Heal Animal Rescue — Local services in Youngwood

This organization is filled with the biggest hearts, the hardest workers and the kindest people I know. There are over 100+ volunteers that frequent the shelter monthly, some driving an hour to volunteer and some volunteering 4-5 times a week. The volunteers are truly amazing. They show up when they are tired, when it's -15 degrees in the winter, when it's 90 degrees in the summer, when it rains, when it's Christmas, Saturday night or the 4th of July.

Robin & Bethany, the only staff at the shelter, give far more than they are paid to do often staying long after their "paid hours" to make sure all the animals are cared for and loved. They give 100% every single day and the board, volunteers and animals love them both for their commitment and sacrifice.

The dogs & cats that are in the care of The Animal Friends of Westmoreland, while waiting to find their forever homes, are walked a minimum of three times a day (while their kennels are being cleaned), they have play time and go on field trips, they receive the best veterinarian care including physical exams, distemper, rabies & bordetella vaccines, spay/neuter surgeries, microchipped, flea treated, deworming, nail trims and a bath not to mention additional medical treatment when needed. Dogs even receive behavior evaluations and training if neccessary and most of all they receive TONS of love and attention (not to mention peanut butter snacks, treats and toys!) Cats also receive the same top notch care with vaccines and spay/neuters as well as feline leuk testing prior to entering the free roam kitty suite.

The entire board is volunteer and spend an enormous amount of time and countless hours on the direction, fundraising, marketing and future vision of the shelter. The building that the shelter is in has been used by the organization free of charge since 2006 and just recently everyone came together to pull off the largest rescue in the shelter's history, saving 67 animals from the now closed Fayette SPCA. It took the staff, the board and a ton of volunteers as well as numerous businesses/individuals within the community to make yet another donated building, (just doors up from the shelter) suitable to house all the animals rescued from that shelter. It was all hands on deck and no one sat on the sidelines.

The van that the shelter drives has been donated as well as all the new sidewalks and the new concrete parking area. The white vinyl privacy fence conceals two huge outdoor runs so dogs who may have spent their whole lives tied to a tree can stretch their legs and run without the constrains of a leash. The exercise areas are equipped with K9grass, a special turf type material with drainage underneath to sanitize and clean. In the middle of those two outdoor spaces, is the beautiful 'Paw Print Pathway' which has all been donated by hundreds of people. Each brick in memory of and in honor of the people and pets that we have been blessed to share our lives with.

The people that are involved with this charity are selfless, compassionate and caring. The animals are their #1 priority and the dogs and cats here are truly treated as if they were our own.

Animal Friends of Westmoreland is blessed to have some of the most amazing people support us and our mission. Some do it with their time, some with their talents and skills, and some with their financial contributions. EVERYONE at this organization is here for the animals.

How do I know all this? Because I am the Founder/President of The Animal Friends of Westmoreland and I am HONORED and PROUD to stand and serve with our staff, our volunteers, our supporters and our donors. OUR mission is to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome abandoned and abused animals. We are committed to this cause and invite you to join us. Donate. Educate. Volunteer. Adopt. Be a voice!

Sincerely, Candy Nelson Founder, President, Donor, Adopter...

I've got to say that this "shelter" is one of the most suspicious places I have ever been to. Not only are they only open a couple hours a day but it's only on weekdays in the middle of the day! If you're even lucky enough to get in that tiny opening, only a few whimpers can be heard so they obviously don't have the massive stock of homeless animals they claim to have. And there's no possible way they've rehomed thousands of animals in 3 years with only having the space for maybe 5 dogs and 3 cats at a time! The building is tiny and the only windows it has are in the lobby and the apartment above the shelter. Only recently did AFW put a 7 foot wall fence around their previously one car gravel parking space where I'm assuming the dumpster is(as none are obviously about the building). There is no longer anywhere to park but the house next doors driveway and there is no yard nor grass save for aforementioned neighbor's postage stamp of land. When I asked around not a single person had ever actually SEEN any animals come out of the shelter, not even for a walk around the neighborhood. The only other time the owners of this private shelter have been seen is when asking for donations for "the shelter" due to lack of funds. Except. They just bought a small WAREHOUSE down the street! They plan to use it to store animals. Again in a building with no windows and no yard. When asked about volunteers during one donations booth they had set up they informed me they had more than enough volunteers and only lacked the money to buy the routine meds and food required. No one but the owners have ever been seen around the building much less all these volunteers they claim to have. If you send in an application you will get declined.(I sent in 4 with varying names, addresses, and locations to test this)

But this whole deal smells like a sham. From my eyes not only are these poor animals not being treated correctly but the owner is focusing more on getting money than anything else. In order to adopt out the thousands they claim to in such a short time period they'd have to literally rehome at least two a day. Each dog costing no less than $150 a head and cats around $100 and with a 4 hour window and no customers I just don't see them rehoming that many and still being financially burdened. I don't like the building these animals are housed in, I don't like the fact no body seems to pay attention to them, I don't like the fact they only registered themselves as a shelter within the last couple years despite being open since 2009(supposedly) and only got a sign signally that this was a business and not an empty building as was previously thought by the neighborhood a bit over a year ago. Why wait so long to actually tell people you're a shelter despite being open for 3 years and existing for 5? And I ESPECIALLY don't like the fact that these rescued animals(most of which are abused or elderly) are going to be housed in a brick warehouse.

This whole thing can't possibly be real. There's just no way this is a business that actually cares about the little lives...

The staff in the “office" area has a serious God complex. They had various excuses for NOT letting my husband and I meet different animals. Having no real information about us or our ability to provide a loving forever home, their favorite phrase seemed to be "Oh, this one's not for you." They even resorted to saying things about the animals that was nowhere to be found on the information actually posted about them. Examples include, "that one bites," "that one is old," or "that one has to be adopted with this other one." We would have had no problem adopting a pair.

Quite frankly, they seemed more interested in obtaining our information for their mailing list than actually finding a loving home for any of their critters. The final insult came when, after we had expressed interest in a particularly charming dog to the point of spending time with her and completing an application, we were casually informed that there was already an applicant ahead of us for "that one." This is information that should have been given BEFORE looking at or meeting the animal.

We have our own house, no current pets, and the financial means to provide a loving home. We have references and even a reference from a VET we have used for all our animals the past 15 years! It's not only us or other families seeking to adopt who really suffer from this shelter's needless exclusivity; it's the helpless, homeless animals who are the...