We just adopted a dog from here yesterday. The experience was great. After we applied, we heard…read moreback in a day and arranged to go and meet the dog. We drove from MI to the facility in Elkhart, IN. The facility was impressive as they are building a large shelter. The dogs were all kept in large pens and seemed well cared for. We were able to spend as much time as we needed and have our son meet him to ensure he was a right fit. After signing the paperwork and adopting him, they even provided a going home kit with treats and a sample of food. So far, the dog has been great and is already part of our family with our kids. Adopt don't shop :)

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.

Awesome staff, I decided to foster a Long term resident after losing 2 of my 3 Dogs in 14 months…read more They are a great bunch of People & I would recommend them to anyone looking for a Furry Friend.

This review is not written lightly, and it's not about being "upset" -- it's about accountability…read more We adopted a cat from this Humane Society after being told the cat was healthy. Within weeks, the cat showed worms, blood-related health issues, and ongoing medical problems that were clearly present before adoption. That alone is unacceptable. What made this experience truly awful was how it was handled afterward. We contacted the Humane Society multiple times asking for help. We were told we would receive a call back -- we never did. We called again. Still no real help, no solutions, no follow-up. Just silence. When we pushed for answers, instead of support or responsibility, we were blamed. We were told we "should have gone to a specialist" and then informed that we are banned from adopting from this Humane Society ever again. That response is shocking, especially considering this situation exists because we were given a sick animal under the claim of being healthy. We are now being forced to return a cat we became emotionally attached to because we cannot afford hundreds of dollars in vet bills for conditions that should have been addressed prior to adoption or at least disclosed honestly. This review is directed not just at staff, but at management, board members, donors, and the community: * Why are sick animals being adopted out as "healthy"? * Why are adopters ignored when they ask for help? * Why are adopters punished instead of supported? Adoption should be about the well-being of animals and the people opening their homes to them -- not deflection, silence, and blame. I strongly encourage leadership to respond publicly and explain how situations like this are handled, because based on our experience, there is a serious lack of transparency and compassion here. Then to finish it all up when the cat was dropped of they said nothing , took the cat , the paperwork , and gave the carrier back.

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.

After an egregious error and subsequent refusal to correct or admit their mistake, South Bend…read moreAnimal Care and Control gave away the dog ("Mya") upon which I had a pending adoption a mere hours before I was to adopt her. She was given to Heartland Small Animal Rescue. I immediately called Mandy from Heartland (twice). She confirmed that they did have Mya. I told her that I would take Mya THAT DAY. I could meet her or whoever had Mya in less than an hour. She told me that she could not adopt out a dog until I had filled out an application and encouraged me to do so. I immediately did. She promised that she would give me a call on Monday. That call never came. I called Mandy again on Friday, October 10th in the afternoon. She did not return that call either. On Saturday, October 11th, I went to PetSmart in South Bend for the adoption event that Heartland holds weekly. I met Mandy, who informed me that Mya had been adopted just last night. I asked why she never called me. These are the "reasons" she gave: 1. She was waiting to hear from South Bend Animal Control to see if they wanted the dog back. She never heard from them. Why then, I asked, did she allow Mya to be adopted by someone, if she was waiting for animal control? I never received an answer to this. 2. She said that my vet references did not check out, but it clearly said on my application that all of my dog's vaccinations and heartworm preventative are from VIP PetCare clinic. I have receipts of this. 3. She said she had been busy. Interestingly, I had called her and left a message on Friday afternoon. Too busy to call me, but still able to take your call. I appreciate that the volunteers at Heartland are just that--volunteers. Ethically, Mandy should have called me at some point in this process. Instead, it seems that she and South Bend Animal Control were simply going to wait for it to blow over. By the power of sheer incompetence on the part of South Bend Animal Care and Control and of lack of ethics on the part of Heartland, I am unable to adopt the dog that I fell in love with. My heart is broken, and I can only hope that this message will save others from the same pain and frustration. Adopt elsewhere.

This seems to be a decent agency but they do not offer transport for those of us who may need it in…read moreorder to adopt. There was a feeling of being judged when asking to drive there twice from a long way. I see some other negative comments on here so I am unsure if adoption rate is good due to all of this.

I inquired about a dog that was on the website, was told to come down to do a meet and greet and…read morefill out the application. Got down there and they wouldn't even let me meet the doggie. They brought out a different dog and tried to get me to adopt it. They said the dog I was interested in wasnt "good with people". Which makes no sense because why would you say she was up for adoption?! They refused to even let me set up a time because "she's not friendly ". How would the dog ever get used to others if she is not allowed to even meet with possible adoptees? The ladies there, obviously volunteers that dont care; were dismissive since I dont want the dog THEY wanted me to take. Pet Refuge sucks and you need staff in there that actually WANT to be there and actually care for the animals. There were kittens running all over the place. I feel sorry for those animals.

we got our Maltese from Companions Forever. She is precious. She is beautiful. We are so pleased…read morewith her. I wish we could've taken her brother Billy because he is just as precious and beautiful as our little girl it breaks my heart because that Billy is a sweetheart, and they are so smart and so well kept we are so happy with our baby whoever gets Billy is gonna be so lucky

https://www.undertheweatherpet.com/blogs/under-the-weather/ivdd-in-french-bulldogs-recognizing-signs…read moreand-seeking-care

Late review since we just learned they changed management a while back…read more We thought this was a good daycare for our dog after a few trial days so we bought a package, but upon first day of the package they said our dog wasn't getting along with another dog (so what happened the first 2 days?) --so we took her out. I guess they let all 30 dogs go out to play at the same time with no separation of bigger /smaller dogs. I asked to transfer the package to my 2nd dog who was a puppy and not neutered yet and was waiting until they were 2 years as recommended, - they said it's fine and I can use it whenever...but when new management took over they didn't notify us through email or anything that packages expire. So now we just wasted a few hundred for nothing because they won't honor it. Crappy new management who won't work with their customer- you could have earned more money in the future if you actually tried to meet in the middle with a solution. They wanted me to buy more services- NO THANKS.

The staff was very accomodating with our situation of getting rear ended during our drive to the…read moregrooming appointment. Their making things seem like nothing was some welcome good that helped offset something not so great that had our little dog shaking. Good customer care often involves some adapting. Their's was greatly appreciated.

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.............

They have a great selection of both dog and cat products and the staff are always so friendly and…read moreready to help me find what I need!

Do you know where is world's best pet groomer? Right here! Ask for Morgan! She's best of the best!…read moreMake sure you wel tips her! You won't be disappointed!