Thanks to Broken Tail Rescue, I have a wonderful new cat! Last Saturday night, I applied online to adopt a cat, and I got an email from Brooke, a BTR volunteer, within 12 hours. She suggested a particular cat named Evie whose person had died. Evie, age 8, then got moved around a couple of times before ending up back at BTR's tiny but well-kept shelter located inside PetSmart in Cambridge. I went to PetSmart to meet Brooke and Evie. I decided to adopt Evie, and Brooke kindly waited while I gathered the supplies I needed. She gave me a lot of information and answered all of my questions. Another volunteer, Jana (?), was also helpful with information. Brooke and Jana were familiar with Evie and her background and really seemed to care about her and the other cats. I got an email from Brooke today (five days after the adoption) asking how Evie was, and I was happy to tell her that Evie has settled in extremely well and is getting and giving lots of love. The shelter space BTR has in PetSmart is a miniature shelter, which they utitize extremely well, and they have more cats in foster homes. They matched Evie and me up perfectly. Based on seeing how well the mini shelter was run and communicating with Brooke and Jana, I felt comfortable adopting from BTR. I'm very glad I did and would definitely recommend Broken Tail Rescue. read more

I adopted a beautiful Chihuahua that had quite a history of biting etc...Well , It was a great experience.I traveled to Dorchester with an open mind and heart and it was a great success....I was greatly concerned about the dogs liver enzymes......they were elevated to with the last owner.But this doggie was just perfect .I didn't believe he was sick.Sure enough all was normal .We are a match made in heaven...Decreased anxiety with an experienced Chihuahua owner and trust of forever helps. Thank you Broken tail..... read more

Broken Tail Rescue - Teddy XX OO - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me

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They do not respond to customers who have a need for services. Especially when service is emergency. I wouldn't recommend these people for anything. read more

Starting with Joy the Director, Lisa a volunteer who gathers reference information from application and checks it out entirely and Michele a dog foster volunteer I give FIVE stars . I rescued and adopted a beautiful dog recently and each of these caring reps and volunteers of Broken Tail Rescue out of Millbury, MA have the animals best interest at heart. I am very impressed by their professionalism and loving hearts for the animals read more

This is a really delayed review, as I had trouble making sure this was the right rescue. We reached out to Joy twice in hopes of finding a new home for our dog, as we could no longer care for him after my grandma became ill. The first time was in September 2023. I messaged at least three times during this time to see if there was any update for my dog but since we got no reply, and we were worried my dog would grow sicker with no response (if the rescue accepted him he would get medical care through them), we decided to keep him and seek medical attention ourselves despite financial strain at the time. This was super frustrating because the rescue ended up finding a home for him, but did not update us along the way. Therefore, we thought they either forgot about us or were too busy to get back to us. We decided to keep him, but in December of 2023, my grandma's illness worsened. After reevaluating our situation, I reached back out to Joy. I wish I could show you the trail of phone calls and text messages I sent to try to reach her. She picked up initially with hopes of helping us, then never responded again. I even tried to reach out to the vet to reach out to her. In the end, I never received a single response. We ended up finding a different rescue that was the perfect fit for my dog. It worked out for the better, but I cannot help but have a bad taste in my mouth for this rescue. I understand rescues are over capacity, have their own stressors, and are stretched pretty thin. But even if one person had responded to us to tell us they couldn't help, that alone would have been enough. I hope this organization does not continue to offer hope to those families that truly need it without delivering. It delayed the process in helping my dog receive the care and attention he really needed and overall was just a terrible experience. read more

No issues with dealing with this rescue. They are great people to work with. Foster of the Kitten was amazing, as were the others I dealt with. Highly recommend read more

Horrible organization. They are deceptive and sketchy. They say one thing and do another. They play God with your heartstrings for an animal. 5 days of stringing along, no one knowing what the other doing, I get a phone call from the foster parent. 25-minute call (one was 14 minutes, she took another call, called me back for 11 minutes) and we talked. She gave me her email (I think it was legit) asking for my address. She gave me a HUGE window of 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. to come do a home inspection. No call. No show. No response to emails asking for updates. I email at 4:50 saying it's almost 5:00 and crickets. I get the most disingenuous email from Tamara, copying Joy on it, stating we are not capable of adopting a blind and deaf dog because we are moving. Really? They never came here. They never looked at the new home we were moving to. They never did anything. My heart is broken. I fell in love with that dog on sight of her pic. She was the same breed as my four-year old female so they would have been a great match. Broken Tail is terrible, disingenuous. And really, she's been fostered for three months, and she's not been homed yet, and the Tamara tells me tonight that they have other approved applicants (just like me) that might be better. How do they know? They never came here! I'm a business owner and I own my own home. I have other rescues here. We were hoping to find a highly-active dog for my four-year-old as well, because she's going to lose her friend from upstairs when we sell. I love broken animals; they always turn out to be the best rescues. BTR plays God and makes uninformed decisions. They don't care because if they did, Mandy would have been mine. And I can attest that the other posts about non-answering emails and calls is true! So true! And whereas Sterling Shelter did them a favor by courtesy posting and that's where I was going to adopt from, I will be telling them what a crappy place BTR Worcester is. The foster mom couldn't even tell me if Mandy lost her right eye due to neglect or born without it because BTR didn't tell her anything; so foster parents, who make the decision, don't know much, either it seems. I'm so sad. I hope St. Francis works his magic and gets her and all other fosters out of the BTR Worcester "organization." That's awful! And Joy, whom I'm assuming is a higher up was copied on the email tonight and one would have thought she at least would reach out and discuss like an adult what and/or why they decided the way they did without due diligence. I suggest going to Angell Memorial in Methuen, or Sterling Shelter. BTR is terrible and you will have your heart broken. Unless you want a cat. People seem to post nice about cats they have. Dogs not so much! read more

Trying to adopt a dog. Broken Tails has not returned any emails. Unfortunately in the era of Covid you can't just walk in to shelters so I'm trying to rely on web sites and emails. read more

I adopted a dog from Broken Tail Rescue. I was told I was the 6th person to see him and he was previously adopted out for about 2 weeks and returned. When I met Henry he bit me and drew blood but I foolishly took him home. My plan was to bring him to work but he tried attacking my business partner so that was out. My sister was with me when I picked up Henry and he was okay with her but we had to work on her husband. Henry did try biting him but got his pant leg. I exposed Bill to Henry over the weekend and with lots of treats Henry was okay with him. So my sister and brother-in-law watch Henry during the day for me. But when family comes over my house and my sister's house Henry will attack and try biting them. He has bitten 3 family members. I am trying to return him but like everyone else I got one message if I could keep him 1 week so they could move some dogs around to get him back to the same foster mom. Well it has been 3 weeks and nothing. I emailed the foster mom and she made me feel guilty about returning Henry. She said we sounded like a perfect match. She also said that he never bit her or her boyfriend but when I picked up Henry she mentioned that he nipped her mother. How can we be such a good match if supposable Henry only started biting with me. There is no way you can convince me that this dog didn't already bite someone. He was found on the streets. Henry has PTSD I have witnessed him having nightmares where he is hyperventilating and growling and barking in his sleep. Henry is a lovable dog with us but I am not taking the chance that he bites a stranger and I get sued. I wish I had seen these reviews before I adopted from Broken Tail. read more

My husband and I considered adopting a dog through this rescue a few years ago. The foster family was nuts and wanted us to adopt the dog they were fostering (Tully) as we lived close to them and they figured they could visit the dog after we adopted him. They added that they already had five dogs and wanted to keep Tully, but legally couldn't. The foster family purposely sabotaged a potential adopter's meeting with Tully to further ensure that we would adopt Tully. This crazy woman let Tully and her other dogs jump all over a small child to deter the family from adopting him. After deciding that Tully was not the dog for us given the bull shit we were getting from the foster family, the foster mother posted about us on Facebook saying that we were just looking for "The perfect dog" and added a photo of a stuffed dog from FAO Schwartz. Not true. We were looking to adopt a dog, not a dog AND two nut jobs who lacked boundaries and sanity. We contact Broken Tail several times about the foster family's insanity, but never got a response from the leadership team until 18 MONTHS LATER. It is my recommendation to NEVER adopt from Broken Tail Rescue as the program clearly does not run any background checks on foster families nor does the organization care about the animals in the program. Baypath Humane in Hopkinton is a great place to adopt from. Staff, fosters, and volunteers are sane and want what is best for the cats and dogs...not themselves. read more

I adopted 2 kittens in June 2012 from Broken Tail Rescue and two years later my cats are awesome and my best friends! I thought that Broken Tail was an easy-going rescue group and I really had no issues with the adoption process. I appreciated the fact that rather than being in a dirty shelter, these kittens were placed in foster homes. The women at the foster home were SO nice and loving and let us take our time picking from all the kittens, so it was worth the hike out to Worcester. The cats are spayed and neutered when they are adopted out which seems great, except that these surgeries can really hurt the kittens when done too early. We adopted our kittens at "8 weeks," however in the following days, at their first vet appointment the vet pointed out that they were certainly not 8 weeks, likely 7 weeks, and we had already had them a few days. A few days after the initial appointment, our kittens became very sick. The vet believes that the kittens had feline distemper, which can be fatal and is very contagious among kittens. We were at the animal hospital every night for almost 2 weeks pumping them with fluids and antibiotics in hopes that they would make it. They did, but we racked up quite the bill. I informed the foster home that my kittens got sick and they should be aware of other kittens getting sick, but I was never told if that was the case or not. read more

The only organization worse than Broken Tail is the Vet they use Hillside Veterinary Clinic in Auburn. The vaccine record was unintelligible data and of course the snotty receptionist wouldn't talk to me because I wasn't the client, and after multiple phone calls I was told my dog wasn't vaccinated by the vet, and after more phone calls I was told she had temporary shots, But Broken Tail never brought her back for the booster so she had to get all new shots. God only knows how many shots she has now had. Also we never received a rabies tag or chip info. I had to have my vet read the chip number then I had to contact different organizations, I found it at Fetchit and instead of paying a one time fee I am forced to pay $20 a year, I'm sure they let Broken tail get chipped for free what a scam. read more

Very disappointing experience. No responses to emails. No return calls. Suggest you go to Angel Memorial for adoptions. Walk in walk out. read more

This organization does no follow up and does not return messages once the deal is done. I had an appointment for the foster family to interview me and size up my living situation. They came with the dog, a collar and a leash. They had no intention of just making it an interview to see if we matched, but rather just to deliver this dog. The dog bit me on the first day, drawing blood. I chalked it up to unfamiliarity to the setting. But this dog has remained aggressive with a few episodes of biting. I have tried reaching out to Broken Tail to discuss re-homing and get no response. Bad lesson learned. read more

One afternoon a few months ago, a friend showed up at my door with a very pregnant cat, named Holly, and told me he wasn't prepared to deal with kittens. I live in a tiny apartment with MY cat, a male named Ruckus, and Holly was not happy about that at all! I took her and made a little place for her in my closet and in the middle of the night I heard the delightful mewing sounds of new kittens! I frantically started searching for help. I called Animal Rescue League, but they didn't call back for three days. I also sent Broken Tail Rescue a Facebook message and they got back to me right away. They immediately started looking for a foster family for her and eventually found a woman from Boston who agreed to drive all the way to Worcester to take Holly. The Broken Tail Rescue I know is staffed with wonderful, caring and dedicated people and I can't thank them enough! read more

I am so incredibly blessed to have found Broken Tail Rescue and moreover that they chose me to be Houston's mom. I adopted my ridiculously awesome yellow lab in December of 2010, it has been the best years of my life. Meghann from BTR was exceptional. She emailed me several times with updates and answered a million questions for me. They also had the nicest woman visit my home for an inspection, to make sure everything was a perfect fit for my big guy. Meghann even gave me treats to wrap Houston's post neuter medication in and additional food. He's been a super healthy dog with an unforgettable personality. He's a legend around Cape Cod and Maine. BTR, thank you for the greatest dog ever. We love our rescue, he's the best part of our family. read more

I adopted a dog from here who I was told "loves other dogs." During the first week I had her, she attacked my daughter's dog twice, the second time causing major damage. I returned the dog to them, and since then have been trying to contact them about the vet bills I had to pay. They will not return my calls, so that leads me to believe they aren't going to be responsible for their dog that turned out to be other than advertised. And, they don't list an address, so I can't go there. I'm screwed for the money, my relationship with my daughter is strained, and they just go on their merry way. If you are going to adopt a pet, go to someplace that has an actual address, so you will have some recourse if something goes wrong. read more

One of the disadvantages of volunteer-run foster organizations is that the individuals that prospective adopters may happen upon can be less well informed and less "people-friendly" (for lack of a better word) than at traditional shelters with professional staff. We went to the Cambridge Petsmart to interact with a specific bonded pair of cats currently housed there, and had an unfortunate interaction with the volunteer on shift that prompted us to pursue adoption elsewhere. The volunteer had no information on the cats beyond what was written online -- not a deal-breaker, but disappointing since the staff at the Boston SPCA and the volunteers at the Melrose Humane Society and at PAWS had all cats' behavioral preferences and medical history readily available. Nor did the Broken Tail volunteer have any insight into the organization's process, such as how they move forward when several adoption applications are submitted for the same animals. No biggie, but still. What actually turned us off was that the volunteer felt her role was to grill us in an aggressive and unpleasant way before we'd even decided that we were interested in pursuing adoption with them. It was like we skipped the first date and jumped straight into the pre-nup negotiations. Instead of working with us to identify whether we would be a good match for the cats we were looking at, the volunteer seemed to be trying to catch us out in a "gotcha" moment. For example: we explained that we were not looking at any cats with chronic medical issues at this time, because we recently lost a beloved cat after a painful, intensive (and costly) battle with cancer. The volunteer's response was that that sort of caveat would weaken our adoption application, since it could indicate that we're not committed enough. Even she realized how offensive that statement was as she was saying it. Even if that was a misrepresentation of Broken Tail's thinking and approach, we were made to feel defensive and unworthy, and really had no desire to have any further interaction with the organization after that. Volunteer organizations. I'm sure their volunteers are great with cats, but maybe a little more training on how to interact with humans wouldn't go amiss. read more

When we started the process of looking for a new pet, it was an intimidating task. With so many new ways to search for animals in need with the internet and applications, we felt a little out of our league. We hadn't had a dog since 2001 and my family was finally ready to welcome in a new addition. My mom and I found an adorable terrier mix that we fell in love with. I filled out the application and was contacted the next day. Our dog's foster mom was so informative and helpful. We could tell she truly cared about our little girl and wanted her to find a new loving home. I can't say enough good things about our experience with Broken Tail and its fosters. I would highly recommend going this route to find a new family member. read more

I hesitated in posting this lengthy review for many months in hopes that I would hear back from someone at Broken Tail, however after trying one last time to contact them and not getting the courtesy of a response I felt I had to. In April after a long and difficult process, we determined that we needed to find a new home for one of our dogs for the safety of our toddler and baby on the way. As far as we know, through Broken Tail Rescue our pup ended up in an appropriate home after only a week in foster care, which is great news and what we really hoped for for her. However, an already agonizing process was made much more challenging than it needed to be, and we would not recommend anyone in a similar situation use Broken Tail to re-home a beloved pet. From beginning to end of the process we dealt with Joy. The number provided on the Broken Tail website did/does not work, and we were provided with Joy's cell phone number by our vet (in fact it was the only number they had for the organization). It took several calls and messages before hearing back. After having a conversation Joy did agree that they could help us, and said it would be a quick process. I emailed Joy the requested information and also asked several follow up questions, which went ignored. Within a week we got an email from Joy requesting we show up to their vet to surrender our dog in less than two hours from the time she sent the email. We were not able to make that appointment as we already had another appointment out of state, so we emailed, called, and texted back to let her know and ask if there were alternatives without a single response. Both myself and my husband tried to contact her that weekend without reply. Many days, two more phone calls and an email later, we still had no response and resorted to Facebook message, which to our surprise was answered promptly by Joy, who said we could call her then. At that point she answered our previous questions and reported our dog's potential foster home was still available; again when later following up we were given little time/warning to get our dog to their vet to surrender her, but we made it work as to not lose the opportunity. Joy assured us before we agreed to bring her our dog and again at the vet that we could contact her via text (now she had our numbers saved and therefore would answer) or Facebook to get updates on how our dog was doing while in foster care, however once again it took several attempts to get an answer. A single Facebook message was eventually answered noting that our dog had already been adopted and was reportedly doing well after a day in her new home. Since then, it has been about 9 months, and we have checked in a few times to see if they have received any updates from the adoptive family. Not a single message has been returned, not even just to say that they haven't heard anything. The long and the short of it is, if you don't mind poor and last minute communication, I'm sure working with this rescue wont be a problem for you. I understand that this organization is based on volunteer work and that they were doing us a great service by helping in a time of need, but that doesn't excuse how they deal with clients/consumers. Again, it sounds as if our dog was quickly adopted into a home that is likely appropriate for her, but a painfully difficult situation was made nearly impossible by an organization that is not functioning as it should. We cannot, therefore, recommend Broken Tail Rescue. read more

I worked with the volunteers through the Everett PetSmart. I filled out my application and got a call within a half hour! The volunteer (Joyti) described two cats that could be a good fit and we set up a time to visit them in the Everett PetSmart. We met the cats and came back the next day for the adoption. We had a change of heart about the cat we were interested in and the volunteers let us sit in the room with the cats for over an hour while we tried to make a decision. They were all very very kind and helpful and weren't bothered at all by the fact that we were sitting in there deliberating. We finally decided on a cat and went through the paper work in less than 20 mins. They gave us tips on food, litter, etc. and we even available by email when we had questions after taking her home. It is clear that they care very much about the animals and know their personalities and histories and want to get them into loving homes as soon as possible. We had a wonderful experience with BTR and would absolutely adopt from them again. read more