We were able to quickly adopt a wonderful dog. He's the best. They made the process easy and flexible, but did their due diligence with the application process. read more

We adopted a Pomerian going on 2 years ago. She is a Wonderful Dog and my wifes shadow. Save a Dog does Gods work. God Bless. read more

Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi" of dog rescues?? I am a small business owner with a home in Eastern MA. My yard is big and completely fenced in. I live with my wife and 2 older sons and my 11 year old black lab named Charlie. I have owned dogs for nearly 25 years, work primarily from home and am financially stable. My experience with Save a Dog was not good. Silly me just assumed that they would be a bit more accommodating for a well-qualified rescuer. Their hours were limited and they did not seem very eager to have me adopt the dog I liked. The dog had been at the shelter for some time and was described as being painfully shy and needed a lot of work. I was willing to spend the time with this particular animal. The staff seemed arrogant, non-flexible and dis-interested. When I arrived on the 3rd trip there with my dog to meet the adoptee, I was told I was too late and they were closing (It was 2:07 on a Saturday). I informed the staff member that based on their rules and behavior, I was re-tracting my application. She simply said OK and closed the front door. I know they have rules, but this place is ridiculous. I will be adopting another dog from a different rescue. read more

Save A Dog is truly the best thing that ever happened to me. I filled out an application online in October 2017 (Recommend doing this before you go for a meet and greet) and I decided to go to a meet and greet to me the couple dogs I was interested in. This was my first time adopting so I wasn't 100% sure what to expect and it was busy the day I went. Everything was very organized and the woman up at the front was lovely and so was everyone that I spoke with up until it was my turn to meet the dogs. They brought the first little guy out (Humphrey who I adopted) and I immediately knew he was the pup for me. He was spunky but I could also tell he was confused and a little unsure. They went over in depth about how he resource guards over food, and I have quite a bit of experience with training a dog out of that behavior. They also went over how he was missing a couple teeth but his health check was clear. After I met Humphrey I told them I was 100% interested in adopting him. The holistic approach was already something I was planning to follow for any dog I was planning to adopt, so the fact that this was a holistic shelter was the icing on the cake! Shirley the owner talks with every potential adopter and she was absolutely lovely. Since then I if I have any questions or concerns regarding anything, I email her and she gets back super quickly. 7 1/2 months later Humphrey has blossomed more the I ever could of imagined and he is truly the light of my life and very trainable. Save a Dog would be the first shelter I would look to for another rescue! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, -Naomi & Humphrey read more

See all

Some pro and some con My brother got his dog from here it worked out well , she is the sweetest dog I've ever met and I'm glad he found her there. No problems there. I didn't however have a good experience trying to adopt a kitten. I put in an application, got all of my references to email them, and thenI got to the point where they asked me to come in and that I could potentially take the kitten home that day, they where very eager to get everything set up for the next day visit then they cancel at the last min citing a health issue and they would keep me in the loop , they did not , and I asked if they could lmk if other kittens cams in , they did not and now when I inquired on one my qualifications are no longer acceptable for some reason. They require the kittens to be in pairs or there to be another kitten at home, I have a visiting kitten that comes over pretty much every day if not every day some weeks and I cat sit often , that was acceptable originally, for some reason it's not anymore, my problem isn't that it changed, my problem is that they are not upfront about it. They keep saying oh no this cat had a different policy but that's a lie i found the original add read more

See all

Save A Dog is a local dog shelter run by amazing people. It was started by Shirley Moore around 13 years ago, and has grown into the facility here at Boston Post Road. They are not a breed specific shelter and take in any dog with a good attitude. They are a volunteer-driven organization, with very few paid staff. - I was lucky enough to visit Save A Dog last week. I met with Shirley who showed us around. - This facility is on 2 acres of land. The original cabin-like house is now converted into their welcoming area, a store, an office, and a room to meet dogs. The store sells everything you'll need; food, treats, toys, collars, and even shirts and hats for you! To the side of the house are the 3 fenced in play yards. Save A Dog even worked with a local Eagle Scout who helped to build out a nice large fenced in play yard! Next to that are the kennels. Heated and air conditioned when necessary, the dogs are attended to very well. They are taken outside to play a lot, and Shirley allows the dogs to be socialized together (when appropriate). It was great to see - the dogs here are happy and the volunteers work hard to ensure they all get enough exercise and proper medical care. - Another thing you might not know about Shirley and her philosophy, is that she is very much involved in the homeopathic treatment of animals. If you ask, she will tell you of some of her own personal excellent success stories in helping dogs. She is very well versed in taking care of dogs and if you are having trouble with yours - she might be able to give you some good homeopathic advice and remedies! - I myself am fairly involved in the dog rescue world. Running a dog rescue organization is no joke, and it takes someone truly special to be able to pull it off well. Shirley Moore is one of the good ones - this community should be grateful that she and her wonderful kennel and staff are here in Shirley, and active in the solution of finding good homes for good dogs. - This place thrives on volunteer involvement, and if you live in the area, I strongly suggest you check them out and lend a hand! It's a great little place, and I'm sure they'd be happy for the help! read more

DISCLAIMER: This is an old review since it was the early 2000s when I last interacted with Save a Dog. While it is still owned by the same people I cannot speak to their current operations; however, based on feedback I would believe a lot of it has remained unchanged over the years. REVIEW Save a Dog cares about their dogs. This is a fact and cannot be denied. However, they care about their dogs at the expense of doing right by the dog - which is to find a forever home. They are incredibly (over)protective of their dog process, including a vetting process where they send individuals to check to make sure you live in conditions you say you do (i.e. home checks) and are very demanding about how the dog application goes. While this may sound like a good thing here is my experience with them -- When my family and I finally went through the process of adopting a puppy through Save a Dog I was pretty excited and had a puppy who I had sleep with me and follow me around everywhere. It was definitely a process, but my parents and I didn't know how unduly overbearing it was since this was our first experience going through the adoption process. However, shortly after adoption my family sold our house and moved to a new location. However, due to the closing timing we had to temporarily move into an apartment and reached out to Save a Dog to see if they could temporarily foster for us - this seemed to make sense since they constantly checked on us and the dog and seemed to really have a genuine interest in making sure the dog was well treated. They agreed. And that's basically when everything went downhill. When we moved into our new home - with a bigger yard, more space, and better all around compared to our first place - and requested we have our dog back, Save a Dog refused. They claimed we waited too long (they never communicated a time period to us, nor they did ever reach out - and when I did reach out there was very delayed responses), then they claimed the dog crate we had provided to Save a Dog for the foster period was too small (which may have been true - but that's because we didn't crate train the puppy - she had her own space and preferred sleeping on the bed), and then finally they claimed that the dog was underweight and poorly treated. My family was never provided with documentation to verify their claims. Save a Dog refused to let us communicate with the foster family. And when I started to complain against Save a Dog -- things got even worse. Save a Dog volunteers contacted me through anonymous e-mail addresses - telling me (mind you I was a young teenager at the time) that my parents were wealthy and should have been able to treat our dog better. They were incredibly threatening and when I alerted Save a Dog about their volunteers they refused to take any sort of responsibility for their volunteers' actions (this goes back to the "treating dogs better than people" comment). So, personally, my experience with Save a Dog? They're deplorable, willing to threaten children, and refuse to take responsibility for their actions. I wouldn't necessarily go so far as to say they'll actively take your dog away from you -- but they certainly will if given the opportunity. There are numerous shelters out there that have dogs that need to find forever homes - I would highly recommend going through a different organization. If you do adopt through Save a Dog I would highly recommend taking your dog and never contacting Save a Dog again after that. They mean well for their dogs, but sometimes being well intention-ed results in hurting other people. I know I definitely had my heart broken when Save a Dog wouldn't give me back my puppy. Like I said though - this was how they were years ago. Given the ownership and other comments this may or may not still be how they operate. But, it was such a traumatic experience for me that I still think about it constantly. read more

Terrible experience at Save a Dog. They have a "questionable" screening process if about the kindest way I could describe it. I am a lifelong pet parent, currently mom to two very friendly dogs who would love to add another member to their pack (we had a third dog who died). We have impeccable references, we feed a diet of a grade of dog food equal to if not better than what Save a Dog feeds. We work from home and someone is with our dogs all day long. They sleep with us, we take them on long walks/hikes every day, and otherwise they play safely in our fenced in yard. Our dogs are, to be corny, fur babies. We applied for a dog my daughter fell in love with while volunteering and were given a very irresponsible response that the dog had recently been neutered and it might negatively change his personality (??? are you kidding me? neutering a male dog has only positive effects on his personality!) so they wouldn't even let us do a meet and greet with our other dogs. The dog is clearly listed on their website (even after neutering) as dog friendly and a wonderful family pet. No mention of the dog needing to be an only dog or only good with female dogs. So the only conclusion I can draw is that their response to my application was a total lie and they made up excuses to rule our family out (without even contacting our references!). Why? No idea. If you were to call our pets vets they would tell you that any animal would be lucky to be part of our family because they aren't possessions to us, they are family members, loved and well-cared for as long as we are lucky to have them. The talk around Sudbury is the people at Save a Dog are not adoption friendly and have secret rules and will refuse adopters based on made up reasons. I didn't think that could be the case, but now I can confirm, sadly, that it is. The ironic thing is is that puppies and dogs are CONSTANTLY returned to this place quickly after adoption (monitor their website if you don't believe me, it's a revolving door over there), so they certainly can't claim that their screening process results in finding the right homes for their animals. We in fact had a neighbor a few years back who called Save a Dog and described their existing dog and SAD said "Oh, we have just the dog for you!" and they adopted out a completely unsuitable dog to our neighbors--their existing dog was absolutely miserable with the new dog who was not suited to her personality at all. Anyhow, I could go on and on, unfortunately, with tales of negative experiences with these people. I didn't believe it myself until it happened to me because who would think that a rescue, dedicated to finding unwanted and abandoned homes for animals would reject loving adoptive families without even checking references and without a solid basis. Sadly, the ones who suffer are the animals they have there, who all deserve to find their loving forever homes as quickly as possible. Nothing in this post is meant to negatively reflect on the animals at Save a Dog. But frankly I would never waste my time looking at an animal here because there is no rhyme, reason or consistency to their process. read more

Had a very bad experience here. From the start my wife and I were treated with a brusqueness bordering on disrespect. Were asked impertinent questions (like, "Do you both work? What is the name of your trainer?") and given unsolicited advice about how to raise dogs. Our application was rejected, but no one had the basic courtesy to call and let us know; we had to call them to find out. The overall impression I went away with is that this place is more interested in power tripping and pushing their specific views on how dogs should be raised, than in finding good homes for the animals in their care. The fact that, several weeks later, the dog we were looking at appears still to be in the shelter only confirms this fact. read more

Let's just say the female dogs are not the only bitches at this place. To start off with, their website is misleading. They claimed to have a Meet-and-Greet from 12-3 on the day we drove ALLLL the way out there. What they don't clarify is that you have to apply ahead of time to be able to meet the dog at the event. The staff seemed very annoyed at us for not knowing that prior to showing up. My friend proceeded to fill out their application while we were there, in hopes of coming back another day to meet the dog she wanted. (I should note at this point that my friend is dog-crazy & treats her 'boys' better than any person she knows. No joke.) Without more than a 3 second glance at the application, we were told that my friend isn't a good candidate. Period, end of story. Seriously, that was it. No explanation. Just a cold shoulder as she turned and walked into the back office. I feel bad for the poor dogs left to someone this cold-hearted. read more

This shelter gave me my family they are great . Other shelters in the area, have dogs sit in the shelter for years. This shelter is safely cautious(as they should be), but finds homes for all the dogs !! I love giving toys to them for the pups, and I LOVE the work they do. Keep doing what you do. I will always tell people where my babies came from. Thankyou read more

Save A Dog - Animal Shelters Near Me - Sudbury, Massachusetts

We'd been looking for a specific type of a dog due to my allergies, but really were focused on sticking with rescues. We searched high and low, visited some dogs, but nothing was clicking. I frequently checked on Save-A-Dog and another Sudbury rescues websites, and saw a little guy that stole my heart. I'd already submitted an application previously to Save-A-Dog, so I emailed and left a few messages and waited for a response. This place is run mainly by volunteers so I understood that I might not always get a person when I called. Within a week, we were meeting our soon-to-be new family member! The staff was helpful and Jill was awesome to work with. You can tell these ladies really know their stuff and care about the well-being of the dog. Another plus is they treat the dogs very well and use holistic and organic products on all the dogs in their care.. something that's not cheap or easy, and something a lot of other shelters don't want to do. I appreciated all the effort and time Save-A-Dog put into helping me get my little guy home with me and I'd recommend them anytime! read more

We adopted our dog Mugsy from Save A Dog in February. And WOW. Found Save A Dog online and that day they were having a meet and greet. I wasn't sure what to expect but drove out to Sudbury. We met Jill and she told us the process of looking through the books to pick the dogs we wanted to meet and about their application process. We immediately felt very comfortable with this organization, and knew that they cared about who the potential parents of these dogs would be. The other great thing is that they actually call your references!! Very thorough!! :) After we filled out our application and talked with Jill about the dogs we wanted to meet, she gave us her insight (which was greatly appreciated because she knows the dogs that are there) on which dogs would be closer to what we were looking for. Sure enough she was right! Mugsy was being fostered at a volunteer's house. So the next day we drove there to pick him up. We got to spend a little time with his foster mom and she gave us a lot of really helpful info about him. They do say on their website that you can fill out the application before-hand there is a pdf for download. Also, if they decline your application, I'm sure that it's a bit of a ego bust, but maybe you already have to many dogs, or you work to long hours, or have no prior experience with dogs... etc.. it could be anything. But it's THEIR JOB to make sure that these dogs go to good homes. I don't fault them at all for declining anyone they don't feel would be a good match. Anyway! TOP NOTCH! I highly recommend this place :) read more

If I could give negative stars, I would. I love my dog, but save a dog did not disclose any illnesses my dog suffered from before I adopted him. When I confronted save a dog about my dogs illnesses, they told me they bear no responsibility after the dog leaves the premises. They take no responsibility for their failure to disclose information. I love my dog, so I have been paying thousands of dollars in medical bills. Don't adopt from here unless you want to fall in love with a sick dog and spend thousands of dollars in medical bills. I'm not misinformed. I'm responding for a Ms. Marsha Pecard. She adopted her dog from this animal shelter and she was there was no disclosure of the dogs illness before it was adopted. It's a shame that this animal shelter both denies its wrong doing, fails to remedy its wrong doing, and attempts to discredit those trying to warn others from adopting sick dogs. read more

I am shocked at the bad reviews for this wonder place. The women that work here are the sweetest ,most caring women you could ever meet. If someone wasn't fit for a dog then they would never send them home with one. To write a review for that reason is unfair to them. They know who are best for their dogs. I adopted from them and had nothing from a positive experience from the moment I entered, to the moment I left with my amazing little guy. To say that the girl at the desk is rude because she has a personality that is different from yours is just wrong. If you talked to her for one minute you would see how nice she actually is..and Shirley, the owner, has the biggest heart, and truly cares for her dogs. If you are looking to adopt here..do not let the negative reviews change your mind. This is an amazing place!! read more

I have worked with Save A Dog for several years and you can't ask for a better rescue, working their tails off to find every dog in their care a fantastic home. Save A Dog is about the dogs and their new prospective families. They go above and beyond to make sure each and every home is the right fit and they take the time to do genuine evaluations of their dogs. There are many rescues that bring em in and send them right back out the door. That is not what Save A Dog is about. They really care that both the dog and the adopter find the right fit. When it comes to local homeless dogs, the FIRST rescue I think of is the Save A Dog team. I KNOW if they can take in an abandoned soul, he/she will be one of the luckiest dogs on earth. I am so grateful for rescues that are this dedicated. It's a lot of work powered by a real love of what they do. This is an amazing team and the dogs would certainly agree. Save A Dog is top notch! read more

I had a great experience with Save a Dog. I had some life changes that no longer allowed me to properly care for my disabled dog. I was very concerned about having to put him down, but the shelter took him in. Now he has all the extra care he needs and a living foster who has experience with disabled, elderly dogs. I know he is in good hands and will have a chance at enjoying his golden years. This place is a God send. I will be a donator to the cause for life. Thank you Save a Dog! read more

Other low reviews are spot on. We had an appointment with this org to visit a dog. When we arrived and they saw what we looked like (late twenties couple with developmentally challenged child), they decided to make us wait and not honor our appointment. When they realized we were actually waiting and not leaving out of impatience, they let us see three puppies. The woman who was supposed to be "interviewing" us spent the entire eight minutes of our visit shooting disgusted look at our child, who just wanted to pet the puppies, and muttering to herself. At the end, she told us she did not consider us candidates for adopting any of "their" dogs. Seriously. Not even a consideration of our application, obviously due to our being a family with a disabled child. Avoid this place at all costs. Bigoted, rude people is all you will find, no new furry family members. read more

We highly recommend Save a Dog. We have an older shy dog and were turned away from another shelter because of that. After one broken heart in the family, I brought our dog to Save a Dog without the family, explained the situation, and was impressed by the helpfulness of the staff. I brought the family back over the weekend, and we adopted a wonderful puppy. The shelter management has a strong preference for a holistic lifestyle for dogs, including some things that are scientifically reasonable, like a conservative vaccination schedule and waiting to spay or neuter until six months, and some that are, well, not, like homeopathy and the raw diet. The shelter staff provides extensive information and recommendations both in person and in their information packet. They are also happy to sell you the food and supplements the dogs have been on. We did purchase them, as we didn't want to make any sudden diet changes on top of the stress of moving to a new home and family. (The supplements were vitamins and probiotics, and while they may not specifically be necessary, they certainly don't hurt. My advice is to consult your veterinarian, take what works and leave the rest.) Though they have a visiting facility, their dogs are all fostered rather than living in a shelter. May are rescued from the south where neutering is not as common as in New England. Our pup came from West Viriginia. Our puppy is extremely healthy, nicely behaved, and pretty durn cute. We had a great experience with very nice people. Our neighbor's 11 year old dog, who recently passed away, was also from Save A Dog, and she was also a real sweetheart. read more

We went today to visit a specific dog that we thought would be a good match for our family. We already have a dog who is well take care off and loves the family and we love him, but unfortunately the lady who was in "charge" today didn't even let us meet the dog that we requested. We like very much the philosophy of this institution the work they do for the dogs, and we wish them the best!! Unfortunately it didn't workout for us read more

We adopted our dog, Greta, from Save-A-Dog. Our experience was nothing but positive. They foster all the dogs which gives you a sense of what the dogs personality is like before you even meet him/her. The application process was easy and it really is good that they require you fill out the app before you meet the dog. Their website makes this clear too so anyone who says they don't make it clear that they would like you to fill out the application first did not read the website/petfinder ad clearly. We filled out the application and received an email that night asking us to clarify a few things. We returned that email and again promptly (at 10:30 at night none the less) received a reply again. We were then told that Greta would be at the meet and greet hours the next day and we could meet her. They want nothing but the best for their animals and any prospective adopter must realize this. This is definitely not a place to just show up and say "I want a dog...this one is cute!". But if you are serious about adopting and caring for a dog then this is a great place to start. The foster mother for our dog, Karen, was very helpful throughout the whole process and really did a good job fostering Greta. We felt like we knew Greta's personality before even meeting her. Long story short...we knew exactly what we were looking for and Save-A-Dog helped us get exactly what we were looking for and made the process easy. I highly recommend them and good luck finding your dog! read more

I adopted my dog Molly from Save-A-Dog, and we couldn't be happier. She is a loving, wonderful dog, and the people at Save-A-Dog were very helpful, and only wanted what was best for Molly, which is good for me too. I would recommend using Save-a-Dog to anyone wanting to adopt a rescue dog - they really take care of the animals, and you know you are getting a well-loved animal. read more

We rescued the most amazing pup here with the help of Shirley & the amazing staff! He is the best! Totally healthy & happy! Thanks Save a Dog! read more

Awesome place. Folks care about both the dog and the family. They work diligently to find the right match. They also lend support as much as possible after the adoption. Shirley is just amazing we had to go a couple of times to get the right dog. We ended up adopting are dog who is comical but just a loveable dog and good fit for us. Shirley and her staff worked diligently just a great experience. Outstanding place to adopt a dog. their system works as they try to find the right fit for success for both the family and the dog. read more

The worst adoption place in Massachusetts. I have been a huge supporter of their cause. Been donating hundreds of dollars to them every year. Even donated money towards the dog I really wanted to Adopt. Stopped in to check out the dog. The front desk old lady was so rude and unpleasant to communicate with. You could just tell that she was agitated to be there. I say, Don't volunteer if you are not a happy person who is happy with doing such a good deed of helping out other innocent animals. Knowing chances of not getting I gave them a list of dogs I would prefer. I ended up not getting picked for any of them. Even the one I donated money towards. Not even a notification that I wasn't picked. Had to find out online. Adoption pending for a dog that I really wanted. I'm all for treating animals with utmost love and importance. But what bout the people that donate money and are extremely qualified for adoption. Have a good paying job. Huge fenced in back yard. I am appalled by how they treat their supporters. I will no longer be donating any money to them. And will also ask all my friends who donate to them to stop it. They are a disgrace in how they treat fellow humans. read more

These people are so disorganized and the place is a mess. We visited with the dogs for all of ten minutes outside in the rain and cold. We asked specific questions about how large the dog would become and were told it would be under 30 pounds. We were then shooed away. That night they called and offered me the dog I wanted. The next morning they called again and said I couldn't have that dog. This was after they had called my reference and discovered I was on medication and lived in a subsidized housing unit. They asked my reference about my medication and my physical abilities. They claimed it was because the dog was going to become too large. It was going to be over 40 pounds. But the day before, they said it would only be 30. They offered me a dog before they had looked at my application. They clearly didn't want the dog going to someone on medication and living in subsidized housing. I feel sorry for any dog that ends up here. read more

Looking into adopting a dog and was looking into Save A Dog. Did not get far into the adoption process when I noticed this item in their requirements for all their dogs ..."no children under the age of 5. These puppies need a home where a primary adult caretaker is home during the day". The dog is for the kids, it's healthy for kids to grow up with their dogs, why be so restrictive? read more

ADOPTER BEWARE. I am going to allow all the other one star reviews to speak for the type of people who work at this place and instead focus on alerting potential adopters to what happens at this place when you adopt--if you even manage to make it past their absurd approval process. You sign an enormous document (that probably won't even be explained to you), that says you agree to 1) not give the dog any vaccines beyond rabies, 2) not give the dog antibiotics, 3) not use flea/tick treatment, 4) feed it only "holistic" or "natural" dog food. Save A Dog does not believe in modern medicine and will encourage you to fight your vet using sources cited from some online natural dog magazine. Your vet WILL laugh in your face. But if you go against any of the things above, they reserve the right to TAKE THE DOG AWAY FROM YOU. So if you try to protect your new dog against deadly diseases or treat an infection, they can say you breeched your contract and literally repossess the dog. You cannot use science or logic to talk to these people; they are completely against both. Be very careful adopting from here if you care about the health of your new dog. read more

The women who work here are completely rude and demeaning to prospective pet owners. After adopting our dog from them (who you can see in the picture), my wife came on to Yelp and wrote a review of them. Which they then called us about. It was not much of a surprise to me when, not long after, her review of Save-a-Dog was taken down. Did you know that owners have the right to do that? Nothing in her review was insulting or incorrect, yet those "ladies" didn't want more negative criticisms. In short, while I won't be able to reiterate it as well as my wife did, they told us that a vet friend of ours was completely wrong in an opinion she gave us about dogs, that a retractable leash shows lack of caring, and that we should spend gobs of money on the holistic approach and all-natural foods. WE don't even eat that well! Further, they told us our vet (who I've taken my dogs to all my life) don''t know what they're talking about, Read the fine print too: They have a clause where they are allowed to remove the dog from your home if they don't approve of how you're raising it. It's DSS for dogs. The place is called is Save-A-Dog because you should get these harmless and sweet animals away from such awful women. read more

The woman at the front desk was so rude that I left immediately. After almost killing myself on the icy driveway, I was told to wait and look through a book of dogs (two families in front of me) and then fill out an application and I might get to visit with the dog I preferred. She said the dogs are traumatized by just random visits by a group of strangers??? What? isn't that socialization? My dog would love for a group of people to drop by our house randomly. I never went back. :( poor dogs read more

I had a great experience there. It's a sweet little shelter. The staff were so nice. I never felt rushed. Snickers has been a great addition to our family. I am very grateful to them for everything they've done. read more

I agree with all of the other negative reviews. For the experience of adopting a shelter dog, you are treated to their bizarre and overly protective behavior. I went through all of their crazy steps and got a dog and when she needed an operation (which I knew about when I adopted her) they acted like they should decide when and by whom and were just plain nasty to me. I even wondered if the vet was giving her a personal kick back. Couldn't get away from there fast enough, with my pooch with me! read more

Very rude, unfriendly, unhelpful staff. I was told, based on my application that I completed after reviewing the website, that I had "philosophical differences" with the organization, and would therefore no longer be considered. No further explanation was given, only instructions to "take another look at the website". Now I am just left confused as to why I was totally rejected without meeting these people, and sad that I won't be able to give one of their wonderful dogs a home. Too bad that a homeless animal won't have found their forever home with me today. Apparently if you are not able to telepathically communicate with these people, you are wasting your time with this place. Move on to another organization who has a top priority of finding great homes for animals in need. read more

I've adopted two dogs from this organization over a 15 year period. At least 15 years ago, I adopted a hard luck case dog by the name of Tyler. Save A Dog rescued him from certain death in NC. He was elderly with health concerns and they dedicated a lot of resources to saving him. I was a first time dog owner and they supported me with information and help for the first few months when I needed it. Two years ago I adopted a young, friendly, healthy dog from them. When I was overwhelmed by her energy, they listened and offered good advice. I never felt judged, stuck or pressured. Shirley's patience supported my ability to keep this once hyper dog! Now I can't imagine life with out this mutt :) I use their little store to buy dog food and treats regularly. They sell FROMM as cheap as anyone and it really is great dog food; my dog has always done well on it! Over the years, I've overheard conversations in the parking lot and in the store area. When I read some of the negative reviews here I'm genuinely surprised the motives of the shelter are questioned. Blood, sweat and tears goes into the rescue of these dogs from difficult situations. How can anyone blame them for insisting on the best for the dogs? read more

I am a true dog lover. I grew up with dogs and have taken care of them all my life. I am new to Boston, and I went out of my way to rent an apartment that was dog friendly and made sure my work hours wouldn't be too long just so that I could have a dog. That being said, I drove 40 minutes out of my way to Save A Dog, and after taking one quick browse through my application, I was told that I couldn't adopt a dog because I wasn't home during the day (even though I said I would hire a dog walker). My work hours are very reasonable, and I am not sure how anyone could be home all day to be with their dog and make any money. The woman that worked with me was very dismissive. Although she tried to say it in a nice way, I found her to be quite rude and judgemental. She went on to tell me that I would have a very hard time finding a dog and that I should try a different shelter. I persuaded her to let me see one of the dogs (which I think she only did out of pity) and while I was out there, another volunteer started recommending other dogs for me. The lady assisting me gave "the look" to the other volunteer so she would stop talking. It was clear she just wanted me out of there. This is the most pretentious organization I have ever encountered (and it pains me to write such a negative review about an animal rescue organization). Even if I had found a great dog there, I wouldn't have taken it because I can't support the attitude they have. It really does pain me to write a negative review about an organization that tries to do so much good. I believe that they are trying to do the right thing. However, they are elitist and pretentious about who is and is not "dog worthy." The volunteer did give me some helpful advice about how I might be able to "get my dog fix" without necessarily adopting one. She suggested I volunteer with a shelter closer to my apartment. And although I plan on taking that piece of advice, I won't be doing it to "get my fix," I'll be doing it out of my love for dogs. And I won't be doing it in lieu of adoption, but in addition to adoption. Guess what - I went to a nearby shelter and found 2 incredible dogs! The staff was fantastic and super nice. They answered all of my questions and let me spend time with their dogs. They spoke with me about my needs, the dogs' needs, and what would be a good fit. I will definitely be adopting a dog from the shelter nearby - they are only a couple miles down the road and well worth the drive. UPDATE---- Somehow this review magically disappeared about 10 days after I posted it. Hmm... Anyway, I went to an event benefiting a local shelter recently, and spoke with tons of rescue organizations. Every time I approached a booth, somebody greeted me and asked how they could help me. I got to the Save A Dog booth as a way to give them a second chance. I stood at their booth and waited to be greeted. The two women working there did not even look up at me, they just kept talking to each other. I flipped through their book of dogs for about 2 minutes, and my presence was never acknowledged. What is the point of coming to this event if you have no interest in potential customers? Get over yourself, Save A Dog. I am not sure who you think you are, but I can say that you are certainly the rudest and most pretentious organization EVER! I have since adopted a beautiful little 1-year old dog from a rescue organization that was responsive to me and helped me find a dog that would be a good match. Don't waste your time with Save A Dog - there are plenty of other rescues out there that will give you a much more pleasant experience! read more

We got our wonderful, happy, funny dog from Save a Dog. Although we're very happy with our dog, we would not recommend adopting from Save a Dog, will not be donating to them in the future, and will not adopt another dog from them. The people who work here were nice enough when we were considering adopting our dog, but once we paid up, they became extremely condescending. They were horrified that we had gone to PetSmart, brought a retractable leash, planned on taking him to a vet they did not approve of, and (horror of horrors!) feed him Science Diet and not the organic Whole Foods brand they use. (We don't even buy our own food from Whole Foods!) They are very much into "holistic" dog practices, which is fine, but some of the practices they advocate are unnecessary, if not dangerous, such as feeding your dog home-made raw food. Their adoption fees are on the expensive side ($400), but could obviously be lower if they didn't use it on doggy chiropractor's visits and expensive food and treats (bully sticks! at $6 a pop!). It doesn't go to routine shots and vaccinations, as they only give the dogs the minimally-required vaccinations, so we needed to go to the vet and pony up a lot more money to get vaccinations. They made us take him to the chiropractor the day after we got him, which he didn't need, traumatized him, was extremely expensive (to their credit, they paid for the visit, but we would have paid for subsequent visits, which we politely refused), and set back our bonding with the dog. I'm not an advocate of over-vaccination by any means, but where is my money going? Thankfully, our dog had only been there a couple of weeks before we got him, but for all their caution, they don't seem to take the care in placing dogs they should. Our dog didn't know "sit" or how to walk on a leash. I suppose that's forgivable, but when I asked, they had no idea if he even knew any commands, or was housebroken, or could ride in a car (he can't). Many shelters do home visits, but they never visited us. We supplied them with the required references, which they never called, nor did they even check with our landlord to make sure we could have dogs! Most bothersome to me, though, was the extremely condescending attitude of the women we had contact with. On our first visit, one said they had no idea what breed our dog was, which was fine. But when I returned and suggested that he looked a lot like a German shepherd, she looked at the dog and said, "you're not a German shepherd, are you?" (Incidentally, the vet later confirmed that he must be part German shepherd.) When I told her what brand of dog food we were using, recommended by a veterinarian friend, she said, "vets don't always know," and said that the commercial brands of dogfood were made from "recycled dog." The "holistic" approach they take seems very anti-science, believe-everything-you-read type of thing. My fiance was so bothered by their attitudes, he was fuming as we walked out of the shelter with our dog. Thankfully he didn't say anything, or we may not have left with our dog that day. Although we love our dog very much, we would not go back to Save a Dog. read more

The negative reviews are way, WAY off base. I speak from personal experience as both an adopter and a volunteer for over 2 years. I am not compelled to buy anything holistic, organic, or homeopathic, but I certainly was educated about the benefits of the food choices. That also applies to veterinary care. The people who are there make suggestions. Beyond that, you are to make your own decisions. The group is self-funded. There are no corporate contributors paying the freight. There are no endowments of $11 million like the MSPCA (and look how they spend their money). The 'staff' is all volunteers - giving their time freely and generously. The dogs are well-taken care of, and are fostered until they are adopted as this is a no-kill group. If we get a dog in only days before he gets adopted, there is really no time to 'train' a dog to do tricks - but most of the dogs ARE crate trained before they leave us. To slam a group that is trying to place dogs in the right home is just lower than low. Research what the group is all about before posting negative comments. You are only hurting the dogs of the future. With over 3,000 happy dog adopters over 10 years - certainly something must be going right! read more

If I could give negative stars I would. The owner of this "rescue" facility is absolutely delusional and a liar. Let's go back to the beginning. My boyfriend's family and I saw a Shepherd mix on their website and thought she was perfect. The description said she was house trained, good with older family members and small dogs, and high energy. Only half of that turned out to be true. We scheduled an appointment to meet her the next day. The place was adorable, their yards were great, and the staff was super friendly. Their store was even better. I was incredibly amazed at first. We met the dog, fell in love, and went inside with her and the owner to talk more. Everything was going great, so great that the owner of the business even said that we should take her that day. At first I was like "Wow! This lady is so trusting and really wants a good home for this dog!" We did not bring my boyfriends yorkie because she does not do well in the car and it was a bit of a drive, so this was unusual for her to give us this dog without meeting their already owned dog and even the dad of their home. But, we were all excited and said yes! The owner was very into holistic food and treatments, which I absolutely loved and agreed with. However, she did make comments that I could see offending people about certain vets and how they don't know what they're doing. She told us that dogs don't need rabies vaccinations(?). That aside, the experience was really great and she hooked us up with so much food, toys, a bed, bowls, and even more. We left super excited and happy to have a new addition to the family. This quickly changed. Only having her for less than a week, we learned that the dog is incredibly leash reactive, not house trained, and not good with small dogs. None of this was mentioned to us, in fact the opposite was stated in her description and during our meeting. After a week had passed, my boyfriends family could not keep up with her training and were very upset that they felt lied to. They emailed the owner to tell her they were thinking of returning her. The owner sends an email practically begging and guilting them into keeping the dog, blaming them for not training her, and saying that she told them she would need basic training. To which they replied "Leash reactivity is not part of basic training" etc. She then said that "Every dog needs leash work, she does not have a behavior issue." My boyfriends family was pissed, to say the least. They ended up bringing the dog back and this is where things got even worse. Upon arrival, things were a bit "Im sorry things didnt work out" but quickly went to "I told you the dog was leash reactive, all Shepherds are leash reactive, I showed you on the husky mannequin how to leash walk her" which was all LIES. She never said anything about her leash reactivity, or showed us anything on a mannequin. All she gave us was harness and said "This will be good for her". That was it. As she was running the refund, she made a comment about changing the non-refundable deposit from $50 to $100 so people are more serious about adopting dogs. They left angry and upset, and feeling bad for the dog. If I had it my way, that dog would not have gone back to that woman. She will not get the home she deserves if the owner keeps lying to potential adopters. It's sad and my heart goes out to the dogs there. Attached are screenshots of the emails. read more

See all

Very rude operator. First I should say that we had an ideal home for the dog we were interested in, and I could easily get dozens of references to that from vets and animal shelters from working with them for fundraising and rescues. We filled in the 2 page application PRIOR to being allowed to meet a dog, complete with references and background check. Our first visit to view the dog was while the dog was in quarantine, so we could only interact through a fence, but the dog was very sweet and eager to play with us. The second visit involved us bringing our dog to meet the dog we were interested in. We played with the dog for 15 minutes and the two dogs got along great. Our third visit is when things went down hill. We were hoping to bring the dog home with us, so at the insistence of A***, we came home early from a vacation. This visit was outside and the dog was distracted by a kennel mate in an adjacent enclosure. She sat by the fence and cried to be with her friend. I suggested a change of location so the dog could interact more naturally, but A*** instead concluded that we were not appropriate dog owners. Interestingly the dog started to shy away from her at the same time suggesting that A*** was not an appropriate dog owner also. Oh well, there are other shelters that care about their animals more than their personal agendas. EDIT: Shirley comments below require clarification. Upon arrival with my son, the dog in question immediately greeted everyone enthusiastically including my son. When my son gave her a big bear hug, she licked his face and did not shy away. There was no hostility or fear. The dog became upset only after her friend was brought out to a neighboring area and she was not allowed to join her. read more

I'm kind of surprised to read the negative feedback below... maybe they had a change of staff over the past few years? I found everyone at this shelter to be kind and so helpful as we adopted our first puppy. They REALLY care about their animals and making sure they go to a good, loving home and family. They have to be tough about who adopts from them since people adopt dogs then treat them poorly. Even after I adopted my little girl they stay in touch and answer any questions i have. My puppy keeps getting UTI's and they offer natural solutions to help her... rather than paying 100's at the vet. I find them all incredibly nice and the shelter is one of the best I have ever visited in the area. I will definitely be going back in the future to adopt a dog! read more