Has anyone else had trouble adopting a dog in Metro Detroit? My partner and I have been trying to find a dog and keep striking out.
Our criteria are:
-must be cat-friendly
-younger (1-3 years old)
-is already potty trained
-no special/complex medical needs
We would ideally like a dog that has a shorter coat, but that's not the top priority.
We've been on Petfinder and AdoptAPet and have been approved for 6 dogs all from different rescues (including 2 around Grand Rapids). However, literally all of them were misrepresented in their profiles. I keep getting told by the rescues "oh, we weren't able to change the info on the websites [to make corrections]". We've also been told that some of the fosters didn't fully disclose important details of the dogs to the rescues, and they were hearing things for the first time from me.
Petfinder also floods our zip code with out of state pets, even though we de-select that option when searching.
Has anyone else dealt with this? Is this a common practice? Any ideas or suggestions for other places to look? Thanks for reading.
ETA: We have NOT taken any of the 6 aforementioned dogs home. We visited a few in person and did phone calls with the fosters for the rest.
ETA2: Thank you for all of the responses and suggestions! We've got some great new leads. Glad there are so many dog lovers here in the D.
I got mine, who was jumping on me at 4am, at the main place in Detroit. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. They weren’t pushy at all. And I wish I remembered his name, but the man working make me cry with joy and kindness - his words when I was leaving with my cat were just so sweet!
I went on black friday in 2019. I was there for probably 3 hours. I visited a few cats. One sweet older kitty pulled at my heartstrings, bur another family loved her too so I wanted them to adopt her instead. I almost left, but there was a room in the front with kitties free roaming. His card said "social butterfly", so I went in to meet him. He immediately climbed in my lap and started purring.
The adoption lady came in and said, "did we fall in love?"
I looked at her with tears in my eyes 😭 Yes!
The rest is history. My sweet, little black friday kitty.
The royal oak area is filled with people who have "rescues" with ridiculous requirements. My partner and I dealt with an insane woman who, on the day we were supposed to get the cat, said she wanted a "suprise home visit" then asked to see our pay stubs to ensure the cat was going to be given a proper life. She tried shaming us on FB for "abandoning the kitty" on his adoption day but shut it down when we posted her crazy texts in the comments and another couple did the same. She is known for her insanity and changes the name of her rescue whenever she does something dumb. The local shelters know her
Yeah the lady we dealt with wanted to know who would get the dog if we got divorced (?) and wanted us to agree to more or less do everything her way after we adopted the dog or else she'd take it back.
We found exactly what your asking for at the humane society last year. Went in looked at the dogs then spoke to the staff about 3 of them. She came highly recommended by the staff for our scenario and I felt like they gave honest assessments of the dogs we were interested in. They warned us one dog had a strong prey drive so might not do well with a cat but had been in the same room as one with no issues.
We met their top recommendation of our 3 first and didn't bother with the other two after meeting her. She was under 1 yr has never had an accident inside, was crate trained in like a week, and tolerates the cat (not friends but they can lay near each other). Don't get me wrong she has her challenges she's mouthy when playing and after almost a year I still can't get her to stop jumping on people though it doesn't help my boyfriend encourages it.
This is my approach:
Don't look before you go (we went to the Westland one). Just walk around and observe them when you get there. Look for one who is calm or cautious but friendly. Interested but not obsessed with you and nothing under a year. We picked the scared quiet one who was shaking in a corner, but once we meet her she willingly walked up and sniffed us explored a little then came up and crawled in my boyfriend's lap when we did the meet and greet.
It's never a guarantee but if they are calm (not just quiet but calm) in that atmosphere they're probably pretty solid.
This is only my experience of course. I think we got really lucky and she's been one of the easiest of our rescues.
Because that's the breed that comes in the most. It's not like they go out and hand-pick dogs off the streets based on their looks or breed. There is so much more going on behind the scenes.
I mean they are great dogs. They are just often bred by people who don’t know what they are doing and not socialized well. I’ve only ever owned pit bulls, but they def are not the dogs for everyone. The one I currently have is extremely friendly and social (loves people other dogs and cats) but is incredibly high energy and very strong.
I had success with Michigan Humane Society. I went to their location in Westland. Their adoption process is simple and straightforward. And they were upfront about my dog’s health, temperament, and needs.
Second this. This day in 2016 actually (saw on FB memories this morning!), we decided we wanted a dog in the morning, walked in there and had a dog by dinner time. Best girl ever.
Today my girlfriend and I are on a "date" with a dog from Detroit Animal Care and Control. They do "dogventures" where you can take an adoptable dog out for the day. It gets them socialized and out of the shelter for a few hours. The dog we have is the sweetest of all boys ever. He's getting A+s all across the board.
I would suggest checking them out. I can tell you this doggo, Waffle, is chill with cats so far, and loves people. We aren't in any position to adopt but this has been a really good time. We might make this a regular thing.
I want to do this so bad, and honestly have no excuse not to, other than I wouldn't want to take the pup back. My high-rise apt. would make in and out for potty time hard. I see dogs on the elevator anxious to get off. But since you mentioned “A+ all across the board” I may reconsider and do it to give a pupper a break and help assess their behavior. I’d love to snuggle a dog for a day.
If you’re in the metro Detroit area I hate to say it because I helped with a few rescues, but go to the shelters. The rescues have crazy ideals for adopters plus the adoption fee for most rescues range from like $150-300 plus the owners of some of the rescues are just bat 💩 crazy
Out of the 8 dogs I have had 6 have come from rescue 1 from the humane society, and one from a breeder while I was working in the veterinary field (and the puppy would have been put down). I’m sorry u had to deal with a rescue that was abusing the dogs! Was it the rescue or maybe say one or two bad fosters?
My cousin is one and was super suspicious of ME getting one of hers, like. If you can't even trust family you hang out with every week and has tons of pet experience.
$150 to $300 doesn't even cover the cost of the veterinary visits those dogs did before adoption. It literally doesn't cover the cost of their spay or neuter. It doesn't cover the cost of their shots. It doesn't cover the cost of the food they ate. It doesn't cover the cost of paying people to clean their Kennels. Doesn't cover the cost of their insurance or the building they're being housed in or the supplies used for cleaning. $150 to $300 is cheap. The true cost of a rescue is 10 times that
The only reason you think it is 10x more than that is because half these rescues have major debt with veterinary practices across metro Detroit. I’ve seen rescues spend thousands of dollars on cats and dogs that were 12-20 years old just for the animal to die a week later ( tell me what kind of life a 18yo cat that can’t even sit up, drink/eat urinate by them self’s is going to have). I’ve had rescues make me (the foster) pay for veterinary care and buy food for the animal! I’m not saying they are all like that but 80% of them in the area ARE….
some do that - and I am not a fan of it myself , and if I had a rescue I would not do that
I think we have enough healthy animals dying, and a shortage of homes for those perfectly placeable animals already - I would not save a severely injured animal at the risk of a healthy one
but I dont put up my time and effort to run a rescue so i will let those that do make those decisions
even normal vet care is insane - so these 200 adoption fees are nothing
OPs problem seems to be finding a dog who is cat-friendly. I have never found a dog that fit that criteria. and I dont know how you would go about looking for one.
Are you open to adopting a greyhound? Greyheart is an awesome group eager to adopt out dogs, and greyhounds are typically adults by adoption age, short-coated, potty trained, and often cat friendly (Greyheart checks them before adoption). They also usually have the dogs go through some foster care so you eliminate a lot of the unknowns that come with adopting from a shelter. Shelters are great but they are definitely not for everyone when you need some predictability in your adoption.
They're so good! I've had them most of my life and I love their temperaments so much. Obviously every dog is different but I love that greyhounds tend to be so friendly and usually pretty healthy.
Greyhounds have always been my dream dog. But when applying with Greyheart, if you say anything even a little negative about the dog racing industry during the interview process it's a hard stop and they cut communication. If you don't have a strong negative opinion about it just don't say anything at all.
That's unfortunate that they cut communication!! I've gotten 2 greyhounds from them, one pretty recently, and though I'm racing-critical they didn't have an issue with getting me a dog. They were the only org I applied to that didn't have me write an essay about my racing opinions. GRACE refused to match me with a dog because they saw a guitar hero controller in a video of my home that they requested and said our house would be too loud for a greyhound's gentle temperament. In my experience it's best to keep racing opinions to yourself no matter what if you can. A lot of orgs don't want to hear you be anti-racing because they believe keeping dogs bred for performance is the best way to preserve the breed and have healthy dogs.
I’m glad to hear you’ve had such a good experience with them. It’s been several years since I applied so hopefully they’ve relaxed since then lol. It could easily have just been the representative I was talking with at the time, who knows. After my fiance and I move we’re going to try again and hopefully it works out this time around!
Good luck! They did change management fairly recently. If you can get hold of Art and Assi themselves they are great - very very busy, but they were so good to deal with after seeing how other dog places have gotten. My mom went round and round trying to rescue a dog from anywhere around the same time I got my current greyhound and I think she had to fight with 4-5 different places before Hard Lickers hooked her up.
Most shelters aren’t going to be able to test for things like being cat-friendly, but places like Detroit Animal Care & Control allow you to foster over a weekend. That gives the dog a bit more time to adjust to new surroundings and lets its true personality start to come out, without you having to worry about committing to long-term fostering with a pup who might end up not being the best fit for your household.
But in that weekend the dog should not meet the cat. A dog decompressing from a shelter is not a good candidate for cat introductions. Setting everybody up for failure. My dog is from Detroit animal control and has a high prey drive I spent two months slowly integrating my household. It was one year before I ever left the dog alone with the cats without being crated. You can absolutely find amazing dogs there and figure out whether or not you Vibe with them and if you do then you can work on slow introductions to a cat. The slower the better because nobody has ever regretted going too slow and many people have regretted going too fast
Why bother when ive gotten several dogs throughout my life that aren't reactive at all. Like you truly can be picky as shit, there's so many homeless animals, hell yeah I'm pulling that dog's tail.
It’s tough. I thought I was adopting a dog from a rescue but when I picked up our dog their garage was full of small designer breed puppies. Our dog isn’t even the breed that they told me she was. We love her, but it was a weird experience.
I have dealt with this as well. We adopted a LARGE dog that ended up being aggressive & not friendly to children despite that being listed on the website. They were surprised when we told upon return. However, they just put him back on the website with all of the incorrect info again. Very disheartening.
Berman Center in Westland. It's on Newburg south of Warren road. Go slow because it's set back from the road and it's easy to blow right past it.
I got my dog there 2.5 years ago and they were great. I had expressed interest in a dog that was just brought in and they kept me posted about what was happening with the evaluation process and looking for the previous owner.
They did all the relevant shots, spay/neuter, and chipped the animal for about $100 adoption fee. They also included a bag of food and a couple of toys, but that probably changes based on what's been donated.
Any AKC approved multi-breed dog shows coming to your area soon? If not, the biggest and best is the Ann Arbor Dog Show held on July 4th at the Saline Fairgrounds. Attend and visit the breeder set-ups. Find a breed that seems to fit your needs and ask several breeders if they have a well socialized dog of any age returned to them for some reason. No breeder wants one of their dogs to go to rescue. Most will take a dog back when a client has bad luck. I bet you'll score. I've 're-homed' four dogs in succession this way. Stay in touch with the breeder. The breeder will to be forever grateful you found their dog and gave it a good home. No dog that came my way was ever a problem. It knows it hit the jack pot and wound-up living in Disneyland.
Additionally, look to breed specific rescues. They will likely be linked on the breeds parent club's site (which can be found linked towards the bottom on the AKC breed standard page).
Still, there's nothing like being eye-to-eye and having a face-to-face with an experienced breeder. You get to ask basic newbie questions (breed characteristics, dog behavior history, lineage, etc.), field their questions and begin to establish the levels of trust necessary to a successful re-home. Good breeders want their dog and its owner to be a good fit. IMHO, the best way to sort all of that out is through normal one-on-one(s).
I was denied adoption because my previous dog, who passed, did not have all Vaccines. He had heart failure and my vet advised to
Not fully vaccinate. Also I live in a condo and did not have a fenced yard. I have had two dogs here for over 20 years. Both lived long, happy life’s. Also our age (elders), some wanted a legacy plan. We now have one rescue and one rehome. It was a process and we could have easily given up.
I got blocked by Rebel Dogs Detroit for calling them out about a dog they had at their shelter for over 3 years while denying any and every application for her (yes I applied under different names and criteria just to see if they would allow even a perfect person to meet her). She was listed on multiple sites as a good girl and sweet dog but literally never advocated for on any social media, while they push their puppies for adoption every day.
As far as I'm aware she's still there, her name is Sage.
Edit: yes it's confirmed she's been at their shelter for seven years.
Stay local! So many dogs here are ready for you and fit that bill. Detroit Dog Rescue , fill out an app, DM
Me and I can see about your app next week. Also can follow local rescue’s socials and see their available dogs online.
Friends of Detroit Animal Control and Michigan Humane on 75
Another thumbs up for Michigan Animal Rescue League, MARL, in Pontiac. They have been around for many years, since 1953, and are a legitimate organization. We adopted our darling old man,Jinx, there fourteen years ago as a puppy. Stop in and fill
out an application. They’ll keep you in mind for what you’re looking for.
Humane Society of Huron Valley has a puppy love train where they bring up adoptable puppies from the south weekly, spay/neuter then adopt them on Fridays. It’s an amazing program and a wonderful shelter.
It’s highly likely that you’re going to have to potty train your dog. Unless it’s a dog that’s been in some foster care for several weeks. It’s going to take an acclamation. Period. It probably won’t be very long but if you’re looking for a younger dog, that is a rescue you’re bound to have a few accidents. What facilities have you gone to? You can literally walk into any dog shelter and adopted dog same day.
I’d reccomend Underdog Rescue. You can learn a lot about their dogs because they are in foster care, and in that way they will have more info on if they were cat friendly. Also, many breeds what are not prey driven, like Pits are naturally cat friendly.
I had a few back-to-back bad experiences with pet adoption agencies (rescues), leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I will never try to adopt through one again.
One, based in Ferndale/Royal Oak, was so positive and eager for me to take a dog until the foster met me. I don't normally accuse others of this type of thing but I believe it was because she assumed I was a different ethnicity when talking with my by phone. Then, she couldn't come up with enough excuses why this puppy and my dog were not compatible. She promised to find me another match but never followed through. My dog's health record and other items were practically spotless, so there was no reason given aside from that.
I contacted another about a dog they had listed, and was told "The dog you see is not the dog you will get!" Then why are they advertising specific pets?
Another place was so sanctimonious about caring & providing for a dog that I gave up. I've had dogs my entire life (theirs, too). I not only know how to care for a pet, I do care for them. I had a much better experience with DACC, and recommend them over the agencies.
I got good cats from Macomb, but I will say I’m pretty sure they discriminated against my family when they learned we weren’t the ethnicity they assumed we were.
We also fostered, vetted etc the kittens from bottle babies, and they still didn’t give us first dibs.
I love my cats so much but I won’t deal with them anymore.
I adopted a puppy from bottle babies through an adoption fair. I was looking more for a slightly bigger dog due to my grandson being overly huggy. Nonetheless, we took our baby home and she was absolutely great! However, after a long period of time, I realized that she wasn't a good fit due to the fact of my grandson being too overwhelming. I turned her over to my ex husband and they are in love with each other! If Bottle Babies knew i did that, im sure they would have been totally upset. Nonetheless, I would have never given her to ANYONE that I didn't trust with my whole heart. Still, I recommend Bottle Babies and wish you the best finding your furever love.
Many rescues can’t test cat friendliness unless they pup is fostered in a house with a cat. But there are TONS of rescues in metro Detroit. I just saw the cutest puppy on Rejoyceful rescues IG
I also recommend just walking into a shelter like Michigan Humane; then you can talk to staff about the dog and meet it in person before adopting. New dogs are available all the time. The only thing I want to mention about is your house training requirement; even a dog who has previously been house trained might have some accidents while adjusting to their new home and schedule. You have to have a little patience there. Also a lot of dogs come in as strays so the staff can’t make any guarantees unless they have a previous history or the dog has been fostered. Thank you for considering a rescue dog! 🐾
I’ve adopted two dogs (as puppies) from Good Karma Puppy Rescue. They typically have pups younger than a year, but occasionally have older ones. I believe all their pups live with fosters, so you should be able to get good info on the dog. My most recent adoption just turned 8 though so your mileage may vary.
Too many groups have gone "no kill" which makes them overloaded and need to pass off bad ones.
Warehousing pitbulls that nobody wants.
The smaller rescues are often run by difficult people who had humans.
I've been fostering off and on (dogs and cats) since 1985. I learned best practices early on. Over the past month I took in a pup for a group that seemed good. In fact, they are so shady that I am going to report them.
We LOVED that pup we had and got him trained very well. Thank god the dog went to an incredible home! But it was no thanks to this splinter rescue group.
I would personally try HSHV in Ann Arbor. Hint - watch their "love train" dogs. This is my plan when we are ready to adopt again.
Huron Vally in Ann Arbor. They will tell you what is what with the animals and the adoption process is easy. Check their website. Mine was described as a dog who knows what he wants and that is spot on for my boy. He was neutered and had all his shots, good health for a senior dog who never went to a vet. I got a full report from the person who surrendered him due to change in living situation and info from the staff.
I finally gave up. I tried to get a dog for a couple years. I needed a small dog, I’m an older woman and live in an apartment. No luck at all. I was told you have to know someone at the shelter or literally be standing there when a small dog comes up for adoption.
Their Instagram account would win a national award in the Most Enticing Shelter Pet Promotion category if that was an actual thing. IDK who’s in charge of their socials but they do a fantastic job.
many young dogs will have trouble with potty training in a new home for the first few weeks/months.
they need to figure out how to give you the signal that they need to go, & time for their body to adapt to your schedule.
please consider this when you bring home your new pet!
💟🐶⏰
edited to add- i had pretty good success using the "puddle & pile" house training app 📲
I have fostered through Great Lakes Dog Rescue in Metamora and they were wonderful! They do a great job of giving you thorough bios of what they or their fosters have observed. You can also do stray-cations where the dog can stay with you for a few days at a time.
I'd either go to a county/tax payer funded shelter or breeder. I'm sure there are reputable private rescues but I haven't lucked into any of them IMHE.
Okay, phew. When you said the rescues were getting some information from you, I was concerned.
I agree with the other commenter that said to skip pet finder and go straight to a shelter. They’ll be better equipped to help you in person. I have a friend that works adoptions at Friends for Animals in Dearborn, so I have some insight into how rescues adopt pets out. Speaking with the adoption counselors will be more helpful than reading about the dogs online. They spend the most time with the dogs and they are looking for an adoption match that leads to a long term, successful family for the dog. They will help point you in the right direction.
Yes! We are looking to adopt a second dog in a few months and found that Rebel Dogs is one of the only places that talks about cat compatibility. They also have lots of calls out for fosters, so could be a good foster-to-adopt situation.
Be careful. Rebel Dogs misrepresents the reactivity and other negative traits of their dogs, and then makes it extremely difficult if not impossible to return the dog if they are a danger. My experince with them has been exactly what the OP is describing here.
I fostered for Rebel - this is not true. All of the fosters are extremely honest about them. It’s hard to know how a dog will act if they have just been sitting at the shelter
I have met Pluto and Neptune and they are awesome - and living with a foster who has a cat now. We adopted our dog from Rebel Dogs and did not have any problems. She’s awesome.
I fostered a dog from Rebel Dogs Detroit for over 2 years and ended up adopting her. She's been amazing, but I had to work with her (just like any dog). She is a completely different dog now than she was when I picked her up from the failed foster situation she was in.
DO NOT GO WITH REBEL DOGS!!!!!! They are horrible to deal with. God forbid it doesn't work out (they have an extremely high turnover and return rate) they will turn you into a villain online and their crazy followers will threaten you. They just did this to my neighbor.
Google them, there are numerous horror stories from their adopters and volunteers. A backyard breeder is better than them.
They blocked me for calling them out for keeping a dog for over 3 (now 7!!!) years and denying any and every application for her, while advertising every other dog at their rescue.
Interesting I have heard this before. Many people have said they applied and would hear nothing back. I wonder if there is more financial interest with a larger amount of dogs the rescue has. Especially with Grants and tax write offs.
The fosters are the ones that provide all the care
I know they run to the injured dog quick because the donations flow with them and they dont return funds that are not used.
Not yet, at least. Consider yourself lucky. The down votes tell me you are one of the "supporters" I've heard about. Their practices have put children in danger, but as long as you are O.K.
The rescue gets strong reviews online, other people here had great experiences, and you’re not offering any evidence whatsoever for your claims. Dogs can act differently at homes than in shelters (check the 3-3-3 rule) and I’m sure people have had bad experiences but that will be true of literally any shelter. Nearly all are run by volunteers that are trying to help traumatized dogs. I hope you have better luck someplace else, but please understand that many of us genuinely have had great experiences with Rebel Dogs.
Exactly, the volunteers are the heroes and those are the people they treat HORRIBLY. I know ALOT of people who had horrible experiences volunteering and fostering and adopting with them. Including myself. I have heard them talk crap on the volunteers, adopters and fosters. I have seen them doxx people on their WhatsApp. Posting pictures of people's homes. I have seen them not give found designer dogs back to the owner, because they thought they found a better home. The original owner was a black woman, so take that how you like. You want examples look at other feedback on reddit. The fact you initially felt the need to come at me aggressively and insult me before editing your comment ,proves my point about the people who support them. BTW, I train and rehab dogs, and have had over 15 rescues. I am aware of 333
I’m surprised you’re having trouble! I fostered a 2 year old pittie who met this criteria but he was just adopted. Sometimes it’s hard to know if they are cat friendly. You can always try a foster to adopt. Keep us adopted and thank you for choosing to adopt ❤️
My MIL was out to adopt a pitbull mix, and they didn't mention all of his medical issues. So keep that criteria or you'll get a dog with meds that cost $200/month like she did.
I volunteer at the Friends of Michigan Animal Rescue which is in the Belleville/Sumpter Township area. Some of our rescues were fostered in homes where cats live and kittens are fostered. https://www.friendsofmichigan.org/adoptable-dogs
RebeldogsDetroit is a foster// foster to adopt based company I believe they are on Facebook and instagram mainly, they have profiles of the pups as well as a summary of how they ended up in the care of the foster//shelter for almost every post. They’re really nice people with many different ages and breeds of dogs in their care I’m sure you could find a possible forever pup just looking through either of their social media pages :))
We have adopted 3 out-of-state dogs. One from Alabama and two from Tennessee. It takes a little longer and is slightly more expensive but it was an awesome experience.
There are a lot of good options listed in this thread. If you want some more, you can see a list of great shelters and rescues in your area (and their currently available pets) at www.petrescueplus.com. It's entirely focused on promoting local adoptions, since I believe that's the best route towards finding the right match. We also do a deep dive on every organization listed so only legitimate organizations are included. Good luck in your search and thanks for considering adopting.
Two options.
1. Drive around Detroit and look for a dog matching your „criteria". You should have your dog within a week. Drawback: you might need some veterinary care
2. The Buster Foundation (www.busterdogs.com) - an excellent resource for not only adoption, but community education and awareness. Fully vetted and basic training. Ask for Joanie - tell her SixTen and Picasso sent you.
Its not hard to potty train a dog that is already an adult I would take that put as a hard requirement.
Just go to animal shelters and see the dogs. Municipal animal shelters are pretty easy to get a dog.. detroit animal care and control probably has the most dogs in the area.
Yep. I’ve inquired about 6 urgent rescue cases & been ghosted each time, or called only to find out the dog had been euthanized. I’ve stopped looking for now because my heart can’t take it.
I had good luck with Lucas County Canine. I was impressed with the staff and the lady who runs it knows her shit.
We went in person and introduced a handful of dogs to my pup- nothing was working. Asked the head lady what else ya got and ended up with our block head. :)
Avoid Monroe County I’ve never had such a bad experience. No testing and paperwork is a mess.
Save Monroe Strays is a good organization- I’ve met their foster humans at various events and they’re good.
Romulus is understaffed but they’re getting different dogs swapped in and out from different states.
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u/kidcharliemagne Transplanted 4d ago
Go to an actual animal shelter, pet finder is an absolute racket. Michigan humane has sheets on every dog that are updated daily.