Thank you Wagging Hearts for bringing this little kitten into our lives! The adoption process was simple, with clear and quick communication. Shout out to Martha for coordinating and connecting us with Callie's foster mother. It's been such an easy transition and our new kitty is well adjusted, and oh so cuddly! read more

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My wife and I wanted to meet a dog that we saw on the website. I completed the application and emailed it back to them on Monday, 9/21. I didn't hear back so I emailed again on 9/22. I still did hear back and emailed them again on 9/23... Finally I called on 9/24. No answer and nobody called... F' this place. Not recommended. My wife and I drove to wright-wayrescue.org in Morton Grove. We found the bestest dog and took him home that day. No crabby Karen's to deal with. read more

Terrible 'rescue'. Is fine with taking your money, then offers NO support after adopting the animal. They are IMPOSSIBLE to reach. Will not answer their phone, messages, email. One of the emails on their website even came back as saying it doesn't exist. They also make you spay or neuter your pet WAY too young, that should have been a first red flag. read more

They sell puppies to people, knowing that they are not well. When the people call to get assistance for their sick dog, they calls go on ass and problem goes unsolved. I would never recommend this place to anyone. read more

I adopted my best friend from this amazing place! I'm beyond grateful for their dedication to animal welfare. Highly recommend read more

Wagging Hearts - Pet Adoption Near Me - Hainesville, Illinois

Do not adopt from Wagging Hearts rescue. We adopted our boy Leonard from them 11 years ago and had a great experience. Not so this time. We love Cowboy but Sabrina ended up paying $900 for him, (was told $200 on the phone but surprised with a large bill when she got there)with the caveat that his first vet visits and neutering would be paid for by them. Cowboy was sick and couldn't be neutered right away. She had to drive to their vet in Naperville several times. When she went to schedule the neutering they said they couldn't do it till Wagging Hearts scheduled payment. Sabrina called and talked to a lady who has since ghosted her. I called and wrote too, but nobody will reply. Since there is no brick and mortar because it's fostering, we are just shit out of luck. Super angry and disappointed in this rescue. DO NOT ADOPT from them. Also, Cowboy smelled and was sick when we got him. This rescue has sadly gone down hill and looks to be a scam now. read more

Do NOT adopt from this place. You can find puppies/dogs elsewhere where the fees are way less expensive and their documentation and due diligence on all the treatments/medications, etc. are thoroughly documented. If you do choose this place, get in writing ALL the tests that have been done and the results. Specifically make sure they document whether your potential pet was tested for Parvo the results and ensure it's on written on their disclosure form. Mine was not completed and then documents were altered after I asked for proof of what they had indicated on the disclosure form. Best advice, stay away. read more

Wagging Hearts - Better Business Bureau rating - Pet Adoption Near Me - Hainesville, Illinois

For the high adoption fee of nearly $800, I assumed I was getting a well-vetted dog. Unfortunately, like many other reviewers here, that was not the case. It's interesting how many of the others had the same order of experiences. Usually, when there is such an obvious pattern, an organization would take responsibility and do the work to fix the issue. That doesn't seem to be the case with Wagging Hearts. I adopted my dog (listed as "Tristan") on Dec 7, 2024. From the moment I walked out of the pet store where we met to complete the adoption process, his poop was soft, almost runny. I initially thought it was the nervous poops from all the changes since he was still young. The very next morning I saw live worms in my new dog's poop. Initially, Linda agreed to help with the worms and had someone meet me at a local pet store that gave me a dewormer for "Tristan". That's where the helpfulness stopped. On 12/11 I went to the free vet visit they offer (which by the way, is only offered at locations about an hour or more from Northern Lake County). There he tested positive for roundworms and coccidia. This is 3 business days after the adoption took place. The vet gave me more meds to take care of the remaining worms ( infestation was SEVERE) and the coccidia, I got probiotics for the continuing soft stools. My dog's stool NEVER improved. Their vet told me to give it about TWO weeks to give his GI tract time to recover from everything, I tried to wait the whole time, but I ended up going to my local walk-in clinic 2 days shy of two weeks on 12/23 when I noticed bright red blood drops in his stool. The stool sample at that time tested positive for Giardia. A simple Google search will tell you "The incubation period for giardia in dogs is typically 5 to 16 days. This means that it takes 5 to 16 days for the parasite to multiply and become detectable in the dog's stool". This would mean that if he acquired it just days before the adoption, he would NOT have tested positive for it at the FREE vet visit. I'd like to be clear, from the moment I brought my dog home, his stool consistency NEVER improved even after the meds from their free vet visit. JUST as in other reviews here on Yelp, when I brought this up to Linda, she tried to say that the Giardia was likely acquired when he was already in my care because it's "common" and can be picked up from "wildlife droppings or contaminated water." Same schpeel as others were fed. Thing is, I've had dogs (even puppies) at this property for the last 20 years, and not ONCE has any of them picked up worms or Giardia from my yard, there's hardly any wildlife here, but that didn't deter her from saying it was NOT picked up while he was with their foster because his "foster brothers and sisters" were all "healthy" with negative stool samples. I don't have proof of that, so these are just words to me. And review after review, of the same timeline of infestations proves quite the opposite. I dealt with a sick pup for months. He couldn't hold his bowels at the worst of it, having poop accidents in the house even when I was taking him out EVERY two hours in the coldest part of the winter, around the clock. Sometimes he'd want to go out to poop, and he would try but all that came out was blood droplets. I was in and out of the walk-in clinic multiple times per week after the giardia diagnosis just trying to give my pup some relief. I asked Linda for SOME reimbursement for the vet costs and meds. She reiterated that the Giardia was likely acquired when he was in my care, so they are not responsible. I would email her, she would CALL me. Finally, I asked her to only email me, and she stopped replying. It took until 2/14 for the stool to come back Negative. An additional $500 consisted of: stool sample testing every week and 4-5 more rounds of meds - I lost count. Round-the-clock poop breaks, when a normal healthy puppy would be able to go 4-5 hrs between, at 5-6 months of age, the need to sanitize his kennel/bedding and the floor every other day to ensure no giardia cysts fell off his butt in our home. I was going so far as wiping his butt after poops, to try to ensure he couldn't reingest cysts (eggs) if he got itchy. The poop from the yard was picked up after each round. I sprayed a diluted bleach solution when each poop was picked up and had to alternate potty areas. And it still took me almost 3 months of hard work and my dog's quality of life suffering to finally be rid of the Giardia that he had since I adopted him. Wagging Hearts never took responsibility, never replied to my last email and clearly, is not in this line of work for the right reason. They are in it for money. And looking back, it makes sense. They had a high number of small puppies for a rescue. Adoption fees $795+ I should have read reviews and done my research BEFORE giving this "rescue" an obscene amount for a sick puppy. If anyone with a similar experience wants to contact me, please do. read more

I made the mistake of thinking all rescues were in it for the right reasons...I have not found that to be the case with Wagging Hearts. From aggressive and threatening communication to false advertising about the adoption processes to poor fostering conditions, treatment and care to high costs. Stay away and give your money to a reputable rescue. ********************** Updates to review since seeing reply from Wagging Hearts on 6/4/24: In my email from 5/23/24, what I actually said was that Guido has had uncontrollable projectile diarrhea numerous times daily since bringing him home and that he even had dried poop on his hip and paws the night he was given to us to indicate it was happening while in your care. We saw our personal vet the following morning after adoption and he did test negative for Giardia. Seeing it takes 5-12 days to even show up in fecal tests, this is not surprising. Also, diarrhea is a pre-existing condition that we were told would not be covered when we looked into insurance options. Stop twisting the facts and take responsibility for the poor care your animals are receiving. Your reviews say it all. I am obviously not the only adopter who has had issues with the health of animals we were sold. read more

We were very excited to adopt Luke ! Linda seemed receptive during our first communication. I completed the application and waited. There was No communication after that . she lied over and over about reaching out to our vet for a reference. then she told me I was rude for questioning her honesty. since then I have heard nothing but heartbreaking stories of failed adoptions through Wagging Hearts Karin Abbott read more

I absolutely adore my dog (adopted last year) and don't regret adopting her for a second, but the amount of health issues she presented with at the required 72-hour post-adoption vet check-up that were not disclosed on her healthcare forms that I was given up upon adoption were staggering. This included a nasty ear infection that lasted for months, irritated skin, runny stool, and mild gingivitis, the last of which takes a while to develop and should have therefore been on her intake forms from the vet when Wagging Hearts took her in the week prior (her vet paperwork specifically noted healthy ears and teeth). These numerous health conditions that are now not covered because they are considered pre-existing (presented with them at her first vet visit with me) through her pet insurance. Wagging Hearts declined any accountability or knowledge of her issues and only offered to take her back if I was dissatisfied. There are more reputable and responsible foster/rescue systems that you can support instead. read more

As a foster and adopter I had a plesant experience with the rescue. Martha was a good reference of contact. I enjoyed working with her. As a foster only based rescue, they have a great network of resources working together to change lives of animals in need. Only area of opprtunity (in my case) was notifying and expaining adoption fees prior to adoption day. Overall positive involvement with the organization. read more

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It's sad that I have to add another negative experience to Wagging Hearts reviews. We adopted a puppy last Sunday and as soon as we got her home she had diarrhea. I knew then and there that we were in for problems. I contacted Linda and informed her. She said that the puppy was spayed on Wednesday and that may have been the cause which I doubted. In the meantime she said that she had blood test results that she would receive on Monday. I emailed her Monday to ask about the results and and she called me and said the puppy came back positive for Coccidia. That's when I became really upset because the pup obviously had diarrhea before she put her up for adoption. I told her she should never have put this puppy up for adoption knowing that it had diarrhea or if she did she should inform the adopter beforehand. Besides that the pup stunk which I overlooked because I went with my heart and not my mind which was a big mistake that I made. She said we could return her with a full refund on Tuesday which we did. Linda was not nice and got pretty heated about my complaint which didn't surprise me. It tore at my heart to give the pup back but I just felt there may be more health issues for this little girl that I wasn't aware of. I did have an appointment for the vet on Monday but since we were bringing her back on Tuesday we cancelled it. My previous dog was 16 years old when we had to put him down and the last year and half of his life was going to the vet, giving him medicine, worrying about him, trying to help anyway we could with his health issues, much anxiety and stress, etc. I was hoping to start off with a puppy that had no health issues but unfortunately that didn't happen. I know Coccidia is a treatable with medication but my trust in this rescue totally diminished when she informed me of the pup having it. She should have waited for the results of the blood work before allowing it to be adopted. I don't understand why this rescue continues to have problems when people have openly complained about them. I also wonder where they are getting puppies from that are in such poor condition. Unfortunately I didn't read the reviews before adopting but hopefully this can help someone else. I hope and pray that the pup found a good home or at least is in good care until she finds one. read more

We have adopted 2 amazing animals from Wagging Hearts- a dog 2 years ago and a cat 2 weeks ago. Both animals fit so well into our family, and we cannot imagine life without them! The organization made the process easy from start to finish. Highly recommend! read more

Wagging Hearts - Pet Adoption Near Me - Hainesville, Illinois

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I would not recommend adopting from wagging hearts! This "rescue" is just in it for the money! It should have been a red flag for me immediately that adoption fees were $895. Nonetheless we adopted two puppies from them on 12/31/24. After having the puppies for only 5 days we were having issues with one of the puppies biting our youngest daughter he also has issues with food aggression, and aggression towards the other puppy that we adopted. I reached out to let them know that we were having issues with him and asked if bringing him back would be a possibility as he did not seem to be a good fit for our family with our girls. I was told that yes they would take him back but that I would not be refunded any portion of the adoption fee. I sent an email stating that it seems very unfair since it's only been 5 days and due to issues that I could have never known would be a problem. And considering they are a rescue you would think that they would want the puppy back to place him in a better fitting home since it would be in his best interest, I received no response back. I then sent an another email asking them if they would be willing to let us bring him back and pick another puppy that they have up for adoption if they will not be willing to refund the adoption fee and I received no response regarding that either. I have since talked to our local pet shop and somebody who knows the owners of this rescue and was old that they are known for adopting out dogs and then dropping all communication and taking no responsibility for them thereafter whether it be because they're sick or because they have undisclosed behavioral issues. Upon reading all of these Yelp reviews it's very apparent that many other people have had issues with this rescue I'm not one to write a review but I want to help others avoid having issues that could be far worse than mine thank goodness it's something that may be correctable in my case and not a life-threatening illness. Please please if you are considering adoption don't be like me and do your research so that your adoption fees go to a well-deserving rescue that is really in it for helping the animals. read more

My adoption experience with Martha and Wagging Hearts was exceptional! The process was smooth and informative. Martha and her team are also not the kind of people that hand over the leash and send you on your way. She offered support in the following days and weeks. I know I can reach out to WH at anytime and get an immediate and helpful response. I'm so happy and lucky to have gotten my guy Oliver (now - Argon then)!! read more

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I am writing this review in hopes to help anyone that is considering adopting from this organization. I hope that you will find another rescue instead. A rescue that responds to the adopters, and does not ignore requests from them to return calls, emails or contact us page requests. The website provides a mailing address that returns sent mail, voicemail that is not answered, emails not replied to and a contact us page that doesn't connect to anything. My experience with them has been disappointing. I don't feel that they are concerned with the overall experience for the adopter or the pets themselves. I think it's important to understand that a rescue is meant to be supportive through the entire adoption process as well as continued support post adoption. There are so many genuine and professional rescues to pursue, this is not one of them. read more

We adopted a sweet pup from Wagging Hearts. Our contact was Martha King and we could not have been happier with our experience. Don't get me wrong, it didn't come without its own unique set of challenges. We have a 10 year old lab mix and we had some setbacks when it came to the puppies energy level towards our older dog. We reached out to Martha who quickly put us in touch with The director of the rescue Linda. She really understands dogs and even took our puppy in to see what we were talking about. Fast forward we have him back and we are so grateful to the whole Wagging Hearts team! Linda explained that our puppy had some fear when it came to other dogs and now we are in a way better position to show up for him. These people CARE, and every dog comes with its own set of quirks! Highly recommend this rescue. read more

Through Petfinders ..I saw a photo of a kitten..listed as 11 weeks old..grey..silver..black...photo was poor quality..not clear...found out after asking questions that the kitten was actually 16 weeks old....no updated photo...the cat was not silver/grey..it was a brown tabby..bengal coloring...they also did not tell me the cat was a "bobtail".....I also noticed that cat had a unusual sound nasally...like it was stuffed up...I was worried that the kitten may have a defect in his nasal cavity....and will require medical attention later.....(discovered after adoption) ...I adapted the kitten even though it was not what I had my heart set on....but returned it because it just was not a good fit for my home environment...with my other two older cats...there was never any explanation of the clause in the contract stating that they do not give you a refund if you return the animal...so I arrive at the designated location for return...waiting...and waiting for the husband to arrive.....so I called....and was told oh....he is already there...me=..? where....I was not told he had a different color vehicle..that day......so there I am waiting again with no sharing of information to me....I was so annoyed with these people...and their unpleasant attitude.....make sure you ask for a recent photo ..and age update before you adopt.....K read more

Wonderful organization that works tirelessly to safely rehome rescued dogs and cats. Our family has visited Martha's fosters previously before we were finally ready to adopt our new puppy. The process was seamless and everything was well explained. Martha was great to work with throughout the adoption and was there for any follow up questions we had. read more

Wagging Hearts - Puppy - Pet Adoption Near Me - Hainesville, Illinois

We adopted our puppy Mona from Wagging Hearts. Martha was a joy to work with and contacted us almost immediately after applying to call and discuss what puppy would be right for us. The process was very thorough but quick and efficient, whereas other shelters weren't quick to respond or respond at all. The foster parents were so nice and accommodating for us to meet Mona, as well as careful during this COVID-19 time. Mona is so well behaved and cuddly despite being only 1 weeks old. I would highly recommend adopting from Wagging Hearts! read more

Wagging Hearts - Pet Adoption Near Me - Hainesville, Illinois

Please google this rescue and read about all the horrible experiences people have had, specifically with Linda the director. First the adoption fees are much higher than other rescues. I paid 595 for a 1 year old neutered dog. Up to date on shots too. Most rescues charge less for puppies that still need to be fixed and part of the fee pays for that. Second, there are NO refunds. Most rescues have a time limit in the contract allowing for money back if the dog doesn't work out.. The dog I had rescued was viciously with my other dog. I contacted the rescue and returned the dog literally 12 hours after I brought him home. I was very frustrated and sent the director an email letting her know I She let me know she wasn't refunding the money and was extremely inappropriate. Then I googled the rescue and poor upon poor review with outrageous experiences with Linda and her rescue were everywhere. The Facebook page also has poor reviews, and better business bureau Ect she is unethical pocketing money and taking advantage of people. Don't take my word for it, read the rest of the poor reviews before you sign anything with this rescue read more

Do NOT trust this place! They don't communicate and lie to you. I have never seen such an uncaring and unprofessional business in all my life. I was a business owner and understand communication and compassion are key to a good business. I inquired on a dog on the 24th of this month. I was told the dog was still available but in transit. I was told to fill out an application which I did and sent in on the 25th. I never heard back from them. I finally contacted them this morning to see if I could set up a meeting and was told someone else is seeing him on Wednesday. They basically sad too bad for you.They never let me know and built up my hopes and broke my heart. From the past reviews this is the way they operate. Do not trust them They will not follow through! read more

Don't adopt from these people! I adopted a kitten for $185.00 for my grand daughter for Christmas. We had her a couple of days and had to take her to the Vet. I text Linda several times letting her know what was going on and she kept telling me her Vets were not returning her calls. She also admit that the kitten had diarrhea for 4 days before I even picked her up. It cost me almost $3000 trying to save my kitten. Needless to say after all of this I had to put her down because there was nothing they could do for her. Linda said she would help me with the bills but after texting her several times she never responded. I wish I could post a picture of this kitten. She was so sweet and beautiful and did not deserve to have to go through all of the blood work and tests she was put through trying to save her. I hope there is Karma because Linda would deserve for it to come back and bite her! read more

PLEASE READ THE UNPUBLISHED REVIEWS. Disgusting business. They wanted $900 for a 2 year old dog. We thought we heard a number around $300 and drove an hour to meet the pup at a dog supply store. The man was cruel. I actually had to stop him and ask him to stop being so mean. He just kept repeating that we wasted his time. The dog was shaking every time he raised his voice at us. $900 is the highest I've ever heard for an adopted animal and something tells me her "clean bill of health" was them getting her vaccines and everything in order to ship her off knowing something is wrong with her. I hope those dogs can find good homes and get out of their care. read more

If I could rate less than a star I would. Wagging Hearts has unethical practices in withholding information about age and temperament of their animals and are difficult to work with when they've made an error and need to correct it. I would highly recommend looking elsewhere. read more

I adopted a puppy from Linda at waggin hearts. Think twice people before you deal with her. She deals with a vet that is like doc in a box. I asked her to help me set up an appointment to get Taters stitches out because her doc in a box vet would not return my calls. She said she would and of course I never heard from her. I finally got in touch with her doc in a box. This women is about the money not the animals. She truly doesn't care if the animal does not get along with the other animals in the house. She will not give a refund. Once you pay her that is all she is concerned with..I feel sorry for the pups in her care. read more

Adopted my Boxer from Wagging Hearts Linda was so helpful. My poor baby had terrible allergies , she hardly had any fur she had scratched it off. Linda talked me through the situation before I adopted she explained that she would need meds to help with the allergies and what the best food would be for her. The whole wagging hearts team work tirelessly to rescue these poor dogs that have been abandoned. I have since needed some advise from Linda and have found her very helpful and encouraging. Linda you and your team are doing an awesome job read more

I had one of the best adoption processes with wagging hearts. They were extremely responsive and truly care about the dogs they take in. Other shelters were sluggish at responding or didn't even respond. Martha and the adoption team did the entire adoption process from inquiry through adoption in just 4 days. My new puppy Leia has a new forever Home and all of her litter was rescued from an out of state kill shelter. read more

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Organization is as a great help in assistance with adopting our puppy. Staff was very transparent and accommodating. Nothing but great things to say about them. Our little man is such a joy and brought us happiness after losing our 14 year old buddy to kidney failure seven weeks before. read more

I wanted to like this place. They were friendly and helpful during the adoption process of our puppy. However, he started having issues with anxiety, resource guarding and reactivity. After this didn't get better with training classes, 1:1 training, and working with our vet, we decided to reach out to wagging hearts to rehome because our living environment was too stressful and we were on a months long wait-list for a behaviorist. We wanted to do our best to help make sure he ended up in an experienced home that could dedicate the resources needed to his behavior management. We explained our situation and the steps we had taken to try to manage it, and were accused of neglecting to train and socialize him properly. They told us we could either relinquish him or euthanize him but they would not help us rehome. I was appalled that they brought up euthanasia without a thorough background or veterinarian input, and they never responded to my follow up email asking for other rescue resources that could help us if they didn't want to deal with it. Not to mention, when we adopted our puppy and took him in to the vet for the first time he had several types of worms that took 2 rounds of medication to treat and the adoption agreement specified that he needed to be neutered within 30 days of adoption. Out vet advised us against this since he was too young (3.5mo), as did the partner vet that works with wagging hearts when we called to schedule the appointment. We tried to negotiate to get it pushed back to at least 6 months but they told us this was the requirement of the IL department of agriculture. I'm skeptical because I went through the dept of agriculture website and could not find any reference to a time frame when this needed to happen, and a few friends of ours adopted from shelters and were able to bring their puppy back at 6 months for the surgery. We were new owners when we adopted, so hindsight is 20/20 on this one and I'd never again enter an agreement where I had to fix a dog this young. I can understand that rescues are hesitant to take dogs with behavior issues and I can live with that. But the fact that we were accused of causing the problem after initially being set up for failure and even describing the training we had done is cruel and unacceptable. I would have hoped that and organization who finds homes for animals would be sensitive to the fact that the decision to rehome was emotionally devastating for our family and offer some support to make sure the dog finds the right family instead of pointing fingers and blaming then ignoring follow up communication. There are plenty of shelters and rescues in the Chicagoland area, and any future adopters will be much better off working with a different organization. read more

I found our new kitten through PetFinder and adopted him from Wagging Hearts. We have two other rescues. Our first was through a shelter where they had a physical location, clinic, etc. Needless to say, that adoption went great. Our second adoption was through a foster-based system and was a complete disaster. The poor cat was severely neglected with multiple ongoing infections. He required significant care and costs. That made me slightly hesitant to work with a foster-based company again, but Wagging Hearts was absolutely amazing and professional. Martha was very professional and prompt in her responses. The process of adoption was very smooth. The foster caregivers were very prompt and made the process very easy. The kitten was born under the foster's care and the foster mom was more than accommodating giving us information about the kitten. We were given more than enough time to meet Smokey and see if there was a love connection. There was no pressure to bring him with us if we did not feel it was a right fit. He was well cared for in the foster home and was a very happy kitty. Yesterday was his first night with us and he already made himself at home. We are very excited to have smokey join our family! read more

Wagging Hearts - Pet Adoption Near Me - Hainesville, Illinois

Our experience with Wagging Hearts was great! Their process was simple, straightforward and thorough AND they were able to recognize a health issue right away and resolved it before we were able to adopt our pup read more

This agency is completely disorganized and I had a terrible experience with them while trying to adopt a dog. I just saw on facebook that they are trying to get people to write them better yelp reviews, because of an incident that happened, and I figured I should contribute my experience. Wagging hearts failed to communicate with me regarding the potential adoption about a dog I was interested in. I had submitted the paperwork and was told that the dog was mine. I went to go get puppy supplies and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new puppy, when I was told that the dog was actually being adopted by another family. I was devastated. I was completely upset with the poor organization they displayed and realized I made a mistake in adopting from a small agency, and made the decision to never do that again. I cant imagine I am the only person this has happened to considering how disorganized they are and how many people they have rushing to get dogs adopted. read more

I was recommended to reach out to Wagging Hearts after a few places made me feel like they were doing me a favor by allowing me to adopt a dog. So many places have a rude staff with poor follow-thru. That is not the case with Wagging Hearts. Both the foster,(Aimee) and the person from the organization (Martha) could not have been more pleasant or patient. I was able to take my dog home quickly, and they were great about follow up and health checks. I spoke to them a few months after the fact and they were again helpful and kind. I would send anyone I knew to Wagging Hearts and feel confident that they would have a great experience, as I did. I thank you, and Angel thanks you. read more

We are a multi-dog household and faced yet another demise of one of our 'old ones', who was diagnosed with cancer. We've had too much heart-ache of that kind lately, and decided to bring in a new dog, in spite of the situation. We found a dog on Petfinder, and contacted Wagging Hearts rescue about an adoption. After establishing that the dog was still available and providing details about the temperament, the contact person Linda was responsive, forthcoming, and guided us through the adoption process. When we were deemed acceptable for the dog and vice versa, Linda made travel arrangements and spent a whole day in the air in order to deliver the dog to us -- several states away! Throughout the process Linda was responsive to phone calls and email, answered endless questions, and looked out for the dog's welfare. She contacted our veterinarian (and neighbor) for reference. Linda then was further helpful introducing the dog to our 'old' dogs on neutral ground, before she had to catch a return flight. The dog, JoJo, was exactly as described, a smart, sweet, rambunctious young mixed breed girl. She was clean (groomed, no fleas), had the beginnings of leash manners, healthy, had been vetted (spayed and vaccinated), and had been crate trained by her foster family, who also sent along her bowl and toys. When adopting a dog, people need to realize that it will take about a month at minimum before a dog is truly settling in. During that time it is best to treat them like a new puppy (no matter the age of the dog), keep to a routine, teach the basics, and constantly supervise them, or crate them. JoJo, like most dogs we've adopted, went through a sweetheart stage, then a grumpy stage, before relaxing into our household's routines. Again, that is not unusual when a dog has had several new homes/situations in a short time, but people are often not prepared for it. Before adopting a dog (whether rescue or from a breeder), please understand the time requirements and the emotional and financial commitments. There are some unflattering reviews out there about Wagging Tails Rescue, but they do not reflect our experience in any way. I can only highly recommend them and thank Linda and JoJo's fosters for their hard work. After only a few weeks we are seeing JoJo settling in, getting along with her 'new siblings', and learning in leaps and bounds. read more

I absolutely loved our adoption experience with Wagging Hearts! The people are so sweet and very welcoming. The vet they use is far from us but so far has been worth the drive! I highly recommend them and we are Wagging Hearts fans for life! Our puppy is wonderful and was very well taken care of before he became our family! Our family's experience with Wagging Hearts was all positive and none of us have any reservations recommending this rescue to everyone we know! read more

Wagging Hearts - Here is a little collage of our newest family member! Thank you Wagging Hearts for saving this adorable baby! - Pet Adoption Near Me - Hainesville, Illinois

We had such an amazing experience with Wagging Hearts. My husband had been looking online for a long time for the perfect pup for our family, and when he read the posting about Tara he knew she was meant for us. He did the hard work for filling out the application, which was an effort but it's great to know that they do their research and the well-being of the dogs are held in the highest respect. He applied on a Saturday night and Sunday morning we got word that they called our references and they would be willing to bring her over for a home visit. Amazing turn around time. The foster parents were amazing. They gave us everything we needed including on going support through calls and texts. Thank you so much Wagging Hearts for making our family complete and giving Tara her forever home. read more

Not sure why anyone would say they use a "doc in the box". They take their rescues to a highly reputable veterinarian. Linda was great. Answered all of my questions. Processed my application quickly and asked all of the right questions to ensure that my new dog was placed in the proper home. They are not "about the money" and even after I had paid, Linda was still very communicative. Perhaps she just ignores those who are rude and abusive. Seems that the person who left her a bad review has left horrible reviews for others as well. Guess you can't make everyone happy!! read more

Everyone I've met who volunteers for Wagging Hearts is wonderful! I know Martha King best. She is awesome. My kids and I have seen up close how she and her family have taken dogs of all kinds into their home and shepherded them to their new homes. How she's encouraged others to do the same when their is the occasional influx of more pets in need. And all to the best and happiest ends. Wagging Hearts does nothing but good, and a lot of it! Call them! read more