A Canine Gem Rescue

I didn't even adopt from this rescue and I don't recommend them. The owner is EXTREMELY rude and condescending. Her attitude alone promoted me to look elsewhere. Her adoption fees are outrageous and their animals live in poor conditions. The surrounding neighbors have made complaints and the owner threatened to sue the town she lives in. It is no wonder they have been kicked out of every area they have been in!

I was there today the owner does not come and tend to the dogs they are kept in tiny kennels only let out to potty twice a day and locked in the tiny kennels the rest of the day she received 4 more dogs from Georgia and tossed them in a kennel in the same area as the other dogs did not quarantine them and left. the facility stinks of urine and feces as well as the dogs. She put a male and female unfixed dog together claiming they were both male fixed dogs resulting in the female becoming pregnant no one at the facility knew the dog was pregnant until she started having the puppies outside in the yard a yard where the fence is not properly secure or high enough that 1 of the dogs recently jumped the fence and was hit and killed she is not a rescuer only in it for the money doesn't get the dogs properly vetted spayed or neutered and charges ridiculous prices for sick emaciated dogs do not by from her

Do not get a dog from this rescue if you know what might be a good fit for your family's lifestyle! I am writing this review today so as to recall the detalils, accurately.

Foolishly, I decided to pay the adoption fee without seeing more than one foto of the dog. The post said he weighed 18 lbs and was a West Highland White. The adoption fee was high, $595, so I thought he was purebred. I had told Hilary, the Director, that I needed a dog under 20 lbs to fit under the seat in a plane and felt the Westie breed was a good fit. Apparently, she had only estimated the weight, she admitted , as the year old vet record said 23 lbs. I only saw that once we drove 2 hours and 20 minutes to meet him, today. She felt the dog would go fast during the adoption clinic, so I decided to risk putting the money down to have him held for 4 days until I could get up there. When I arrived, I could see he was a mixed Westie and the skin on his rump was irritated and with thinning hair. I had asked her on the phone before I paid, if he looked as though he had skin issues (Westies are prone) and she said he looked fine; just needed grooming and neutering. Again, I thought $595 was alot when he hadn't been vetted or neutered, but I have been looking for an adult Westie for a while and hoped he could be my match. She said he needed to leave quickly because she had 17 dogs on premises.

My husband and I declined what we all thought was a done deal because the dog was misrepresented by Hilary other than having a nice personality. Pure Westies generally are 15-20 inches long and he was at least 24. Our sense was that while Hilary could want to save pets, she does nothing to vet them and just wants to sell them asap. And she seems to take in too many. By the way, the young man who brought the dog out to meet us, when I asked about all the barking inside, said there were 32 dogs on premises and not 17, as Hilary had said even before the clinic last Saturday. When he learned that the dog was too big for the plane he said he would not want this dog to be under the cabin seat, anyway. Sounded like sour grapes from a rescue who just wants to move dogs. More like an animal trafficking business, was our impression.


I asked if I could have a refund because Meadow had been misrepresesnted, but she said no as she held him for 4 days for me. I put the money down to begin with because she said he'd likely go fast at the clinic the next day which was the after he came in. I couldn't get there that same day. I even asked if she could refund me when he is adopted by someone else (as he will go fast, she had said) and she basically walked away after insulting me by saying, that I didn't really want a rescue but one with papers and a pedigree. He certainly would not have gone that fast without a bath as he was dirty and had fleas, today. She also said I had not told her I wanted a dog to travel with under 20 lbs, which is critical to my search, and therefore a lie. I have seen others fly my airline with Westies in travel carriers so have done my homework. 5 lbs makes a big difference on small dogs, which she tried to minimize. Finally, buyer beware as she will tell you what you want to hear, rather than taking the time to find accurate information. I wish I had thought to check for reviews first as I see now that many here are poor. It was a hard and costly lesson for me and although I can reconcile my financial loss as a donation, I would rather support a rescue who really cares about the animals and not making money as the priority.

Although I had to designate my role as "client served" for this review, I would say "duped client" is more accurate. However, I won't make this mistake again.

One more note:

I adopted a terrier mix and found it a very successful venture, staff extremely helpful. To those giving nasty reviews, please remember that dog vet bills are as costly as humans. Rescue dogs come with a lot of baggage that must be addressed. And dogs cannot tell you what is wrong or where it hurts. In addition there is a lot of physical effort required. When you adopt you get the good with the bad, no promises. Perhaps rather than writing an epistle of meanness you should direct your efforts to volunteering at your local rescue, or asking how you can help.

There were issues from the start. First the dog pictured had a write about a different dog. I told her but it still is not changed. We were not told the dog heart worm, unril driving over 4 hours and had the dog in the car. Then she says oh I hope you dont mind that the dog has heart worm. Then I had to pay over 185.00 for step two of the heart worm treatment, which she sould of paid for. The dog was dirty and smelled. I was told the dog got along with other dogs, but that was not the case. The dog wanted to kill my dog and almost got my cat. I reached out to her via Text to a response to crate the dog till it got used to the others animals. Anytime the other animals would go near the cage the dog would lounge with such force the crate moving. I texted her and she told me I could bring the dog back, No refund, but we could choose another dog, but to bring my dog to meet Potential others. Are you crazy, put both dogs in my car and drive over 4 hours one way with a dog that would kill my dog if it got a chance. Anyway after 2 Trips,18 hours of driving, a loss of $295 for adoption fee, $56 in gas and over $50 on food that I could not return ss I had no receipt We have no dog and my stomach is sick from the whole situation. Now I am afraid to even look for another dog. When I arrived I texted her to know reply. She sent her daughter to do her dirty work for her. The dog Noel should be the only put in the home and needs lots of training. She is a so sweet when alone. They should be shut down. Hilary Was the person I dealt with. Iwoulf had given a 0 for rating but that is not an option.

I have worked with Hilary on hundreds of rescues over the course of the last decade and I can honestly say that she is simply incredible. She takes the “left behind” animals that many of the other rescues pass over. She consistently shells out her own money (far in excess of anything she can ever recover from adoption fees) to provide exceptional veterinary care and all types of other assistance to senior and medical needs dogs, as well as many others in need. She is the angel that says “yes” to them when everyone else in their lives have said “no.” I am honored to know and support this exceptional rescuer and I encourage any potential adopter in the area to please consider working with this fantastic group. They embody everything that animal rescue should be.

PLEASE DO NOT ADOPT FROM HERE. PLEASE MAKE THIS PLACE SHUT DOWN SO THESE ANIMALS CAN GET PROPER CARE FROM A REAL RESCUE!!! If I could I’d give them a zero. Thankfully we adopted our sweet boys from these people. The below reviews are so correct I wish I had seen them before going to CANINE GEM. We adopted 2 “kittens” the site had them listed as 3 months old BOY AND GIRL. The cats we adopted are in fact 10 MONTHS OLD AND BOTH MALE! Intact males. We paid $225 for them both which was supposed to include vetting. That’s a TOTAL LIE. these two babies not only had to be neutered last week but had fleas and tape worms and it makes me so so sick and sad to think these boys were with this shelter for roughly 9 months infected with worms and fleas. Their only vet work up was when they were 3 weeks old when the shelter got them from the south. THAT IS NEGLECT. My poor babies also seem to have upper respiratory infections that we weren’t made aware of. Unfortunately we paid this women and signed paperwork saying any Illnesses that come up after adoption are not their responsibility. Of course I love my cat’s to death. But again PLEASE DO NOT ADOPT FROM HERE. PLEASE MAKE THIS PLACE SHUT DOWN SO THESE ANIMALS CAN GET PROPER CARE FROM A REAL RESCUE!!! this is not me angrily typing. I’ve had over a month to come to terms with this adoption and just trying to put the real truth out there.

In reading previous comments I think they should be removed as they sound more like hate mail than reviews. So, in my research I found the the dog claimed to be pregnant was indeed not! A go fund me page was set up as a scam. I had to sign a contract stating that the dogs were vetted down south and there were NO guarantees! It was clearly explained to me. I was adopting a rescue! When you adopt a rescue you give a pet a second chance at life and save them from euthanization. These dogs are unknown. They are throw aways! Further more, I did not go to rescue caring if the owner was part of Coates Island. Really! I personally went to find a forever friend to love and cherish! If people expect to find a perfect dog think again. These dogs have been abused, hoarded and dropped off....they need to be loved and brought back to society and loved! Do not find negative in these dogs but the positive and train them to love again! If the worst thing that happened to me was I rescued a dog that was pregnant I would count my blessings and make the best of it....however some folks no matter what always find the worst in every situation....

If you are looking for a forever friend look no further as A Canine Gem goes above and beyond in pairing the right dog for you and your family. We could not be happier and just want to share our joy with everyone. The staff is friendly and the facility is spotless. Kudos to all of you for going above and beyond for these furbabies! Just what our family needed!

The director is co owner of the edge sports and fitness and owner of coates island in Colchester she is a disgusting human being she feeds the dogs a cup of food a day I was one of the victims taken advantage of I feel the rescue came from me after I spent money on 2 dogs saving them from the rat hole in williston. I was told dogs were fine in good health and great with other dogs, both dogs were severely under weight and one dog attacked an innocent dog doing nothing at vet which cost me money then when I had that same dog looked at I was shocked to find out it was extremely I'll costing me 4,000 dollars and when i contacted the director all she could say is well bring the dog back and i will give you another one wtf really? Also i was told the other dog was 2 years old and that was a lie the vet said the dog was around 6 or 7 not impressed with all the money this lady had behind the scenes one would think she would keep a clean shop and actually feed the dogs if you have any doubt ask the staff they will tell you all about it not to mention she won't let anyone in because she keeps the dogs in small kennels stacked on top of one another I have reported her to the state but some how she is still open I promise you can't make this stuff up

Weird bait and switch tactics. The director posts Craigslist's ads constantly making it sound like a private party needed a home for their one animal. Only after emailing do you find out it's a "rescue". I emailed about a pup and was told $375, never heard anything back but within a day the dog was renamed and relisted at $450. Doesn't make any sense other than a money grab.

Never EVER get a dog from this rescue. Many of the dogs are from the south and are not properly vetted. The director is rude and condescending and will not provide any support at all. Furthermore, many of these dogs have severe behavioral issues that cannot be fixed. Many say “good with children and other dogs” and that is honestly laughable.