I am a small dog rescue owner, having owned 3 rescues in the past. Having recently lost my lead dog, and with one senior dog remaining, I began researching adopting another rescue. Several other organizations did not have favorable reviews &consistently negative comments. AFH had generally high ratings. They had a small rescue pup of 7 months of age that I was interested in. I am an above average dog owner, I have been an assistant obedience instructor for over 6 yrs at a local Maryland training club so I have practical knowledge of dogs, their behavior, and certainly training. Since my retirement, I have become a part time pet sitter/walker as well. So my life very much revolves around interacting with dogs. I can say 100% that my interaction with AFH was top notch from start to finish. I emailed the foster first to meet the dog. I was able to bring my current dog to meet the puppy at the foster's residence and was able to observe their interaction and ask questions. I submitted my application online (scanned) and received a response in 6 hrs. I was contacted for a phone interview in a timely fashion. I then had a home inspection at a mutually agreeable time. At every step I was told clearly what/when to expect the next step to occur. Each meeting was on time and as promised. For such a complex application process, this moved along like a well organized unit. Everyone was helpful, courteous, and they all seemed to care about what they were doing...saving pets and making sure they went to good homes. When a rescue goes to such lengths to vet it's potential adopters, it means they care about who they are adopting out to, not just statistics and numbers to "impress" sponsors etc. They want to make sure it works out for the life of the dog. One unique quality of this rescue is they DO NOT spay/neuter a puppy at 3 months of age like some other rescues. I have done some research and I personally believe super early spay/neuters have potential health issues(urinary incontinence in females, possible joint issues). Ideal is 5-6 months to spay a female before her first heat, and around 6 months for a male is best. I completely understand the need to eliminate unwanted litters thus the need to insure sterility of dogs going to new homes, but AFH accomplishes this without compromising the health of the dog in later life. They make you sign a contract that your young puppy has to be spayed'neutered by 6 months of age and they have to have proof or else they come after you. If your dog is more than 6 months of age when adopted, they will be fixed prior to leaving AFH. This is a win win, the dog is not sterilize at too young an age, no unwanted pet litters, and the organization can make sure owners do what they are supposed to do. Super arrangement. Highly recommend this rescue organization.
As a long time foster for AFH, I am impressed with the devotion and dedication exhibited by all of the principals of this organization. They truly have the best interests of the animals they rescue. I am proud to be associated with A Forever Home.
Review from Guidestar
I am a professional lost pet tracker and as such I end up working with many rescues since the animals that they save are frightened and generally unsocialized. I am also a founding member of another rescue organization that I have been involved with for 30 years.
A Forever Home Rescue Foundation, Inc. is truly impressive in its dedication to the animals they rescue. They take in thousands of dogs and are committed to each and every one to make sure they get to the very best home possible. If one of their dogs escapes from its foster home they will do whatever is necessary for as long as it takes to find it and bring it back to safety. If any of them gets sick or injured they make sure they get first rate veterinary care to assure its full recovery. This is RARE it the rescue community where all too often they have either poor management or a weak donor/ volunteer pool and are unable to follow through for those who are not "ready to adopt" as soon as they come off of the transport.
A Forever Home Rescue Foundation has a strong and extremely organized/ capable management team and it is supported by a large, enthusiastic and dedicated group of rescue volunteers who take these frightened animals into their homes and their hearts so that they are ready to be loving housepets once they are adopted. They are by far the most impressive organization I have ever worked with.
Review from Guidestar
I am a foster volunteer for AFH and I love this organization! The people are committed, conscientious, and well-organized. Extreme care is the framework for helping the animals. The policies and procedures are well planned and easy to follow. I have never had any confusion or difficulty in any capacity. I have transported animals, fostered animals, and now just adopted one of my foster dogs. This is a great organization!
A Forever-Home is a wonderful non-profit organization. Everyone is a volunteer, no one makes a salary. They have no physical shelter and they use foster's to temporarily house the pets until they are able to place the pets in homes. There are wonderful women who run the organization and who sacrifice their time, weekends, etc. for a wonderful cause. When I make a donation to this organization I know that every dollar is going to a pet.
Review from Guidestar
I am currently a foster for A Forever Home but also an adopter. I would like to say that the people and volunteers at AFH are wonderful. They are hard working and even though no pay is received they take their jobs (saving dogs) more seriously than many people in paid positions.
AFH is willing to go the extra mile for these dogs which many organizations are not. I am currently fostering (and will be adopting) a puppy with a heart condition. AFH has stepped right up to the plate taking care of this baby even at considerable cost to them. AFH will follow this puppy until a resolution is reached even if that resolution is surgery.
I would highly recommend adopting or supporting this organization.
Review from Guidestar
A Forever Home is a wonderful organization and I highly recommend it to anyone who is searching for a companion. Our little Maltese, Emma, was rescued from horrific conditions as a breeder in a "Puppy Mill". Our neighbors, The Lucero's, are a Foster Family with AFH for dogs transitioning from their former life to their new life. My wife and I met Emma when the Lucero's took her out for walks. Emma was a physical and psychological wreck from her former existence. The Lucero's gave Emma a warm and loving environment in which to start her new life. We are fortunate enough to have been chosen to continue Emma's development and she has made remarkable progress in becoming a happy pup. Without the enormous support of the AFH Team, Emma would have ended her life shivering, terrified, sick and alone in a corner of some cage. Emma still goes "home" to the Lucero's to visit and to meet the new Foster Pups who are getting the love and attention they need and deserve while they wait for their own Forever Homes. A Forever Home is a wonderful organization and we will be Forever Grateful to them for their efforts in ameliorating the suffering of so many FurBabies.
A Forever-Home Rescue Foundation is an amazing organization that fulfills its objectives entirely through extremely hard-working volunteers. Those who manage the rescue's activities and coordinate other volunteers's efforts are efficient and communicate clearly. AFH is characterized by dedication, enthusiasm, kindness, and highly ethical practices. Most important, AFH has saved and improved the lives of thousands of homeless dogs. As an AFH volunteer, I have fostered dogs, participated in transports, and visited homes of prospective adopters; all my interactions with AFH have been positive.
I adopted my two older dogs from them and they are the best dogs. The process was simple and direct as well as thorough. You should expect to answer a lot of questions, this is for the protection of the dog. Most of these dogs have gone through hell and AFH goes to great lengths to prevent them from going back. Be honest and true and your new best friend will come home. Also I did not pick my dogs, they picked me if you remember this, the right dog will be yours to love selfishly.
Hello We are both adopters and Fosters. My family and I have fostered almost 11 dogs. We have two of our own, adopted from AFH. Reading the reviews, and especially the one stars, did not make me feel these people really know about fostering or adopting a Dog. Most likely the would rate ANY foster organization the same. We decided to foster from AFH because of how much they care about these Dogs. Become a FOSTER and you will see how great this Organization is. Let me ask you one question, if your Daughter or Son does not grow up the way you like OR if you have to move to a place where they don't allow Children OR your kids God forbids get really sick, Would you try to return them to the Hospital they were born from? Not a stupid question. AFH is trying to avoid people who would try to return adopted dogs because of life change. YOU should not ADOPT a dog for a temporary stay. Either ADOPT or NOT. They are strict for a reason. They also save dogs almost every week!!! Karen does such a great job and I am proud to volunteer for this organization. I and my son have gone to Long Island NY to help other shelters when Sandy came through and disrupted families and their pets. Before you criticize AFH or any other organization, and you can do better, WHY NOT VOLUNTEER YOURSELF! Otherwise, respect these guys because without them, many Animals would be killed more than saved. God bless AFH and their volunteers, to me they are all Heros!
A Forever Home is a wonderful rescue organization. I adopted my Great Dane, Phoebe, from them about 4 years ago. Since then, I have fostered 3 times (both adult dogs and puppies). They are so dedictaed to saving dogs from unimaginable conditions - staying in constant contact with their volunteer base so they are able to help rescue animals in a moments notice. Great organization!
Review from Guidestar
A Forever Home is a wonderful organization! They really care about their animals and vet the Forever Home carefully. The organization is well organized with a huge heart. I would and do recommend A Forever Home to all wanting to add a new member to their family.
Review from Guidestar
My daughter was looking to adopt a 1 year old bulldog she'd seen in petfinders through this organization and filled out all applications. She emailed them about this pup and spoke with them on the phone. They told her everything looked good on her application and told her to come in to meet the dog leading her on to believe she would get him, then after she spent time with him, they told her sorry, someone else JUST adopted him and treated her poorly afterwards. My daughter drove 2 hours to meet the dog and was in tears when they shunned her in such a way. I feel they are discriminating, rude and HEARTLESS!!!! Shame on you for putting good people through this kind of hurtful thing. This organization has NO COMPASSION and no remorse for their actions!
AForeverHome 06/11/2014
We're sorry to hear that you had an unpleasant experience with our organization. The situation you describe is unfortunate, and we truly regret if you feel you were mistreated. It is a reality that we get more than one application for a particular dog, especially a highly popular one like a Bulldog. Since we have no way of knowing with 100% certainty that someone who says they're coming to meet a dog will actually show up (it often happens that they don't), we don't "commit" to someone until they've actually met the dog -- and even then, there is no guarantee that they will be approved until we've completed our processes. Even with that, the fact that you feel so strongly that we mistreated your daughter says that we fell short of our goals. We extend our sincere apologies to you and your daughter.
This organization is horrible. We are a family of 5 looking to adopt our first dog for our kids, single family home, fenced in back yard, etc etc etc. We've been approved by 4 other adoption/rescue groups, yet a forever-home decided to deny our application. This is after meeting the puppy in the fosters home, taking the family to the adoption event where the foster told everyone we have an application on the dog, the kids were so excited, just waiting on the home visit... and it never happened. At the adoption event I got a funny feeling something was wrong. Two other fosters gave us the cold shoulder and watched us like a hawk. Funny, the puppy we were looking at is not available. Maybe it found a home that weekend, but not with us. We are a bi-racial family, wonder if this had anything to do with it? Nonetheless, we were VERY disappointed with the lack of professionalism. Within 2 days we welcomed out new puppy from a different rescue into our home. AVOID THESE GUYS!!!
AForeverHome 06/11/2014
Each organization has their own set of guidelines that they follow when making their adoption decisions. Without knowing your specific situation, I cannot comment on why your application was denied. The one thing I can tell you is that your family's bi-racial status did not play into our decision. AFH does not discriminate and routinely adopts to families of every creed, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, or just about any other category you can name. We are happy to hear that you found a puppy that fit into your family!
My husband and I tried to adopt a 9 yr old, toothless Maltese named Tristan from AFH in June '13. We filled out all the paper work, drove 2 hrs to meet him and his fosters. Fell in love at first sight. We had lost our Maltese 2 month earlier. The foster parents said we would be a great match with him and they would highly recommend us. We waited for our home visit/study to be scheduled. Instead we received a letter in the mail stating that we did not meet their adoption requirments. No explaination at all. I called and emailed Carmen Klein the owner, begging her to tell me why we were denied. She wouldn't give me any reason. I continued to push for an answer, I wanted to know why we couldn't adopt this poor old dog that had lived his whole life in a puppy mill crate, and she told me that "I have issues and need to move on". We were heart broken, and poor Tristan is still up for adoption, instead of being loved in his forever home. Not to many people are looking to adopt an old toothless dog. Such a sad, weird story. Why wouldn't she say what was wrong with us? Give us a chance to correct the issue?? Horrible organization that does not have the best interest of the dog in mind. And Tristan is the loser in the end:(
They are great in getting you to adopt but they are horrible in returning a dog to them. I have been writing to them since 29 Jul 2013 to return my dog and have provided them with all the forms and information required.
They are completely ignoring me and not responding to my emails which I send every day and have been for the past two weeks. They don't seem to want to take the dog back and I am forced now to take him to a shelter.
AForeverHome 06/11/2014
Unfortunately, we have to admit that this was the case. We had some issues with our volunteer who was handling animal returns. We have since made staffing changes and our return process runs much more smoothly now. We understand that there are circumstances that necessitate the return of an animal, and that having to make that choice can be extremely difficult. Hopefully, if you need to return your dog in the future, you'll find us much easier to deal with.
Review from Guidestar
Foreverhome is one of those pet rescue organizations that "get it". They understand that their mission is to find adequate homes for the dogs in their charge, not merely keep them from being euthanised. While they'd probably prefer "perfect" homes for the animals in their charge, they have a realistic understanding of what's going to be a good home. We've adopted two dogs from this group since 2003. Probably would have adopted a third, but they didn't have any pooches in their system that were both compatible with incumbent pets or had that "your my person" vibe. Even so, they reached out to other organizations to try to help us find a pup from one of them. This organization goes the extra mile both for the animals in their charge and the people that seek to adopt.
Review from Guidestar
A Forever-Home is a great place to adopt a dog. We adopted Augie 4 years ago and he has been the best dog I've ever had. Augie came to us crate trained, house broken, and leash trained at 4 months old. His foster did a wonderful job with him and it took a lot of the burden of getting a new puppy off of us! The adoption process was efficient and they even had a discounted rate for him to be neutered. 5 stars for sure!
Three years ago, I adopted my beloved Sophie from A Forever Home. I didn't know much about rescues then. Years later, as my practice moved towards animal law, I had the chance to work with A Forever Home as a client. I could not have been more proud to see that the rescue Sophie came from was so well put together and professional, and so dedicated to animal welfare. A Forever Home does not just focus on local welfare needs. They have been one of the few rescues called upon for aid in puppy mill busts and disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and have been right there to save the animals!
I adopted a dog from A Forever Home several years ago. This organization, run entirely by volunteers, is professional, organized, and responsive. The volunteers who conducted the home check were decent, reasonable people who had no agenda, were not judgmental, and were courteous and professional. The dog I adopted was well cared for and healthy - the rescue fully disclosed the dog's veterinary and life history. I recommend this nonprofit as one that is effective, professional and is carrying out its mission to assist and place homeless animals.
Comments ( 1 )
AForeverHome 11/21/2014 Oh, wow! What a wonderful review :) Thank you so much! Coming from someone with your background, it's really nice to hear such compliments. I don't think we could have said it better ourselves.