Claws and Paws Rescue — Local services in West Branch

I recently went through the application process for new pup. I had my references checked, vet history checked, and virtual home tour. I had the home tour on June 1, 2020, and sent a follow up email on June 3, 2020 to inquire about the status of my application. I didn't receive a call until 8:45pm Sunday, June 7, 2020 to be told that my my adoption application was rejected. When I asked why I was not considered, I was told that because of my "recent graduation from school" (Graduated from graduate school in December 2017 - THREE YEARS AGO), and that my future career was unpredictable for remote work. I have been in my career for 2.5 YEARS, and am PERMANENTLY REMOTE. This detail was not verified by the Rescue, where I could have provided a letter from my Firm. The second reason was that I live with my parents, and if I move, the Rescue could not guarantee that my new adopted companion could travel with me. I confirmed in my application that I was living at home with my parents, and saving for a new home to purchase myself. The woman who did a virtual home tour also asked for my parents to be present to confirm that this was the case, and that they were onboard with having a new pup at home. She received this confirmation and support from my parents.

What I can't understand is why have me go through the reference check, vet check, and virtual home visit, if my application was denied due to this type of personal bias? I would also like to note that during the Virtual Home Visit, your representative took screenshots of my house without notification of intent, nor asking permission to do so. Ultimately, I shared my personal information with you, had pictures taken of my home without permission, only to be denied after this entire process by something that could have been decided by the application itself.

At the end of this all, when I asked the representative if I would be considered in the future for an adoption, she could not confirm that this would be possible.

I have adopted through Heavenly Paws and Paws for Life in the past with such a positive and pleasant experience. When working with your Rescue, I have never experienced such unprofessional conduct. To be denied on personal bias, and to be given a call on a Sunday night with the intent of leaving a voicemail for a rejection. Adding a new companion to your family is supposed to be an exciting and hopeful experience. Working with your Rescue has been nothing of the sort.

It is because of experiences like these that lead people to buy puppies...

Great organization. All animals are kept in foster homes while in the rescues care. The process for adopting is very through and several phases to assure for the best fit homes. Important to remember that there is only one of each animal and 100's of applications. From those say 50 have the references respond as needed and vet references cleared. Then a home visit and maybe 25 great homes for an animal. Because you may not get the dog you applied for does not mean the rescue doesn't think you wouldn't be a great home for an animal it is just that only one home can be chosen for each pet. They keep your application on file if interested at a later date. Fostering to adopt is also an option of being a pre-approved home for future animals as well. Also, remember the rescue is 100% volunteer based so there may not be someone there to answer every phone call because they maybe at a rescue or aiding in an adoption or running supplies to a food truck. Leave a message and they will call you back. Email is great too and may get a response from someone...

We did not end up adopting through Claws and Paws because we found a different puppy in the middle of our search, but I just wanted to share how kind and incredibly great this organization is. We had a really hard time finding a new pup, and this rescue went above and beyond to try and help our family find the right fit. I mostly worked with Mary, and she was so fantastic, even after I let her know we ended up going another route. Mary even asked if she could see a pic of the new addition and wanted to know all about her when I'm sure she was busy and had a lot of other things to do.

Just for comparison sake, when I got a call from a different rescue about 5 minutes after we adopted our new little, the lady on the phone said "good for you" and hung up. Completely opposite of Claws and Paws!

They do really great work for the animal community and I would highly recommend working with them if you can. They care so much about getting the right animals into the right homes and are...