Ruff

This place is Dog Hell. I had to visit it twice to make sure I was not imagining things. These poor creatures are in various rooms with no access to the outside (I imagine they are walked) and they are contained by chainlink fencing in each room. Pretty standard, you say? Well, something’s rotten in Denmark; as you go from room to room, these aren’t your standard shelter dogs rising from their mats to greet you with a wagging tail and curiosity, or even skittish dogs who stay curled up in a corner. These poor beasts LUNGE at you, with gnashing teeth, as if they are dying to get a chunk of your flesh down their gullets. In some areas, the passage ways are so narrow, when they rise up on one side to bare teeth and snarl, they are so close that you can feel their breath and spit on you, and as you instinctively step to the other side, you forget their IS NO ROOM, and the dogs opposite take advantage that you have just moved closer to have a turn at attempting to kill you through the fence, or at least give you a coronary. The staff says they are just «protecting their space» and once they are out, they are sweet and playful, and maybe that’s true, but this review is no exaggeration; they have 6 rooms of Cujos.
It was incredibly stressful and there was constant barking, and I felt that it they were terribly cruel conditions for the dogs. Truly, it was as if these creatures has lost their minds, a canine insane asylum. The noise and lack of natural light and companionship and fact that many of those dogs have been there for YEARS led me to the conclusion that whoever runs this place has just enough money and resources to stay one step ahead of being cited criminally for being an animal hoarder.
I know this will not be a popular statement, but those dogs are clearly suffering, and from the aggression I’ve seen after more than one visit (I’ve actually been back 4 times to see if anything had changed), it would be kinder to put them to sleep.
I’m an animal lover and I’m sure someone has adopted a great dog from RUFF, and I’m happy for the lucky few who get out. But a walk through there is really scary.
Jeff, Thanks for sharing your experience at RUFF. I don’t think anyone there intends to inflict cruelty on the dogs. Rather, I think the environment is mentally stressful on them, and ultimately cruel. Being caged creates boundaries that that over time increase frustration levels, which is why there is so much aggression. They cannot investigate each other although they can see and hear each other. Naturally, they have to be contained, but such a LONG, LONG time in those cages, with little natural light and little human interaction really is cruel to animals that were bred to depend on human companionship. Some people believe that «kill shelters» are cruel because they, well, put the animals to sleep. I say, as someone who has worked for an international animal protection association, that is a better fate than a life at RUFF. Quality of life, not just life itself, counts.

I saw the previous review go up and somebody needs to address it, as it accuses the place of animal cruelty. We were looking for a dog about a year ago so we visited this place. The dogs have a space to run around outside, and to visit with potential parents. Yes, they are caged but I’ve never seen a place without cages. They are fed and cared for. Matter of fact, there was one dog there in very bad shape upon our first visit (a new arrival). A few months later, we returned and the same pup was there, but looked much, much better. I’m sure that the previous poster saw some things that may have concerned them, but I’ve been too and cannot verify any of those statements.