This is a long review, but I have to put this out there:
I seem to have had the same experiences with TLC and the owner as almost all of the other people who adopted pets from this organization and commented here on google reviews. I had been looking to adopt a puppy that would remain less than 25 lbs because we have very young grandchildren & were concerned with a larger dog possibly, even accidentally, hurting the children. I saw information about a litter at TLC that they said was part cocker spaniel & dachshund, with a possible “other” mix since it was a rescue litter. We traveled to the TLC location to see the litter. When we drove up there were several large dogs loose in the fenced in, back yard area of the house. Immediately we saw a large pit bull dog humping on a large black or brown dog (that appeared to be a Lab) at the fence. We wanted to see the dogs where they were holding the litter but the husband insisted that he bring them out to us (in the rain) to see if we could choose any. Melissa wasn’t home so her husband tried to answer our questions about how old they were & how large they would get, etc. He just said that he didn’t really know but Melissa was always rescuing animals. Later, Melissa explained over the phone & by text that the mother was a cocker spaniel & even sent me a photo of her. She stated that the puppies should get to about 25 lbs.
The following morning, we contacted her & told her we were coming out to adopt one of the dogs we had seen the day before. She said she had just given it a bath & she was all ready to go. When we arrived, Melissa came out & had me sign an adoption paper and pay the $250. The $250. included shots & chipping at her vet in McKinney. I was also given a 6-month supply of flea & tick pills, (which had expired 6 months prior & I later brought this up to Melissa & she said they don’t expire so just ignore the date on the box). It was raining so my husband took the puppy to the car while I spoke with Melissa. I told her I wanted to make sure I was not adopting a dog with any pit bull lineage & she assured me that was not possible. But she did tell me she had about 12 (it seemed she said 12) pit bulls of her own & they were wonderful dogs. At that moment I should have followed my gut feeling & left without the puppy but I didn’t.
When we arrived home, our son & daughter-in-law had the grandkids there waiting to meet the new family member. We took her out of the crate for the 1st time and she was covered in giant fleas & had dog poop embedded in her paws. She had not pooped in the crate, she was obviously given to us that way. Everyone left immediately because we were being bitten by the fleas & we gave the puppy 3 baths before we could get all the fleas off her. Poor thing had sores on her from the bites. We took her to our vet the following day. She had a terrible case of roundworms & extreme diarrhea for a couple of weeks before we were able to get her healed.
We also had a DNA test run on her as part of our wellness plan with OUR OWN vet. Our dachshund/cocker spaniel is actually 25% American Staffordshire Terrier (aka Pit Bull), 25% Labrador Retriever, 12.5% Australian Cattle Dog, 37.5% Terrier, Sporting, Middle Eastern & African, Herding. I sent her a text showing what the DNA test results & Melissa became extremely rude saying “I DO NOT BREED PIT BULLS”. I hadn’t said she did but I’m sure she lets all types of dogs run around & breed with whatever is in the yard, including pit bulls, because we saw it happening. She also insisted that I have the TLC chip put in our dog, which we had already had for about 5 months. I told her I wouldn’t but she even rudely commented that she would be at the Banfield vet the day they were going to chip her to make sure her chip was used. I wanted to make sure our dog had no connection to her or her organization. Luckily, we haven’t communicated since.
Today our girl is almost 10 months old & 48lbs, all muscle. She can be very loving but she’s unable to adjust her emotions to just playing without aggression. She has had formal training at K-9 University & has made some progress but her strength outweighs everything else. At her last vet visit a week ago the vet said it took 2 of them to hold her down to examine her. She wasn’t being mean or trying to bite them, it’s her strength that overwhelms her emotions. The vet even said that she is a bit concerned with her strength because of her American Staffordshire Terrier DNA. We are still trying to figure out how to go forward with training but we do have a problem with her around the grandchildren.
I love her but she is a constant problem around other people. We have been in constant training now for 9+ months. I would not recommend the TLC organization to anyone who is looking for a pet. It’s a business to Melissa but for those of us trying to add a family member the qualifications and temperament of a pet is too important to make any mistakes. And by the way, those flea & tick pills DO EXPIRE.
I would never adopt from this rescue after the experience I had today. I have adopted rescue dogs all my life and the owner was the most unprofessional I've seen. 1st, I am worried about the care the animals even receive. When talking to one of the volunteers about a dog's personality she said she didn't know because all dogs stay in a building. She said they go in to feed but that's it. I asked, "so no one is spending time with them" and she said repeated that they go in only to feed them not much else. That the dogs are kept at the rescue owner's home in a building. It honestly showed that they don't receive much care because most dogs were dirty and clearly in need of a bath. 2nd - there was no organization in how things were run at the adoption fair and none of the volunteers seemed to even know what to do and she was having to tell one of them, "oh that's the crazy one" - great selling point for those of us overhearing the convo. 3rd - she had the audacity to make a comment to me regarding my husband and I's lifestyle. We were looking at a pit mix puppy and as soon as she found out we rent she shut the whole convo down and was so rude. She said most complexes have breed restrictions, however I quickly informed her they don't. At that point she really pissed me off to have the nerve to say that people who rent basically live a cycle of renting and we would have to end up returning the dog to her due to our future hypothetical complexes policies. Honestly? You don't know anything about us, our finances, and what we would do for our animal. I informed her we are buying a house when our lease is up and she then proceeded to say with a smart ass tone "well you can come back at that time". She was completely unprofessional, unorganized, and I feel bad for the dogs she rescues.

trumankenna 02/01/2021
This comes from our group not allowing bully breeds to be adopted into Rental properties.
HORRIBLE experience!!!!!!
We wanted to rescue another dog (we have 2 rescues) and this was my first time attempting to work with Texas Little Cuties. The representative from Texas Little Cuties (I’ll leave her name out to ensure this review gets posted) was hands down the rudest person I have ever spoken with in my life. I’ve rescued several times before- all excellent experiences, but not the case here. She said she could meet me today with a dog I was interested in rescuing. Prior to meeting I just had one question about any anxiety behaviors seen in the dog. Her immediate response was “I don’t have to answer any of your questions- I already did in an email”. (I NEVER got an email from her with any info about anxiety.) She then proceeded to tell me “I don’t need you wasting my time”. No joke!!! Seriously she said all this!!!!! . I’m entitled to a reply at this point and I did raise my voice stating “I’m actually trying to NOT waste your time by asking this question before you meet up with me”. SHE THEN HUNG UP ON ME. Y’all, never in all my days have I experienced something like this. The sad part is, it’s the animals who suffer because she is a nightmare. See pic showing my text response back to her...she never replied back. I truly feel this woman should not be in this line of work and should probably seek professional help. It was really bad.

trumankenna 02/01/2021
This came from the beginning asking to fill out a application on line. And saying “I will be approved”. She Called and spoke for 30 minutes. At that time I said once I get your app I will look it over and get back with you. I’m hanging up now.
I adopted a cat from Janine Stein at the PetSmart in Addison Texas on 3/16/2019.
On 3/24/2019 after a week of the kitten sneezing, I took him to the Emergency hospital and was informed that my 3 month old kitten according to the papers I received from Janine tested positive for FIV.
I asked the vet what that meant, and I was horrified to find out that my little kitten had what in human is called AIDS.
At no time did Janine Stein tell me this about my little fellow Diesel.
I plan on taking her to court since the check was made out to her (which I thought was odd).
I want the $125.00 I paid to adopt Diesel, but I plan on keeping him. He will surely need all the TLC he can get.
Wow! Texas Little Cuties Pet Rescue adopted us a sick pet. When we told Melissa about how sick he was, she didn't seem to care and acted like it was our problem. We took him to the vet and after spending hundreds of dollars, finally saved his life. These are truly uncaring horrible people. These people are a for profit company and need to be shut down.
This is a great rescue. Melissa Kelley is a wonderful and genuine animal lover. She ensures that each animal is adopted to a loving and caring home. She has dedicated most of her life to caring and loving animals which otherwise would not have the experience. It is unfortunate that some people don't understand this in the negative reviews. When you make a commitment to adopt one of these pets, you understand that they have been rescued from some of the most awful conditions and from homes where they were never taken care of. I am happy to hear that these animals bonded with a loving family, and that you provided them the dignity that they deserve at a most vulnerable time in their last few months of life, to the ones that didn't make it.
Melissa has turned her home property's backyard into an entire animal facility where she houses and saves dogs from illness or euthanizing. Yes, she needs to create funds to care, feed, and house probably over 100 other animals that she has rescued. The adoption application fee goes to these animals' care, upkeep, and veterinary fees, which are in the thousands of dollars. I am happy to contribute to this cause that provides love and care, and welcome any opportunity that I get to contribute financially, with supplies, and fostering. Buddy, my first foster, is pictured here with my Scotty❤️
On December 30, 2016 we adopted Beasley for my mom. Sadly, today he died. Just thirty days from adoption date. He was adopted out sick with heart worms and pneumonia. My mom called TLC within a week after taking him home and Leslie came and took him to her vet. She brought him back and said he had a small heart murmur. When he seemed to be getting worse, my mom called again and this time they were not helpful at all and offered her another dog. REALLY! She is already attached to this little guy... My mom took him to the vet and he had ADULT HEARTWORMS and PNEUMONIA. My mom paid for the expensive treatment to try and save his life but he died this morning leaving her heart broken. RIP Beasley!
I recently adopted an animal from Texas little cuties - I noticed the animal was sneezing when I adopted it, but I decided to take it home anyway - I was advised the pet was sneezing due to it being outside in the wind (the adoption fee was $100). The animal's condition progressively worsened over a period of two days, with excessive amounts of mucus coming out of its nose and eyes.The animal was sneezing so much there was mucus all over the room we were keeping it in. I brought it to the vet where I was advised the animal was in "dire condition" with an excessively high fever. When I adopted the animal I was also told it had undergone testing, but all of the testing records were not included in the animal's documentation.The animal went on antibiotics for over a month (oral) and with drops in its eyes and nose (all twice daily).The vet also found a fungal infection in the animal's ear.
Our first visit to the vet cost over $150. The vet advised me to stay away from any other animals as the illness was very contagious. Thankfully, the animal pulled through and is now an amazing pet, but unfortunately, it was sad to see how bad its condition was.
I contacted Texas little cuties where the owner mentioned I should've just called her to get meds for the animal (the meds mentioned wouldn't have been enough considering the animal's state). I requested a refund of my adoption fee since I pretty much saved the animal from a certain death, but the owners response was for me to bring the animal back to her and she would refund the $100, but not the vet fees since I should've called her. It was apparently my fault I decided to take her to my vet who is expensive, and not their vet (why would I even trust the vets they are using?).
TexasLittleCuties adopts out chronically ill animals. It is very much a "for profit" business. Melissa Kelly regularly steals adoption fees, skims profits, and turns in vet receipts for reimbursement for bills foster parents paid.
Review from Guidestar
met Kelly in garland to see Bella brought my dog sarge to see if they get along they did my wife said we would think about it Bella had cast on foot that would need to be on there 2 more weeks told Kelly we were interested and I would email her later I did that and text her did not here from her I emailed her again the next day 5 min after I emailed her she emailed me back and said she adopted Bella out
at 4 pm don't use these people they wont be honest with you
Review from Guidestar
We met Melissa at Petsmart in McKinney to adopt a dog (Brandy) that she has had since she was 9 weeks old. Needless to say, they wanted a $175 application fee for her and I asked her if we could pay this in a week because that was a lot of money to pay, if the dog was not a good fit. We were afraid, because of the conditions, that Brandy would have some issues. One thing we noticed almost immediately is that Brandy was scared of everything. Anytime we moved, or picked up something she was afraid of it. She would literally start crawling on the floor because she was always terrified. We got her on Saturday and Friday she had completely warmed up to me. She was so sweet and would cuddle with me. She is a precious dog.
We e-mailed Melissa and asked her to tell us more about her history, additionally she forgot to bring the records, so we had no history on her. She immediately got defensive and told us she wanted Brandy back right away. We let her know that we wanted to keep Brandy because she is a part of our family. Melissa refused to let us have her. She came to our house to get her. Brandy growled at her, and would not go near her. She stayed right next to me. Melissa took a rope, reached inside and tied it around Brandy's neck. She pulled Brandy all of the way to her van and drove away. She refuses to e-mail us back. She refuses to answer our calls. This dog that we fell in love with is no longer able to be adopted by us just because we questioned whether she had been abused in the past. I am sad most of all because I bonded with her and I miss her. Our children were also so attached to her and we all miss her. She would jump up and hug my leg like she was so appreciative to have me around. We miss her and we want her back! We want to love her and take care of her like she deserves. She didn't even know her name and she finally started eating. She was extremely skinny when we got her. We just want her back.
Review from Guidestar
trumankenna 03/22/2021
Adopted, 6/20/20 text from Jean "Hi, We just left your home. Fell in love with the little solid black girl puppy. We weren't prepared to take her home today becauseI didn't know we would be able to take a puppy home! Iv'e seen so many puppies at foster homes but couldn't take them home until they finshed shot/spay/neuter, chip, ect. Your husband was extremely helpful. I saw what you website said about adoption fee but should ask to make sure. Please text or call when you can discuss what we need to do next. Thanks Jean Pondrom July 8th "I will contact your vet in Mckinney to have her spayed and chipped but that will be when she's 6 months. We named her Lucy. She's great and getting very tall. She's crate trained now and hasn't chewed up any furniture or shoes, etc, confined to only den, kitchen and 1 bedroom. Thanks Jean July 31st She's big/tall dog. Very sweet and smart. Had to get a much larger crate because she was growing so quickly.