I was not happy with the volunteers. I e-mailed this complaint to Faith (the supervisor). Today February 19 12:30pm, I went with intension to submit my application to adopt Orlena which I filled out; had it printed and ready to look over. Upon arrival at the Whole FoodS Store in El Segundo where you advise me Pal Rescue would be. I saw Olena was taken by family, when you advised in the last e-mail with the following statement: "Mable and Olena are available. They will be at our next adoption. They would both get along with cats." I was met by "Norma" whom became defensive and unclear when asked for her name, name of the supervisors and the process of adopting the dog. "Norma" became defensive, rude, and unclear about the adoption process; she began speaking about her personal life indicating she is a volunteer who works 60 hours a week and has a child. I quickly advised her that her personal life has nothing to do with the process of adopting a dog. She became irate and tore my application and throw it in the trash. I was applaud of the types of volunteers and services this agencies has. The moral: e-mail, e-mail, e-mail to get all the details of adopting. read more

Adopted a mutt from here to be a companion to one that I already have. It went well, the staff was very caring. They really do love the animals. I chose the runt of the litter and they nurtured it until it was ready to come home. The process was easy and simple. They still ask me about the dog. This was very refreshing compared to what I went through to try and get my first dog from somewhere else. It was nice to see people who actually cared about the animals. read more

I think this organization is somewhat of a scam. My experience with them was that they keep photos up of dogs that have already been adopted, in order to get pet-seekers out to their adoption events. People tend to pre-bond with those photos, and it's disappointing and cruel to lure potential adoptors out to meet a dog that is not there. read more

My original review was posted on the wrong organization. I had clicked on the link from spcaLA. However the link is part of PetFinder which included many other animal shelters, PAL Rescue included and was where the puppy which I tried to adopt was at. My apology to spcaLA. Below is my original review regarding my adoption experience. *************************************************************************** Why am I giving this seemingly noble charity organization 1 star? Because I sent in my application to adopt a puppy and was denied! Here is my application: 1.Do you live in a house, apartment, boat, dormitory, other? House 2.Do you own or rent? Own 3.Landlords name and number? N/A 4.Will your dog be: A.Indoor only, B.Indoor/outdoor, C.Outdoor only (A) 5.What percentage of the time will the dog be in the yard?___5__In the House?__95___ 6.Do you have a dog door? No 7.Will you install one (if you don't have one)? No 8.What room does/will the dog door lead into from the yard? Family room 9.Do you have a private fenced and secured yard for the dog? Yes 10.Type of fencing? Stucco 11.How tall is the fence? How tall is the gate? 5 feet 12.Which rooms are off limits to your dog? Upstairs and bedrooms 13.Is the dog allowed on the furniture? No 14.When you go to work, where will your dog be? A.House, B.Yard, C.Other ______ (A) 15.How long will it be alone? Varies, my fiance and I work from home so most times at least one of us is home if not both. 16.How many family members/housemates are in your household? 5 17.Ages of household members/housemates? 57, 48, 47, 22, and 17 18.Present animals in household? --Type/breed? ShihTzu --Sex? M --Age? 8 --Altered (spayed/neutered)? Neutered --Where they sleep? Family room/Utility room 19.Have you ever had a dog?__Y___Where is he/she now? With us 20.In the PAST, if you were forced to give up your animal, what did you do? N/A 21.Under what circumstances will you give up your dog? N/A --A.Divorce/separati on --B.Moving --C.New Baby --D.Allergies --E.Barks a lot --F.Digs a lot --G.Sheds a lot --H.Big vet bills --I.Nips at strangers --J.Bites kids --K.Loses control of bladder --L.Develops chronic illness --M.Behavior (explain) --N.Dog is not the kind of dog that I thought it would be (explain) --O.Other ___________ 22.Where (very specifically) will your dog sleep as a puppy? Utility room until he/she is housebroken as an Adult? Family room/Utility room 23.HOW will you housetrain your dog, if needed? I have taken obedience training and will be training my puppy like I do with JoJo. 24.Veterinarian's Name Dr. David So Phone # (714) 637-1000 25.We reserve the right to inspect all homes and yards prior to approving any adoption, or following any adoption. Is this okay?___Yes___ If not, please explain: I received a reply from Faith who said my situation would not work for their puppies and that they will continue to look for their forever home! Honest to GOD, if my home is not fit, I don't know whose home will be!!! My reply to Faith as followed: Dear Ms. Faith, I appreciate your response, but I am not sure I understand why my situation is not fit to adopt the puppy? My house is nearly xxxx sq. ft. with the downstairs space almost xxxx sq. ft. My dog has plenty of room to move around. While I don't let my dog on the furniture, we are on the floor playing with hm all the time. The family room/kitchen is where I work and my dog is there with me all the time. If he needs to go out to the yard to play, I let him out and can still keep an eye on him. We live in a gated community in which I walk my dog all the time. My family love our dog and have been considering getting a playmate for him. It took me this long to finally decide on getting another dog because I want to make sure I can provide the best environment for our dog(s). I could easily buy one but decided to adopt instead because I believe in saving rescued animals. My JoJo is the sweetest and most gentle dog you will ever meet. He is very well trained and loves other animals and people. I am confident we will provide a loving and caring home for the puppy and that your decision not to allow us to adopt Kaylee is a huge mistake. While I unerstand and appreciate your careful consideration in placing puppies in the right homes, your disapproval of my application makes me wonder how many animals could have gone to good homes but were denied and ended up being destroyed? I will be writing a review on http://Yelp.com regarding your organization expressing my concerns and disappointment. I will also be writing to spcaLA President, Madeline Bernstein as well. I thank you for taking the time to review my application. I do hope you find a loving home for Kaylee and all the animals in your shelter. However, I am saddened to say that my confidence in your judgment and selection process leave me in doubts. Sincerely, Wendy Chen I am soooooooo upset right now!!!!!!! read more

I wish I had read the reviews before driving to one of their adoption events. After filling out the application, my fiancé and I were told that we would not be considered as adoption candidates because we planned on having our dog sleep in a crate in the bedroom. Crates of any sort are unacceptable. We explained that we had never actually used a crate for any of our previous dogs growing up but had read that it was a good way to go. We explained that we were open to learning why it was not good for the dog and changing our plans. She told us it was too late and that we had already submitted the application. I could not believe that we were denied because we had done "too much research" and had apparently listened to the "wrong experts," especially when we were open to hearing other points of view. I should add that I work from a home office and my fiancé is a teacher who is home mid-afternoon. Our dog will never be alone for more than a couple of hours at a time. We are both active and plan on taking our dog for multiple walks a day and to the dog beach on weekends. Even though both of us grew up with dogs, we spent weeks researching and preparing for the new member of our family. We waited until Summer to adopt so that we could both spend the necessary time raising a puppy. It is ironic that this rescue organization was so condescending and discouraging that we didn't end up adopting a rescue dog. We adopted a beautiful puppy from a family we found on Craigs List. It is unfortunate that a rescue dog does not have a home because of a closed-minded volunteer. read more

We cannot speak highly enough of PAL Rescue. We adopted a special needs dog and it's been wonderful. The people of PAL were understanding, they have welcomed our further questions and concerns and believe us when we tell you they are much more understanding than other rescues. These are wonderful people doing great work. read more

Am wondering if this company is actually a scam. The same thing happened to me that has happened to many on here. I live in Hancock Park with my husband in a home with a 3 year old, socialized dog - we have a fenced in yard. I filled out my application with incredibly thorough details and have several friends who work in rescue who said i was a "dream candidate." They immediately wrote me back saying my home would not be suitable for any of their animals. I responded saying "May I ask why?" and they simply never responded. They also list on their website that they are a legitimate 501c3 but accept donations - i would be wary before sending in an application here with any of your personal information. I feel very sorry for these dogs if this is legitimate. read more

I was a little surprised reading all the negative reviews of this rescue group. We adopted an adorable puppy from them back in 2010 and had quite a pleasant experience. Back then, I had pre-submitted (via email) my adoption application before going to their adoption event (mostly to make sure I wasn't going to waste my time since I'd heard about rescue groups sometimes being picky or taking a long time to process an application). We brought the dog we already had and met with the puppy we had seen on petfinder. That little pup wasn't all that interested in us, but her sister came right up to the edge of the cage to say hello as we were walking out and won us over. And just to note, we did tell them on our application that we intended to crate train the puppy and they didn't have a problem with it. It worked nicely with our first dog and since both myself and my spouse work full time, crate training was the only way to go (I went home at lunch to let the dogs out and play with them). After the puppy was potty trained, she no longer sleeps in the crate, but for potty training I think it's the only way to go. The volunteers were nice, though perhaps not all that interested in us (humans). There were a few that looked like they were just enjoying the time hanging out with each other and the dogs, which honestly was just fine with me. You could tell they loved the dogs which, to me, meant that the dogs were in good foster homes. Overall, the experience was straightforward and easy. Only thing is, if I adopt a puppy from them again, I won't use the affordable clinic they use for the spay/neuter. It's not exactly close by, and you get what you pay for. I'll take the pup to my vet instead and pay a bit more for less hassle and a happier dog. read more

I've had dealings with Freddy and PAL for the last couple years. I've been so pleased that I've made donations in support of Freddy and PAL. They've done more for animal rescue and stretched their donations better than any other organization I have supported financially. Finally I know several dogs and owners who have found each other thanks to PAL rescue. read more

I adopted my pitbull Trust from Pal Rescue back in January 2003 and cannot thank this rescue enough for choosing me from a huge application pool. He was one of a litter of white pitbull puppies born at the pound and rescued along with his mother. He was available for adoption at 13 weeks. I can vouch while he was in foster with his litter and mother, they were all loved, properly introduced to many animals/humans, that from puppy to adult he always retained a calm, easy going, non-aggressive temperament and loving personality. He broke the mold in the sene he had a human soul and understood everything. Trust lost his battle with Cancer in June 2012. He fought it hard with chemo. He held on for me and showed so much strength/love until he decided to say good bye on his own. The time he was here with me was one of the best things I have experienced in life. My appreciation for Pal is beyond words for giving me this gift of knowing what it feels like to have a real emotional bond and truly understand unconditional love. Thank you... Just to note, for the person upset about adoption fees, back in 2003 it was 150.00 which was standard...300.00 is normal with inflation of prices. The care that goes in to the puppies/dogs is quality for their well being all the way down to the food given to them. Please do not give up your search to adopt from Pal or any other rescue. The right time will come. I promise. read more

To Betsy G, who reviewed below, I too was an adopter of a puppy through PAL at Whole Foods on the same day as you (2-19-12). However, I had a very positive experience. Similar to you, I already knew which dog I wanted via their online posts a few days earlier, so I confirmed the hours of the adoption event being 11 am - 4 pm, and had emailed my application ahead of time because I wanted to be pre-approved, so that I could just pick up my pup. I made sure to be there by 10:45 because like you, I would've been heartbroken if anyone else had adopted my dog, and figured she might get adopted by someone else if I was late. In my case, everything worked out well and my pup & I are very happy. For the record, I did not adopt Mable or Alena. I guess my advice for the future would be to make sure you arrive early before anyone else can claim the dog you want, and to know that PAL can't just wait for people to arrive later who haven't yet completed their application when there's already another loving (hopefully) family right there ready to adopt. At the very least, it's good there are several people available to adopt these animals who needs rescuing. I'm not being partial; I've never met anyone at PAL prior to last Sunday. I feel for you, and I know that it must've been devastating to not get the dog you were attached to. However, there's another dog out there somewhere who needs rescuing, and you'll be able to bring lots of joy to their life, and vice-versa. read more

We just adopted a beautiful dog from Pal Rescue today. It couldn't have been easier or more rewarding. We submitted an application last week and received notice in less than 48 hours that we had been approved. We went down to Whole Foods this morning, met with the head of the organization and a couple of other volunteers. We also met the family who had fostered our dog for the last week. Everyone was as friendly and supportive as they could be. Our dog was already spayed and microchipped so no hassle with that at all. The application was very meticulous. You can tell that they truly care about who adopts these dogs. We were happy that they were so concerned. We would highly recommend adopting from Pal Rescue read more

I'm snuggling with Spike (formerly Roger) on my lap right now as I write this review. Thank you Pal Rescue for saving this little guy and allowing us to find him. My daughter picked him out as we needed a docile male dog for our more aggressive female dog. Spike just wagged his tail the whole time we met him and is an amazing dog. I have had dogs my whole life and he is truly a once-in-a-lifetime dog. Our two dogs get along really well and when we adopted him, the folks in charge were warm and helpful and remembered Spike when we brought him back to say hi over a year later. I know three other families who are in love with their dogs that they also were lucky to find at Pal. Bravo! Keep saving the pups #AllLivesMatter read more

The other day I came across the cutest dog, Tango, on petfinder. I put in an application for him on the website. I saw that they have adoptions on Sunday's at whole foods. Later I found out that they changed the venue to another location. So my sister and I drove out to go see him. When we arrived the blonde lady with bad teeth wearing sunglasses was holding him. (I didn't catch her name). We went up to her and told her we had put in an application for him the other day. She just said oh he has a lot of applications. She was completely dismissive to both of us and wouldn't even let us meet him. She just continued talking to this white family that was so obviously not going to adopt a dog. Whereas we actually put in an application and were very interested in adopting but she was so rude to us. I don't think she can read people well. She was also very discriminatory to us because we are young and Asian. I am extremely disappointed in my interaction with this rescue. read more

I could not agree with Wendy's post more. I too got denied by Faith, who did not ask me ANY questions about myself or my application. I live in a HUGE apt and we are home most of the time as my boyfriend works from home, and we are very active - runs, walks, etc. Both of us our previous animal owners. Our animals are deceased because of old age, not because of anything we did! This organization is denying these helpless animals great homes. Not only did she deny me for the pet I wanted, but did not suggest a better fit for maybe another dog. Here is my application: 1.Do you live in a house, apartment, boat, dormitory, other? Apt 2.Do you own or rent? Rent 3.Landlords name and number? XXX XXX, 310-XXX-XXXX 4.Will your dog be: A.Indoor only, B.Indoor/outdoor, C.Outdoor only, Indoor only 5.What percentage of the time will the dog be in the yard?_____In the House?_____ The dog will be in the house with Dan but also on frequent walks and runs (Dan works from home). 6.Do you have a dog door? no 7.Will you install one (if you don't have one)? no 8.What room does/will the dog door lead into from the yard? Living room leads to patio. (walled in) 9.Do you have a private fenced and secured yard for the dog? no fence 10.Type of fencing? n/a 11.How tall is the fence? How tall is the gate? n/a 12.Which rooms are off limits to your dog? none 13.Is the dog allowed on the furniture? preferably not 14.When you go to work, where will your dog be? A.House, B.Yard, C.Other ______ As mentioned, Dan will be home with the dog most of the day, when he leaves it will be in the house. 15.How long will it be alone? 2-3 hours 16.How many family members/housemates are in your household? 2 total 17.Ages of household members/housemates? __30, 31____ 18.Present animals in household? none --Type/breed? --Sex? --Age? --Altered (spayed/neutered)? --Where they sleep? 19.Have you ever had a dog?__yes___Where is he/she now? deseased 20.In the PAST, if you were forced to give up your animal, what did you do? never happened 21.Under what circumstances will you give up your dog? none --A.Divorce/separation --B.Moving --C.New Baby --D.Allergies --E.Barks a lot --F.Digs a lot --G.Sheds a lot --H.Big vet bills --I.Nips at strangers --J.Bites kids -K.Loses control of bladder --L.Develops chronic illness --M.Behavior (explain) --N.Dog is not the kind of dog that I thought it would be (explain) --O.Other ________ 22.Where (very specifically) will your dog sleep as a puppy? __crate___ as an Adult?_same, also open to suggestions____ 23.HOW will you housetrain your dog, if needed? will try clicker method. Maybe doggie training and frequent visits outside! 24.Veterinarian's Name __Hermosa Animal Hospital______ Phone # _310-376-8819 (have not yet taken a pet here. My previous Vet was Busse Animal Clinic in Park Ridge, IL)_______ 25.We reserve the right to inspect all homes and yards prior to approving any adoption, or following any adoption. Is this okay?___YES___ If not, please explain: hank you for your interest in one of our rescue dogs. However, please be advised that filling out this questionnaire is not a guarantee of adoption. We do not sell our dogs, we adopt them. We reserve the right to refuse any adoption that we feel will not suit the dog's/puppy's requirements. My response: I'm sorry, but could you let me know why? Someone is home with the puppy all day, I can't imagine a better situation. I would really like to know so that if needed, we can change the situation. Thanks, NO RESPONSE from the shelter. This is really a shame. Don't bother with PAL Rescue. It will break your heart! read more

Somethiing is strange about this "rescue" operation. They use a P.O. Box as an address. They have a large "donation" jar, but do not appear to be an approved nonprofit organization. They seem to "rescue" litters of nicely bred puppies, almost as if they were extras that breeders wanted to get rid of. The dogs are not cheap - $350-$400. Is this a volunteer organization or are people getting salaries? They ask a lot of information of prospective adopters, but give out very little information about their organization. I would suggest that anyone adopting an animal from this organization ask a lot of questions. read more

My boyfriend and I adopted a wonderful hound mix puppy from Pal Rescue. Looking at some of the reviewers below - yes there was application, but we emailed it in and it wasn't a problem at all. We have a house and work from home, so maybe that helped. When we went to pick up our puppy, we met Freddie who had been fostering them. She'd done a great job as the whole litter looked happy, clean and well cared for. All the workers at the adoption event genuinely cared deeply about the dogs and their welfare. We also just took our puppy to the vet and she got a clean bill of health. This was our first time adopting a dog and we couldn't be happier! read more

Wonderful non-profit organization. They really care about their rescues and it shows by how hard they work to find the best home possible for each and every dog. read more