Michigan Animal Rescue League — Local services in Pontiac

UPDATE 6/17 Still dealing with an absolute nightmare. I can’t even believe this. A couple months back we discovered she also has giardia. Again, 99.9% sure from the shelter. We have no other dogs, did not have her long enough for her to have gotten any of these illnesses with us & because of potty training she was never let off leash or go without supervision out side at the time. & because she was still battling kennel cough, we took her no where or around anything. There’s really no possible way she could have picked it up here. Or picked any of this up with us. We are still battling it. The vet also informed us that they (shelter) mixed up her paper work & registered her under the wrong microchip number. Another headache. It took several direct calls from my vet for them to finally deal with it. All my calls went ignored.. I wish I could give them 0 stars. This experience could not have been any worse & it’s making us regret our decision. We have spent THOUSANDS of dollars in vet bills SO FAR on a dog we’ve only had a few months & because these are all things the puppy contracted from the shelter, with them giving us no info on any of it, I do blame them 100%.. We’re not even out of the woods yet, she still has not been cleared for giardia after now 4 rounds of $200 per week medication & immune supplements.. The only reason I’m writing this review is to warn others who are considering adopting from this horrible place.. PLEASE PLEASE do so with caution. This is your warning for a possible sick animal, especially their puppies because you won’t get a warning from the staff. Which is incredibly sad for the animals needing homes.

We adopted a puppy less than a week ago, who we couldn’t be happier with. At the adoption staff seemed great & had great communication setting up our first meeting. Everything went smooth & we had no complaints.. The reason for the low stars however is due to the lack of information about the puppy’s health. I know they can’t guarantee health, however if it’s something the animal already has they should have let us know 100% right away up front & they didn’t.. We adopted Saturday & by Sunday morning our pup had serious kennel cough, fluid in her lungs, with a hard time catching her breath. which was absolutely not something that developed in less than 12 hours with us.. It resulted in an emergency vet visit, a missed day of work for my husband & 450 unexpected dollars out of our pocket. She needed 10 days of antibiotics & X-rays. It was especially seriously since she’s only 9 weeks old.. Our regular vet couldn’t see her yet because they were so booked out just like everyone else in the area so ER was the only option.. Any animal can have unexpected health scares but if it’s something the animal is going to need care for right away TELL PEOPLE. So they can plan accordingly.. We are pretty disappointed in that.. However puppy is on day 4 of antibiotics & is doing much better & will definitely make a full recovery.. Long story short, always be cautious adopting shelter pets, they don’t always get the care they deserve in such a...

I would like to thank the staff and volunteers at M.A.R.L. for everything you do for these animals in your care. My mother and I had been looking on Petfinder for months looking for a dog to adopt. We came across 2 Chihuahua mixes that we both liked, Pepito, 2 years old, and Chiquita, 8 years old. They were both at M.A.R.L, where my daughter had adopted one of her dogs a few years ago. By the description, these dogs were both possibly from the same situation. The dogs look to be mother and son, similar, yet very different. We decided we needed to immediately put in an application for both of these dogs to keep them together if possible. We applied on the weekend, and we were contacted on Tuesday. We scheduled a Meet and Greet with both dogs for the following day. We fell in love with them both immediately. We were blessed with an approval to take them home with us that day ! This Mama and Son duo have been adjusting to their new fur-ever home with us for a week now. They are definitely bonded, whether or not they are related, we will never know for sure. We do know they were together while at M.A.R.L. in the least. I think the connection is deeper though. I am happy that they get to be together fur-ever, either way. My mom and I are so grateful to have these sweet fur- babies to care for. They are adjusting beautifully, they are very well behaved, they are doing well with our cat. Our cat is doing well with the dogs too. They have everything a dog could want and more. We shower our little family members with love, treats, toys, beds, and more. These two will have a very good life full of love and attention. I questioned our sanity with deciding to adopt two, not one, at the same time. I'm sure in some ways it's a bit much with double the vet bills, but in the long run it was the best decision to keep this family together and add it to our family. We would have adopted another after training the first one anyway. This just speed up the plan. Then to our amazement they are perfectly behaved and fit in seamlessly. They need a bit of time to fully adjust of course, but so far they are just perfect darlings. Best decision ever ! They definitely belong with us, and we are so very blessed to have them. The facilities at M.A.R.L. are impeccable. Everything was clean, nothing smelled. Pepito and Chiquita were clean and smelled clean. The facility is well taken care of as are the animals. The staff was friendly and excited for us on this huge event in our lives. Pepito and Chiquita were both sent home fully vetted, with collars, leashes, and harnesses, plus a bag of food. I cannot recommend Michigan Animal Rescue League...

I had been a volunteer at MARL for around 5 years. It is a very nice facility. I liked it so much that when my 23 old son wanted to adopt a dog I had him come here to pick one out. He found a young Husky named Saint and there was an instant connection. He adopted Saint and renamed him Pierre. Within a few days Pierre started throwing up his food. I mentioned that to a staff member during my volunteer day ( 3 days after the adoption). I was told they would not have their vet see Pierre. I could bring a stool sample only. I was very disappointed. My son took Pierre to a vet near him. Pierre was given a shot to calm his stomach down. That did nothing. I took Pierre to my vet and they did $800 worth of tests and x-rays. They couldn’t see anything. Pierre was ok for a few days but then he would start throwing up all his food. This took a few weeks. We were scared for Pierre’s wellbeing. My son already spent $900 on vet bills and the $250 adoption fee. I went to my regular volunteer day at MARL and talked to Lena about this. She told me to bring Pierre in. They also got all the vet records from my vet. They did all the same tests and x-rays and came to the same conclusion. He lost 11 lbs they said and that was shocking . They waited a few days and gave my son Pierre back but they did tell him to bring Pierre back if he kept throwing up and they would perform an MRI to check for an obstruction. Not too surprising Pierre kept throwing up. So we took him back but to our total dismay they refused to do the MRI. We were floored. My son had no other choice but to return Pierre because he couldn’t afford the vet bills he knew he’d have to pay. And he feared for Pierre’s life. It was a very emotionally painful experience. We were both crying our eyes out. How could they do this. They promised to do the MRI. Months later my son saw on Facebook that MARL spent $3500 on Pierre for a surgical procedure. They said Pierre couldn’t have soft toys. Now we know it was an obstruction. At least Pierre is alive and well. My son put in an application for another dog but he never heard back from them. I no longer volunteer there. How could I after the horrible way they treated my son and I. My recommendation if you adopt from MARL is see if they offer a foster to adoption program. My son did this at another rescue and it worked out better for him. They even called my son on a few occasions to see if it was working out. Then they gave him free training lessons. My son and his new dog are doing well.

I did right a letter to MARL about this but they never responded. That’s why I am writing...