My husband & I got our first Havaton from Pride & Joy Pups 14 years ago. Lexie has been slowing…read moredown & we wanted to get another puppy to add to our little family. We're retired & love to shower Lexie with love. We knew we wanted another Havaton. Nine months ago we flew to Portland (we live in Anchorage, Alaska) & brought MacKenzie Bray home! (we call her Kenzie) She has been "accepted" by Lexie (it just took her a few days to get used to this high energy ball of fluff.) I appreciated that Bryan or Kirsten responded to my texts while we waited for Kenzie to be born. We delighted in receiving pictures of her! I'm comfortable in knowing Bryan & Kirsten are there whenever we have a concern for "our girls." I send a text or give one of them a call & receive a prompt response. I highly recommend them if you're looking for a puppy. Lexie & Kenzie are sure a "Joy" to us. Glennis & Jack

To anyone looking to buy a puppy or older dog from Pride & Joy Pups, please read about our…read moreexperience, so you know the kind of breeder you are dealing with and the potential problems you may experience with your new dog. We lost our cherished Havanese, Oscar, in December 2021 and weren't expecting the hole he would leave in our hearts and lives. In February 2022, we began putting out feelers about adopting a young dog (not a puppy) that would already be potty-trained and maybe have learned basic leash skills. We are both seniors and didn't want a puppy, as they require so much energy to train. When we contacted Bryan, he said he had two 1-year-old Havanese females that were too small for his breeding program that he needed to rehome. He said he wanted to place them together since they were very attached to one another. We were told they used a doggy door and potty pads inside the house, without issue. Bryan said that they were "timid." Bryan also said that the dogs were "free feeders," meaning that food was always available, and they helped themselves when they were hungry. When we visited the dogs, we quickly fell in love with them and decided to purchase them on the spot. After we got them home, we noticed that they were both so thin that their bones could easily be felt beneath their skin. Whenever we offered food, they ate it as quickly as possible. It quickly became apparent that neither dog was fully potty-trained in any way. We used potty pads inside the house (we don't have a doggy door), and although they would use the pads occasionally, there continued to be daily accidents on blankets, the tile floor, carpet, etc. For this reason, we have had to restrict them to our kitchen and dining room areas to avoid accidents on our carpet and furniture. Both dogs were extremely skittish with us for weeks and would cringe when we bent down to pick them up--as if they had been hit or were kept in a very isolated place at the breeder's home. It was apparent that they were not properly socialized. We could not get a straight answer from Bryan about whether the dogs were really a year old (they exhibited behavior more like those of puppies), and whether he had ever taken the dogs to be evaluated by a vet. Our vet saw both dogs two weeks after we got them and told us that they were both underweight (so much for being "free feeders"), and that they both had orthopedic problems (luxating patellae and carpal valgus). They may require surgical intervention as they age. Our vet also said that the dogs looked like Havanese mixes, but not purebred Havanese. We didn't receive any paperwork from Bryan that would confirm the purebred status of our dogs. When we let Bryan know what our vet told us, he was quite defensive and insinuated that our vet was looking for problems to get as much money out of us as possible. This is an excerpt from the email reply we received from him: I'm not sure what to say to you. The vets can always find lists of potential problems that would require lifelong vet visits and surgeries, racking up astronomical vet bills. Sounds like a good business model. Bryan never answered our question about whether the dogs had ever seen a vet. He was also unable to provide proof of their age or lineage. Any reputable breeder would gladly offer information on all those things. We have now had our girls four months and love them dearly, but they are much more work than we thought we were getting into--specifically, the potty-training issues that they both have. Our guess is that Bryan knew the dogs had orthopedic issues and didn't want them for his breeding program for that reason. Not being familiar with dogs, we didn't notice it when we met them. Keeping quiet about their potential orthopedic issues is not something an ethical breeder would do. Please don't make the mistake we made by buying from this kind of backyard breeder who washes his hands of his dogs and his clients after he's made a sale. It's been a tremendously stressful and disappointing experience.

I did a foster-to-adopt on my dog Archie, and October will be our 2 year anniversary together! It…read morewas easy to communicate with Barbette (who founded & runs the rescue) about what I was looking for and my limitations; she always got back to me quickly - and with answers! I felt she was transparent and always had the best interests of the dogs as to priority, and that is at the top of my list of aspects for me to put my trust in someone. Archie is a truly *wonderful* dog - super sweet, loving smart, affectionate, well mannered, I love him so much! I highly recommend Street Savvy Dog Rescue...I trust in Barbette to always care about the welfare of the dogs, and that trickles down to all the rest of the good parts of this rescue.

We were very interested in adopting a dog had a home visit and then there was no contact on their…read moreside. I had to find out we were not chosen from the foster parent. I am glad the puppy is going to a good home however the contact or should I say lack of contact from the director is very disappointing .

My wife and I were looking to adopt a rescue dog and applied to several rescues in the Portland…read morearea. After a month of running into dead ends (dogs had issues that weren't mentioned in the listings, few dogs available that fit our situation, poor communication) we found One Tail at a Time. Everyone was professional and incredibly helpful, and soon we were offered a sweet girl who immediately won our hearts. She'd been in foster care after arriving from a shelter, and the foster parents gave us a detailed picture of her behavior and personality. We could not have found a better companion than Alexis. If you're looking to adopt a dog in the Portland area I highly recommend OTAT - it's a top notch, professional and ethical organization.

We adopted our dog from them and they were super clear and communicative about the whole process…read more This dog has completed our family.

My husband and I rescued a mini dachshund with special needs from a breeder. We quickly realized he…read moreneeded more support than we could offer him. I reached out to Portland Dachshund Rescue and they instantly jumped in and offered to take him on. They were professional and give lots of updates. While yes, we could have kept him, we as fellow rescuers know that looking out for the animal comes before your wants. We know this puppy will have an amazing future, thanks to this amazing organization.

In November, we found our dog Sparky at the Oregon Dachshund Rescue. He was at a foster home. We…read morewere able to go and see him and pick him ​ up. He came toys , a bed , everything we needed to make him comfortable at home. The paperwork , and transactions was smooth. We are so happy with Sparky, he is a great dog.

I have had a wonderful experience with Hughes Toys and could not recommend them more highly! I…read morepurchased two puppies just over a year ago and the entire process was positive. Minda was helpful and communicative throughout, offering honest evaluations of the personalities of various puppies. This feedback led me to choose a different puppy from what I had initially intended, which turned out to be an excellent decision. The pickup process was seamless and I was provided with a packet of information covering everything I could wish to know about initial care. Minda also provided medications for nausea, appetite stimulation, stress, and worming to help with the car ride and first days in their new home. The pups have been more wonderful than I possibly could've hoped. They have had no health issues whatsoever and have grown into such smart, sweet, and beautiful dogs! Their personalities are just what Minda had predicted and fit my requirements perfectly (quiet and amenable to apartment living, but also active and adventurous). I highly recommend this breeder if you are considering toy/mini Australian Shepherds, and look forward to working with Hughes Toys in the future.

I have never bought a dog from a breeder that gave me so much information. Page after page of…read moredetails about food, inoculations, etc, with websites to search for yourself. She also gave us four syringes: one for upset tummy, one to stimulate appetite due to stress, one for stress and one for worming. Above and beyond any other experience I've had. Minda was kind, but professional. We bought this puppy just for a pet, no breeding, and she is turning into a ball of fire with a very sweet, loving nature. I would have no problem buying another dog from Hughes. Kathy C.

The phone number and website don't work and on maps it says they're open until 7. I drove 40…read moreminutes and got here at 4 and they're closed. Super annoying.

Incredibly disappointed in this rescue. My partner and I saw a dog online that we were interested…read morein and filled out an application. We requested a low energy dog and was told the one we were interested in was like this. His ad mentioned some training required but that he was otherwise laid back. The shelter told us he was only leash reactive. This was not the case. We brought the dog home and he was high energy and needed an incredible amount of training. Most notably he was highly reactive, which requires special training, and we were never informed he was like this. Reactive dogs can turn aggressive if it is not dealt with. His vet records, which were only given to us after his adoption, showed that he had a long history of reactivity and being on anti-anxiety medication that we were never told about. We reached out to the shelter for help 3 days after bringing the dog home and they didn't respond. It wasn't until we told the shelter that the dog was not a fit for our family that they responded, 2 days after our initial request. The shelter then told us we had to wait 9 more days before we could return the dog to their care, even after requesting a sooner date because he was causing a lot of stress to our household. When we returned the dog, the associate did not let us inside, and took his leash from my hand. I asked if we needed to fill out any intake paperwork. She said no so I asked if we could fill out paperwork because there was a lot of information they didn't tell us about the dog. She said no again, said there wasn't anything else they needed from us, and shut the door in our face. We had to wait nine days for an intake appointment that lasted less than a minute and required nothing but us passing over his leash. This was after we explained the amount of distress he was causing our dogs and the safety risk he posed due to his energy level and my partner's disability. It is clear that the shelter does not care where their dogs end up. This was an incredibly stressful 2 weeks for both my family and the dog because the shelter was not honest about his personality. This dog needs to be with a very specific household, and based on everything we told them about ourselves, we were not it. It seems it was more important to them that he was adopted by somebody, rather than him being adopted by the right family who could provide him what he needs. He suffers the most in this situation.

When you're ready for your first or next Golden, reach out to Mike at OC Goldens. We did a lot of…read moresearching before settling on OC and part of the research involved talking with Mike, who spent a lot of time answering our questions and determining exactly what we were looking for in a pup. If you peruse their website, you will see the breeding and testing lines for sires and dams for several generations. Not only are these award-winning, good temperament animals, but you have a multi-generation set of test results to reassure you that the pup you buy comes from parents (and great/grand-parents) that are tested for about every malady one can think of. Yes, the pups are expensive, but well worth it when you have a responsible, responsive breeder with years and years of positive experience and breeding stock with an exemplary disposition and proven/guaranteed health testing.

We had such a great experience with OC Goldens. Mike, and Desiree were so wonderful to work with…read more The whole process was so great from beginning to end. You can just tell that they really love their dogs, and of course the pups, and take such great care of them all, from making sure that they all get the best of the best nutrition, vet care, love, and affection, and socialization for the pups before they go to their forever homes. We got our boy from there April 2020, and he's just been a dream come true. He's the most amazing boy! He's smart, funny, healthy, and happy as could be. We'll definitely be getting our next pup from there when we're ready. I highly recommend them to everyone!