Pet Match Rescue

If you want people to rescue your dogs you might want to show them at least a little respect. The women at the adoption event were rude and clearly didn’t have the time of day to even let me see the dog out of the cage. I even brought my dog to see if they would get along. My dog is also a rescue and I was hoping to add another to the family but it won’t be with this rescue. Everyone who comes to your events should be treated respectfully.

They denied our application for a dog they claimed was good for kids. Brought the entire family of 5 to meet the dog. He was perfect and great with the kids. They broke all my kids hearts. So sad… this dog is still in a cage.

I love the wonderful job they do! They help/​saved so many animals in need! And thank you to all their foster families who are always willing to care for a Doggy in need before finding their forever home ! Keep on the good job !! Thank you !

We have adopted two dogs from Pet Match. They are so perfect for our family. We originally wanted a dog that no one else was interested in, because we felt bad. They actually matched us with Dudley, who is such a joy!
Vanessa is our other amazing, sweet dog. I can’t imagine our lives without them.
Pet match came to our home both times to make sure it was acceptable and that we were appropriate «parents»
I remember thinking how hard it was to get our dog, but then I understood that they are just protecting the animals.
Such a wonderful group of volunteers!
We are so grateful for Pet Match and the beautiful animals they have allowed our family to adopt.

To respond to the negative report on NBC by Vikki Vargas. Too bad she didn’t get
the WHOLE STORY! I adopted by beautiful Abigail a Havanese/​Poodle mix in July of 2012 from Pet Match Rescue. Abby was rescued from a kill shelter by the gals at Pet Match Rescue. She was cared for and loved by them and her foster mommy. I can’t say enough for this organization for their care and love for the animals they rescue. Linda came to my
home to see for herself the surroundings/​condition of where Abby would live. I was most
impressed with the whole adoption process. I would highly recommend this
organization for adopting your pet. AND… by the way… this guy that was on this news
report yesterday. If he really loved his dog and was a responsible owner… he would have
registered his dog’s chip and have had a collar with owner’s info. He’s lucky he got
his dog back!!! Thank you PET MATCH RESCUE

our family has adopted 2 dogs from this rescue. both came from shelters that were documented, both dogs were a mess before they were rescued and cleaned up/​cared for by this wonderful organization. they had full vet documentation, were freshly groomed, and the rescuers took the time to know their personalities, and what kind of home they should be in.
this is not a profit based situation, these women love dogs and go to sad shelters… and pick the ones that will best be adoptable. they give extensive care to the dogs that need it. they spend the time to come to your home, i have no idea how someone can say this is a business.
our family is so grateful for both our dogs, and so happy they weren’t left in a shelter to be euthanized.

Had a very poor experience with this organization. All the negative reviews are true. I have had a dog for many years and was looking to have another dog join our family. The owner of the organization appears to be in it for the money. I noticed all of the dogs they bring to their adoption event are very cute and highly sought after dogs. Thus they are able to charge a much higher adoption rate. These dogs would have no problem being adopted at any shelter. Why not bring dogs that have a harder time bring adopted? Those dogs are in much greater need than the designer dogs they bring. I found the agency to be incredibly rude and not compassionate. I left with the feeling that these women are exploting these animals in order to make the most profit… appealing to the public that these animals are in desperate need of saving but in reality these dogs were hand picked to be brought in to get the highest amount of money. Would not recommend.

I am a current foster of dogs from Pet Match Rescue; I have fostered/​saved 6 dogs and am continuing to save more.
I came across PMR by chance after a heartbreaking pet loss about 6 months ago.
From the very first dog until today, the ladies at PMR have been the best, trying their best ALWAYS to find the best homes for the dogs.
Although I haven’t fostered for long and this is my first time fostering, I am so glad I am fostering with PMR because I can honestly tell everyone just wants the best for the dogs.
Some said in other reviews that the process seemed strange but really it isn’t.
There are many times when multiple people apply to adopt a dog but none of them get the dog or other times when someone gets to be the lucky adopter, it really just depends on whether the person applying seems to be the best fit for the dog.
This should be understood because obviously, we want all the dogs to go to their perfect FOREVER home, because they have all experienced painful good-​byes, and all of them are just sweethearts.
I am SO glad I am fostering with Pet Match Rescue and would recommend everyone to do so, if they have the space in their homes and their hearts because although it is hard to say goodbye to the sweet dogs, it is worth it, knowing you saved a life! :)
Please adopt and/​or foster if you can!

Unfortunately they rather their cats live in a box at petco then give a very friendly, sweet relaxed kitten to a family because i have a son (9 YEARS old) Who is in 4^th grade. Like he is two years away from legally being allowed to babysit a CHILD. Im so confused. also, the whole adoption process is to give a pet a home… so why make it that much harder than a pet store? I just got rejected for a cat because i have a cat… who is the same breed and is loving and wants to be friends with every cat and so we wanted to have a pair of kitties. Their breed is not an agressive breed of cats anyways. I am home ALL DAY. EVERYDAY. That is not good enough… so as much as I would hate to say it… go buy a cat if you fall in love with one through them chances are slim you will actually get it and youll disappoint your family. Also, isnt it weird how my son and my current cat are best friends literally and I am allowed to bring a baby into this world but somehow I am assumed to be too irresponsible to prevent a cat from running away? lol. pretentious and preventing cats from homes… oh and I have fostered cats… so yeah I do have some «cat experience» if that is a requirement. Weird and very unprofessional and unfair to the cats. I would hate it if someone was keeping me in a cage to find some perfect family. I guess perfect is a single person that works all day?

I found a beautiful puppy on their website that I was ready to adopt. I saw they were having an event the very next day at the petco in Irvine but unfortunately I was out of town. I emailed them expressing my interest in the puppy and never got a response. The next day, I called petco and asked to speak with one of the volunteers at pet match rescue. Everyone was apparently busy and couldn’t come to the phone so I agreed to call back later. When I called back, the petco employee informed me that none of those who work for pet match rescue would come to the phone bc «they don’t take phone calls». I expressed to him I just wanted to talk bc I was out of town but very interested in a dog and they STILL would not even take my call. I find it very interesting that a company who says they want to find loving homes for their pets cannot even talk to a very interested buyer over the phone. I hope the puppy I was interested in found a good home. I will be looking for another puppy in need from a different company who actually lives out their values.

I must say I was very impressed with Pet Match Rescue’s operation. I had been searching for a rescue for a couple weeks and went to a few different adoption events. While searching online I was interested in one PMR’s pups. I emailed to see if he was still available and I got a response within two days. They told me to show up at the event at Petco in Irvine. I printed out the application prior to the event filling it out completely.
I got to the event early in hopes to spend as much time with «Dolittle» as I possibly could. The first volunteer I met was Phyllis. She is absolutely amazing. She is a foster mom and and really takes great care of all of her pups. Yes the event is a bit chaotic. You have all of these foster parents coming with all of the foster fur babies and then you have all of these people coming to look at all the different animals. I have never seen an event so organized with so many people coming to look at dogs I think it says a lot for Linda, Julie and the volunteers. They take great pride and care in reviewing every application they receive and making sure the rescue is placed in the best possible home.
You can spend as much time as you want with whatever rescue you are interested in. They do tell you that if you are not chosen you will not get a callback. You know that upfront. I was on pins and needles waiting for a call back when I received the good news the following day on Mother’s Day.
Linda set up an appointment for that Tuesday to bring my little guy to the house and spent over an hour reviewing everything I needed to know about my little guy. She checked out the house and the backyard to make sure it was safe.
This organization is very passionate about what they do. You can tell by their website, their volunteers, their approach, and the fact that they go all over the state to rescue adoptable babies.
One of the reviewers on this site mentioned the cost being high for adoption. Understand that some of these babies are spayed or neutered, microchip, fed until they are adopted and some require medical attention. All of that cost money. I think the adoption fee is more than reasonable. Look at it as a donation to one of your favorite charities. You would probably spend that much anyway if you have the means to take care of an animal.
I can’t say enough wonderful things about this organization. Thank you very much for rescuing me!

The rescue events hosted by this organization are by far the most un-​organized and chaotic pet rescue events on the planet, you are better off buying a Picasso at an auction gala.
The «volunteers» at these events give very generalized information to your questions and refer you to a «flyer» in a plexiglass stand and the woman sitting at the desk is about as helpful as a sliding glass door on a submarine.
If you do find a dog you fall in love with you have to stand around waiting to pet it AND THEN fill out an application which you are told by the «volunteers» how many billions of people have already put in an application so you’re basically playing a dog lottery.
If there are so many applications why bring the dog to show off at the event? Why not wait until there are LESS APPLICANTS vs. peddling false hope every weekend to poor children expecting to find their new best friend.
And to boot, these woman (especially the blonde sitting at the desk handing out clipboards) are so incredibly rude. They treat you like you’re basically a nobody. Like cattle. If you have it in your heart to rescue vs. pet store you deserve a little respect at the very least, not be treated like a door mat for goodness sake.
Yes make your organization about the animals, but don’t treat people disrespectfully and peddle false hope. Treat your hopeful adopters just as well as you CLAIM to treat your animals.
Shame on this organizations people skills.

Please Unilocal do not take this down. I personally read five of the negative reviews that you do not recommend. This is when qualitative analysis reigns over quantitative. Just getting a mean score is not enough. My criticisms of Pet Match Rescue is based upon three visits. My review mirrors the same as the negative reviews that you have posted as well as those who are not recommended.
One poster stated well maybe those who are negative about PMR is that they got rejected from adoption. In my case, this could be not farther from the truth. Every dog I ever adopted live wonderful long lives with me, and I am the one who people come to if they need a dog to adopt. All the rescue organizations, except for a couple great ones, have been mediocre to just terrible that I have experienced.
My review and others can save time for people who are sincere in adopting a dog without confronting the negative people who run this rescue organization.
Pet Match Rescue are like a few I have encountered. They care about lining their pockets with money whomever they think can afford the outrageous fee they charge. Hey I can afford it and I have home trained dogs from the street and ones I have adopted from hobby breeders that cannot show some from their litter.
PMR misrepresent they only give a favorable online description of the pets for adoption. It is after you have submitted your adoption form, the ladies at this organization come up with the negatives of the dog – maybe they do this if they don’t want you to adopt. For example, this poor Golden Retriever they stated was 4 years old, hey I know what a 4 year old looks like. The poor lanky soul, underfed, was around 7 with a white beard and later the foster revealed his teeth were decayed. No big thing for me as I adopted a Golden from the streets on the lam, who was estimated to be 7 years old, and had equally bad teeth. I had him for five years until his death from lymphatic sarcoma.
On the last three visits at PetCo Irvine adoption day, my sweetheart Bob, a Golden, accompanied me as it is important if I try to find a companion for him we need to check out if he interacts well with the dog of our choice. Generally, my Golden gets on well with everyone, kids, people, and my house trained rabbits. The two rode hard chick ladies running the show appeared jealous that he was getting more attention than their dogs for adoption. People always come up to my dogs and ask to pat them as they are approachable, friendly, and well trained.
The fosters are generally nice it just these battle axes as owners of this rescue org that need an attitude check and need to get out of the dog business which is the problem.
On this last go around, I filled out their application which generally takes 20 minutes to present a readable document. I have bit of arthritis in my right hand, I apologized to this Peggy chick owner that I had some work to do earlier and passed by a little late at 2:30 pm to check out a companion for my dog. Three pm is the cut off to visit with the dogs. She said she remembered me, but that they were ready to leave like she didn’t want to take my application but hesitatingly she did. These ladies are always wanting to leave earlier than 3pm. I have observed them packing up at 2:45 pm.
Her «hefty» friend as Tracy C points out was another winner, holding a blind dog. My dog meandered over and he had his harness on with a leash, this old battle axe freaked out and snarled at me as if my dog was going to jump her dog. I told her lady I used to train on a blind horse, and through my non verbal behavior told her to cool her jets.
Last month one foster noticed like I did that an Afenpinscher bonded with my Bob, the Golden. The Peggy chick with her other rode hard partner ignored me, and then said well the Afenpinscher bites and you say on your app that you would return a biter.
I said let me be clear «if he bites numerous people» Lady I don’t have a choice the city does. I had a dog that was with me until death for 10 years he hated other dogs but I controlled him. Geesh you can’t be honest with people they would rather see you sued. Yes, dogs who would bite occasionally, I would not surrender.
Bottom line, these women should not be running a rescue organization, the dogs are the ones that should be let loose in the store and put these uptight money grabbing women in a cage so they can snarl and drool… Free dogs from human capitalists. Don’t make money on dogs, socialize the government so that well meaning dog owners can afford dogs at a reasonable price. Sorry Unilocal if I interject my opinion which according to free speech allows especially when you are reviewing a vendor that do not pass the bar.

It blows my mind that people give this place bad reviews based on the fact that the dog-​adoption events are «hectic.» Maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise that an event hosting dozens of abandoned animals and run by volunteers is a little chaotic. I found everyone volunteering to be incredible helpful, patient, and genuinely interested in helping us find the perfect pet.

I couldn’t agree less with the negative reviews about this group. I got my dog Charlie (formerly Marbles) from this group in mid-​November of 2014.
While the adoption events are a little hectic, they do a great job of putting info up on online about all their available dogs. I found the info to be very accurate and helpful, such that when we arrived to the adoption event we had narrowed down our interest to two dogs.
It’s true volunteers are busy, but I found them to be very sweet and helpful, and they are obviously concerned with finding the dogs a good home that will be a good fit for BOTH the dog and the owner.
I actually still email with them, letting them know how Charlie is doing, and they are always very responsive and sweet.
As for the dog, Charlie is just wonderful. We love him so so much and he has been an amazing addition to our family! I can’t imagine my life without him now.
They are a wonderful organization and they do great work. For the people complaining, these people are all volunteers who do this out of the kindness of their hearts. These events can’t be seamless quiet events that cater to every person who walks in the door of a busy Pet Store on a Saturday afternoon!

Very responsive to our emails and application. We have adopted two dogs. Shay, our first beautiful dog, really needed a friend. Linda brought Shay to our house and it was love at first sight. Linda even hung out for about an hour giving me wanted advice and helpful hints.
We then saw another dog of interest on their website so I went to an event with Shay and the two dogs were not a match. Linda and Julie were incredible and so kind when saying that they did not think it was a good pairing, which I was in complete agreement with. Another puppy, now known as Gus, caught my eye but seemed to be incredibly desired. I left with my one beautiful dog and hoped to find a buddy for our puppy another time.
I checked their helpful website later that week, noticed Gus was still available, emailed Julie and she immediately responded and said she too thought Shay and Gus would be a good pair. She was right!!! Shay and Gus are our awesome dogs and we could not happier. While their adoption fee seemed steep, our wonderful dogs were worth every penny. I highly recommend them. Julie and Linda were always incredibly pleasant, friendly, responsive, and over all great.

When I was searching around Petfinder I saw a dog that took my breath away. He belonged to this rescue.
We recently adopted our second dog, Sterling (formerly Barton) from Pet Match. As all other reviewers have stated, the adoption event is a bit of a zoo. Just come ready for chaos and make sure you are there early, to get as much one on one time as possible. As far as the «attitudes» of the volunteers mentioned in other reviews– I couldn’t agree less. Everyone was so kind and sweet, and Julie (owner) was incredible. They let us take a lot of time with Sterling, and his foster parent answered my 10,526 questions.
My husband wasn’t there, but I brought my mom and my Golden Retriever puppy, Jasmine. They hit it off right away. Julie actually took some time with just my puppy to evaluate her. It was VERY clear to me that finding the right home FOR THE DOG is important.
It turns out Sterling had a ton of applications on him, and although he had attended a few events, no family was picked because it wasn’t the right fit. I like that before a home check, the family/​dog compatibility is determined. It saves everyone a lot of time and false hope.
We ended up getting the call at around 5 pm Sunday… the LONGEST 26 hours of my life! He came to us Thursday of that week, as we live in San Diego and it was difficult with transport.
The only area of improvement would be customer responses. I emailed and received a form letter back telling me to come to the event. I also called and emailed after the event and got no response. Their voicemail states they will not call people back. I get that they are busy, and have many people interested (attend an event and you’ll agree), but a quick email or call would go a long way.
Either way, DOGS COME FIRST at this rescue, and that is how it should be!

After seeing a dog I was interested in adopting on
, I contacted Pet Match Rescue for more info and an application. The email seemed generic but clear on the steps to proceed.
When I attended their adoption event at Petco, I was overwhelmed. I couldn’t imagine how the dogs were feeling. There were a lot of people (about 3 different organizations were also there) milling around. Many were there to inquire about the same dog I was interested in. My husband and I waited patiently for our turn to spend time with him and ask questions. The person assisting us was helpful enough, even allowing us to walk with him outside. From my impression, however, some applicants were very pushy and tried to cut in from our time. While we received helpful information about the dog, we didn’t feel as if we had quality time with the dog due to all the commotion.
After the event, I didn’t think I had a shot since I got the impression that they were looking for an older couple more likely to be able to spend more time at home with the dog. Lo and behold, I got a missed call from them. Unfortunately, what happened after was identical to what happened to Tracey C. from her review below. I understand the organization needs to be speedy in order to spend their time and energy on other dogs that need rescuing. However, they could definitely be more clear in their voice message and be more responsive when people call back.
Pet Match Rescue seems to do good work and is very busy saving dogs’ lives. I do wish that they could treat people interested in their dogs better, since a lot of us are very emotionally vested in the adoption process as well.

When I first came to the adoption I was really excited to meet all the dogs. The first lady I ran into gave me total attitude like I wasn’t worthy of any of their dogs. So I left that day and thought I would come back with my husband anyways. 2^nd experience was better. They were VERY busy but I thought that was a great thing because so many dogs will find homes! Didn’t seem to be the case though, they are very choosy with who they let go home with dogs. I understand needing to match the dog up with a good home but this was a little TOO choosy.
The dog we went to see had been up for adoption for a few weeks before we went to go see him and when we got there the lady said 4 people had already applied for him! So I didn’t get my hopes up. If he’s popular and finds a home then great! Well he didn’t get adopted for at least 3 more weeks. Didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.
I know these people are doing great things in rescuing these dogs and finding them homes, I just think they could be a little less choosy and maybe they would find so many other dogs homes.
Needless to say, I went to another organization and got a pup who is VERY happy in his new home. :)

We’d seen some of the fosters and rescues from Pet Match Rescues and decided they would be our first choice in finding our new family member. The dogs are obviously treated like the precious little gems that they deserve to be. As far as I can tell, no dog is just placed with a new family just because there is no other choice for that dog. They scrutinize every application and each individual. I guess we were lucky, because after filling out the paperwork ahead of time, choosing from the descriptions on the website, attending a rescue event and deciding on one of the more popular pups… we were chosen to parent «Olive» (new name). She is as precious as her picture portrayed. She’s been well socialized and obviously loved by her foster parents. After only a week she recognizes and responds to her new name, is potty-​training like a little champ and loves her big (doodle) sister.
As with everything in life, there were a couple of paperwork snafus that come with running such an important, emotionally draining, heartfelt, and busy organization… but Julie and Linda couldn’t have been sweeter from beginning to end. After reading some of the other reviews, I’m more convinced than ever that they can «feel» loving, committed puppy parents. These dogs have already been through so much… why put them with people that won’t be able to spend every waking moment protecting and cherishing them. They can see individuals looking for a temporary «toy» for their children from a mile away. If you’re REALLY ready for a new family member, be patient. They’ll find you the puppy that needs you.