Joyful Rescues

Most Recent Comments

• March 2024 by William Schwartz
  We adopted Oreo Naked Nov.11, 2020 and the records said she was born on 2011 and that would make her over 9 years old. She was more like 1 to 3 years old. Other than that. The profile information was very good.So glad we rescued her. She has been a real member of our family since day one. We were a couple in our seventys. I jut lost my wife of 62 years in January. Oreo has been a Godsend. She knows when I am feeling gown and will jump in my lap and nuzzleme. Love her so much. She sleeps with me and keeps me from being so lonely.
• February 2024 by Jen M. Watson
  I feel this rescue plays head games with true pet lovers that would do anything for them. Let’s start off by first noticing a dog very interested to meet said he was gonna be there in Buffalo . Drove 1 and 1/2 hours away excited to meet this dog. To heartbreak not showing up. So they posted again and posted his picture again so I drove to Webster to see if he is there. This time he was there. He was the sweetest dog and I even brought my dog to meet him too. I wanted to meet him first before applying for him. I was in love so perfect. So I filled out application and says if you don’t hear back in 3 business days than your not approved. I spent 3 hours filling out a honest application on this. If you lied on the application you would probably have better luck adopting. So sad to say that. So I get a email back saying we feel he’s not a good fit for your home good luck on your continue search. So I emailed back I’m not sure if the reasoning can you explain please. Silence! All I wanted was closure to see what went wrong. It’s sad to know I feel better now and have closure by reading these reviews . It’s just not me. I had everything for him fenced in yard too. He would of had the best life. So trying to get a answer is like pulling teeth. They are playing with peoples emotion putting them in a depression thinking I’m a bad person. I really want to report this rescue. They don’t want to give up the animals I see over reviews on here saying they just pocket donations to pay there rent and keep them as long. I’m starting to think maybe that’s the reason. You should be entitled to a reason when they say your not a good fit. I feel bad for these animals . Just by wanting a reason why they unfriended and blocked me on Facebook too! That is such a red flag to me . They need to be investigated. I would never think of writing a negative review on them because thought they were doing a good job on rescuing animals. Boy I was wrong!
• February 2024 by Lacey Thomas
  They are honest and fair. I wouldn't take my vehicle anywhere else.
• February 2024 by Deanna Aftuck
  Have rescued a pup from there...best place ever to find your furbaby!
• January 2024 by Brad And Heather C.
  Looking for a beagle puppy for adoption Please contact me bahcrawford@gmail Needs to be cash on pickup not via the internet and I live close to Corning NY
• December 2023 by Emily Halling
  Attempted to adopt a dog from this rescue, and was provided no feedback for why the dog was not a good fit, a family member of mine had the same issue, and they have lived on their farm for over 40 years, have 45 acres of land to spend time with a dog on, and are retired, so always have someone home.Not quite sure what they are actually looking for in potential owners, but consider looking at other rescues if you dont want to waste your time.
• November 2023 by Tim Sylvester
  Applied to adopt a kitten. After braving the glitchy webform, I got a call from the foster, Carrie. Our talk seemed to go well. She warned me the kitten is a long hair (we knew) and doesn’t play well with her siblings or other kittens. Strange because her profile (posted by Carrie) said “loves playing with her sisters.” Was asked about our current pets (age, breed, etc.), particularly our 20-yr-old cat. I noted that must be a typo, the oldest is 15. I mentioned we recently rescued a kitten but were still interested in this one as a companion. She said that was good and “she loves playing with other kittens” (OK?)-quickly added her sisters play rough. We scheduled a meet for the next day, to see how our pets interact with the kitten.The next day, Carrie never showed. After a while I called. It went straight to voicemail and left a message. No response. Later, when I was checking my email, I found the following message:“Sorry for the delay in response but we spoke to Carrie and listened to her concerns about the fact that you have a young kitten not listed on the application and that you conversation seemed to lean in the direction that the ages of the cats you do say you have were very different than what was on the application. This coupled with the fact that vet care on both your dogs and cats was minimum at best we don't feel we can put a pet into your home. Good luck with your continued search. Bridgett”Needless to say, we were not happy when we saw this. Annoying we never got a call and were misled but infuriating to be accused of not taking care of our cats/dogs! We replied:“Bridgett, we have concerns about the professionalism of your foster. Each of our dogs are spayed/neutered, up to date on shots, and have insurance coverage. We have ALL supporting documents available in paper or digital copies. Carrie never requested that we forward these and merely assumed we neglect our pets, which couldn’t be further from the truth. I have no idea how Carrie concluded that they are poorly maintained, but we are deeply offended and hurt at this accusation.Regarding the unlisted kitten, as I explained in our phone conversation, she was found recently abandoned in a barn from a farmer who did not offer food or water. She was meant to be adopted by acquaintances, but fell through, and we took her in rather than abandon her. This occurred after the application was submitted.Finally, the foster scheduled an appointment for today but did not show up or contact us. We rearranged our schedules for this meeting but were simply ignored, which is obviously in poor taste.From the high-end and prescription veterinary food we feed our cats, to the three incredibly expensive surgeries we have financed for our oldest senior cat, to travelling an hour to get the top training for our Shepherd, to out-of-pocket expenses to rescue our mix it is astonishingly incompetent of your organization to even insinuate neglect. We can happily provide more examples.Regarding the incorrect cat ages, one was inaccurate possibly due to a typo, for which we can take responsibility if such is the case. The application did glitch several times as we filled it out, so that could be a factor. If that is disqualifying, so be it.I hope you are able to reflect on why this experience was a poor one, as many animals clearly need a warm, loving home this time of year, and it seems that need will not be provided from our household due to astonishingly poor communication. Best of luck in future adoptions.”We also sent proof for them to review. Never heard back. Could chalk it all up as a foster not doing their job, but Joyful Rescues had the opportunity to respond, apologize, explain, or do anything that would indicate this is not how they operate. After reading some of their reviews, it’s obvious it is. All the area shelters are full and not accepting more cats. If the claims I see in the reviews are true and they are refusing good homes for their personal gain/incentives--doing so leaves many adoptable pets left out in the cold this winter.
• November 2023 by Ryan Sullivan
  Joyful Rescues is a criminal organization they do not care about the animals they look after and are more concerned about making money rather than providing loving homes for these animals. The owner hordes animals just so she can pocket donations and live rent free. I tried to adopt a cat weeks ago and after filling out the rigorous application and already being an experienced cat owner for years I heard nothing back after a full week(website says all applications are reviewed within 3 business days). They never called my vet they never called any of my references I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t even look at my application in the first place!! Meanwhile the cat I applied for Is still available to this day on their website. They made a post on Facebook last week about animals needing homes and INCLUDED THE CAT I APPLIED FOR. When I commented asking why this is and why I haven’t heard anything back they deleted my comment and blocked me on Facebook, which only further lead me to believe something weird was going on. What a shocker the reviews on here are majority extremely negative (mentioning many similar issues I mentioned in this review and some even worse!) I feel so bad for the animals being held hostage by this place and for the wonderful people who apply each day just to be jerked around like I was.
• October 2023 by ponygirl
  I had horrible experience with this rescue. I applied for a dog. Joy phoned the next day. We had a detailed conversation—she told me about the dog; I told her what I looking for. She believed this dog would be a great dog for me.We ended the conversation with – you’re approved, when do you want to come see her? I scheduled for the next day because I was so excited. This dog sounded perfect for me.I’m a very experienced dog owner and have had at least one dog my entire adult life. At 63, I am retired from my day job, I own my own home with a fenced yard, financially stable, and lots of time/love to give to a new dog.I’ve trained and shown AKC obedience. Trained for agility, although I didn’t compete because I am just not fast enough—my dog was the superstar of the two of us. I have had horses my whole life, which I think gives a person very good insight into animal behavior and training.The weird part started when my friend and I arrived. He picked up on the “weird” immediately. I was so happy to be meeting what sounded like a perfect doggy match for me after losing my beloved dog to cancer early in 2023 that it took me a little longer.Joy was there, but she took a backseat to a younger woman, whose name I can’t remember. The younger woman was very discouraging and spoke about the dog being pretty much an anxious crazy dog, who would freak out on leash and easily get away from a person or jump a fence and take off. Never did Joy say a thing about this kind of behavior when we talked the day before. I had specifically asked Joy how she thought the dog would be if I took her to hiking trails in a state park or to Petsmart/Tractor Supply. She said the dog might be a little nervous going into a strange building because she was a bit nervous when she came to them a year ago when in the house until she got used to it but she was sure she would accept my reassurance and adjust quickly.The dynamics of my visit were so strange because one minute the 2nd woman would be talking as if I were going to adopt her, but then the next minute she would be telling me why the dog wouldn’t work for me because of the freak out behavior. She picked apart everything I said.Everything was so confusing to me because the second woman was painting a totally different picture of the dog than Joy did in our phone conversation the day before. Yet Joy was standing right there, mostly quiet, and didn’t correct the 2nd woman. I saw absolutely no signs of fear or anxiety, let alone a panic attack meltdown from this dog my entire visit.I took the dog for a leash walk down their long driveway outside of her familiar fenced area. —Second woman had told me that she would be panicked outside. She also said the dog would be too anxious to get in my car. —The dog was perfectly fine with both things. A lovely dog. She behaved like she had known me and my friend her entire life. The dog showed absolutely no signs of panic or anxiety. I loved her.2nd woman couldn’t give me an specific example of what would supposedly set her off. Our visit ended with second woman telling me that she couldn’t let her go home with me because I was skeptical and didn’t simply believe her “crazy dog” claims (without any evidence to back it up). But then, in the next breath, she was hinting that I might be able to adopt her in another week or so.None of this made any sense. It was like something from a twilight zone. Strange power play?? Did they change their mind about adopting out this dog but let me make the 2 1/2 hour drive one way for nothing? I have no idea about their motive. I felt like I had been jerked around, and worse—my heart was broken. This dog was exactly what I was looking for.They had her for one year without a vet visit. They had given her a bath and brushed her the morning of my visit, but she still had some mats and still had a foul odor. Her teeth look like they needed dental care. She didn’t seem bonded to either Joy or second woman. —And they were concerned I wasn’t good enough??!!Wonderful dog; horrible people.
• September 2023 by Miriam M.
  My parents adopted a dog from JR about a year ago. They did not disclose that he had any aggression. I have worked with dogs, and am very careful around dogs, especially rescue dogs because of the questionable history. The dog acclimated well to my parents home at first, then about 3 months in started to show signs of aggression that included unprovoked snapping at people. We now have him in training, which is extremely expensive and it is hard to train a dog who is 7 years old. There was an incident where he busted through the door and bit a post office worker (federal employee) and it was a 4th degree bite. We were fortunate that we did not get sued, however we no longer receive mail at our house. He is a great dog, however it is concerning the level of aggression and unpredictability that the dog is showing and it seems to be getting worse. He has snapped at me and my parents quite a few times and the training (the trainers are amazing) has not really worked much. I feel that they didn't do a thorough behavioral evaluation on this dog at JR, which makes me think that they are running an unethical practice. We love this dog dearly, however due to him having this bite history we are very very careful when we have guests over and barely have any strangers over anymore. It is truly become a hard situation. Aggressive behaviors need to be disclosed, it is not fair to the families who have to find out the hard way. This dog has had food / resource guarding since day 1. Which we know how to deal with, as our previous dog had those issues. However the unprovoked snapping is really concerning, it has happened multiple times. We have gotten blood work done, and other diagnostic tests and he is healthy. They also did not disclose that he was not friendly with other dogs... luckily my parents do not have other dogs. Just an overall bad situation that we are currently dealing with. I see a lot of complaints/ reviews regarding the application process... for some reason that was not an issue for us.... I would proceed with caution when it comes to this organization. They are not fully transparent.
• August 2023 by Julia Overton-Healy
  They have an extensive application form but apparently even if you have prior experience being a dog owner AND have exceptional references (including a former vet) AND explain that you're retired so you have plenty of time to give to the Dog AND provide clear (yet broad) wishes (adult dog, house-trained, large breed) and even name a dog that they have that interests you...you're still not good enough EVEN JUST FOR AN APPOINTMENT. And when they tell you you're rejected they only say "we can't meet your requirements"... They don't want to re-home dogs. If they did, they'd be more welcoming.
• June 2023 by stephen jock
  I have had a wonderful experience with Joyful Rescues. We filled out our application, gave references, and informed our vet that they would be calling. 48 hours later we were approved to adopt Cala. From there we Worked with Jeanne, who was amazing. Not only did she keep in contact with us, but, she drove from her home that is 90 minutes from our house. She made sure our dog was comfortable with Cala. 5 stars all the way. Thank you to all who works so hard to save these animals. Steve
• June 2023 by Annemarie Franczyk
  Our last three dogs have come from Joyful Rescues, and each of the three experiences was positive. We filled out a lengthy application for our first and then seemed to be fast-tracked for the second and third because of our history with the place. Each of our dogs was well-cared-for, healthy and happy. We plan on adopting our next dog from Joyful Rescues when the time comes.
• April 2023 by Nicky H.
  We adopted our new pup on Saturday and the process could not have been smoother. Joye and team were very friendly and knowledgeable. The premises were clean and all the dogs were happily running around in the big field at the back of the house. We have the most amazing new four legged family member and I cannot thank Joyful Rescue enough!
• March 2023 by brian smithmeyer
  Not sure how this Joy decides to adopt out to.She NEVER called our vet never called the references.We are a retired couple who are more than financially secure. We hike/walk about 25 miles a week at Allegany State Park or Holiday Valley have owned dogs for 43 years. Have owned two horses in which one we rescued from being outside without shelter 25/7 365. Gus had hip issues and could never be ridden he lived the next 16 yrs warm and happy.Its a shame that Birdie could have had a great life. Maybe the reviews that State that Joy is paying herself six figures are true?I would be very cautious about this rescue seems to be money driven not compassionate. Oh also Google the NY State police not being allowed to enter her property for a stolen dog she was trying to sell.Yeah I do my research unlike Joy.