Pound Puppy Rescue

We found PPR via Facebook and decided to regularly check their updates/​events since we wanted to get a companion for our puppy, Leo, that we had adopted from another organization a year ago. This time, however, we were looking for an older dog atleast a couple of months old since we already had our hands full with Leo and went through the entire training process with him (He was 10 weeks old when we got him!). We showed interest in 3 dogs, went all the way to even meet with one to see how our dog got along with the other one. The dogs did not seem to get along and so we were assured that we were welcome to show interest in other PPR dogs. However, when we showed interest in another dog and were asked for a phone interview, we replied we were happy to do it but we had also been interviewed once before. The reply that I got after that is the reason I am leaving this review today. The PPR representative in her email said since we applied so many times and did not go ahead with the adoption, we should consider looking at other rescue organizations and even suggested I read a book about raising a puppy. I was really hurt by that email as it seemed to cast a doubt on our intention to adopt. What else could we gain by showing an interest a dog? We did want to adopt but we also wanted to make sure we got home a dog that would be part of the family which also meant getting along with Leo. If anything, our decision to go slow showed we took this responsibility seriously. Also, nobody ever contacted us regarding that phone interview. We will take their suggestion and be in touch with other rescue organizations who recognize dog lovers and are more welcoming.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for our furbaby!!!

GREAT organization with truly passionate volunteers. We filled out the adoption paperwork and went to an adoption event and it was PACKED! Granted there were 9 supremely adorable lab mix puppies. They got through everyone in a reasonable time and interviewed us extensively. We got to meet the pups and then were sent home to think about whether we still wanted to adopt and if so, which puppies (if any) were our top choices. A few days later we heard back with good news that we were getting a puppy and they sent us over all sorts of paperwork to look through as well as a link to a puppy cam where we could see all the pups! So cute! That following weekend we went down to pick up our puppy and met with the foster parents along with the other families adopting and had an orientation and went over some puppy101 and then were free to go. The level of care an attention they gave to our puppy has been evident from day one, she was so well socialized and clearly «loved». The foster parents continue to keep in touch and check in, amazing. Can’t say enough great things. Please keep up the good work and THANK YOU! :)

First of all, they save puppies. Who can argue with that being a wonderful cause? It’s not as simple as it sounds, and the volunteers put lots of work and love into caring for these little needy creatures.
Second of all, they find these puppies good home. I am happy to say that we are one of those recent homes and we have been thrilled with our new little family addition. He is healthy and strong and Pound Puppy Rescue made him that way, instead of a stray on the street. Thank you!
Third, the adoption process itself was not too difficult. THere is always paperwork, but it is helpful that the foster family has been available to answer questions, and we came home with info on the dog food they have been having, the shot record and vet records, and everything we need to know to get our new pup on track to be cared for here. It isn’t easy to get through all the adoption event crowds and interviews, but if you are determined it is very worth it.

I have been researching rescue options to adopt a puppy for our family. This organization won’t allow us to adopt from them because we have children under the age of 6. I was told that they do not budge on this requirement at all despite all other factors being favorable. It’s unfortunate that they chose to stereotype families with small children and not consider all aspects of a home. We will look elsewhere for rescue opportunities or possibly go to a breeder if we have to.

PPR connected me with the first true love of my life, Lucy. Lucy was fostered with a wonderful family with her whole litter and mom. She was well adjusted, socialized and had some training when she came to her forever home at 8weeks old.
A wonderful experience all the way around, professional, accountable and so positive that we recently added another furry member to our family care of PPR.
Thank you PPR for bringing so much love into my life and bring such a wonderful agency for dogs and humans alike.

Great experience and wonderful coordinators!
First time with this organization, very smooth process and great follow up.

I would highly recommend this rescue organization to anyone looking to adopt. Our adoption process was easy. No issue’s at all.
We followed the rules and instructions. completed the paperwork and were able to see the puppy at one of PPR’s events.
Foster Mom Cindy (and her family) did a wonderful job with this little puppy. We adopted a little female mixed terrier in 2013 and she is absolutely the sweetest little girl.
PPR does a great job rescuing dogs and finding the perfect homes for them! Our experience was so wonderful, we are looking to adopt another pup!

I would like to give them more stars because I appreciate what they are doing for the dogs but what happened to me today was totally unacceptable. This organization is not professional in its communication. Was looking online earlier during the week to adopt one of the puppies. I contacted them that evening by filling out an application online and accepting my invitation to the adoption event (3 days later). Their response was very quick and I was excited to hear that the puppy was still up for adoption. Since we live about 2 hours away from where the event was held we had to plan our day and weekend accordingly which was fine with us… we were excited to be able to see and hopefully be approved to take this sweet puppy named «Dottie» home. They sent me a confirmation email the next day with information on where the event was located, time of event and all the dogs that were going to be included in it (Dottie and her sister Doris were on the list), as well as information stating that the only way you can adopt these dogs is to come to the event this weekend since they don’t do adoption at any other times. That morning we made the drive down there and got there an hour early to ensure that we would be the first ones to get interviewed. In the email again it said first come first served for the interview. We figured that once someone from PPR arrived they would notice us there with our application in hand. NOPE… a volunteer with no sort of indication of who she was with started walking around with a clipboard asking people to sign in. We were there first… I thought we should have been acknowledged first. Once we realized what she was doing I went up and asked to sign in next… she handed the clipboard to someone else then and did not pay attention to me asking her, «Is this where we sign up for the puppy adoption interviews?» She was rude and just kept chatting with other people. We waited around for another 45 minutes after that and watched many of the puppies coming in. As the time got closer to when we would be able to see that puppies we were getting concerned because we hadn’t seeing Dottie or Doris yet. We figured maybe they were already inside before we had even gotten there. Everyone then is allowed to go in and see the puppies, so like a wild herd of cattle with kids pushing through people we walk in and expect the see the two girls in their little kennels. When we looked at each puppy carefully and noticed the sisters weren’t there we asked someone where they were. She didn’t know so she went to ask. When she came back she said, «Oh they’ve already been adopted.» I said, «Excuse me? How is that possible?» Of course she didn’t know. Once we heard that we were so pissed off that we just left. It was so frustrating!!!
What this organization is doing is great for the animals but a horrible process for those looking to adopt them. The communication is lacking terribly. Once the dog was adopted they should have contacted me to let me know she wouldn’t be there especially since I was in contact with them every day leading up to the event and had confirmed multiple times with them. On the other hand, they told me these puppies are only to be adopted at these events so who was able to adopt it during the week?! That seems a little unfair to those like me looking to give this girl a forever home and then being denied and them going against their own rules. What a joke.
Sorry for the long story but it is just so irritating and a waste of my time and money to be told 4 short words and leave with nothing but a bad attitude about the PPR. Won’t ever be contacting them again for adoption services.

It has been 9 years since we adopted our so called border collie mix. Oh my she is so not a border collie mix because she does not have smart bone in her body. Oh so sweet though and would not trade her for anything.
We were having a home inspection by PPR for another dog and that dog fell through but Kathleen said she had 6 puppies in the car that were very young. We picked Elvira out and in a couple of weeks time we brought her home.
My only issue was she was spayed far far far too young. I think when spayed to early it causes other issues and she does have issues.
YES I would adopt again from PPR

We adopted our Bella from PPR 2 years ago this October. She has been a wonderful and loving addition to our family and we are so grateful to PPR for the love and care they provided to her mother, Taffy, and her litter. The fosters with PPR obviously put a lot of time and energy into caring for and socializing the puppies.
Bella’s predecessor, who passed away after 13+ awesome years with us, was also a rescue puppy (from another rescue group in Ohio, where we were residing at the time). We were thus not surprised at the screening process we went through to adopt Bella. For the record, I was working part-​time at the time, hubby has always worked full time, and we have two school-​aged kids in many activities. The application was long, but I felt that the questions were not only reasonable, but necessary to ensure proper placement of a puppy. This screening process works both ways, as you need to make sure a puppy’s temperament will be a good fit for the family.
PPR pups are spayed/​neutered, vaccinated to 6 weeks, and microchipped; the adoption fee covers all this and is VERY reasonable.
I love that the microchip has PPR’s contact information as a secondary contact– it’s reassuring that our dog will have someone else looking out for her in the event of who-​know-​what-​could-​happen.
I can’t say enough about this wonderful non-​profit group. Thank you PPR, for all that you do!

Pound Puppy Rescue is a great organization! It is basically made up of a group of volunteers around the Bay Area who foster dogs until they are matched with a «forever family.» They mostly rescue pregnant dogs and puppies and pay for all the vet bills to help the mother give safe birth as well as vaccinate and neuter all the puppies. Even if a dog is really sick, they do all they can to help it make it.
We found out about them when we were looking to get a puppy. We didn’t want to get one from a puppy mill but were a little fearful of getting one from the pound since you never know how badly they have been abused. We thought this organization was great since you get an 8 week old puppy with a blank slate who would otherwise be homeless or be sent to the pound. We found a really cute puppy that looked like a mix of corgi and cattle dog. We went to visit it at the foster mom’s house. It was great to see all these puppies living in a nice house with all their siblings as well as with the mom. The volunteers taking care of them were really nice and were doing an amazing job in making sure they were healthy and were getting a good start in life. We fell in love with them and applied for one. It is true that they ask a lot of you in terms of pictures of your house to make sure that your house is puppy safe and they do ask you a lot of questions to make sure that you are committed both in terms of time and financially. We thought it would be super easy to get one since at the pound you can basically just walk away with one. However, here they want to ensure that none of these puppies end up at the pound. They want to make sure that the families that adopt them are aware of the time commitment it takes to raise a puppy. We got really lucky and ended up getting one. It’s been 4 months since and we are very happy. They try to adopt each littler to Bay Area people so that you have the option of staying in touch with the new families of your puppy’s siblings. We have and it is awesome. Our puppy is now going to puppy class with one of his litter mates and has been on play dates with some of his other litter mates. They also had a one year reunion party and it was great to see everybody there and see how different litters grow and look so similar.
So, don’t expect it to be an easy adoption process but know that that is because they want to make sure that these puppies go to their forever homes and don’t end up in the pound!

I have nothing but great things to say about Pound Puppy Rescue. They are in it to save puppies and dogs and to unite them with loving homes. They have so many litters of puppies come through them, anybody is sure to eventually find the right pup for their family.
They want you to educate yourself about what it means to have a high energy, high maintenance puppy so you know what you are getting into. I remember reading a whole book before getting mine and it was eye opening to see the new information at your fingertips on how to deal with puppy issues and each developmental milestone. I was really grateful they «required» this reading. We then got paired with an absolutely WONDERFUL dog– Dasher. He makes every day better and has taught my kids compassion with animals.
Any organization that doesn’t pre-​screen or require the whole family to be on the same page is doing the dog a disservice. The sheer numbers of animals who are given back or given up are so high, it is an organization who would rather try for a good fit that makes it a good one. What’s more heartbreaking than not getting your «chosen» dog immediately, is the many a dog who is given up because it wasn’t a good fit in the first place.
If you are going to a rescue because you believe in saving a dog’s life, and you want a puppy or dog that has been surrounded in love from the minute the foster gets him or her, this is the place for you! If you don’t get your dog paired with you right away, there will be MANY MANY litters to come and one will be the right one for you.
If you saw the numbers of gorgeous, loving dogs put to sleep because there’s no room in shelters, you would not give a breeder a second look. You’d know in your heart it is not the right thing to do.

I rescued my dog Gus (David and Goliath Litter) through PPR about 3 years ago and couldn’t be happier about my experience. I originally saw his cute little face on
and then visited a PPR event at the Mountain View Petsmart. Everyone I interacted with was kind and I could genuinely feel their love and passion for dogs. I didn’t feel that their application process was unreasonable or unfair in anyway. After filling out an application and being interviewed by a volunteer, I was contacted the following week saying I had been selected to be Gus’ mom. I can’t imagine my life without Gus and feel really grateful to PPR for saving his life.
One of the positive things about PPR in my opinion is that they want to stay connected with their dogs. There is an annual reunion that everyone is invited to. They are also really good about staying connected through their Facebook Page. They always post photos of older PPR dogs in their forever homes.
I also really love the PPR community in general. There are a lot of proud and generous people connected through their own personal experiences with this organization and they never cease to amaze me. PPR is the best.

Pound puppy rescue brought Jett into my life and will be forever grateful! Adoption process was easy. They paid for all the current shots and neutered him! I would recommend them to anyone looking to adopt a furry friend!

Pound Puppy Rescue gave us our little Shadow who has changed our lives for the better. I had a dog growing up who passed away of cancer suddenly two years before we adopted from PPR. I was heartbroken and when my husband and I were in a position to adopt a puppy, we went to a PPR event.
My husband and I were both able to take our dog to work with us and were committed financially to getting our puppy training, socialization, boarding, and exercise twice per day. We fell in love with Shadow the minute we met her. The foster parent came and looked at our apartment before agreeing to let her join our family. Respect the process and if you are a good fit as a dog owner, you can adopt from PPR.
I want to address the people who have left negative reviews because they were denied an adoption… If you’ve ever volunteered with one of these organizations, you know how frustrating and sad it is when families dump their now unwanted dogs at shelters after days, weeks, months, even years with the dog. PPR makes a LIFETIME commitment to the dog, so if there’s an issue, they try to find the dog a new home. Obviously, they try to limit how often this happens. Puppies are particularly challenging because they go through so many changes in 9 months. People aren’t always prepared for the ups and downs, and if they’re not emotionally committed to the dog yet, it may seem easy to just return it. That’s why PPR has such a rigorous process — to increase the odds that the puppy stays in the home and reduce the number of re-​homes.
For those on Unilocal who say «go through a breeder,» shame on you. Shame on you for encouraging and financing a system that euthanizes millions of dogs every year. Every time a breeder makes money off of perpetuating more dogs that need homes, that’s another rescue dog, another shelter dog, that doesn’t get a home. There’s a finite number of homes and a growing number of dogs — it’s just math. Never ever BUY a dog. Why would you when you know there are so many that will be destroyed without your help? Rescue dogs rule! If you need a hypoallergenic dog, go through a specific breed rescue that’s already re-​placing a dog that was returned.
PPR’s adoption fees barely cover the costs of fostering, spaying/​neutering, vaccinating, and covering the occasional high medical expenses to put these puppies up for adoption. It is entirely volunteer, no one takes a salary.
If you’re not sure about PPR, know that they are a rock solid organization with dedicated fosters who treat every dog like he/​she is their own. We can’t imagine our life without our little Shadow!

We adopted our puppy Jasper from PPR, and he is the best and so is PPR.
If you are ready to adopt and are committed to taking care of a dog, then I would recommend PPR to anyone. They rescue lots of dogs including pregnant mothers, not just the cutest ones in shelters like some other organizations. Most (if not all) dogs adopted out from PPR are fostered, so they are already well socialized and often trained well. Jasper was potty trained and crate trained when he came to our home, and he had great manners from having two older foster brothers.
It is true that PPR takes it’s position as a rescue and adoption organization seriously. They will try their best to adopt pets to families and individuals that are ready for pet ownership, but please understand that in doing so they are trying their best to ensure that the dogs in their care do not return to shelters because the families were unready for a puppy (because let’s be serious here, having a puppy is rough for the first several weeks!). It’s a commitment for the lifetime of the animal, and that is not to be taken lightly. Everyone I encountered through PPR was warm, loving, and committed to saving as many animals as they could.
Sorry for the long review, but PPR is great. They also have a wonderful community through Facebook and PPR puppy get-​togethers annually.
If you were turned down by PPR, give them another chance if you feel so inclined. If not, there are plenty of other organizations out there adopting out great dogs. As long as PPR ensures that shelter dogs get homes, then they are doing their job, and a job that they excel at. It is obvious from reading other reviews here that the dogs that PPR adopts out don’t have crazy health issues like puppy mill dogs, and that their dogs are ready to start life in their forever homes because of their fostering policy. In my book that makes PPR a great organization. People who were turned down might not think so, but at the end of the day this is about getting abandoned and forsaken animals homes. PPR does that, and excels at it.

We adopted our pup, Chewie, from PPR in February. I can’t say thank you enough to his foster family & PPR for the love & preparation they gave him while he was in their care. We truly received our perfect puppy. I was very hesitant when we started looking for a pup because of my concern with the dog’s transition into our home. We live in an urban environment & a previous attempt at adoption ended horribly when we were allowed to adopt (without pre-​screening) a dog who was not able to exist healthily in an urban environment. Re-​homing that dog was incredibly hard on me & I was concerned about going through the process again.
PPR’s home standards & meeting with Chewie’s foster family completely allayed my fears. Getting feedback from a veteran puppy raising family about his behavior & personality is what sealed the deal for me. Knowing a rescue dog’s complete background history is SO important and that is a unique plus that you get from adopting through PPR. Plus, when the foster family said that if we weren’t going to adopt him that they would made me realize that this was a perfect dog.
I cannot imagine our home without our Chew-​man! Thank you for helping raise such a loving and happy puppy!!!

I recently adopted a puppy from Pound Puppy Rescue. I could not be happier! I spent about a year looking at many different organizations before deciding to go with Pound Puppy Rescue. I really value their approach to finding homes for these puppies. Home fostering the puppies until they are ready for their new homes. I visited both a volunteers home to meet a litter of puppies and went to their adoption events.
All the volunteers were very friendly and remembered my name each time I came. I went through the interview process and had a home inspection done. I know to some people that might sound like a lot to adopt a puppy but it is worth it. I am glad they want to check your home to make sure it is safe for animals (checking the fences and making sure the puppy will have room to run and play).
PPR set up an email contact list so that I keep in contact with all of my puppy’s litter mates. We schedule puppy play dates and are able to discuss our puppy’s developments.
This is a wonderful organization! They make sure that these puppies ate healthy and never see the inside of a shelter!
In response to those of you that were upset by the restrictions placed on you (i.e. time your puppy can be alone), it is a fact puppies need to be taken to the bathroom every two hours. Puppies (like babies) also need constant attention. This organization has only the best interest of the puppies at heart. I too have had several dogs in the past so I understand that being told what to do with your puppy can be frustrating but please remember that this is a volunteer organization and each member cares very deeply and puts hours into home fostering the puppies and making sure they are healthy and go to a loving home.

9÷9÷13
Hi,
I just wanted to come on Unilocal to update my review that I posted. My original post was just based upon my experience adopting from Pound Puppy. Since the original post, I have become a volunteer with Pound Puppy Rescue. I have run adoption events, interviewed people, and fostered puppies. I will tell you that all of it is hard work. Everyone who «works» for Pound Puppy Rescue is a volunteer. I work part time and attend college full time. My «work» with Pound Puppy Rescue is something I do on my own time because I love it, just like the other volunteers who have full time jobs in addition to all the volunteer work they do for Pound Puppy. I like to emphasize volunteer because it is an unpaid thing. All the blood, sweat, and tears is because we love what we do and want the best for each and every single one of the puppies.
I will admit when I adopted my first dog from Pound Puppy, the process was intimidating and we were not sure we would be getting a puppy. This wasn’t because people weren’t friendly or they were rude, quite the opposite. Everyone we interacted with throughout the process was great. The questions and interviews made you really think about the commitment. We had already had a dog from a puppy to nine years old, when he unfortunately passed due to cancer, so we thought «well we have been through it, we remember having a puppy». To some extent, we did, but even having had a dog, you can forget just how much work it really is, so it is good to just keep it in mind and be prepared.
As a volunteer, I will tell you that absolutely everything we do is for the puppies. I have fostered and had families apply who were great and would love the puppy but the puppy had more energy than that family was expecting. We can’t just match a puppy to someone, we have to make sure it is the right match. If we have someone who wants a couch potato dog and applied for a high energy breed, we have to consider both the applicant and the puppy. It may not be the right match. If we have someone who only wants a medium size dog, not a large dog, we can’t guarantee size because most of the time we don’t know the exact breed mix, so we have to make sure if the puppy grows up to be larger than they expect, will they be okay with that and sometimes people aren’t okay with that.
I really hope people, both the negative commenters and people looking at reviews, realize that everything is for the puppies and to ensure that matches between puppy and their forever family are good ones.
Thank you!
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FIRST REVIEW (posted on 1÷21÷12):
Okay, I cannot express how much I LOVE Pound Puppy Rescue! We got both of our dogs from them. Everyone is so caring and nice. I feel like it is a little family and once you have adopted, you’re a member :) I like to keep updated on all the amazing work they do and try and talk to people I know adopting rescues (specifically through PPR, but in general as well). I would like to say thank you to everyone who makes PPR run so smoothly and let you know how much I whole heartedly appreciate the great work that you do :)
We love our puppies! Maya (aka Toad from the Nintendo Litter) is a 9 months old German Shepherd/​Aussie mix (or so is assumed) and Cooper (aka Chance from the Vineyard Litter) is a 9 week old Black Lab/​Border Collie mix!
REGARDING THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS BELOW: I don’t know what happened in your situations, but honestly, even if they were difficult, wouldn’t you just be happy that they are at least trying to find the puppies the best possible home? From my experience, I have noticed that they know each pup’s personality pretty well and that they are really good at picking appropriate homes. This is not to say you are not an appropriate home for a dog, just that maybe not for that particular dog. PLUS since there are so many people per puppy, they have to ability to be picky with who they choose and find who they think fits the pups the best. Good luck!