My wife and I had a great experience with RAP. Yes, the process takes a while but unlike a shelter or some other organizations, this is all volunteer. They don't have even part time administrative help and they rely on a network of volunteers for everything from bringing the dogs up from the south to fostering and transportation. To Jill S., I would just say to give them some time, things don't always happen instantly when there are home visits and other things in place. The organization is trying to ensure that these dogs don't wind up back in shelters or foster care. Its a simple process and it works. Regardless, our adopted pup has been with us for a few years now and the process was exactly as we expected it to be when dealing with a volunteer organization. Not always the fastest or best organized but sufficient and one with the best of intentions. I would and do recommend RAP consistently and no one we have referred has had a bad experience at all. Go to one of the meet and greets at Braxton's and pick out a loving, deserving dog! read more

Terrible experience!!! I fostered for RAP a dog. They placed with me a dog who had a history of aggression which was never disclosed to me prior placement although I had a child and a very small dog . This dog bit everyone from my family to my vet and my neighbors. The dog had to be removed from two kennels because of aggression prior to come to my home. After she bit her vet for no apparent reason the recommendation was to see a behavior specialist. RAP declined to agree to spend money and told me they knew a different approach. Their approach was to give the dog Valium. My vet called it "stupid" because Valium does not last long enough and reinforces biting behavior. They never reimbursed me for the foster dog medications despite numerous polite emails. I know a professional trainer who has a friend who got a dog from RAP and went through a total nightmare. Dishonesty seems to prevail in RAP. I would never ever foster or adopt from this organization again. Consider other organizations before using RAP there are many out there with good standards. RAP needs to be shutdown!!! read more

I fostered a dog for RAP over the summer and, while I support RAP's mission to rescue dogs--they are difficult to work with, especially if you do not live in the Chadds Ford area. They do not get back to you quickly if the dog you are fostering is in need of medical attention, they do not assist in transporting the dogs to the vet in Chadds Ford and are unwilling to pay for vet care closer to a foster's home for the foster dog. I drove over 800 miles total during my fostering of a dog through RAP in vet visits, home visits, to get medication for the dog, etc. I expressed concern about the distance before fostering the dog and was told that RAP would take care of things and, if I could bring the dog half way to the vets, another volunteer would take the dog the rest of the way. That didn't happen. I read a review by another volunteer stating that the animals that RAP picks are very sweet--and I must agree that the dog I fostered was very sweet and I am very pleased that she is in a loving forever home. This rescue may be great to work with if you are in the Chadds Ford area--however, I am not, and this seemed to be the source of many issues. read more

If I could give less than a 1 star I would. There is an animal that has a date listed that in 4 days I assume he will be euthanized. I have been trying for weeks to get ahold of someone at RAP and no responses. I have emailed about 10 times over the last month. There is no phone number listed and all that is showing is a PO Box. I would love to put in an application for this dog but no one responds. To make matters worse, I reached out to Petfinder hoping they could help and they made more excuses than gave answers. They said they deal with 11,000 shelters and most are handled by volunteers and be patient. I have been patient for a month and the clock is ticking on this animal. So, I am doing everything in my power to raise my concerns by contacting the SPCA, BBB, and I am going to involve the media in the Chadds Ford area in the next 24 hours. I am also reaching out to my Congressman and the Congressman in the Chadds Ford Area. Again, I am going to do whatever I can to expose how terrible this organization is. Then I am going to open up the same complaints against Petfinder. I thought Petfinder was a good organization, but they clearly are not looking out for their animals and not doing enough. Maybe 11,000 shelters is too many if you do not have the time to do it right. And it appears Petfinder is associated with Nestle/Purina so another avenue to pursue. RAP should be closed down. If you have the time to post that a dog is being killed, you have time to answer someone who cares to do something about it. If you let me know where this dog is, I will drive to see him or meet him. read more

I attempted to make contact with RAP several times to begin fostering dogs. I emailed an application and stated that I'd be willing to take a specific dog listed on their website that was in need of a foster home. I also stated that I'd be willing to take any dog in the future if that specific dog was already being fostered or adopted. I got a response, but it only asked a question about my application and stated that the dog I had asked about was already being fostered. I answered the question and then asked about two other dogs seen on the site and asked if I could foster. The response I got via email asked if I had submitted an application. I immediately replied yes but did not get a response. This was only a day after my initial emai. Did they already delete my application? Lose it? I doubt they receive such an overwhelming number of applications that they would forget one from the day before. Also, their website states how they always are in need of foster homes. After the intial response, it seemed unreasonably difficult to do. However, I continued. The next day I resubmitted an application and asked again what needed to be done in order to foster. I also asked that if I wasn' t eligible, I needed to know why in order to make the changes, if possible. I sent this message to all three email addresses listed on the site. It is now almost a week later and I have not heard from anyone. I understand that this is a volunteer-run organization and that responses might not always be prompt. However, the website stated that the dogs were currently in a kill-shelter and needed a home by a certain date. I tried several times to reach someone at RAP to foster a dog and prevent it from being put down. I left my phone number in several emails and had it on my application. Unfortunately, there is no phone number listed for RAP that I could find anywhere. Not responding to an email, whether your being paid or not is unacceptable when they is the only form of correspondence aside from regular mail is email, especially when an animal's life is at stake. It saddens me these dogs were possibly put down despite someone offering to give them a temporary home until someone could take them forever. As of 5/21/09 they are still listed on the site however it still states that they need a foster home by 5/16/09. I suggest that someone at RAP provides a phone number or becomes more responsive with their email. I politely asked if I was eligible or not and a week has passed and still have no heard back. I'm aware that a earlier review, completed by an associate of RAP, states that they will be slow to respond. It seems contradictory to list deadlines which are essentially execution dates for animals and not be able to respond to offers to help by that time. If another foster or adoptive home was found, let the others who offered know or at least remove the post from the website. read more

We recently adopted a good from RAP and had a wonderful experience! Yes, it's true, the process does take some time. In fact, it took about three weeks. Although this is true, it was well worth the wait. You see, they don't just want to give these animals to anyone as they have had dogs and cats returned...how terrible? As with any adoption agency, the process is long. We often joked that the process was just as long as adopting a child. This being said RAP was very quick at returning our email and just want the best for their animals. read more

I reached out to the owner of RAP on several occasions and the only e-mail she ever returned was my first one. In our communication she had some valid questions, which I promptly answered. Even though I quickly answered them, she never e-mailed me or called me. After repeatedly e-mailing her, I drove to Braxton's to visit her at the meet and greet they do on site there. I found her to be an interesting combination of rude, condescending and obnoxious. While I respect what she is trying to accomplish, I found her to be a bit of a fundamentalist and a self professed "expert". She asked me no questions about myself, my family or my experiences raising dogs. However she quickly assessed because I had an older dog, I would only be able to adopt a dog that was mid aged. Her inability to want to have an adult conversation about lifestyles and what we have to offer a dog, not only turned us off, but ultimately hurts what she's trying to do - place dogs in good homes. We've raised two wonderful dogs (a yellow lab and brittany spaniel), to the wonderful age of 15 1/2 and 14 1/2 respectively. My yellow lab has backpacked over 500 miles of the Appalachian Trail, and been on countless other, hiking, canoeing and other outdoor trips. We walk our dogs two times per day for 40 minutes each time and for a several years even cooked their own food. Our credentials were and are very strong. However her approach, style and attitude never allowed us to get to a meaningful conversation. While I do believe she's trying to do what's best for dogs, I would beg of folks not to place dogs with Rescue Animal Placements. There are far better agencies that are much better at working with families trying to adopt dogs. Thumbs down on RAP! read more

This agency was very disappointing! It has been almost 3 weeks since I emailed them to foster/adopt a dog that was in urgent need (they have no phone number). After 4 emails, I still haven't heard back from them. It is a shame for these dogs to needlessly be sitting in a shelter for such a long time when there is someone interested in adopting them. I understand there is a "process", such as a home visit, but to not even respond to simple inquiries is very unorganized, especially since they present such a sense of urgency in their ads. I wouldn't recommend, it doesn't seem like they have the animal's best interest in mind. read more

If your thinking about adopting don't even bother with these people . Completely disorganized and the only way they can respond to you is through email and that's even if they respond at all ! After one month of countless emails to them about a dog I was interested in I got one response that said it takes time . How much time ? I even went to a meet and greet just to get answers knowing the dog I was interested in wasn't there , and I got the total brush off when I talked to the owner . I tried one more time and totally gave up which is really sad because it is more about giving the animals good homes . I wouldn't even give this place one star . They were rude and wasted my time . If I wasn't a match for the dog I was looking at all they had to do was say so the first week instead of stringing me along for a month . If your looking for a great rescue try Cascade Beagle Rescue online and if beagles are your thing I highly recommend them ! Absolutely wonderful and they let you know up front if they have a good match for you and your lifestyle . And to top it off it's mainly one woman who runs most of it besides the foster homes . She is organized and knowledgeable . I couldn't be happier with my lovely girl , she has become the light of my day ! read more

I agree with the post from June! I emailed an application to them in early July and followed up several weeks later and they didn't even bother to email me. We are a 2 adult home with no kids so I would think they could have considered us for just about any of their dogs. In the meantime we adopted a dog from another shelter with no problems whatsoever (operation ava) and she's been with us for two months already! Out of curiosity, I checked back on their website and was so disappointed to see the original dog we were interested in is still listed as up for adoption! I would just go somewhere else. read more

These folks don't get back to you, period. They should be reported to the better business bureau or should be shut down.

I really wish I could give this place 5 stars but they have really dissapointed me. I was looking through pet finder and fell in love with an animal on there. I took the time to fill out an application and submitted it through email like they asked. I never heard back from them at all. I found the review that tyler put on Yelp and gave it more time, and tried to email them from a different email thinking my first one went to spam. They have an aol email so I used an aol email and all they did was delete it. It would have been nice to even get an email saying im sorry but...... read more

We had a terrible experience with this rescue. It took numerous attempts to reach anyone. We were able to adopt a dog who is wonderful and has become a part of our family; however dealing with this rescue was unbelievably difficult. It took over 3 months to adopt a dog. Also, they do not update their website often. Some of the dogs have been on there for several years and are no longer available. It is a shame. read more

Terrible experience! Never got an answer, could not find an address, just a P.O. box, no phone number. Am going to report to Petfinder and Animal Society - who is going to adopt those animals if we can't find that place? read more

I fostered an older dog for RAP as well. I paid for most of his medications and for his medical treatment, as I was told there were more important medical issues than my foster had. I did keep RAP involved as a courtesy, and every time the owner had "a better way" to treat the dog. After getting tired of getting advice on how to treat this dog, I attempted to adopt him, and was told that I was not a suitable home for the dog. After talking to an animal control officer at an SPCA, he assisted me in adopting the dog. I would strongly advise against trying to adopt here because their adoption rules, from conversations with the 2 women running it are unrealistic. There are many other reputable rescues out there who you can help. read more

This rescue is totally irresponsible, unprofessional and should get out of the business. They do not respond to email inquiries, do not acknowledge applications, do not show up for Meet and Greets, do not acknowledge monetary donations and show no respect to prospective adopters. Almost 4 weeks ago I emailed them about a dog 4 times, completed a 7 Page application, sent them a donation and not once did they have the courtesy to respond. Rescue is not just about the dogs--it is also about the people who care about the dogs and would like to provide a loving home. These people claim to be busy housewives with children and plead for patience--there is no excuse for such irresponsibility. The vast majority of rescues respond immediately to an interested adopter as they don't want to lose a prospective home. These people don't seem to care one bit that their dogs sit in a foster home or a kennel because they have other priorities than getting their dogs placed. It is outrageous that they expect people to complete a 7 Page application which they then totally ignore--as if people have nothing better to do than be subjected to their burdensome process for no result. I feel sorry for the dogs in their care--if they don't have the time to do it responsibly, they shouldn't pretend to be a rescue. These dogs should be turned over to a rescue with the resources to get the job done. The animals are obviously not their priority-- no animal should have to sit in a rescue situation for one minute longer than is necessary because they have other priorities. They have wasted more than one month of my life as I attempted to help one of their dogs. My new dog will be arriving in a week from a rescue that respects the people who are committed to homeless animals. I would advise people not to subject themselves to the stress of dealing with these people--there are plenty of other organizations that will be grateful for your interest and treat you with respect. Joan H. read more