My Nonprofit Reviews
trainer4love
Review for North Star Foundation, Storrs, CT, USA
I was curious how this organization was doing and now I see that the truth is finally coming out. I’m a professional trainer that was contracted to work with a family that received a dog from this organization. To start with this dog was not of the caliber of”service animal” which is what the family was expecting. I voiced concerns several times, but it all fell on deaf ears. Communication over this year period was horrible for all parties involved, the family and myself. Patty is over defensive and looks to blame instead of looking for solutions. It was truly a heart breaking situation to see the thousands of dollars the family had invested into a subpar dog. We even had an external second opinion and that trainer too felt this dog was not right for service or even therapy dog work. Most of the training I did was correcting behavior issues instead of focusing on tasks to help the child. In the end I was owed over $1000 for training services and still have not received any compensation. I felt so bad for the family that I volunteered to train a different dog for them when the time is right. Oh and at the last APDT (dog training) conference by chance I overheard another trainer that was talking about how she was yet to be compensated for training a North Star Dog. Hmm there is a theme here… Maybe Patty’s heart is in the right place, but the organization itself is completely mismanaged and in the end the children are missing out and the families are broke.
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If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
They need a full time director of training that is qualified through college courses and certifications. They need proper screening of potential puppies and not to relay on the word of the breeders. Better communication with families and trainers. A better insurance policy for when things don’t work out. Complete restructuring of the organization.
How does this organization compare with others in the same sector?
Badly
How much of an impact do you think this organization has?
A little
Will you recommend this organization to others?
No
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
I don't owe any trainers so you'll have to identify yourself to me to see if I have overlooked you....I sure don't think so, but I'm not perfect, so if you want to contact me at pattydobbsgross@gmail.com and send me your outstanding invoice, I will absolutely stand by it if it is legitimate... otherwise this is just a trainer smear, which is an occupational hazard for our work as we do switch trainers around to find best fit, which does ruffle some feathers from time to time...
