Oregon Dog Rescue

We were looking for a companion for our first rescue pup and came across Beckham, now named Jax, from Oregon Dog Rescue. The staff and volunteers were friendly throughout the entire process and only want what’s best for their rescues! They truly care about what home the dog is placed in and want both parties to be happy. I would certainly adopt again from this rescue and plan to volunteer this year!

I adopted my dog Naboo (AKA Juliet) from Oregon Dog Rescue in April 2015. I first saw her at the NW Pet Expo in Portland and went back a few days later to their rescue and she was still available. The staff was helpful and courteous. I have read a lot of negative reviews but I can only base my review on my personal experience.

The reviews I just came across on ODR saddens me. I have been following them on FB for a very long time. I was actually just getting ready to make a Christmas donation to them for all of the wonderful work they do. I am really happy I did my research first. With so many terrible reviews and so little response from ODR, it seems to me they care very little about negative publicity. I also went to the BBB website and found this
«This charitable organization either has not responded to written BBB requests for information or has declined to be evaluated in relation to BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. Charity participation in BBB review is voluntary. However, without the requested information, it is not possible to determine whether this charity adheres to all of the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. The BBB encourages charities to disclose accountability information beyond that typically included in financial statements and government filings, in order to demonstrate transparency and strengthen public trust in the charitable sector. «
I will still be donating financially… just not to this organization.

Wow, reading all these reviews now explains why the lady on the phone I spoke to (clearly this Deb character) was so short with me. Wasn’t warm and friendly at all and I am concerned about the dogs she cares for, reading these reviews. We WERE going to look at a dog tomorrow but putting two and two together at this point, that’s definitely not happening. Thanks for the help, guys! You saved me a lot of gas money! :)

I’d cant disagree more with your response. Your process is nonsense and I can assure there were more than 10 families waiting to see the puppies. If the adult dogs weren’t available to be seen… why were the people not chosen for puppies asked to Consider visiting some of your other dogs available?
Between adults, kids, and dogs… there were easily 50 – 60 people waiting. It was chaos and waste of time.

I would give them –10 stars if I could! Went to go meet a couple of dogs at the shelter and when I arrived I had my whole family. Dog and 2 ½ year old. I asked them about a few dogs we were interested in and they let us know they were at PetSmart. We walked over and let the girls know what dogs we were interested in. My daughter loves dogs so she was greeting them all. Puppies and adult dogs. They all freaked out because she was near them. I couldn’t understand why. We met a puppy first, and then a couple adult dogs. All did great with our whole family and we spent quite a bit of time with both of them. We were ready to adopt and I asked to fill out an application and they told me they don’t have applications. Just need OK with your landlord. Then they told us the dog we choose cannot be adopted to us because out daughter is under 6. What? Do you not know how to screen you dogs and do behavioral tests!!! I was floored and very angry. They told us that they did not want to be responsible for the dog if it bit my daughter. Umm that is our responsibility as a parent and knowing that you are taking that risk with any dog that you adopt. Especially a rescue. I asked if I could sign a release form that we would not hold them responsible for it if something happened. They said no and were extremely rude about it. Let’s just say we did not adopt a dog from them and will never again go there. I would never recommend them to anyone ever! They could of handled it in a better way. They should also update the decriptions of their dogs and state what age the dogs are OK with, but they honestly don’t know because they are not evaluated correctly. All of their dogs are on petfinder. If you are going to list your dogs make sure the descriptions are correct. Also they need to post signs at the adoptions center and at PetSmart stating their policy. I never write reviews but this business needs lots of work. At the end of the day it is about finding good homes for the dogs. I do not feel that they are doing that. Our rescue dogs came from OHS and SWWHS. Where they know how to evaluate most dogs and will adopt adult dogs to family’s with young children.

I saw these guys at Petsmart with their dogs on Sat Aug. 8^th. I was really grossed out by the volunteers behavior, she was an older woman with short blonde hair and glasses, Dogs were getting overly excited when people would come to take some of the other dogs outside, and would start whining and crying… it wasnt overly loud, they were obviously excited. The volunteer would walk over with a squirt bottle and squirt the dogs right in the face multiple times. This wasnt a mist of water, this was a jet of water right to the face. I have the same water bottles at home I use for cleaning, they are fairly powerful for a squirt bottle. I wanted to take the bottle from her and squirt her in the face to show her how that feels. Its gross. You have these signs on he cages «give us treats, it helps us learn to trust» Yet when they get excited they get squirt in the face. Get some new volunteers who know how to treat the animals your trying to adopt out.
Edit: After sitting and reading all these reviews, I can see why you guys are jerks to your dogs, your also jerks to the people who want to give loving homes to your dogs. I guess my instincts were correct, I should of taken the squirt bottle and squirted the volunteer in the face, maybe we can teach you guys how to act instead of you mistreating the dogs.

The people working and volunteering there maybe doing something good for those poor dogs, their work would be more appreciated if they didn’t have the attitude of grandeur. They act like if they’re doing a favor to the adopter.
We had adopted a dog that was extremely undernourished, every time we fed him it was like he had to chomp down his food as soon as he could, almost like he was afraid we were going to take his bowl away before he was done.
Anyway, we had to go back to the shelter less than a week later after the adoption to sign the release form. The dog had ran away twice on the same day, I did report him lost to petlink on the same night and to the shelter the following morning (although I was told later by someone else that day that I hadn’t even bother to do so). The person who rescued him took him back to the shelter and told them we didn’t want the poor thing and that we had let him ran away twice!!! So, the director had already formed her own opinion of us based on that man’s words. Therefore, she reminded me she had warned us about the dog’s issues before we adopted him and that we couldn’t have him back because we weren’t fit for him. Now we had 30 days to adopt another dog, no refunds. Since then, they have had a nasty attitude toward us, they didn’t even allow us to see our dog on the day we went in to release him. I think I rather not do business with them anymore, they can keep the $ 285 Adoption fee and stick it where the sun doesn’t shine.

Called basically ready to adopt a dog I had seen on pet finder. I called to enquire about the dog. I live in Washington and she told me she would not adopt a dog to me due to the fact that HER volunteers are NOT willing to drive more than 5 hours to retrieve a dog if I want to give the dog back. I am well aware of the contracts that say you have to give the dog back to the rescue if you no longer want the dog. She told me «I had someone from TACOMA (which is where I told her I am from) adopt a dog then later wanted to give it back and said they would take it to a shelter if I didn’t come get it, I will NEVER do that AGAIN!» I have 4 rescue dogs that are my life and I HATE when I get grouped with JERKS who give up there dogs when it no longer suits them!!! HOW ABOUT THIS??? SCREEN YOUR ADOPTERS BETTER AND THAT WOULD NOT HAPPEN!” Its not fair that I can not give this adorable dog a home!!! She would rather is rot in its CELL than have a home who would love and care for the dog! My four dogs are my babies. How many people can say that they have saved so many dogs! you would think those are the kind of people you would WANT to adopt a dog to! Im very sad, we have been looking and looking to the right one for us and that is why I moved my search to Oregon, hoping that I could bring the right one back from our vacation later this month. Guess that wont be happening. Also called her back when I realized that im only 2 hours and 50 minutes from them and even though the website says you have to be with in 2.5 hours drive from them she refused saying I was wrong and it takes longer than that… guess google is wrong??? She is the rudest person I have EVER spoken to I have NEVER had a rescue speak to me with such disgust and I have 4 dogs from 4 rescues!!! nice way to shoot your business to crap!

About a month and a half ago, my sister in law introduced me to this shelter and informed me that people could come into the shelter and not only look for dogs to possibly adopt but, you could volunteer to walk the dogs. We thought that was pretty neat. So, one day we all go out to the ODR and decide to walk some dogs. When we get there, a lady named Deb very rudely greeted us with some statement similar to «Are you guys here to walk dogs or… what.» My sister in law took an interest in a very cute dog named Emma and told Deb that she wanted to walk her. Then, Deb proceeded to tell my sister in law that «Nope. Emma has been walked already she can’t go a second time.» My sister in law shrugged off her rude comment and she had a couple of other girls there grab some dogs and practically threw the dogs at us and we went on a walk with them. As we walked the dogs, we noticed one of the dogs started to make a weird noise… something along the lines of what sounded like a cough. When we got back we expressed our concern to Deb and she shrugged it off like it was no deal. A few moments after our walk, my sister in law asked if she could see Emma. Someone grabbed her and we all huddled into a small gated room. They brought her and paperwork about her past and previous homes. My sister in law was so in love with cute little Emma. The lady who has brought Emma to us, left us alone with her in the little room while she went to help other people. About 15 – 20 minutes later she casually walks up to us and asks us if we had any questions. We told them that we did and my sister in law asked one question the lady says, «Let me ask someone else. I have no idea.» Unfortunately for us, Deb approached us and we asked a few questions… the whole time we talked to her she flipped through Emma’s papers, barely giving us any eye contact, being rude, AGAIN. Also, I noticed when we did ask questions about Emma, she brought out ALL of the negative qualities Emma had. She focused on her problems more than her great qualities. At this point, I just wanted to get the heck out of this place. However, my sister in law was just so in love with Emma. We thanked her for her time and left. All of us were so displeased with the service there I was sure to NEVER go there again. A few weeks later, my husband and I adopted a 3 year old chihuahua from a family member and we really were so happy with her, we wanted our sister in law to have a dog and feel the love and completeness we felt so, we encouraged her to keep up her dog search and while doing research, she found out that little Emma was gone. She was pretty heart broken. Less than a week ago we go back, my sister in law finds this very cute little dog named Alex. We met him and he was perfect for us! We told the ladies that we were interested in adopting him and they proceeded to tell us that they wont let him be adopted out until ALL of the members of the family were there, including my dog. We were also informed that they would NOT let us adopt Alex because my dog was not neutered. I was confused as to why that would be an issue since Alex was spayed but, they told us some bogus story about how its a philosophical thing and that MY dog HAD to be neutered first before they even THINK about letting us adopt Alex and apparently ALL adoptions are overseen by Deb. At this point I literally hate that name. The lady who was there at the time told my sister in law to call Deb the next day and to talk to Deb and ask if we could adopt Alex. I went ahead and set up an appointment for my dog to get neutered just because if that was the only thing that was holding up the adoption, i didn’t want to prevent my sister in law from getting a dog she really wanted. My sister in law ends up calling Deb and telling her that we set up an appt for my dog to get neutered then, before my sister in law could even finish her sentence, Deb, the old grouch raised her voice and said, «HOW DO I KNOW YOU AREN’T JUST SAYING THAT?!» My sister in law offered to give Deb the phone number to the vet where my dog was getting neutered to confirm that it will be getting done but she then proceeded to say, «HOW DO I KNOW YOU JUST SET UP THE APPOINTMENT AND THEN YOU CANCEL AFTER I ADOPT ALEX OUT TO YOU???» My sister in law just hung up. She was BEYOND frustrated. The SAME day Alex gets adopted out to someone else while they were having their pet fair at petsmart. We were pretty sure that they weren’t as strict with whoever ended up adopting Alex but, words cannot begin to describe the anger and disappointment we all felt. First things first Deb needs to get fired. NO one like that should work for a place that depends on the service for the dogs to get a home. Secondly, they need to train their staff on how to make the search for finding a dog exciting and not point out all of the flaws in the dog and highlight the great features these dogs have! I felt like the way they talked about thes

This place is ridiculous. I drove all the way here from Keizer to look at small dogs and try to find a perfect friend for my 18 month old. When I got here, they informed me that they will not adopt adult dogs to families with kids under 5 years old… What??? They said it was a liability. I don’t understand how if something happens AFTER you’ve adopted the dog it’s the shelters responsibility? So here I sit waiting to meet the ¹⁄₆₀ dogs that I’m ALLOWED to allow my son around. It should be the parents responsibility to determine which dog would work best with their child.
I’m so turned off by this asinine policy, I’m not even sure if I’d want to adopt this puppy who I am allowed to meet. Absolutely ridiculous.
ETA: I finally got to meet the puppy that they determined would be safe for my son, and he growled and snarled as soon as my son came near him. Glad that their screening policy works so well (insert eye roll). We’ve been looking in shelters all over Oregon and have met many adult dogs, and never had this problem. But apparently only adult dogs are vicious.

So we adopted a terrier mix that came up from California .The dog is great but I was surprised to hear that he was missing his micro chip when we took him into the vet for his first visit the vet also made comment that the dog may have not been given the shots the rescue center claim he had I’ll stop there and let you decide

AWFUL PLACE, DO NOT ADOPT OR SURRENDER A DOG HERE! One of the owners, Christina, was extremely rude to me and hung up on me. She said she would not put a 8 year old dog up for adoption because it was too old and she had too many old pets already. She did not offer to put me on a waiting list or send out e-​mails to help me place the dog. AND THEY CALL THEMSELF A DOG RESCUE ORGANIZATION! I feel sorry for any pet that ends up at this HELL HOLE. BUYERS AND PET SURRENDERS BEWARE!!!

I adopted my new dog from this rescue, not too fond of it.
They don’t have any sort of trial period in place so if you take home a dog and it’s not the right fit, you’re out $ 300. You can bring the dog back to the rescue but they will still keep your money because they consider it as a «donation.» Their response to your hesitation is «the adoption fee is tax deductible. You’ll get it all back in the next tax season.“The adoption fees here are tremendously high, which they justify on their website as expenses to pay for food, cleaning, building costs, etc. When I took my dog home, he was filthy and didn’t seem to be taken care of as well as he should have been.
Our second night of bringing him home, he broke our metal-​wired kennel, broke our cat door and tore up various items in our home. We had to work with him on his separation anxiety but when talking to the people at the rescue, they had no negative things to say about him and made him out to be a model citizen. I got lucky because I was attached to him and wanted to make it work. After weeks of training, he’s gotten better about his anxiety but it still shows from time to time. We’ve also studied his habits and ways to combat his negative behavior. It would have been nice to have the cushion of finding another companion if the one you brought home didn’t work out (without losing $ 300) but that is not an option here.
I’m grateful to this rescue for connecting me with my new companion but the organization itself was not ideal. Also, the owner will hassle you to post pictures of you and your dog on their Facebook page once the adoption is complete. And they didn’t even send him home with a collar and leash. They expected us to just carry him out of there. He is a 70 lb+ dog. I just to happened to bring a spare set from home, but this annoyed me a bit.
UPDATE:
Filed my tax return with my dog’s adoption fee included in our long form. We got $ 50 back. So don’t expect to receive your full adoption fee back during tax season (or even close to it). Our dog is amazing though! We got lucky since he has such a great personality.

What a horrible, self-​righteous group of women. We met and fell in love with a dog at the Tualatin PetSmart adoption event today – she took to our kids immediately. Our nine year-​old in particular had an instant bond with Bella, a very sweet border collie mix. We took her for a walk (THEY authorized the walk!) and it was obvious that it was meant to be. When we walked back in, we were told that they would not be adopting to us because we have children. We have raised guide dogs, rescued greyhounds, and our children worship the animals we have. I understand they have a policy – which isn’t posted ANYWHERE, nor is it readily accessible in any of the information at their info table – and it is to protect the dogs – but to automatically assume my children would hurt a dog they desperately wanted to take home is ridiculous. Funny thing was, they were saying no to another family who had teenagers – and they all left crying, including the mother. My three kiddos are sobbing in the car right now. I’m sorry I ever donated money to these people, and I’m sorry I unnecessarily put my kids in a position to be so hurt by this awful group. It’s too bad it auto-​defaults to one star. They don’t deserve it.

Thank you Oregon Dog Rescue for introducing me to my furry little angel that’s snuggled in my lap RIGHT AS I TYPE THIS.
I can’t say enough good things about ODR. From the incredibly helpful phone conversation with the business owner, to the very end of the adoption process, they thoroughly explained every detail and question I could’ve thought to ask about, and them some.
They also offer extensive post-​adoption support, and a nice selection of dog accessories and food to pick up while you’re there. All reasonably priced.
I’m in love with this place, and completely in love with my new pup!

When we were investigating different options before purchasing our new dog, we made several visits to Oregon Dog Rescue. It is an all-​breed, no-​kill shelter, run entirely by volunteers.
They moved to their new facility in Tualatin (just off I-​5) earlier this year, but I actually preferred meeting the dogs at the Tualatin Petsmart, where they are on display for adoption every Saturday from 11 — 5p.
The only downside was that their website with available dogs wasn’t always kept up to date. We went to see one particular dog my son was swooning over (found through
) and the dog was adopted out weeks earlier.
Nice people, doing good work.