My Nonprofit Reviews

I’m a former employee who has just now looked at our reviews, and I’m horrified but the negative reviews are true… I noticed all the good reviews are from 2015 when they first opened… maybe things were different then, but the owner has let this get away from her and become out of hand. There are around 100 dogs in this “kennel” at any given time, and it’s no insulated thing for one “handler” to have 12+ dogs they are responsible for cleaning up after, taking out, and feeding in one shift. That means the dogs only really get to walk out, potty, and then come right back inside to their kennel. The handlers are entirely too busy cleaning poop and pee to play and socialize dogs. I noticed most of the staff really busting ass to take care of these dogs and doing back breaking work for $10/ hr, but it’s just too much for the amount of staff they have.

Almost Every dog in the facility has parasites because the floors do not drain and there is no pressure washer or cleaning tools for staff to use other than sanitizer, old sponges, and rags. I’ve never seen a kennel run like this in my life, and I have volunteered for years.

Not to mention, I think you could get hired on at the pentagon easier than you could adopt a dog from here. Beyond the standard application and home checks, the adoption coordinators are incredibly difficult to communicate with and get responses from. My cousin had wanted to rescue a dog a few months after his longtime companion, Millie, had to be put down at 14. He loved that dog so much, and was a wonderful pet parent. Any dog would have hit the jackpot to have a home with him. We worked together to find a dog he was a match for, and he found one at BFDR. I gave him all the info to submit an application, and he did. After filling out tons forms, submitting vet references, and photos of his home, he was denied to even meet the dog. All of this because the coordinator said there was no proof he had his last dog on heart worm prevention per the vet. The vet did submit where he prescribed the heart worm, but my cousin explained he had been ordering it from Chewy where it was cheaper. He explained that he could not find the specific receipts the coordinator requested because it had been several months since he’d had Millie and could not locate them. He said he would continue to look but would be happy to provide proof of heart worm meds for the new dog prior to adopting her and would submit them to BDFR as needed after adoption. The coordinator said this wasn’t good enough, and he was declined an adoption opportunity.

I also tried to adopt a particularly difficult dog while I worked there and was denied that opportunity as well. He had several behavior issues, but I would work extra hours so that I would have time to help him in his training and socializing. In a few weeks, I had him with a solid sit, stay, lay down, leave it, go to your mat, and sit, stay, recall from a distance. Literally nobody in the entire kennel liked or wanted to be around this dog, but I built a great rapport with him and was already looking for another dog after my senior dog passed. I said that I would go through the adoption process like anyone else, I just wanted a chance to give this dog a good life. I had a good home and good references I could have provided, but they never even considered me. This has been months ago now, and for all I know that dog is still sitting in a kennel full of pee at BFDR. Probably for the best I didn’t go through with the process anyway, because I couldn’t have afforded the $500 adoption fee they usually charge anyway.

I think that this is particularly sad because the founder/owner acts and probably really thinks she’s doing these a favor by being so EXTREMELY picky about who can adopt from BDFR and charging these ridiculously high fees. I worked there 5 months and never saw a single dog get adopted. A few went to foster, but no adoptions. I think the founder is low key a dog hoarder, but with more money and this “rescue” gives her a way to “own” 90 dogs at a time without having to actually have them in her home. I did see two dogs go to a rich friend of hers, and the only other dogs I heard about being adopted in the past went to people she personally knew, also wealthy. If I could say one thing to her it would be this: you’re not doing these dogs any favors by keeping them locked up in your kennel under your watchful, judgemental eye for quite literally years at a time for some of them. There is no reason a reasonably healthy dog with low to no behavior issues should be in a kennel like this for 2 years like some of them have. They never get to go out and play, lay on a couch, have toys of their own, go for walks and adventures, meet new people or other dogs, or know what it’s like to be in family setting and YOU ARE AT FAULT FOR THAT. it doesn’t take a 6,000 square foot home with a rich person to keep a dog healthy and happy. I live in a modest home with a large backyard and have a lot of love to give. I have a business degree and a good job with normal hours, part of which I could work from home , and not even I made the cut… I was told I was “in the running” to adopt a dog from the shelter that nobody else even slightly wanted… in the running with who exactly…?

The adoption process you have is elitist and it’s hurting the dogs. They’d be better off in small house or apartment hanging on the couch with someone just living a normal life. At least that apartment would probably be clean… admit that you have attachment and control issues with these animals and let them go. Also maybe don’t charge $600 for a shelter dog with issues both health and behavioral. I know how this sounds, but I could have an AKC puppy for $600… just because someone (especially during the pandemic we just had) doesn’t have $500-600 to spend on an adoption fee all at once doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t afford to care for the dog.

This rescue is a mess, and it’s sad to watch the founder/ owner believe she is “helping” dogs like this. Those dogs in there are sick, sad, and bored. And a lot of them have spent years in there. To a dog who may only have 8-10 years to live, it’s sad to spend 2 of those in a kennel on top of the abuse they may have faced before intake. It’s like a prison in there, and a lot of the dogs behave like prisoners. Get off your high horse and let normal, working class people have a shot at offering these dogs happiness. You’re not doing them all the favors you think you are.