I know this place has bad reviews but I had a good experience ahead of meat and greet with a really nice dog wasn't the perfect fit for me, but the shelter does a good job. read more

I thought that maybe my experience with them was different, or unique in some way. I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. Then I found these Yelp reviews and I want to add my voice to the STAY AWAY faction. I adopted an 8-week-old puppy from them in September of 2017. Two days after I got her home, she was extremely lethargic, not eating, having breathing problems. After a number of tests, we discovered she had multi-drug resistant bacterial pneumonia. She had kennel cough (bordetella), pseudomonas, and a multi-drug resistant strain of e.coli in her lungs. I thought they might want to know, because she had brothers. The owner sounded concerned at first and told me she contacted the owners of the other puppies and none of them were sick. Her concern soon dissipated when I told her I had paid $1,500 in vet bills. Haha, drop in the champagne bucket, she got sick in September and was officially pneumonia-free at the end of February. All told, the vet bills came in at around $7,000. At the time I adopted my puppy, they had taken in a number of dogs stranded from Hurricane Harvey, the owner told me a lot of them had "colds," but nothing more serious. I think, due to legal reasons, the veterinarians would not confirm that she was sick when she left the shelter. I don't know where else she would get her lungs all full of bacteria in the 36 hours she was in my house. She is a wonderful dog, and we do not regret spending the money on her, but it concerns me about other dogs that were there. The e.coli was only susceptible to one very expensive injectable antibiotic. I really hope her brothers were okay, and she wasn't just trying to cover her butt. I would have been able to save them considerable expense with the information I had. Email exchanges after this took place were very rude and unprofessional. My husband is a veteran and I thought it would be nice to support a veteran-owned shelter. The shelter building looks run-down, but I was only allowed at the front desk and directed to the runs in back to meet my puppy, so I have no information about how hygienic things are behind-the-scenes. We found this shelter on Petfinder, I would suggest anywhere but here read more

Patriots For Pets - A sick puppy - Pet Adoption Near Me - Clear Lake, Iowa

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We bought "George" from them, wonderful dog :0), but unfortunately he had Parvo and was a very sick little boy and died 1 week later. I hold nothing against "Patriots for Pets". These things happen and of course they shouldn't. This originates from people getting animals that they can't or won't care for no matter what the problems. Granted the facility needs some help, but they do the best they can with what they have. Deb and staff were very nice to us and she kept in touch with me while George was at the vet. I was refunded in full the day George passed. Like I said to Deb in my email, I know that their intentions are not to let pets die and I can only imagine how hard it is to do what they do with what they have. I would adopt again from them but would maybe adopt a little older puppy (4-5 months) George was only 10 weeks. I only had him for 1 week but it was so special, I am so grateful that I was able to give him the chance he deserved, more than I can say for the people who owned his Mother. Thank You Deb for your kindness Cathy Cramer read more

Patriots For Pets - Pet Adoption Near Me - Clear Lake, Iowa

Incredibly unprofessional people. They will spread lies about people who go against them or rub them the wrong way. Dogs from here are generally sick when adopted. Will make false claims to defend themselves. The owner, Debbie, will personally attack you if she feels like it. A better alternative would be the Humane Society of North Iowa. They throw dead animals in bags and add them to their dumpster for drop-off at the local landfill. The Director is Debbie Kern. The board chairman is her husband. No one is held accountable here. Sources: Personal experience, Google reviews, Yelp reviews, the various Facebook posts, and Debbie's encounters with the police: https://globegazette.com/news/local/dog-owner-sues-patriots-for-pets-for-overruled-rescue/article_a127454e-7036-56fb-b582-d2d70bc959d6.html read more

I had a terrible experience with this shelter when I wanted an old dog that had just been brought in. They were so rude & the more I tried to pursue my strong interest for this dog the more rude they became. They finally put someone to take my email that was just plain mean!! I pray someone helps these animals get a better place in which to wait for homes! read more

Horrible people. Horrid conditions. Feces in walk way. Urine smell all over. 7 week old pups being kept outside in 40 degree rainy weather. The owner is beyond rude. I will be reporting this place anywhere and everywhere I can. My goal is to get this place shut down for good. These people do not need to be taking care of dogs. Look at all the negative reviews.The numerous cases of caccidia and parvo. If you've experienced this call the city of Clear Lake. Call the Iowa ASPCA. Call any one and every one you can. This place is not suitable for any animals. Owner was also smoking cigarettes inside at the front desk. That is a violation of the Smoke Free Air Act of Iowa as well. read more

Horrible. Rude. Felt like I was miseld by the owners. My family and I drove about an hour to see a dog we were interested in, met the dog and knew it wasnt going to be a good fit. The staff showed us another dog that we really liked and would have adopted, however was told oh someone is already coming to see her. We left with nothing, called 30 min later to tell the staff we would be back in a week to look at other pets, the owner told me I would not let you adopt anyhow, you dont seem like good dog people. Really, you can tell that about my husband, myself and my 9 year old daughter in the 20 minutes you spent with us?? Don't waste your time, please go somewhere else!! I wish I would have read the reviews before we went and had our hopes up.. beware! read more

What a horrible place! Our puppy was sick when we took her home, she had worms. She needed to be treated 2 times for them. When emailed them about trying to return her to them, lady was very rude. I believe all the previous reviews about the attitudes and running of this place. read more

I drove 2 hours with my other dog for a meet and greet to see a dog that was up for adoption. I was approved for adoption on another dog but they say they do not hold animals. So I came early to meet this "Dachshund puppy" so we could be first. The 2 volunteers were very friendly and accomodating. Well when they went to get the dog it was a huge black lab that was returned to the shelter. Not a puppy at all. So we looked at other dogs. I met a little girl that I fell in love with. She was 8 months old and a Chihuahua/ Dachshund. She had come from a shelter and was about a day from being Euthanized. Well we got home and I made a vet appointment, did a DNA test and wrote letters to the owner and animal hospital that was listed in the paperwork. I got an email from San Antonio Texas from "the owner" which was her foster mom that said she was a street dog before her house and that she and her sister foster hundreds of dogs. This girl was housetrained with a doggy door and slept in her bed. She told them if she didn't get adopted she wanted her back so she was tickled to hear from me. She even told me when she was due for her next shot. I took her to the vet and he said she was more like a year and 8 months and not 8 months because she is full grown. Her health appeared to be ok but she has a medial luxating patella which means her right knee goes in and out and will need a $1000 surgery. My other dog had contracted Bortatella from the meet and greet. The vet said luckily i had brought her in otherwise it would have gone into Pneumonia. I got the DNA test back today and she is 25% Chihuahua, 25% short haired miniature Dachshund, 25% Pomeranian, 12.5% Cocker Spaniel and 12.5% other mixed breed. So that was pretty close. I've had her since August 1st she has found her forever home. As far as the facility it seemed cleaned. Crates have 2 small dogs or 1 large dog. The volunteers were friendly and let me go anywhere i wanted to look. They really wanted me to find a match. The owner sat at the messy counter/desk the whole time. Paperwork took forever with us waiting in the meet and greet pen outside (so hot). They just kept saying we'll come get you. read more

Patriots For Pets - Pet Adoption Near Me - Clear Lake, Iowa

DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT GO THROUGH HERE. If you are looking for a loyal companion but would rather rescue a pup instead of buying one I would advise you to go look and adopt from anywhere except here. I would give this place negative stars if it was possible. At the beginning they seem like a very nice company who is obviously doing a good service for the animals they serve. But once you start getting into the process you will realize how awful this pet adoption place is. The workers at this place are rude and extremely unprofessional which makes it pretty obvious most of the dogs here are not well taken care of ranging from being neglected to being sick themselves. I just adopted a little one myself from here and he has kennel cough. After reading other reviews it seems to be a pretty common problem that others are finding with this kennel. I opted to not call the place to let them know after reading other reviews where it was stated that they didn't care. Pretty ridiculous if you ask me. Now upon further investigation my dog has been found to have worms in his intestines. Only way for the animal to receive this is by fecal-oral route. Obviously this is mostly the animals fault being that they shouldn't be eating their own or another dogs feces. But it makes me wonder how clean is this place actually is. Anyways all in all I would advise anyone to not go through this company. They say they are doing a good service for these animals which I suppose may be true but they are also causing these poor animals who just want a loving family to care for them more pain by having unclean facilities, awful customer service, and neglecting the animals that are at the facility. If they choose to give sick dogs away that is an injustice service they are providing in my opinion. They say they get the dogs checked out before hand but obviously this check up is nothing more than quick exam so they can get the dog adopted so they can get there money. My biggest suggestion to this place would be to get there facilities cleaned up and to get there workers to shape up and not swear or be rude to potential adopters. As well as maybe try to get more help to take some load off of the workers. read more

he lady that worked there was SO ungodly rude I still can't believe it. We drove from an hour away to see a dog. Got there at noon then told "get out we aren't ready yet" and to "wait in the parking lot". Met the puppy and it went well. We went to show her our vet records so our dog could meet the new puppy. She started harassing and belittling us because his distemper was a couple weeks over due. We explained he has an upcoming appointment with a new vet but couldn't get in any earlier due to covid. She refused to let us bring our dog over to meet the puppy so we went to leave. When we were headed out she chased us off the property screaming horribly mean things. I have never met such a nasty woman in my life. I left in tears from the way she spoke to my family... read more

My overwhelmingly negative experience with this organization pushed me to write a review. We were searching for a pet and found a dog we were interested in at Patriots for Pets. My communications with staff was more than disappointing (openly insulted me). Rude! Unprofessional! This action shows a deep seeded lack of regard for clients and most likely would extend to the animals in their care. They do not adhere to social distancing--no electronic forms, won't accept Paypal, google pay or other non-contact payment, do not offer individual appointments, do not have contained viewing rooms or practice reduced physical contact. They also were not willing to work with potential clients to try to keep everyone safe. I came to them with with excellent reviews from 2 vets, history of fostering animals and certified home inspection. I have never experienced anything like it!! We ended up working with a volunteer shelter that did respect our concern about safe social distancing practices. Patriots for Pets is anything but patriotic or for pets. This place needs to be put under leadership of a proactive director that cares about animals & clients and works to keep everyone safe. We shared our experience with my employer to make sure Patriots for Pets will not be on my employer's charitable contributions matching program. DO NOT ADOPT FROM THIS ORGANIZATION! 4/12 update: This organization continues to contact me with insults leading to me blocking them on social media. I am getting concerned by their need to send insults. read more

This would be a negative star review if it were allowed. My friend's nephew adopted a dog from this shelter last week and she tested positive for parvo three days later. Due to the incubation period for the disease this means the puppy contracted it while in the shelter's care. The family has spent well over a thousand dollars at the vet hospital and could not afford to continue treating the pup so she is now in the care of the rescue organization I run. The shelter refused to help in any way, not even to refund the adoption fee so the money could be used to provide medical care for the puppy. I have seen the same thing has happened to multiple other adopters. Buyer beware, this is not a reputable organization. read more

Run away as fast as you can. I drove 4 hours to adopt a puppy that was supposed to be ready to go. When I got there, puppy wasn't spayed and needed to stay another week. Then it picked up a bacterial infection that gave it diarrhea so it needed to stay another week. Who knows what other diseases it would pick up at this puppy mill. They did offer me a refund due to the delay, but when I accepted suddenly it became my fault the puppy was sick and I had no right to accept their refund offer. They belittled my daughter because she was anxious to get a healthy puppy and not willing to wait until these fine Patriots could produce one. I then received a series of rude emails using a variety of vulgar terms. I did respond in kind to their threats and hostile e-mails. I will be surprised to receive the refund I was offered. read more

Let me start off by stating I never had a worse experience anywhere with an adoption process for an animal. Now I am generally concerned about the well being of the animals as the animal we went to see was not even groomed or bathed properly and they provided the cheapest treats and food for them. My girlfriend is disabled with MS and the elderly women in the circle shaped sunglasses (her name was None of your Business) discriminated us because of her disability. She kept telling us shes been doing this for 30 years and she new better that us on animal training. Just because shes been doing it 30 years doesn't mean she was doing it right. I am at a loss for words at the level of disrespect we recieved from her. The dog we chose to see would have lived a legandary life as it would have been trained to be a service animal ( German Shepard/Boxer mix). She argued with us about the breed mix but she didn't even know herself. When we asked how they aquired the dog, they were unsure and thought the dog was born there. How do you not know if the dog was born at their prison of a shelter. If he was born their, how do you not even know the correct breed. If thats the case that dogs should never been born at a shelter. A shelter is no place for breeding. If they are unsure of how they got the dog than I am certain that they do not properly care for these dogs. After we explained to her how we planned to train the dog, she kept over talking us just stating that she's been doing this for 30 years and knew better than us. My girlfriend had the dog calm and sitting with in 5 minutes which None of Your Business couldnt even do herself. My 3 year old was nervous around a new dog, (as any 3 year old would be) and she judged us based on that an my girlfriends disability. I told my girlfriend, lets just go this lady doesn't know what she was talking about. I also told "None of Your Business" that she was very disrespectful to us and we didn't feel welcome there. She said, well good your not welcome and to get off her property as we were already leaving. I told her I was going to leave an honest google review. She stated she didn't care. When I asked her for her name thats when she said her name was None of your Business. If she didn't care, then why did she refuse to provide her real name? I however am glad there were other people there and saw the way she treated us. I should have looked at the reviews before I even drove 100 miles away to be ridiculed and set my girlfriend in tears because we felt we were being discriminated because of her disability. The place is only about half the size of our property and they have about 15 viewable dogs that are locked in kennels with no room to play. Also, a 3 month old dog could have been easily potty trained by then which they also couldn't do. She even argued that he was more of a a guard dog than a service animal. However if she did her own research, she would see that they make great service animals as well. She was the definition of a "Karen". This is more like a prison for dogs rather than a shelter. read more

I came in today and brought with me a couple dozen cans of wet dog food (I called in advance asking what they were in greatest need of) and I wanted to show my appreciation for any of their time I would be taking from them. I was very disappointed by the interaction I had with staff. This was my first time at the facility and I noticed that rooms/directions were not clear. I did not understand which 'puppy room' was the adoptable puppies. When I asked about one of the puppies, I saw in the nursery, I was verbally interrupted, with an aggressive tone, by a staff member and told those puppies are not available and not being considered for adoption. I understand that there are rules for adoption and staff is probably hounded by visitors to see puppies that are not ready to go to homes. However, that does not excuse being rude when someone is calmly asking a question. I was then told there were older puppies in a back-room father down the hall. This room was behind a large gray door with no signage. I had seen it previously but was unsure if it was a staff room and wanted to respect not entering a room I may not be allowed to enter. I once again saw a couple of puppies, in the correct room, that I thought would be possible options for my family. I went to the same women up front and asked what is the process to be able to interact with the dogs. I was given my answer and no additional information or questions. Not asked which ones did you like, how soon are looking to adopt. Just no interaction greater than the necessary minimum. The staff member seemed to be frustrated with any interruptions because of the busy environment that was occurring today. The general environment needs supplies better organized and would benefit from a deep cleaning. In high-school, I worked at an animal shelter just as small and aged as this one. It was better organized and cleaner. When comparing I wonder if it was in part because the manager knew how to be passionate, strict, and professional with everyone. She was able to get greater quantities of donations and volunteers likely due to her interactions with possible adoptees. Because of this experience, in the future, I will be taking all my donations and adopt a future family pet from the Mason City Humans Society. read more

The lady I spoke to on the phone was incredibly rude. I called her the next day about a pup after my application was accepted. I called at 2 pm the next day after her post to ask a few more questions about adoption and she spoke to me like I was a nobody. Was very aggressive and rude. She told me to call back after hours to see if he was adopted. Something didn't seem right after this unpleasant call and I decided to look at reviews about this establishment. ALL BAD. I called her back shortly after 4 and she told me that he was being visited by a family and to not call, message me later to see if he was adopted. (A bit nicer this time) In her email she explained that there were NO HOLDS. I would give a -10 stars to this place as she was very unprofessional. Her Facebook page and website do NOT reflect her establishment. Most terrible and unprofessional experience I've ever had. happy that the pup didn't have to spend much time there as I've heard NOT GOOD THINGS about this place. read more

Patriots For Pets - ! - Pet Adoption Near Me - Clear Lake, Iowa

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Please Don't use this shelter! Something majorly off about it. Not professional. Super rude manager. Felt we were intruding. Came to pick up puppy walked away empty handed. Thought my daughter and I were there to pick up her first ever puppy. Her and her husbands application was approved Tues and we were arriving in an hour after opening on Thurs, their first weekday they are open. Walked in to find out all three of the 11 week old puppies of the litter were no longer available including the one that she had requested on Tuesday. She claimed they had deposits in them from people in Wisconsin??? We could hardly believe it. We weren't called to be told that the puppy was no longer available after 1 1/2 hour drive there. And my daughter wasn't allowed to put a deposit down on a specific puppy. Seemed to be all about the money and controlling who they wanted to get what. My daughter and her husband visited Sunday, approved application on Tuesday, she called on Tuesday to let manager know she would be there on Thursday as hours open are Thus to Sunday. My daughter even realized that maybe her preference female dog might be adopted because we couldn't be there right at noon but was willing to adopt either of the two siblings in the litter. Besides the manager barely giving us the time of day and talking to us in between other conversations with people- she casually mentions oh all three of those the puppies from that litter had been adopted the night before but a partner Wisconsin shelter that took deposits on all three? My daughter walked away with an empty crate, and empty leash. After reading all these reviews and being there first hand, I am thinking that Mark's review about the Puppy Mill connection might be correct. We were told by a local person later that day after sharing our story that they will get in over a 100 dogs from Texas as an example. If you have had a bad experience please leave a Google and Yelp review. This was just heartbreaking and most awful shelter experience I have had and I have volunteered at a shelter. read more

Ive never been to the facility and have never called them. I have only reviewed their website and it strikes me as odd that they have such a huge number of puppies available for adoption. No other rescue I ve ever seen has had that many puppies. Also the prices are fairly healthy. It almost makes you wonder if they have some relationship with puppy mills and that they are a puppy mill broker acting as a rescue? That could be completely off base and unfair but it is what occured to me after looking at their website and reading some of the reviews from people that have adopted thru them read more

We got exactly what we wanted from Patriots for Pets. We are very happy with the 8-year-old puggle we adopted 9 months ago. Their new owner screening process was complete and professional. They allowed us a 2 week foster-to-adopt period to see if Zeus was a good fit with our house cats. We got a healthy, well behaved house dog and walking buddy who would have been euthanized if they hadn't rescued him from the shelter in Texas. They made sure all his vaccinations were current and he was microchipped before we adopted him. I would not hesitate to adopt from Patriots for Pets again. read more

DO NOT ADOPT FROM HERE. The puppy we had only lived 12 hours with us. I am not blaming the shelter for the death of the puppy but when we got in contact with the shelter they basically had a "not our problem" attitude and would not refund us for the puppy. The lady claims she will have the brothers of the puppy we got tested so see if there is anything wrong with them but I don't believe she will because she would have to pay for that and was too cheap to give us our money back. She basically blamed the whole situation on us for not having the body of the puppy inspected after death. I'm sorry but waking up at 5 am on a Monday morning to a dead puppy body in the crate he had slept in caused me to not think clearly. My boyfriend and I had no idea what to do - who would be prepared for this? We had to pay $80 to even have the vet take the body so I'm sure it would have been a lot more to have the body inspected. I am really hoping the puppy died in peace - by the way he was laying down I think he did. My boyfriend had checked on him a few hours prior to that during the night and he was fine so I have no idea what would have caused the death. From the moment we walked into this place I had an off feeling - the place was disgusting and the puppies were kept up in the attic. I should have listened to my gut feeling for this but wanted to take the puppy home so badly. Even though there is no way to determine how the puppy died, I would never trust getting a dog from this place again. The owner was rude over email prior to going there and horrible to work with after the death. I have a very healthy dog at home that my boyfriend and I raised from when he was 7 weeks old. We are not idiots when it comes to dogs. The owner claims we must have let him choke or our dog play too hard with the puppy and this is not true at all. I think this place should be shut down and I feel terrible for all of the animals there. read more

We got our dog from here. Yes, they are not the cleanest site, they are not over friendly but they saved over 500 dogs in Houston and other areas. She was sick when we got her but nothing a weeks worth of antibiotics didn't cure. They are a rescue not a designer dog outfit. I would adopt again. At least the dogs are moved around and most of them fostered in homes. read more

the staff is not very friendly, we were interested in a dog they had but we changed our minds, we emailed them to tell them and they emailed back saying I was rude. read more

Well I wish I had read these reviews before dealing with these thieves!! STAY AWAY from this organization!!! I put in an app for a puppy. When I was approved and I called, the puppy was gone. This woman, Debbie is the rescue or adoption counselor said "oh honey, the puppies go quick!" I found another, George and was told I needed to put a deposit down. I did so which is really the adoption fee. In the meantime another dog came along. She was perfect. Well isn't rescue about finding the right dog for the right home?? I called before George's available date and told them what happened. I was told basically oh well I am out of luck. I won't get my money back! She would run it by the board though and get back with me. Well in the meantime I reread their rules. I then emailed again and that is when Debbie got nasty and copy and pasted in bold letters aspects of the rules....blah blah blah. So I waited, almost a month. I emailed last night. I get a response this morning that nope rules are rules! Are you kidding! I did not adopt. I let them know and I don't get my $275 back! Hell originally I willing to even let them keep a $100 for the effort but not now. This Debbie who I think is the board or part of it, is a bitch plain and simple. She was rude and nasty. The pup has been gone a while so it isn't like they were out of any money, except her time as she stated. Wa! That is what a rescue does! I am contacting the state ombudsmen as this is wrong. I know a lot of rescues are plain crappy, but I have never known one to keep your money!!! They aren't Patriots as my Dad is vet and any vet I know would not run an organization like this! read more

We adopted a puppy from here and the morning after bringing him home he became very ill. We took him into the vet and he had both coccidia and parvo. When contacting them, they first implied it was a false positive test for parvo due to giving the puppy a vaccine. He then proceeded to ask me if I was sure I didn't take the puppy anywhere other than home. Implying he would have gotten parvo and shown symptoms that quickly which is not possible. I question how this place has so many puppies. Where are they coming from? Thankfully our puppy survived, but I see from other reviews that many were not as fortunate. They also never offered to refund the adoption fee since I spent $1,000 in vet bills the day after I adopted our little guy. DO NOT adopt a pet from here. They need to be shut down. I fear for all the other puppies that were exposed to the virus. Parvo is highly contagious and needs to be taken seriously. read more

I really don't know where these bad reviews a coming from??? Deplorable conditions???? Not so!! Rude staff, maybe if you were rude to start with! This rescue goes above and beyond the call of duty to keep things clean and safe for the animals. Parvo can happen anywhere....and it was handled by a licensed Vet the shelter was closed until they got the all clear. If there was a problem with the pup adopted why was it not returned if you are so sure if came from the shelter. Some people have their own agenda. read more