We traveled out to Family Puppies from Illinois to meet Dave and his puppies. Dave was very…read moreresponsive via email when we first started our research months ahead. When we were ready to bring one home, we contacted Dave again to let him know. He was very flexible as our plans had changed a bit and we asked if we could come out earlier. When we arrived, he had 3 puppies out that had the features we were interested in, female, red, curly hair. All 3 looked very healthy and happy. We would have loved to have a look around and check out all of the ones he had available, but I'm sure it's hard to keep them all "presentable" all the time and also I imagine it reduces the risk of people bringing in potential sources of infection/germs to the other pups. Once we made our choice, Dave gave us the info we needed for shots and what she had already had. He gave us a bag of food that lasted us a couple days and he had supplies there that we could purchase if we hadn't already such as an appropriate size crate. He also offered to bathe her before we left, as we had concerns for our son that has allergies to other types of dogs which she may have been near. Once home, we named her Daisy (previously Alaina) (Dave did tell us they reuse names so you might see some duplicates on his site, I'm sure they know the pups get renamed anyways), she took very well to her crate and slept in it all night letting us know once in the middle of the night that she had to go potty. She was almost immediately potty train..... A couple accidents, but a quick pick her up and take her outside and she learned within a week. We have had her for about a month and a half now and she's only had a couple accidents in the house which were mostly us not doing our part and paying attention. She sleeps all night. Other than stealing a random shoe she hasn't chewed a thing! She has found her voice though lol. She plays very well with other dogs and only time she nips, is if she's playing. She is as sweet and lovable as can be. We took her to the vet on day two and they said she checked out great, no issues. They said we were very lucky with her and got a "gem"! Thanks Dave! We will definitely be referring anyone looking for a new pup to add to their family!

This business is a puppy miller. Dogs are kept crated or kenneled making it very difficult to…read morehousebreak a dog that will not potty on grass. Dogs are not socialized. Do NOT ever buy a dog from this business or this person.

We found Trisha online after placing a deposit with another breeder who unfortunately stopped…read morecommunicating with us. We drove about 2.5 hours to pick up our puppy, and from the moment we met Trisha, she was professional, knowledgeable, and incredibly patient while I chose the puppy that was right for our family. Before we left, she provided all of Mia's records and even sent us home with a bag of food. On the drive home, Mia vomited, but we assumed it was motion sickness from the long car ride. Over the next several hours, she continued vomiting, developed diarrhea, and stopped eating, drinking, and playing. Concerned, we called the emergency veterinarian. Based on her symptoms, they told us Mia likely had parvo, advised us to stop all food and water immediately, and bring her in if her condition got any worse. Before rushing to the emergency clinic, I called Trisha at 6:00 a.m. She listened carefully and suggested that Mia's blood sugar might be low due to her tiny size. Following Trisha's advice, I gave Mia a small amount of syrup. Within minutes, she perked up and began acting more like herself. Trisha's experience and understanding of her puppies made all the difference. Her guidance not only helped us avoid a costly emergency vet visit but, more importantly, helped keep Mia safe. Had we followed the advice to completely restrict food and water for a puppy weighing less than two pounds, the outcome could have been very different. We are incredibly grateful for Trisha's knowledge, responsiveness, and dedication to her puppies. Thank you, Trisha. We couldn't be happier with Mia, and we appreciate everything you did to help our family.

I had such a positive experience with Trisha! Her website was so easy to navigate. I sent in the…read morepuppy application and she got back to me in a couple of hours. We communicated through text and it was easy to set up a time/appointment and view the puppies! When we met she was very nice to me and my mom and was very patient with us when we asked questions, when I translated all the information to my mom who only speaks Spanish and took a few minutes with each of the puppies we were interested in. You can tell that the puppies are really well cared for so if you're interested in a yorkie puppy this is the place/person to buy from! We took Bruno home that very same day and we couldn't he happier! He's such an energetic, loving and playful puppy!

Hard to give a rating since they didn't do anything at all, so I went with one star. We had our 13…read moreyear old pet pass away and were looking for a pup to replace her as our other dog was in need of a companion. We hoped to get one relatively quickly. We filled out an application for a pup they had and got an email confirmation the application was being sent to Heartland. To be sure they got it, I sent them an email directly with a summary of what we were looking for and attached a copy of the application in case they hadn't received it. For the week after that, we had no response at all from Heartland. Nothing. No acknowledgement by phone, text, nor email. I didn't expect much, but did expect something. The adoption process is way too complicated. We wanted to adopt a rescue or shelter dog as our last pet was, but it is simply too complicated and frustrating, especially when the place with the animals won't participate. We ended up going with a breeder and have the pup at home now. To be fair, Elkhart Humane Society called a day after we submitted an application to keep on file to say we were accepted. Another agency sent an email saying the pup we were interested in had been adopted that day but they would keep the application. Not so for Heartland. They did eventually send an email . . . 3 days after we had our puppy at home. We've had 2 dogs in our home for decades. We prefer going the rescue/humane society route, but they make it much too hard and frustrating to use. Not sure I'll even try using them next time. I'm glad some folks had a good outcome with them, but for us it was nothing but crickets from Heartland.

Everything went smoothly with my adoption but I had to give the dog back due to the dog being…read moreaggressive towards children. They re-listed the dog and put that he was good with children.

FIVE (5) unreplied emails asking to view a specific dog. I got the distinct impression from the…read moretotal lack of response that they are not interested in finding good homes for their animals.

Horrible organization! They lied to me about my cocker coming from a puppy mill after I signed the…read morepaper. I have spent thousands of $$ on her health care problems to keep her alive!

Gabe and his wife are too professionals. They love their work as well and as much as they love…read moretheir puppies, it was truly a wonderful experience to get my new puppy from them.

We brought home Archie (Julian) 6 days ago and he is perfect!! He is a 14 week old red mini poodle…read moreand he loves to play, is swimming already and great at playing fetch. The rest of the time he is a Velcro snuggle pup. We met Archies dog parents and they were also amazing dogs. Archie's human parents Gabe and Joyce did an amazing job raising our perfect new family member. This is definitely NOT a puppy mill, they truly care about raising great pups

The way these pets have to sit in a small space on metal grates should be illegal. Manager is rude…read moreand will scream at you if you suggest anything for pets. No water, no beds or blankets. This should be illegal!

Lady working there with red hair, glasses, and pink converse was extremely rude. I personally am…read moreabout to move and I am actively looking for a dog to adopt. I don't know if it was because of my style or if I looked young, but the way she treated us compared to other customers was astronomically different. She was smiling and laughing with other people, but with me and my friends she acted as if we were being a burden for asking to hold a dog. Very disappointed in how we were treated.

Once upon a time, a girl had just moved into her apartment on the north side of Chicago, and wanted…read moreto fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a crazy cat lady. To do this, she needed to adopt some cats. Two cats, to be exact. Knowing that a big city like Chicago had an abundance of animals in need, she figured this task would be an easy one. However, try as she did, the various shelters she contacted in Chicago failed to return her phone calls and emails in a timely fashion, or at all. She had, however, contacted PetsConnect in Indiana, and although it was a two hour drive from her apartment, the girl's eagerness to adopt, combined with the friendliness of the volunteers of the nonprofit organization and their timely response led to the girl driving all the way to South Bend to meet the kitties. And what wonderful kitties they were. Young ones, old ones, brown ones, black ones, striped ones, solid ones, cats with extra toes, cats that were missing eyes, cats that had been abandonned, lovey cats and lonely cats. The organization was not a formal shelter in one location, but rather, a volunteer-run organization that rescued animals from shelters and fostered by volunteers who cared for the animals in their homes. The volunteers of the organization rescued not only cats, but dogs and other small animals as well. All of the animals had names and histories that the volunteers were all too happy to share. The girl met with one woman whose whole garage was devoted to housing rescued cats, and even though this might sound strange, the space was ideal for the animals--heated, clean, with plenty of space and toys. Even better was that all of the animals had been checked out by a vet, had their shots and were spayed and microchipped. The girl was able to take as much time as she needed to meet and spend time with the kitties, and the volunteer made sure that she had a firm grasp of the cats' personalities and the responsibilities pet owning entailed. Additionally, the organization's policy is one that they ask that the animals be returned to them in the event that they must ever be surrendered, lessening the likelihood that the animals would ever become homeless again. Ultimately, the girl would adopt her two kitties, rejoicing in her decision to drive all the way to South Bend, IN. Naturally, her and her kitties lived happily ever after.

Well, all I can say about looking to adopt a dog nowadays....good luck! It is the most miserable,…read moredepressing experience I have ever had, regarding this subject! I did not realize how much the world has changed and not for the best! What should be a basically, easy process to give a poor dog a good home, has turned into a nightmare! I GET IT that there are a lot of abusive, cruel people out there, but my GOD, how much red tape and endless PRIVATE questions must you endure in the process! Years ago you could go to the DOG POUND, now, that ages me, doesn't it? And, you could find a lot of good dogs, of ALL breeds, not just mainly one breed (dare I say it!). You also could get good dogs from your neighborhood. Before the hysteria of FIXING EVERYTHING IN SIGHT! Also from your work, etc. Wasn't too difficult, I remember (those were the days). Because everything is being forced ONLINE, where they can hide more, you basically can't tell really, WHERE they come from (puppymills,pet stores,etc.) I had a breeder tell me that a lot of dogs coming from Asian countries are actually being bred for profit, but are being brought over here as 'RESCUES'. And, they are carrying this disease that can affect our American dogs. The FDA is looking the other way.....Guess my only option is to go to reputable, expensive breeders or Craigslist! Heard so many negative things about them in the past. Yes there is a lot of that, BUT it isn't all bad. Just have to be careful. SO VERY SAD FOR ALL THESE DOGS THAT REALLY NEED GOOD HOMES.............