DDB is not really a dog rescue group in the conventional meaning of the word although they…read morecertainly do rescue dogs, foster dogs and find homes for them. But they have taken on a much bigger task..changing laws to protect chained dogs. To my way of thinking, Tamira Thayne and her nation wide group of volunteers are more like...animal suffragettes. Arrests and all. Growing up in what Tami likes to refer to as "Pennsyltucky" she was dismayed by the accepted practice she observed of dog owners leaving their animals virtually abandoned at the end of a chain, year in and year out, through hot summers and freezing winters, without sufficient food, water or shelter, treating them not as pets, but ersatz burglar alarms..maybe because the people who did this had seen their parents keep dogs this way, and their parents parents did..and the neglect of dogs in this manner was just endemic to much of the country. Tami made the decision to help these dogs. She started out very unofficially, talking to dog owners who really did not care for their dogs, ya know now that burglar alarms are available pretty cheap..and for those who would not give up their dogs, she brought dog houses and straw to insulate them, and food and water, and she documented everything on video. She was becoming known as a dog advocate. A fateful day came when Tami heard from a woman whose neighbors had gone away and left a dog chained up to die, with no food or water for 3 days, because the dog was old and apparently didn't deserve anything like humane euthanasia..this is not as isolated an incident as one might want to believe. The lady was listening to the poor dog cry for much of this time..but couldn't do anything because of trespassing laws. The Humane Society has been called with no results..Tami was a last hope. Well, Tami went in there with a friend, a bolt cutter and a video camera and she rescued the dying dog, who they renamed Doogie. She broke the law to save this poor dog from suffering further, and when the sheriff came by to retrieve the "property" she'd "stolen" she refused to return Doogie (who was by then resting comfortably at a vet's office) to the owners who'd abandoned him to a slow, painful death. Doogie lived another 10 months, happier than he'd ever been and thriving on love, food and shelter. For her efforts, Tami was prosecuted and convicted of theft, but strangely, Doogie's owners were never charged with animal cruelty. Well, Tami was just not having it, and neither were the people who, through myspace and other internet sites, were learning of this travesty of justice. Thus, Dogs Deserve Better became a national phenomena, and it has become a group on the forefront of changing nationwide chain laws, educating people and raising funds for dogs who, truly deserve better. DDB doesn't just fight to change dog chaining laws, they also lobby for harsher penalties against animal abusers. And their work is making a difference. Tami is a hero of mine. To paraphrase a sage quoth, she and her volunteers really are the people their dogs thinks they are. I urge all people who love animals to become a contributing member of Dogs Deserve Better. **Currently, 3 states in the U.S have dog chaining laws; California, Nevada and Texas. 11 States are considering bills, and the greater majority of the country has no laws and are not considering them. The fundamental law DDB is trying to pass is a nationwide ban against chaining dogs for life. Life. Imagine being left on a 12 foot chain for your entire lifetime. (happy) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuzyIjIY4m8&feature=player_embedded (graphic) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYJjnYfhaC0&feature=player_embedded#!

I have just read of this group and I'm going to donate money to help them in their wonderful…read morecauses. We HAVE to do all we can to stop animal abuse. Animals are totally helpless and we should do all we can to help make new laws and care for these beautiful miracles.

Came to a vaccine clinic. It was well organized and you can't beat the price. Thank you Pawsread more

We adopted Ziggy (formerly an onion name) last September. They are such lovely people who truly…read morecare about their animals! Meeting the foster and hearing about his quirks was also so much fun. Absolutely lovely place. Please don't stop having adoption fairs they're lovely.

Need a new best friend? Need an old best friend? Look no further. These critters are spoiled and…read moreloved-on by the staff while they wait, as well as having all of their medical needs taken care of in preparation for finding their forever home. The facility is very clean and welcoming, with a great play yard for romping with the pups!

Great Organization Great Organization. They really care…read moreabout the animals they work with. I highly recommend them.

My husband and I are cat people and we love following local rescues to see what's going on in the…read morecommunity and ways we can help. We live in State college, which is about 45 minutes from Altoona, but State College rescues are very closed doors and put on their "best" face (I.e. you don't see many truly struggling animals come through, for whatever reason, or they don't show us). We are in Altoona at least once a week and discovered this rescue via Facebook. We've both followed it for a few years and seen the journey from their previous location in Hollidaysburg to the new cafe setup in downtown Altoona and we love the work that Summer is doing. She does all of this for free, all donations to the rescue go directly to cats and she somehow manages to save hundreds of cats lives (or provide a very caring and gentle exit from the world if absolutely necessary) while maintaining an actual job on the side to help her fund this. She's incredible. The cat cafe is still being set up a little bit when we went but it has the main adult cat room as well as a smaller kitten room, and they have a little merchandise and snack area up front. There are many volunteers but I know they're always looking for more! If you do visit the cafe, the main thing to remember is to either bring or be wearing socks!!! They don't allow shoes in the cat rooms so unless you want to get cat litter and fur between your toes (though I will say it was super clean when we went), it's just better to have some socks. The fee to go in is $10 a person, and again, that all goes to the cats. I found that very reasonable all things considered. And since everyone loves a success story, we have two cats currently, an 11-year old female (with a Napoleon complex) and a 2-year old male who was rescued from a bad situation in Texas (and we are still not entirely sure if all his brain cells made it back here with us). They get along pretty much on a bare minimum basis, and the older one just really can't stand how energetic our boy is. So we started considering a sibling closer to the boy's age that would be maybe a good play companion for him and mellow out the transition from grumpy old female to crazy young male. We contacted this rescue since kitten season is ramping up and decided to visit two kittens, one at the cafe and one at his foster home. The one in the cafe (Gordon!) was a great cat and very social and energetic but we just weren't sure if he was the right fit. The kitten at the foster home has had a really rough time adjusting to people but he loves other cats. He didn't want to come out from under the bed for us but would play with toys with us from under the bed. We decided, based really on his love of other cats but also on his foster saying he showed signs of being able to open up and socialize with people with enough time and patience, to adopt him and we are going on a little over 2 weeks now of him adjusting to our upstairs space. I was impressed by his foster for how well she cared for him and his siblings, and she seemed very perceptive about how he would adjust and she turned out to be right. I really admire this rescue and everyone involved, and if I lived closer I would 100% be volunteering there probably more than I could afford to! If you're in the area, I suggest checking out the cat cafe and following their Facebook page. They're the first of their kind in Altoona and I love to support that.

Always high quality plants...the mulch is also good ...wish they would stock some pond plants next…read moreseason. Reasonable prices,

I had no idea what this place was. I just saw a cute pup on NextDayPets.com that fell in our price…read morerange. It wasn't until I went to the pet store that I started to worry. The trainer asked where I got him & said, "oh, Lancaster county" which raised my suspicion. I knew I shouldn't have looked but I searched for the last name online & found this Yelp page. I started putting it all together & I just got angry. Upon the vet visit 4 days after getting Sammy, he has a severe yeast infection in his ears and has tested positive for Giardia for a total of $400 in vet bills AND has to go back to be tested in a month for another $80. Do not support this place. Stay as far away as possible. I'll be happy when this headache of health issues is over and (hopefully) this place is shut down. UPDATE: Sam still has Giardia, even after 2 rounds of treatment. He's experienced constant eye ulcers which require a visit almost every month. Luckily for us though, everything else seems fine. No heart issues (yet), no other eye problems or genetic issues.

It's sad how most of these "bad" reviews are from a long time ago, because right now this place is…read moregreat! The animals are living in great condition, they seem very happy and loving. I volunteer here and it's great. The workers are very nice, and you always have something to do, weather it's walking the dogs, doing the laundry, or cleaning the litter boxes, it shows how much these people do every day. For anyone reading this, I would love if you were to be a volunteer because it's fun and it helps these people out a ton. 5 stars.

We were looking to adopt a dog since ours of 16 yrs recently passed away. We applied to, and…read morescoured countless local shelters, social media and websites looking for one. Then we came across CVAS. These people were amazing! From the volunteers to the staff, they made the whole process easy and answered my endless questions patiently and kindly. We watched them interact with the animals and knew this was the place we wanted to deal with . We couldn't love our baby more and we have the Lord and you guys to thank for her!