Friendship Animal Protective League — Local services in Elyria

I have given this review careful thought before writing. Do I recommend them? Yes and no. My husband and I adopted a dog from here about a month ago now. He is the love of my life and the perfect dog. When we adopted him, virtually nothing was known about his background. He is very timid when it comes to the world outside of his bubble (his new forever home), so I called Friendship about a week post adoption to see if they had any information in regard to his background. It turns out he was originally taken in by a partner rescue (breed specific rescue) from an Amish puppy mill.

I found this information out from the partner rescue because I contacted them directly and they were very helpful and provided me with information about puppy mill rescues and what to expect. But I do feel like this sort of information is paramount when it comes to adopting out the dogs. I have since done a lot of reading up on puppy mill rescues and it has explained so much about our boy’s behavior. We were told he was about 6 months old, but our vet is estimating him to be around a year old or so due to his teeth. Another thing that didn’t sit right with me is after taking in our dog from this puppy mill situation, they had him up for adoption only a few days after intake. I do understand they take in so many dogs, but I do feel like it is their responsibility to do their due diligence and obtain whatever information they possibly can and maybe spend a little more time with the dogs prior to putting them up for adoption because the PetFinder bios can be misleading.

Coincidence or not, I noticed that after I put in the call to Friendship and got in touch with the first rescue, I have seen every single bio listed on PetFinder to be far more thorough and it will also state if the dog came from a puppy mill situation. So I do appreciate them taking the time and effort to write more thorough bios and make sure adopters are well informed. Now that our boy has been in a loving home for almost 5 weeks now, he has really started to blossom and come out of his shell. And because we did find our beloved dog here, it is hard not to want to recommend Friendship to everyone. But I just wanted to share my thoughts and personal experience with Friendship APL. Do with it what you will.

Edit: I do think they do amazing work here and I am grateful for everything they do for the animals they take in, but I just wanted to share my thoughts about things that could use improvement. I will happily continue to donate and...

This shelter definitely cares about their animals but is extremely unorganized causing confusion and disappointment. My boyfriend and I came in to the shelter right when they opened and there were already two rooms full of people waiting to see the animals. We were told that we won’t be receiving a line number but that everyone else that was here before us would go first. We weren’t turned away by the line because we were so excited to adopt from them. We filled out an application and waited for about an hour and realized that people that came in after us were given numbers and were going before us. We still sat their patiently with a smile on our faces because we were just so excited. We eventually got called to go back and picked out a dog that we absolutely fell in love with. After spending time with this dog and realizing he was exactly what we were looking for we were told to go to the front to finish up the adoption process. We were then told that since we rent that we would need to show proof that we are able to have a dog. We presented them with a lease saying that dogs were allowed and they told us that it wasn’t enough and that we would need proof that we could have this SPECIFIC dog. The dog that was currently on the lease had passed away and the pet fee was still being payed every month. We rent from a realty company that was closed for the next couple of days and does not get back to tenants after being contacted. The dog that had been on the lease was about 40lbs heavier than the dog we wanted to adopt so there weren’t any weight restrictions. So we were told that we were unable to adopt until they had proof that we were allowed to have this specific dog. Since everything is first come first serve we were not be able to bring this dog home. This shelter really goes out of their way to make sure that the animal goes to a perfect home, which is great, but it is unfair how they fail to inform you of this process until you are set on an animal and about to walk out of the door with it. While this was happeneing to us, we witnessed a little girl sobbing while her mom held the puppy they planned on adopting and had to leave behind because of the same reason. Again, I think it is great that they care about these animals but it is unjust that they don’t inform you of what you need to present upon filling out the application at arrival. We left practically in tears from...

They obviously know where the puppy Mills are. They seem to come up with new puppies every week. Perhaps they should spend some time trying to shut these places down. Oh yes they come off as heros. But are they really in it for the money?? Most of the time they get dogs, cats, puppies and kittens. They have NO history on! But they do expect you to be a breed expert when you go to adopt one! The blond girl at the front desk. Has the personality of a well she has no personality. But she acts like she's better than anyone else. Don't know how much they pay you sweetie. But you better hope you never speak to anyone ever again like you did to me! I tried to adopt a old beagle She was a puppy mill momma! She had no clue how to be a regular dog. However the description in her profile made it seem otherwise. I knew that my home was not a proper fit for her! So did she! However when i tried to return her so she could get a "proper" home This young woman berated me! She told me I knew nothing about Beagle's. NEWS FLASH! I was raised around Beagle's You just think too much of yourself! Hope they used the $150 that I paid to get you some customer service training. Think before you speak! You don't know who is on the other side of the counter! You lost a loyal person to your organization because of your actions. Moreover, you lost my respect. You lost my donations You lost my recommending your APL to anyone else You want to berade some one. Berade your self. Next time anyone from there goes our to " Rescue" some puppies or kittens. Berade that person that is deliberately breeding these animals. Don't think for one minute that Friendship APL doesn't benefit from any of this! You are definitely wrong! Do you think it really cost them $250 to spay/ buyer a puppy or kitten? Most low cost vet clinics will do this with shots for $90 I am sure the Vet does it for them " Pro Bono" since they are a proposed Non Profit! Ever wonder what they make in Salary there? I do! Oh yes! There are a lot of Volunteers a lot of donations! Somebody does get paid! Don't believe for one minute that it doesn't happen!

And like magic...