Wags Rescue & Referral

STAY AWAY FROM THIS RESCUE!! I did a foster to adopt situation so the adoption was not finalized. I had very bad experience with the foster. She had asked to call her if there was a problem in doing so she (Sharon) asked to to omit on the surrender form that this dog had bitten me twice the second day in my home. I reluctantly did so but sent an e-mail the next day I returned her to this foster (who also has 4 other dogs in her home that were failed adoptions). The message to the rescue was to inform them about the fact this dog did bite me and it should have been put on the form but let them know that Sharon asked me to omit it and I did not feel comfortable not telling all of the truth. This dog was also in horrible condition due to not being taken to be groomed and cleaned up for a very long time. I feel it was very unprofessional for them to have forwarded that message to the foster. She (Sharon) then starting sending me nasty and insulting text messages which I feel was highly unprofessional. The rescue did nothing about it and chose to believe the lame excuses she gave them for my returning the dog instead of the fact that I had told them the full truth. I was aware that this dog has issues with snapping but was not a problem for me since I have 22 years experience and had adopted a dog like her previously; I had no problem retraining that dog but she had never bitten me. I am still in shock to find the very next day this same dog was back up for adoption again. I never believed in buying dogs from breeders but after this awful experience I would not try to ever adopt again. This is a horrible rescue and the volunteers are awful to deal with in any situation with them. I highly recommend before adopting from any rescue that you really research them and read their reviews thoroughly. Very, very disappointed!

I would not recommend this rescue. They impose breed restrictions on renters (bullie & herding... What property manager doesn't allow a sheltie or collie??). None of my friends who foster for other agencies have heard of such a policy. The worst part is that it isn't published on their website, they only informed us after we completed an application and our references and landlord were contacted.

Beware of wags if you intend to adopt a family member from them. The adoption coordinators are ill tempered (Sharon), and will deny your business (which is to say, they will deny your ability to RESCUE a family member through them) for the offense of asking questions.

We had been attempting to clarify details concerning preventatives, requirements, and timelines for a puppy we were committed to and approved for, with the adoption coordinator and the foster. This was in order to plan and prepare for appointments, care needs, and costs. The coordinator got so annoyed with us she told us that “Wags doesn’t seem like a good fit” for us. Mentioning specifically we seemed “apprehensive,” and they had “concerns” due to our questions.

Apparently, Wags only wants nonchalant, careless, and under prepared people to adopt animals from them. Just pay your adoption fees, pick up your animal, and go away. Make the adoption coordinator mildly annoyed with relevant and pertinent questions, and you will be cut off. Remember the “Soup Nazi” episode of Seinfeld?!

A serious question I challenge an answer to: What is wrong culturally with this “rescue” that asking questions would get in the way of placing an animal in need into a good, loving, capable, and prepared home? I’m sure I will not be answered.

We adopted a really tiny chihuahua-papillon mix last month, and were impressed & happy with how through wags is! At first we applied and payed the $25 fee for another dog, which we did not get. My mom was really upset about not getting the original dog but a few weeks later wags reached out to us to let us know they had a tiny two pound dog who needed a home. Because she was so small she needed a home without small children or other bully dogs. Wags really put the dog first, they did the research and took the time to find the family that was right for the dog’s needs.

They are thieves and liars. They take your $25 "application fee" and then suddenly the pet you were interested in has been adopted and they send you an email thanking your for your "$25 donation" which proceeds to tell you you're not good enough to adopt the pet you're interested in. FRAUD FRAUD FRAUD

I went to adopt a dog and was refused because my cats don’t get yearly shots. They are indoor cats. I received this email:
Hi again- Wags requires showing all pets in the home having annual shots regardless if they are indoors. While we understand a year can be missed, no consistent history I wouldn’t be able to approve you adopt from Our agency. I’m sorry.
Ironically my SIL adopted her 2 dogs from there and her cat had to get its shots after 5yrs of none. Discriminatory much?

BEWARE! I should have known something was up when they required a $25 fee just to review your application. They will take your money, give you hope, and then think of ANY excuse to tell you why you cannot have the animal. it's really shady and they're absolute thieves about it. The $25 is conveniently non-refundable and how they make their money. Go find your new family member at a more reputable place and make sure you read all the reviews with the reasons they gave others. He will leave but nothing but disappointment, 25 less dollars in your pocket and bitterness at knowing you were scammed.

Wags contacted me on Saturday and left a message about a dog I wanted to adopt. They said that they called me several times but I am home most of the day and never got a call. My husband was also home. The first I heard from Wags was on Saturday when they left me a voice message saying that they had tried to contact me several times but never left a message until Saturday. I as soon as I got home from work I called Michelle and got her voice mail and left her a message. She called me back at 9 P.M. Saturday and told me that there was someone else that put an application in for the dog I wanted and they had first choice. She then asked me if I wanted to go forward and I said yes go ahead. I get an email today from Michelle saying they are canceling my application because I live too far and that they could not get in contact with me which I believe is a lie because I do have voicemail. I sent her an email back telling her that I was disappointed and telling her off because I have been home all day. I talked with my references and she never called them. This Rescue should be closed down because they do not follow through and they are scamming people to donate money. It isn't the fact that I paid the 25 dollars it is the fact that they never called me until Saturday and let someone else adopt my dog. When I talked to her on
Saturday night the person that applied first to adopt the pet I was interested hadn't even come to pick up the pet. She told that if he did not pick up the pet she would call me and let me know. I will not ever deal with Wags Rescue again. I am very upset and disappointed in this Rescue. They can keep my donation it will be a tax deduction. Lesson learned.

I was wary to use Wags because of the online reviews but knew three different people who adopted from there in the past 2 years and had a great experience. I should have listened to the reviews. We went to an event which was, as other reviews describe, very disorganized. We found a puppy we liked and spent a good 20 minutes with her and her foster. My son was present and it was clear we were looking for a family dog, we spoke in depth about the dog and asked many questions and no restrictions on breed came up (the puppy was identified as part pit but the Wags website states that they cannot guarantee breeds and recommends choosing dogs based on temperment anyway). She was playful (as puppies are) but also very sweet and docile and good with my son--no nipping etc. We filled out the application and paid the fee that day on the staff recommendation.
The next day we were told we could not adopt that dog because we had not previously had a bully breed as adults. I will note that my partner rescued and trained a pit mix as an older teen, part of why I thought this pup was a good fit for us. But because he was just shy of an adult, we were told it didn't count. We were rejected, and a dog missed out on a perfectly decent and loving home, on a technicality.
I understand that rescues want to ensure the best possible home for a dog and based on some of these reviews, this one has had problems in the past with people returning aggressive dogs. I think they could use some common sense though--that's why they do background checks and ask for references. A conversation with me or my partner would reveal that we have both the resources and know how to handle this dog, which they described as family friendly. Barring that, they could have avoided a lot of heartache if they simply made their restrictions clear up front. They could include that information on the info sheets with any pit mixes, or mention it in the 20 minutes we spent with the dog and her foster. There is absolutely no reason this needs to keep happening--I was upset to read reviews where the same situation occurred previously and yet they have not done anything to avoid it in the future.
I also found their treatment of humans in this whole equation to be awful. The volunteer who told us we could not adopt the dog was very cold and defensive, and suggested I go to a rescue with more lax regulations. This is shocking to me as those rules are supposedly for the welfare of the dog. If their main priority is truly the animals, why would she ever suggest that? I also have been waiting days for anyone to contact me about refunding my application fee. I would never recommend this rescue to anyone, and the whole ordeal has turned me off adoption entirely.

We had to surrender our first dog after it savagely bit our kids faces and hands. It was very sad, though we were happy to find a new puppy through Wags. All was fine until the puppy finally wasn’t a fit for the family. We work full time and do need to crate the dog until we can trust her. We have a walker come in the mid morning and she’s out walking several times a day from lunch on. She’s still quite young and attempts to trust her out of the crate have gone poorly. She has anxiety and poops and pees in the crate even after frequent walks, etc. After working with a behaviorist and the Vet, they both agreed her anxiety may improve after being medicated and with additional intensive therapy. At 10 months old, I find it unethical to medicate a dog so she can have less anxiety in a crate. She should be in a home where she can be with someone and doesn’t need to be crated. Shes young enough to find her forever home where she can be the dog she is, not a dog that can kind of work in our home while surpressed under medication - the dog isn’t happy, we’re not happy, but wags is happy that they have a placed dog. we’ve asked to surrender her back - after making a very tough choice to do so. She will be better suited in a home that doesn’t need her crated for a few hours at a stretch.

I went to the Wags event to show her for adoption. It’s not well organized - I stood there without a sign or a crate holding a leash, hoping someone would figure out My dog is available for adoption. When a family was interested but expected something different than advertised, I could tell it wasn’t a fit. I tried to find common ground for what they wanted, but It wouldn’t be right to not tell the whole truth about the dogs behavior.

When I asked about finding a foster after the family wasn’t a match, the coordinator became combative with me, making statements like “well, you’re surrendering the dog” and “we don’t like people who surrender dogs”. I was confused by her tone - I was only looking for information - so asked her to stop treating me so poorly. she threw her hands up and said “I’m done with you”, walking away. I asked her to talk with me, I still had questions. It only devolved from there with the way she was treating me - so disrespectfully. It made me upset and i left the event early. It’s obvious that she feels I’ve given up on the dog and I can see why she’d feel that way without considering the bigger picture. But she’s not getting that surrendering a dog in our case is the right thing to do. If I had decided to give up on the dog, I’d medicate her and she’d live a whole life not as the dog she’s here to be and we’d also be miserable dealing with crate cleanups daily.

I can’t recommend Wags to anyone. They treat people disrespectfully and very transactionally and I can’t say that they really care about placing my dog in the best place. I can’t speak for others’ experiences, only mine. I do hope the coordinator can see that she didn’t do a good thing today for the dog, for Wags or for herself.

Stay away from this rescue! I went into this process so excited to adopt a new family member. I talked with a volunteer beforehand because I was hesitant about the 25 dollar application fee. The fee was to go towards the adoption of your new pet. No other rescue I looked at had such a fee! I mentioned that I lived quite far away and was interested in one particular dog. Was reassured that I’d get my money back if I was deemed too far away or if the dog I was interested in was adopted out. I then decided to apply! My interactions with the rescue on the phone were very brief. My references said that the call with the volunteers was super quick and consisted of one question, if they thought I was fit to own a dog. Should have been a warning sign. I was accepted and given the dog I was interested in foster’s number. I couldn’t meet until the next week. Less than 3 days pass and I texted back the foster to set something up only to find out that they had already adopted her out. Wags did not contact me about this. There is no organization. This place will adopt to the first person who writes out a check. Doesn’t matter who it is. By the time you try and do a meet and greet, they’ve given the dog you want away. I was so upset and turned off by this. At other rescues you apply to adopt a specific dog. Turns out that they just approve you to adopt ANY of their dogs. When I found this out I asked for the refund that I was promised by emailing WAGS. I was told to pick out a new dog and to come to their events ( was never told about them in the first place). At this point I no longer wanted to work with them. Why would I drive hours to go meet a dog that was possibly adopted! Just to get my hopes up again. They basically told me too bad pick another one. That’s problematic! I then called up Susan who responsed to my emails on her personal iCloud account to ask about the refund I was promised. Telling her that I was misled and she refused. Raised her voice at me, condescended me, and was the most unpleasant woman that I’ve ever spoken to. I left it alone and did not contact her after that. Instead I took it up with PayPal in a claim. Got my money back within a day because this whole situation was a scam. I thought that the dispute was resolved. Susan then proceeded to continue to use her own personal email account to harass me two days later (huge breach in confidentiality as my personal information should have been used for application purposes only, and answered by the organizations email only!)She called me entitled and even made fun of my financial status because I asked for my money back. That’s none of her business. She does not know anyone’s personal life and what they’re going through nor should she make those assumptions. I would rather donate to an honest non-profit rescue or use the money for the dog I am going to adopt! Why would I pay 25 dollars for an adoption fee when I didn’t end up adopting. That is crazy! It’s a bait and switch. They claim it goes towards the adoption fee when you apply, then when you say you can’t adopt for whatever reason they claim it’s a charitable donation to swindle you out of your money and time. The most unprofessional experience with the nastiest volunteer that I have ever encountered. All of the reviews I read online for WAGS include similar horror stories. They’re creating a bad name for themselves. Sad that it’s all about the money with Wags.

I am writing this because my fiancé and i decided we wanted a puppy. When discussing the idea with a co-worker he suggested adopting over “buying.” He himself has volunteered for Wags Rescue and made many valid points. That same day two weeks ago, i decided to apply for apply for a puppy, grayson, jaxson and then duke. I received a phone call the same night i applied advising grayson was adopted, but jaxson and duke were not, they were still available, but sick at the vet so we couldn't see them until they came home. Literally the next day my application was approved and i was informed Jaxson was adopted by then. Again THE NEXT DAY, after having been told he was available and there was nothing we could do until they came home from the vet. So from that point we decided on meeting Duke. When arriving to meet Duke the foster Tarah informed us someone else was interested and because their application was approved 45 minutes before mine that they had first dibs. We had already scheduled to meet Duke and the “first dibs” person scheduled after us. We FELL IN LOVE with Duke. But because the other persons application was approved first they got him. We were CRUSHED. but let it go. Fast forward to this week Wednesday, i scheduled for a meet and greet with Piraeus today, Saturday. Upon arriving to the fosters home we were told all of the puppies were available besides specifically Piraeus. The one puppy we were interested and were told we cant take him home until 3/8. So again, showed up to see a dog that we didn't have a chance with. I inquired and set everything up Wednesday, yet someone bought him online Thursday and some how no one knew anything about it. How is it in the case of Duke it was okay to hold him for the family that was approved before us(according to the foster) even though we inquired first and with Piraeus was again inquired first, but someone jumped right over us by paying for him and no one knew anything about it?! What was one dog allowed to be held and not the other? How is someone allowed to adopt a dog sight unseen? Isn't is all about the right fit for the dog? How can that be decided of there is no meet and greet done?! How is it known that dog is right for that family and vice versa?! None of this is fair to us. To get our hopes up and keep stringing us along saying “there are always more puppies.” I get that, but having us meet different puppies over and over for NOTHING is not right. At this point it makes no sense in adopting. Might as well go and shop for one instead of rescuing one. This whole ordeal is not good for your reputation. From my co-worker who had great things to say about this organization to now me and my situation opening up his eyes. Word of mouth spreads and i can guarantee anyone in my passings looking for a dog hears our story so they don't make the same mistake and have to go through the same crap we had to emotionally and mentally with your organization. I hope this email makes it to someone that really matters and cares. I will be sure to post it everywhere i can and again will spread the word on this phony organization who “puta the dogs first.” The money is whats important, nothing else, clearly.

Amy S.

My sister adopted a dog through WAGS who turned out to be aggressive, snarling and snapping at her young grandchildren. She did everything humanly possible to resolve the situation, including investing a lot of time and money in a dog trainer, but the dog continued to be unpredictably scary. She regretfully made the heartbreaking decision to surrender the dog back to WAGS about a month ago. An ethical shelter should take the dog back immediately, but they have been giving her the run-around ever since - asking her to fill out a 7 page questionnaire - asking her to drive an hour with the dog early in the morning, etc. They have sent her nasty emails implying that the situation is her fault. Now they have cut off contact with her altogether and she still has the dog and doesn't know what to do.

Horrible experience - they take your "application fee" and even after positive responses from references still do not trust you are a good adoption family - there are other rescues who care about truly finding homes for their animals

They do not follow their policies. It is first come first serve no matter what they say, so act fast if you see an animal you like.