Heart of Texas Lab Rescue

I have adopted several Labs through Heart of Texas Labrador Rescue. Wonderful organization.
Yes they are picky about where they place a Lab. And have had Labs in their program who have stayed for over a year until the right home was located. I greatly appreciate their commitment to the Labs in their care.

So very impressed with HOTLR. Wonderful organization to work with. unbelievable to me that anyone would give them fewer than 5 stars. Foster families we have met are angels for what they do, take in foster dogs, many who need nursing back to health. Some are with the families for 2 months, some much longer and these wonderful people give them up for adoption. I actually appreciate the applicaiton/​interview process as I would want to make sure that if I were to surrender a dog to a willing family, I would want to make sure the home is ready and accomodating. The meet and greets were well organized and we had plenty of time to spend with the dogs and ask questions of the foster families. The whole process was very well explained and we were told from the beginning that it may take 4 – 6 weeks to find the perfect fit for us. Depends on how many dogs they have, whether or not they are ready for adoption and how many families are looking to adopt.

WOW, so surprised by the unfavorable ratings! We adopted our Lab over 4 years ago. We absolutely LOVE our girl & had a wonderful experience with HOTLR. This is our first dog & I would not hesitate to choose HOTLR if we ever decided to get a friend for our beautiful girl.

I wish it was possible to give no stars as that would be much more reasonable for this organization… Margaret Huston assists shelters in the illegal confiscation of dogs she takes dogs into the rescue that were illegally taken from their owners without a judge or a jury or a trial and then refuses to give them back to the owner… She also states she’ll do smear campaigns on the individuals that this happens to and she submits falsified documentation to the microchip companies stating an animal was seized (even if they weren’t seized) in order to put her name on the microchip… how do I know this? Because it happened to my dog… my Apollo is missing I have been looking for him for three years… I have not gotten one update or photo on my poor dog who was illegally taken from me I have done everything in my power to try to find him and get him home I had and everything in my power to try to talk to the owner of this Rescue and that I even offered to pay whatever costs they put into my dog that they did not obtain from the adoption fee Margaret’s a heartless person and has no compassion for the lives of the animals that she takes in… and all she does this for is money and it’s ridiculous… Please bring my dog Apollo home there is a petition on the net if you Google Apollo’s law petition 2 Congress you will find it please sign and share and please help me to bring him home… I love you Apollo I’m still trying to get you back to me… MOMMY LOVES YOU SO MUCH :(

I am not one to want to put down an animal rescue group so it takes a lot to make me write this review. But I really hope it will help them to rethink the way they do business.
First let me say that I do volunteer work with a VERY small rescue, a non-​breed specific rescue so I am familiar with the rescue world. A friend contacted me about a chocolate lab that had been left in a backyard after the owner went to jail. Evidently the co-​occupant of the home, the jail birds girlfriend had moved out leaving behind 2 dogs in the backyard and neglected to tell anyone.
The landlord comes by to collect the rent some weeks later and finds the home vacant, one dog dead and another dog barely alive.
This was the chocolate lab in question. My friend asks me if I can help her find somewhere for this dog to go, the rescue I volunteer with was filled to the brim with 20 dogs already plus after a recently rescued street dog had been pregnant at the time of rescue she give birth to 7 pups bringing the population to 27 dogs!
So I reached out to HOTLAB after finding them on-​line. The volunteer I spoke with was great, she was very caring and compassionate and really wanted to help this dog!
She said she is just a volunteer and that she would have to contact the director of the group but that she didn’t think it would be a problem because they only had 6 dogs in their program at the moment. She also said that hotlab gets their dogs from the Austin Animal Center and that the dog would have to be taken there first and the ID number given to hotlab so they could pull him.
Great, sounds perfect! The volunteer gets back to me and says its a go, now all we have to do is get the dog to AAC and pass on the ID number to hotlab.
I contact my friend and she makes arrangements to pick up the dog from the landlord and take it right to AAC.
When she arrives at AAC she explains that hotlab is going to pull this dog and that she needs the dogs ID number. The staff tell her that there is no guarantee that hotlab will come for the dog and that they are very picky and may not select him etc.
All of this scares my friend off and she is afraid to leave him fearing he may be put to sleep.
So I agree to come get the dog from her as she has no place for him to go. I get a call from the volunteer who is asking for the dogs ID number so that when the director goes in the morning to look at dogs to pull she can have that info on hand. I call the volunteer back and explain what happened and ask when the next time the director will be going to AAC to pick up dogs so that he can chill with me (rather then a shelter) until she goes back to pick up dogs.
The volunteer (who was still being awesome and wanted to help this dog) says she will find out and call me back.
Well that call doesn’t come but what does follow is an e-​mail from the director stating that «they do NOT take in owner surrenders and they do NOT take it dogs from other rescues. Apparently since I was in possession of the dog and I volunteer for another rescue that the dog was now a part of the rescue I volunteer for and she was refusing to now help this dog.
With a heavy heart I take the skinny and starving dog to the vet with my negative money and do what I can on a budget to help this guy heal. I take on another dog onto my already brimming plate and struggle to fed one more dog all the while this BIG organization only has 6 dogs in their rescue and are refusing to help this dog.
The director seemed very cold and heartless and the one volunteer was trying to do everything she could to help this chocolate lab out. And it was clear that she was struggling to do so under the lack of compassion filled directors watch.
The dog went onto to be adopted by a Vet and her son and is now a very happy dog but it took a long time for this to happen because I just don’t have the same resources that hotlab does and it was merely by chance that I went to a new vet who really liked him and adopted him.
It is a VERY sad day when the director of an animal rescue organization can turn a blind eye to a dog in need that fits the exact breed that they rescue.
I really hope the director reads this review and regrets her choice here because it was really a heartbreaking moment to realize that hotlab could be so cold.

Rudest staff ever. Walked in, no one would even acknowledge us, then were very rude and not helpful. Never stepping foot in this place again.

I paid their application fee and filled out an application to adopt from HOTLabs. Several weeks passed and I never heard any response from them, nor was I able to get a response to my inquiries, even though they claim that they will respond within a reasonable time frame. I assumed that for whatever reason they had rejected my application, so I pursued alternative rescue options and obtained an awesome dog through Austin Pets Alive (APA!).
Several weeks later they called and indicated that they wanted to adopt a dog to me — I told them that I had already gone with someone else after their breach of contract response time and they got upset and threw a bunch of attitude around. At this point I don’t know if they’re incompetent, if the application is just a scam to collect the fees, or both.
My neighbor also had a negative experience with HOTLabs (I didn’t realize this until after the fact) and in his case he opted to go with a breeder instead of a rescue organization.
It’s unfortunate, but poorly managed rescue groups like this one can turn people away from rescue altogether and in the end it’s the dogs that suffer. I wish they could get their sh*t together enough to be a positive contribution to the rescue community but at this point I think they’re doing more harm than good.
In the end I ended up with an awesome dog and the lesson I learned about not working with a careless and mismanaged rescue organization was worth the application fee. I recommend APA! over HOTLabs any day.

HOTLR volunteers are awesome and the way they do the adoptions make sure you get a dog that is right for you and for the dog. I got my baby last Thanksgiving after a lot of vetting and communication and a meet-​and-​greet. I have never met such a sweet, well-​behaved, loving dog in my life. I just can’t imagine anyone ever giving her up. Its a little more work and money than the shelter. I found it to be worth it since I was trying to find a dog to fit in with another dog and a couple of cats. Its a perfect match!

The Heart of Texas Lab Rescue is a great organization.
I’m impressed by the dedication of the volunteer staff. They pay close attention to the local shelters and take labs in to foster homes, eliminating the chance a great pup will be euthanized.
The adoption process was great. One volunteer gives up his large home a few times a month to welcome several dogs and prospective families; the number of wagging tails and excited kids is just over the top. The coordinators work carefully with adopters to ensure a good match. Foster families take time to answer questions.
Any downsides? HOTLR adoptions are a little more expensive than other rescue organizations. But, that being said, my pup came in great health, fixed, microchipped, and up to date on shots and immunizations. It was worth it in the end.

Huge fans of HOTLab! The people are the best. The dogs even better! We’ve done a little volunteering with them as our schedule allows and also adopted the sweetest yellow Lab EVER. (our third)

We adopted Delilah a couple of years ago and couldn’t be more pleased that we chose to adopt rather than go to a breeder for a lab. The folks at Heart of Texas Lab Rescue (HOTLR) really care for Labradors and do their best to provide caring homes for each of their dogs. The adoption process is thorough, so you’re likely going to be paired with a dog fitting to your home and lifestyle.

If you’re thinking of getting a new dog, why don’t you consider adopting one? Heart of Texas Lab Rescue volunteers go into Central Texas shelters, find purebred Labs that have been abandoned, then test them to ensure they have «family-​friendly» temperaments. The dogs are then placed in foster homes where volunteer families give them obedience training, housetraining and lots of love and attention. Available dogs are listed on HOTLR’s excellent website where you can browse for the perfect color/​gender/​age. All dogs are spayed/​neutered, certified heartworm negative, current on shots and heartworm preventative and microchipped. The best part is that most of these dogs are past their puppy stage which means you don’t have to deal with the biting, chewing, barking and accidental elimination in the house that puppies are notorious for. Once you’ve selected a dog, you get to meet & greet him/​her to see if the two of you will be a good fit. If you have another dog, you can bring him/​her to the meet & greet to see if your dog approves of the newcomer. Dealing with the HOTLR staff is a positive experience too. They’re the nicest people in the world and are there to serve you and the dogs.
(Full disclosure: I’m a volunteer with HOTLR –gs)