I had a similar experience with this so-called "shelter" or "rescue". A friend of mine had been working with W&W and had been fostering a female Pit mix, which was pregnant, but "diagnosed" (by the crack team at W&W) as having worms, which explained her bloated appearance. The adult female eventually gave birth to a litter of puppies (I believe the count was around 9), and my friend and his fiancé cared for the majority of them before it became an overwhelming burden for them. My girlfriend and I agreed to take the runt in as a foster (she was found days later, outdoors, as the Mother gave birth in the yard, late in the evening), and we were told that W&W would be providing food, medical care, etc. as we provided shelter, training, and human companionship. We received no food or medicine, besides a tiny crate and a bottle of home-made oatmeal concoction to help the puppy's itchy skin. We acquired the puppy in poor health. Her skin was bleeding, and she was losing hair rapidly. I personally placed numerous phone calls from home and from work, hoping the founder would get back to me ASAP, but I found my efforts to be fruitless.The few times I was able to get someone on the phone, I was told that Ms. X would get back to me- either that or I was apologized to up and down by Ms. X's Mother, who was handling secretarial duties. I had even taken to threatening the shelter with various legal actions, but alas, we were, again, ignored. When the foster puppy's condition became severe, we had her tested, and she was diagnosed with sarcoptic mange, which, in turn, my girlfriend and I were both infected with. Thankfully, another rescue came to our aid(since W&W couldn't be reached) and helped us pay for medical care. Afterward, we ended up adopting this pup, as we couldn't bear the thought of her returning to a shelter that clearly didn't care about their animals welfare. It pains me to write this, but this is the truth. We were deferred and blatantly ignored numerous times by W&W, and it is my understanding that many people have had similar experiences. I truly love animals. They are our friends, and it is now our responsibility to care for them, as we have had a hand in their evolution from wild to pet. There's no room for lethargy or foolishness in this line of work. These are living creatures, and should be treated as such. These are my thoughts. Also, you should know that our friend, the foster pup, is now over one year old and the smartest, loving dog we could ever ask for. read more

This is a very difficult review for me to write and I have to admit that I have a complicated, multi-faceted point of view. I have known the founder of W&W for a few years as we use the doggy daycare that she used to work at. My husband has been an acquaintance of hers for over a decade. We helped launch the opening of this shelter financially and through the donation of time and supplies. Prior to my most recent frustration with W&W, I attempted to volunteer at this shelter when it first secured it's Ferndale location (It's now located in Ann Arbor due to a change in funding in Ferndale). Long story short, each visit was a nightmare as the shelter was a disorganized mess without a shred of leadership by the founder. On one occasion I had a friend who needed to find a home for a friendly stray cat - I called W&W on a Friday and the founder told me she was "out of town" and couldn't do anything for me for several days. Really? Who's minding the shop while you're on vacation? I was told I'd get a callback, and never did. This last event has taken the cake, and I am officially a non-supporter of this shetler. This last Friday afternoon I was driving down 8-mile near I-75 when I happened to see a dog on the median. I pulled over, crossed the street and met a terrified young dog. I carried him across traffic and got him to safety. I immediately called the W&W founder, hoping for help. I have a dog & cat at home, and I'm honestly not equipped for 2 dogs. She answered the phone, told me to try to get him to my house, and she'd call me in a couple hours. She never did. In the meantime I took the pup to the vet, had him checked out and got him home for a bath and introduction to my own animals. All evening I called and texted her - no response or callback. I called again Saturday morning - straight to voicemail. I got crafty and posted a picture of the pup on the W&W Facebook wall, and got a response from a volunteer. SHE was helpful - I explained that I knew the founder, I needed help, she wasn't calling me back, etc. This girl agreed to help me as best she could, she understood that it was difficult to keep the founder on track. She promised me that the founder would call me that night, but alas, I never got a call. Sunday morning 10am rolls around and I called the founder, she answered, but explained there was an emergency in Ann Arbor and she needed to run out there (this was a true story) - she advised it wouldn't take long and she'd call me within a few hours. FIVE hours roll by and no word - I text, no response - I call, no response - I call this other helpful girl, she's equally frustrated and says she can't get ahold of the founder either. Sometime around 4pm I got a text from the founder, advising me it would be a "few more hours." My follow-up texts and calls went unanswered. By 9pm Sunday night the helpful girl and I throw in the towel as neither of us can get ahold of the founder. Monday morning (today) I get a text, she "lost her phone." She promises me that she'll call me TODAY, after she's done in Ann Arbor at 6pm. It's now 10pm and I have heard nothing. What frustrates me the most is the blatant lack of leadership, communication skills and organization. I FULLY recognize that there are a million people in my shoes calling W&W and other shetlers - I get that she's swamped and it's difficult. All the while I was waiting for a callback from W&W Founder, I talked to four other shelters who answered their phones, gave me answers, helped me out, posted an ad for this dog for me on Petfinder.org and at least had the decency to tell me if they didn't have time or room for the dog I found. If you are in the business of rescuing animals, then have a sense of urgency and professionalism. This isn't my first rodeo. I have found several strays in my life and I fully understand that ALL shelters are ALWAYS full - this is the world we live in. I'm not saying that it's easy to run a shelter, because it's difficult and heart-wrenching every day. But I cannot and will not recommend a shelter run by someone who so blatantly can't keep it together. Where ever she is, she's justifying why she couldn't answer her phone or why she couldn't make the time to help out me or someone else - but the reality is she's cheating herself of a good reputation, she's cheating would-be supporters of her shelter and she's cheating the animals of any help. This is really the tip of the iceburg, because I am one of almost a dozen people who were once hardcore supporters of W&W, but now stand in the background wondering what happened. The founder DOES have an amazing way with animals and I know she cares - but she's in over her head. I found a shelter to help me with the pup I found, and to be honest, after all the run-around this weekend, I probably would've avoided turning him over to W&W if she DID call me. Also, after over a year, they still don't have the official 501c3 non-profit status. read more

The dog giving birth that is referred to in Kerry T's review is the dog that I adopted from W &W on November 3, 2010. I was promised by Ms. Potts that she had been spayed and was up to date on shots. I was also told that she would be perfect for condo living and for someone with arthritis, and was assured that she was leash trained. I was also told that she was great with dogs and cats. When I arrived a the very sorry excuse for a shelter (then in Ferndale), I was immediately shocked by the disorganization of the volunteers and the deplorable conditions inside the so called shelter building. The dog I was to get was in a cage with no floor, standing in her own urine and feces barking like a crazy dog! She appeared much larger than the "under 40 pounds" that I was told she was (the pictures on Petfinder were deceiving). Ms. Potts was not there. I told a volunteer that I did not think I could take her, as she was nothing like I thought she would be. He tried to show me other (dirty, matted, sad looking dogs), but I was so overwhelmed, I wanted to cry. Ms. Potts did show up and I told her that I didn't think I could take Kima. She threw her arms up and stomped away angrily shouting that if I don't take the dog, she doesn't know what will happen to her...making me feel guilty. I did agree to take her. She threw a contract on the hood of her car and told me to read and sign, she told me to cross out the part about her being spayed, as the dog is not spayed. I asked if the rescue would cover the cost. She snapped at me that I am getting the dog at a discount and that I have to cover the cost of the spay; she told me to take her to All About Animals. I asked for the vaccinations records and she told me to call AAA, as she was vaccinated there and they would have the records. Needless to say, AAA does not keep shot records as they are not a full service vet. I paid the adoption fee, the spay fee, the immunizations and microchip. She exhibited dog agression with my daughter's female dog (before she was spayed) and I repeatedly called the rescue with no answer and no return calls!!! I even posted on their FB and sent emails. Ms. Potts never called me back. I was going to give the dog back. Then I decided that I would not give her back un neutered as I feared she may end up in the another puppy breeding situation. She was previously used as a "puppy factory". Then, as I realized that this rescue adopted out and unaltered 3 year old female Staffy mix to woman from another county, with no background, application or home check, I decided to keep the sweetie. After a great deal of money and training, she and I learned to love and trust each other very much, we are quite the team now! She is an ambassador for her breed. She is the mommy of Kerry T's baby, Lucky. I know of at least one other animal (a cat) besides Kima's baby that had to be rescued from Waggs and Wishes, as it too was very sick and did not receive proper vet care. Another rescue took her and got her proper vet care and she is healthy and beautiful now. I fear for many of the animals that have been adopted out un neutered and without vaccinations or proper vet care. It is a shame that this "rescue" is still taking advantage of caring animal loving people. read more

I find these post to be alittle funny, because most all of them are related! You are trying to give an animal rescue a bad name, well at least Angie is out there doing something that NONE of you would do, resuce a dog that was abused, starved, used as bait, exc.. Waggs and Wishes is off to a new start, we have new people, great volunteers, coordinators, and so many people to thank for there continued support. All these negative comments are doing is hurting the dogs that still need to be saved, it is so easy to talk "shit" but to walk the walk is another story. So if you are all dog lovers like you are claiming to be, I would be thanking all the people out there that are doing what you aren't, SAVING ANIMALS read more

It would seem now that the boarding facility where the dogs are being kept are about to turn over all the dogs to local animal control (where most of the pits/pit mixes will likely be euthanized without getting an opportunity to be adopted out.) I sincerely hope this means that W&W is closing up shop- when you are a no-kill rescue and your dogs are at risk of being killed, you have failed. Anyway, anybody who can help get those dogs out before they are turned over, please check out the Waggs & Wishes facebook page. read more

I recently had rescued a dog from this rescue. Could not figure out why they adopted the dog out to me when she was not spayed or had any shots. After a few weeks, my kids had become afraid of her because she was a bit too rough, I asked repeatedly for someone from the rescue to come get her, I was ignored til we called over and over. When someone finally came to get her, the woman was very rude and did not even let us say goodbye. I hope that beautiful pit is with a wonderful family and not with the rescue any longer. read more

I know this link is old however I am looking for a bit of help. I adopted a dog from my local pound whose microchip lead me to wags and wishes animal rescue. Apparently he was at the rescue with another dog. We were wanting to adopt the other dog so they could be together again. However I cannot seem to get in touch with anyone from this rescue. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you. read more

A good friend of mine saw a sad message about a dog who had just delivered puppies on the W&W facebook page and volunteered to be a Foster. The dog (Minnie) and her 10 puppies were brought to her house and basically dropped off. The foster didnt hear a WORD from anyone from W&W until she had to call repeatedly letting them know the mom had severe diarrhea and all 11 dogs were flea ridden. Eventually my friend came to find out that the dogs had PARVO and that this was not the first parvo outbreak for W&W because they do not VET dogs before they just drop them off to random people. There is NO fostering process, they just bring you a dog, drop it off and you dont hear from them until you TRACK THEM DOWN. My friend was BLAMED for these dogs getting parvo (an abandoned dog found in detroit, perfectly healthy ya know?) and had to rush her dogs to the vet where they were CLEARED and did NOT have parvo! Angie Potter and her BIG UNPROFESSIONAL MOUTH even blamed her on FACEBOOK! This "rescue" is unorganized, unprofessional and they LIE! DO NOT give them your money, they are not a CERTIFIED non-profit! They need to be SHUT DOWN until someone professional steps in and knows what they are doing to run that rescue! read more