Rude responses to people who are interested in caring for the dogs you rescue. Make it make sense. Maybe instead of treating everyone like criminals treat people with kindness. It makes me think the dogs best interest really isn’t at heart because anyone who runs an organization and is okay with being condescending to the people who are giving you shares, interest, makes it so more and more people will turn away from your rescue. I wish I would have seen where they denied someone for living in a very SAFE part of the city before ever applying.
I was very pleased with the adapting process.My 2 year old King Charles Spaniel is the most loving healthy happy dog.I highly recommend this rescue place based on my very positive experience.
A family member adopted a dog from this organization three weeks ago. The dog became extremely sick and lethargic after a couple of weeks. They took the dog to the vet and she was diagnosed with a bacterial infection and given antibiotics. The veterinarian who treated her felt the infection came from the raw freeze dried dogfood that the organization fed to her prior to her adoption. The dog continued to get worse even after two days on antibiotics. She began throwing up and urinating blood. My family rushed her to an emergency pet hospital. The dog was diagnosed with Hemolytic Anemia, an autoimmune disorder that has a very poor prognosis and can be triggered by infections among other things. In spite of this diagnosis, my family spent about $5000 trying to save her including multiple blood transfusions. Unfortunately, the little dog passed away. When my family reached out to Gateway for Paws to let them know what had happened, the owner became very defensive and thought they wanted a refund of her $500 adoption fee. If you are considering adopting, please ask to have your veterinarian check over the dog first to be sure it is healthy. Ask to see all available medical records too. If there is a health issue with an animal, it should be fully disclosed to adoptive families prior to adoption.
I have inquird about two different dogs and they are both $575.00!!!!!! I have read the other reviews and they are correct.....this organization gets these dogs for free and then tries to profit off of them when they get adopted. I received a very rude email and was told I was not allowed to adopt any of their pets because I left a negative review!!! I thought that I lived in a country where we have FREEDOM OF SPEECH!!!! The whole point of leaving reviews is to tell other people about our experiences with the business or organization we should not be punished for it.
This place is extremely discriminatory and unprofessional. They claim to be a nonprofit placing animals with families but refuse to even consider your family unless your willing to pay them a minimum of $400. They call that payment a "donation." They also won't consider your family if you aren't living in a rich neighborhood because we all know that loving and caring for an animal can only happen in rich neighborhoods. 90% of pets that are cared for aren't in wealthy neighborhoods. They have news reports about how bad they are and how they continue to belittle the community. I hope they get investugated soon because they are awful people running an awful business.
This organization has a very poor procedure in their practices. Their number one issue is communication.
They fail to communicate when they will actually be on your property (or driving/walking by). In doing so, they miss an opportunity to help families who want to help and better serve animals.
They fail to communicate who is communicating with you as their emails and contacts are all anonymous.
They fail to handle conflicts professionally and respectfully. And when they are called out for shady practices, they become more unprofessional.
They fail to actually make relationships with people who want to help.
Even in reading each of their comments to these negative reviews, you can see that it is a very defensive, and combative means of communication.
And unfortunately, no one wins. I’m sad because most people will probably only see this after they’ve had a negative experience with them.
This foster based rescue is ran by a group of people who care for the safety & welfare of the dogs in their care. They communicate professionally & properly. When they post a dog available for adoption, they clearly tell you the requirements of the dog. Their goal is to make sure the dog ends up with the right family, safely & loved.
If i could give o stars i would. Wanted to adopt a bonded pair. They wanted 800.00. We were willing to pay for the dogs but we were denied because we didn't have a fenced yard. Can't have a fence due to homeowners restrictions. Were flat-out denied because of this. Have alot of love to give and work for a vet so they would have excellent medical care. Would never recommend.
I don't believe they really had the puppy available that was advertised. After 3 weeks of the application process including them contacting my vet, asking me to fill out an application and answer multiple questions, they had someone contact me about a different dog.
i have heard about scams like this... where they advertise a puppy, but then "bait and switch" to another dog. Not cool.
gateway4paws 05/11/2020
We would like to set the record straight with this negative comment. We did have the dog you applied for. We did speak with you on the phone and determined the dog you applied for was not a good match for your home. Therefore, we had another foster contact you about another dog we had as we felt it would be a good match based on your paper application and phone interview. Please understand, our responsibility is to our fur babies. We have them in our care and know what they need going forward. We do not nor will we ever place a dog in a home that is not the right fit for them. Therefore, we had the dog and we do not scam people. You were mad because you did not get the dog you applied for and you thought you would give us a bad review. That is not cool. I would also like to note, we are a registered 501c3 and have license with the Dept of Ag. With this, we are audited every year to show documents where we got the dog from, vetting information, and who adopted the dog.
gateway4paws 12/16/2021
O Terri, Let’s point out a few things. In the bio of the dogs you applied for stated a requirement of a secure physical fenced yard. If you would have read the bio, you would have known that you did not meet that requirement. Because you made a choice to live in a neighborhood that will not allow a fenced yard is not our issue. You should look for dogs that do not require a fenced yard, of which there are many out there or you could have applied for another dog down the road with us that didn’t have the requirement of a fenced yard but you would rather place blame on someone else because you feel entitled or special. In emails to us, you referred to our organization as a shelter. We advised that you did not know anything about our organization because if you did your research, you would know that we are rescue and not a shelter and we foster based only. I would also like to point out, we have these dogs in our care and have for months.
gateway4paws 12/16/2021
We evaluate each and everyone to ensure they are placed in the best home for them. We are not your local animal shelter that will just adopt the dog to anyone just to get it adopted. You can make your zero or one star review but we will let others know that we would not recommend going to Waterloo Animal Hospital which you are employed at because either you can’t read or think requirements do not apply to you. We love how some people think they know everything better and are above the requirements or rules. Here is an idea, start your own rescue and then you can make whatever rules and requirements you want. Good luck