision, or acknowledging that we exist. I understand that volunteer organizations don't have the money to hire professionals, but if you want to stay afloat, there's a basic level of customer service that you need to have, like answering your potential clients. On top of that who is omniscient enough to know the details of anyone's personality (including a dog) without meeting them. As far as I'm concerned, Mutts Matter should have every dog removed from them as fast as possible because I fear how someone that doesn't understand dogs that badly can take care of them, and that no one should donate a cent. Overall review, terrible on all accounts. Thank god for the shelters nearby, that actually required our dog to interact with the one we hoped to adopt. Save yourself a headache and skip Mutts Matter. read more

I second the previous comment about this rescue having no customer service. I contacted the rescue repeatedly via numerous outlets because I was interested in adopting a dog in their care. After several weeks of no response, I now see that the dog is listed as adoption pending. When taking the time to fill out a lengthy application, when you have extensive experience with the breed in question, when you have a highly flexible schedule with time to dedicate to the dog, it would be nice to at least receive a response, no matter how brief, so that you don't continue to get your hopes up. read more

I saw a dog on their website and immediately filled out an application, thinking this would be a quick and easy process but I was wrong. It's been three weeks since I put in my application and I haven't heard a word and my references haven't been called. I'm assuming I wasn't chosen but who knows?! How hard is it to just respond to let you know you weren't chosen? I got my hopes up and now I have to find another dog which isn't easy when you've fell in love with one specific dog. I wish they'd get better with communication. read more

I have had some friends adopt dogs from Mutts Matter, and the dogs have been great. We have a wonderful dog, a 1 1/2 year old lab mix that we need to re-home and I have been trying to contact Mutts Matter. They only have 16 dogs on their site, and we thought this could be great. I understand that they are staffed only by volunteers but.....I have sent out 3 emails to them, and I get an immediate response (form) how they are only staffed by volunteers etc, however, I don't understand why they would not even respond. Fortunately, I have had responses from other organizations, but it is a shame that they don't have the courtesy to respond. I see the negative comments about the organization, and perhaps if they took the time to respond (vs. writing a rebuttal to the negative comments) it would be better for everyone. read more

My Wife and I have put in several applications to adopt a young dog the first one was almost a month ago and we have yet to hear back from them on any of our applications nor have they contacted any of our references yet. We are a great loving family and wonderful pet owners, we own our own house with a large fenced in yard...do these people really want to put dogs out for adoption??? read more

I'm sorry to see some bad experiences for other people but I cannot say enough good things about this group. They are volunteer run and their first concern are the dogs. I submitted my application (all my info was up to date and my references were contacted in advance that Mutts would be calling) and was contacted for a phone interview within a week and a home visit was scheduled the next week. I met my new dog with his foster parents and they taught me everything to know about him. It was a very detailed but streamlined process. Even after my dog came home the group checked in on us and offered help and suggestions with working on some aggression issues he had. For a volunteer run dog rescue group, it was a great experience and I would recommend them to others. read more

I had a fabulous experience with Mutts Matter. I filled out an application and was notified the next morning by email then a phone call. My home visit was done on Thursday by a very friendly gentlemen. Sunday we went to the fosters house so my older dog could meet the new dog. I couldn't say enough about the foster mom Lynne. We felt right at home. After about 1 or 2 hours. We took our new pup home. Was a fabulous experience. He is 6 years old and fits in our home perfectly. Everyone loves him. read more

We worked w/ Mutts Matter to adopt and also fostered. They truly take the time to find the right placement for the dog and adopting family. They are a volunteer organization, so, I can understand why communication may be slow based on some of the other reviews. Hang in there, their heart is in the right place. read more

I am so disappointed in this rescue. I had contacted them and filled out an application to adopt one of their dogs. I had not heard back from them for days so I emailed again. This time I got a rather cold response about how their organization is run by volunteers and it takes time... News flash....Most rescues are run by volunteers... that is not special. I was told that even if we get through the process and are accepted as an adopter, the dog we wanted may be gone by then. I followed up again and have not heard from them in weeks. Any response from them was rather condescending. In the weeks since I started this process, they have not contacted any of my references nor followed up with me on anything. The dog we wanted is still in need of a forever home and if they had only been diligent she could be here with us now. We have since been approved for a puppy from another fantastic rescue and are awaiting his transport north. I am sorry that these people do not see any urgency in there desire to get these dogs to their forever home as quickly as possible. I should have read Yelp before even starting this very frustrating and maddening process. read more

My 17 year old JRT crossed the rainbow bridge in April of this year, so we began searching for a companion for my MinPin. Submitted an application for a dog on 5/16/15. Was immediately contacted for a phone interview and a home visit a week later. Parties I dealt with were pleasant over the phone and in my home, and both indicated no problems or issues. Comments were even made such as "You should walk the Boston Terrier in the morning to avoid the heat." Which lead me to believe there was a good chance the dog would be placed with me. Further, I have adopted with 2 other rescue groups in 1999 and in 2005 and provided excellent Veterinary care for over 15 years with my dogs. The next step was a meet and greet with my dog. I was told on 6/2 that an adoption coordinator would contact me "shortly." 10 days passed without contact and I followed up with an e-mail... again told "shortly". As of today, 6/23 still no contact. So I've had an application for almost six weeks and haven't met the dog. I could understand if the dog was placed in another home, but that was never conveyed to me and in fact the dog is still listed available on their website. I am passionate about rescue and would never buy a dog from breeder or store, so I have gone directly to a shelter and have found a wonderful dog who will live a Blessed life. Mutts Matter has a tag line of "Adopt. Spay/Neuter/Repeat." however, when that was exactly what I was trying to do, they seemed uninterested in placing a dog in a loving home. read more

We had two great experiences with Mutts Matter and the owner. Our first application was for our sweet little Pug Miko. Mutts Matter conducted a very thorough phone interview, and home visit after we filled out our application. Then we brought our current dog to visit with Melanie and Miko to make sure they would get along. Everyone we dealt with was kind, caring, professional, and had the dogs best interest in mind. We had no problem with the process. After we got Miko, we adopted Oden, our sweet little French Bulldog. Because we had been through the process, and we were already approved it was much easier this time. We have had them now for years, they are members of our family, and we would absolutely recommend them and go to them again. Every once in awhile we will send them updates and pictures. Melanie always replies back. These dogs have brought much love and joy to our house for me, my wife and our children after losing our boxers to cancer. read more

well i don't know how these guys stay in business there is very little communication no phone number to contact them and on top of that i think they have my dog and they are trying to adopt it out and i have emailed them a number of times and only got back 1 email stating it was found in a different area . no care to help us have closure with our missing/stolen dog. if they cared about animals like they claim they would want to talk to us and give us closure.volunteer run or not animals are people to and they have feelings like us.why doesn't the county close them down for their misconduct. what's the purpose of this lame organization? is it to place rescue pets and you don't contact interested parties in a timely manner, what's the point in offering the animal for adoption don't even know where they are located so i could physically go and see if my baby is locked up in that horrible place. mutts matter needs to be shut down now!!!!!!!!!! read more

When my husband and I bought our first home we wanted to get a dog to add to our family. I knew someone who had Pugs and they seemed like the type of dog that would be good for our lifestyle so I researched the breed a little more. A few months later, a friend of the family had taken in a young Pug from a friend who had moved into an apartment that did not allow pets. We went to meet her and brought her home. We took her to our new vet we had picked out and got her up to date on everything and spayed. A couple of months after she was settled in, we decided that we should get a second Pug so she could have a companion when we were at work. One of my co-workers introduced me to the online adoption site called petfinder.com and I began browsing the Pugs listed on there as up for adoption. I applied to Mid-Atlantic Pug Rescue in the hopes of them matching us with a Pug and I also applied for a specific Pug that I saw as listed with Mutts Matter Rescue. We went through the adoption process with Mutts Matter Rescue. In a few days we received an email asking for more info. and telling us that we would be getting our vet reference and personal references checked. It took a few days playing phone tag with the volunteer who did the phone interview as both of our schedules were very busy. Then the next step was the home visit. Since the organization was new, it took about a week or so to line up a volunteer who was able to make the trek out to our house. After all of that, the screening team told us that we were approved adopters, however the Pug we applied for they felt would do better with another applicant so we would not be getting to adopt him. I was very disappointed to say the least, but I knew that after everything that we went through, that I had to trust the process and that these people who work with rescue dogs probably knew what was best for the dogs. In the end, after becoming foster parents, we ended up adopting a totally different dog than we would have ever imagined, but we can't imagine our life without him now! We have since gone on to foster several dozen dogs and even adopting a third dog from Mutts Matter. Oh and that other organization we applied with- well we never even heard back from them. I didn't go and write nasty reviews about them all over the Internet either. People have to understand that these type of organizations are completely staffed by volunteers. They do not receive funding from any kind of government organization. Just because you want a certain dog from one organization does not give you the entitlement to it. There are so many homeless dogs out there that need homes. You also need to trust that these organizations are looking out for the welfare of the dogs. These dogs come from terrible situations, ending up on death row in a crowded shelter through no fault of their own. The intention is to ensure that the dog will be placed into a home FOREVER. So maybe you and/or your family are not a good fit for that particular dog, or maybe someone else was just a step further than you in the adoption process. Don't take it personally. I was absolutely shocked to read all of the negative reviews that people have left here on this wonderful organization. The organization is called MUTTS MATTER for a reason. read more

The absolute worse pet adoption "business" that I have ever experienced!! My son found an English Bulldog that he was very interested in. The dog was not good with small children-not a problem. My son lives alone, does not have children and is not around any children. My oldest son trains dogs, so we did not consider this behavior to be a problem. When I called the only phone number associated with Mutts Matter, a woman answered and was extremely condescending and generally a nasty disposition. One would think phone calls would be answered in a pleasant manner if someone is calling to rescue an animal from these people. An application was filled out and we have not had the common courtesy of a phone call or an email. Now I see the dog has been adopted. My parents adopted a small dog from AARF last month and the volunteers were wonderful. If you are serous about adopting a forever baby, I would strongly suggest you contact another group. I should have known better from reading all the other negative reviews. read more

3 years ago, my family and I lost our dog that we had for 9 years. At this time, it was very hard and lonely returning home without that special member of the family greeting you. Mutts Matter posted an article online about a dog who deserved a second chance, and right away my stepdad's sister contacted him. The dog was the same breed that we grew up loving and now just lost. This really felt like it was meant to be for our family, and reading the dog's story made us want to rescue him even more. Since he had a rough start in life, MRR requested that the home he goes to needs to have a fenced in yard and it would be best if no young children were present. We had a fenced in yard already and both "kids" in the house were older teenagers who have had years of experience with a dog. Right away my parents contacted the organization and the dog's foster mom contacted us to set up a day where we could all meet. She made sure that she went to our house and inspected it herself, making sure it fit all of the requirements listed in the article. We could all tell that she had bonded with the dog as a foster mom and that she really worked with him because he listened to her very well and you could feel the connection. It made all of us feel better because he was already getting so much love before entering our home. The process was very easy for us and we were able to adopt our wonderful dog, that we couldn't be more thankful for. He truly is a member of the family and has positively impacted our lives. Mutts Matter truly cares about every dog they rescue and in some circumstances they will even go to another state to rescue a dog, which is what they did in this situation with our dog, although the company usually works in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. It's comforting to know our dog came from a great place that keeps their dogs safe and loved from the time they are rescued, to the time they are adopted into a loving, forever home. read more

Do your homework- this is a sad representation of a "rescue"I was approved for adoption - then when we drove 3 hours to introduce the pups, the person that was watching the dog while the foster was out of town- had 2 pit bulls and 1 german Shepard unleashed and un restrained in the yard. When I refused to get out of my car or bring my dog out of the car- I was told I couldn't reschedule to come back and meet the pup when his original foster was back in town - that he was going to adopt the dog to the next people that were coming later that day. Unbelievable that you would subject my 11 year old dog to be around unleashed dogs that had nothing to do with the dog I was adopting. I had no help, support, or contact from the rescue while this was happening or afterwards. Glad I chose to leave, unfortunately these types of rescues are why people choose breeders. After checking, this is not the first time this rescue has acted unquestionable to people. So sad to ruin the idea of rescue for people- you certainly did for me. My 11 year old pup spent 7 hours in the car for no reason- how unfair. read more