It's a very unprofessional outfit. Filling out their paperwork is a waste of time. I think the woman who runs it is possibly a borderline dog hoarder. I filled out the paperwork, I was told I qualify. I was told the dog I was interested in WASN'T a high-energy dog who needed constant exercise, but she was a special dog that the woman who ran the place had a particular love for, that she really wanted to keep if she had room in her own household for the dog. Then the next day I was told the dog isn't a fit for me, and oh, no, the dog suddenly IS high-energy and needs to be exercised daily by a person. Oh, no the dog guards her food and your current dog might consider that a problem. Did she ask me if my dog resource guarded? No. Does he? No, actually if the old Chihuahua is eating in his dish he'll leave him alone and let him. We had to put his dish on stilts so the Chihuahua couldn't get into it, he was getting fat. And yet suddenly this somehow became an issue or an excuse for rejecting me.
Then I had referred to the dog situation at my home that the Rottie is the alpha and she felt it necessary to tell me that the human must always be the alpha. You think? (sarc) Not when you are referring to the canine structure in your household. I don't know about you but I don't consider myself a dog. Humans are always the top alpha, but the dogs have their own pecking structure. Sometimes it's loose when you have dogs that are easygoing, sometimes it's obvious and rigid when one dog feels he or she must tell the other ones what to do, but after owning dogs for over 40 years, most of them headstrong Rotties I think I know a little about dog interaction dynamics and the importance of not being intimidated by your own dogs. I have not only had many dogs, but also horses I've trained for years. I'm not just some wet behind the ears animal owner. I'm as qualified as they get. (Besides which I've never given a dog up no matter if they have behavioral issues or not, none of my animals ever had a litter, I feed them healthy good food, keep them by me nearly 24/7 and have cherished every one of them I've ever owned. I probably have thousands of photos of them. I've replaced hips, financed surgeries galore through the years and gone the extra mile when they have cancer and stand a chance of recovery. I'm a very conscientious owner. They are my kids.)
I was looking for an easy going female dog who could be kind to my Chihuahuas and be able to deal with an overbearing at times Rottie/Mastiff cross who considers himself the family guardian and alpha dog. (And if the Rottie/Mastiff is fine with the Chihuahuas why couldn't he learn to be fine with this Australian herding dog?) I'm self employed. I wanted a dog to take to work with me who could be smart enough to be kind to our employees and smart enough to protect me in my office (where homeless come and try to get into the office after hours as I work a lot of hours there alone in the evenings. The last Rottie girl I owned who died was a hellraiser who was not nice to the employees or her big brother the Rottie/Mastiff. She never bit people, but she scared the heck out of them when they came into my office and she would herd them out with growls. She got into fights with the Rottie/Mastiff often, she hated when he was too close to her. She was great protection for me in the office, I never worried about anyone getting into the office after hours if the last employee to leave accidentally left the front door unlocked. She died (of cancer) and this time I wanted to adopt a more easygoing smart dog to protect me if necessary. I've seen a lot of this breed at the ranch I board at and they seem really smart and versatile. -- The Rottie/Mastiff is more of my husband's dog and he keeps him upstairs with him.
Being told I don't qualify for inane reasons that her assistant had originally told me were nonissues the day before was a slap in the face and a heavy disappointment for me. Perhaps I'm more emotionally attached to my animals, but I was so excited about getting this dog, I was looking at her picture constantly and very happy, looking forward to picking her up. My last girl died about 8-9 months ago and I've been wanting another girl since, I really miss Fiona. So this rejection hit pretty hard.
I do not recommend this rescue facility at all. If Wendy wants to keep this dog, she should and not put it up for adoption. If you want to adopt, I suggest another facility. read more