Big Dawgs Rescue

A couple of years back I adopted a dog from this rescue. I worked directly with the foster, my application and entire process was ran through them. My only complaint in regards to the adoption is that whoever spayed her did a terrible job. Recently had her up to the vet to ensure she was having a false heat cycle and not something like Pyrometra. Luckily, it was a bad spay and they either left an ovary, portion of the ovary, or something along those lines. Normally this would not be a problem but when you are active and your dog goes with you, it can create some challenges if an intact male is around. She lives with an intact male currently and when she throws a false heat, he gets slightly obnoxious. He cannot be neutered due to a medical condition. I realize that alone doesn’t deserve 1 star but how they behave as an organization does.
Recently, I adopted a puppy from a different rescue. There has been some misunderstandings by Big Dawg Rescue and the situation. Even with the shelter clarifying the situation, Big Dawgs is still slandering the rescue all over social media. When I commented on a post on their Facebook page in regards to how their behavior is hindering the efforts of both rescues, I was met with a harsh response and then blocked with my comments being deleted. I didn’t swear or curse but called into question why the energy and effort to slander another organization could have been used for something better– like on their rescues/​adoptions/​etc. When I called into question some of the ethics they allow their fosters when pulling dogs is when my post was deleted and they blocked me.
I had given an added donation towards their organization on top of the adoption fee. I have worked in and with rescues. I know just how hard the work is and the heartbreaking reality that you can’t save them all. It is truly deplorable that a rescue would bash another one because they disagreed with how the shelter chose to handle the situation and which rescue the dogs went to. It has been more than several weeks and Big Dawgs has not let up with the slandering posts.
There are far better rescues your hard earned donations can go towards. I recommend finding another organization that cares a bit more and has a better attitude. The only way to save as many lives as possible is for the entire rescue community to work together and network with one another. Uncalled for bashing of a rescue is NOT how lives get saved.

This was last year just writing a post now: I tried to adopt a dog and the foster took weeks to get back to me and than told me because I work (gone 6 hours a day) I could not adopt. Mind you I already have one dog and four kids that come home before me. So okay, I said I would take their older dog Autumn that had been with them for years and they advertise on their front page. The owner of Big Dawg said I would have to drive 90 minutes away from my home to meet the dog and foster first and they would not meet me half way. Well I decided not go that route again and I adopted a four month old pittie puppy from my local shelter. They did not mind I worked six hours a day and I walked out with him that day. This place will give you the run around and make you not want to adopt. It’s actually really sad.

I hate to leave a poor review but I had a less than stellar experience with this rescue organization. I identified a dog on their FB page that I wanted to adopt, they informed me to submit an application as she was still available.
The ad stated «sweet very mellow dog. She craves love and to always be by your side. She is slowly learning how to play as her puppies teach her. She walks through her fosters house passed the other dogs walking around with no problem and hopefully will learn how to play with them soon also»
I submitted an application on ¹⁰⁄₁₃ and did not receive a response, I was told via FB message on ¹⁰⁄₂₁ that my application had no email address on it… I provided my email address and still no word. After I inquired again on ¹¹⁄₈ I received an apologetic response the next day. I was denied because this dog apparently requires a large yard to play in as they stated «she gets all her exercise playing with my other dogs during the day purely running all over.»
This total contradicts what they original posting stated about the animal and overall is just really unfortunate. I understand that most organizations like this are run by volunteers but I’m posting this provide feedback and hopefully they’ll be able to take this constructive criticism and learn from it.

At first my experience with big dog rescue was really good. That all changed after I got the dog. The dog had an infection directly related to the internal spay stitches; which she was immediately taken to the vet a few days after getting her. The vet let Tara at Big Dawg know that the infection was due to a allergic reaction to the internal stitches. Tara lied and told me the vet said that it was my fault, so they were not going to pay for it because it wasn’t related to the spay surgery they had done on the dog. She was super rude and blamed me for not taking care of the dog which I have the whole time. This especially angered me because I treat my dogs like family because I consider them family. Since I love my dog and wouldn’t let her die from this infection like she would have; I paid the large cost for it on my credit card. The vet wrote a whole letter saying that it was due to the surgery that Big Dawgs did and when I address this with Tara she said that Joanne (the founder of big dawgs) did not want to talk to me about it and Joanne still says it’s my fault and they are not going to cover it. It is amazing to me that they would not take any responsibility for this even though it was directly related to what they did and Tara said they would cover any complications if it related to what they did. I even offered to go half with big Dawg on the cost, but instead she was rude to me and continually blame me for not taking care of the dog. The vet actually said how well I did take care of the dog and that it was obvious that I really cared for her. This is not the way to treat people and I am highly disturbed with the terrible lack of customer service, consideration, lack of care for the dog, and flat out lies that came from Tara and Joanne. Apparently saving few dollars instead of taking responsibility and saving a pet’s life is more important to Tara and Joanne. On a positive note I do and will love my dog forever so I am thankful for that. But I would never do business with big dawg again and I will not recommend them to anybody due to the above. Very disappointed with the lack of responsibility, empathy, and caring coming from Terra and Joanne at Big Dawgs.

This org rescued a dog from the SPCA in Fresno, but refused the chance at adoption minutes later, due to logistics and having the dog scheduled for transport to the Livermore facility — 3 hours away. Makes me question their entire philosophy!!! They would rather risk the 5 year old dog at having a home, than have an owner adopt. FRESNO SPCA already evaluated the dog. With a process this difficult I dont know how this non-​profit stays afloat. I would not recommend and as a matter of fact think very poorly of their motives. They did extend the dogs life, though. Hope the boy has a bright future.

I have been a foster for Big Dawgs Rescue for 1 ½ years. This is the best group of volunteers I have ever met, they all truly care.

We have been looking at dogs for a while and waiting until we got married so that we could have enough time for the new member of our family. We had a great experience with Jessica and Janelle who are foster mom’s for the group. Both were so friendly and helpful in the process. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. The group does amazing work and are wonderful people.

I have volunteered over the last year with this rescue. These women work non stop 7 days a week to save and help as many dogs as possible thru the hard work and dedication of great fosters. Everyone that works for bdr is a volunteer and does this in free time for the love of animals. People may get upset when denied to adopt a dog, but every dog, puppy to adult has different needs in a home and owner. This rescue has rules and standards they uphold and it’s in the best interest of each dog, regardless of people getting upset when told no. The volunteers running this rescue do their best to help as many dogs and people as humanely possible and also respond as quickly as possible. Joann is a strong leader who has done her best to teach everyone and help as many as possible. I’m proud to volunteer with such amazing animal lovers who never stop trying to save lives. I even adopted my best friend from bdr. I wish people would be patient and understand they are all volunteers doing the best they can to help everyone and as many dogs as they can.

I’ve been fostering for Big Dawgs Rescue for a little over a year. My experiences with this rescue have been great. Helping with shelter dogs and homeless dogs is stressful and heart-​breaking. Big Dawgs Rescue is an organization of volunteers led by Joanne who support each other and work endlessly to save as many lives as possible. As a volunteer, there is always help and support given for any and all situations. I’ve always felt safe and supported regardless of my situation.
Some of the attributes of Big Dawgs Rescue that puts them apart from other rescues and keeps me with them are the above and beyond mentality. Big Dawgs Rescue is always willing to network dogs outside of their rescue and provide courtesy posts for people who are helping dogs. Also Big Dawgs Rescue never leaves the Mama dog behind when rescuing a litter of puppies. The integrity of this rescue is solid. It’s about the dogs, and these people do all that they can to help as many dogs as possible.
If you are looking to adopt a dog, I highly recommend you contact Big Dawg Rescue.

I’m writing this review about one specific foster who was really weird and downright rude when I asked about a dog.
And, actually there were three different families who turned in applications for this dog, and we all knew each other from working in rescues, but didn’t know we’d contacted BDR. All of us were treated the same way, so it shows how consistently beetchy this foster is. She didn’t return emails, phone calls, or even bother to respond to one application from well qualified, breed experienced home.
We reasoned that she must have some microscopic vision of who this dog should belong to, which is why he has been in foster care for more than a year. Yep, he is still looking for a home, sadly.
After realizing this woman must have an agenda, I began trolling the FB site to look for an other dog that might meet our criteria. What I realized is that this rescue goes through a LOT of dogs. That isn’t really what you want in a rescue, as you are liable to end up with a dog that is unsound either physically or emotionally. (I worked in rescue as a foster for about 8 years, so I know how it should be done.)
Just watch the FB postings for a while. There is a lot of Pump and Dump going on.
(Yes, we pulled a great shelter dog, so we’re happy for us, and just a little sad for the poor dog still waiting for a «perfect» home.)

first off let me commend anyone that takes the time and effort into rescuing animals I know its a daunting task.
My experience with this rescue group was brief but so off putting I had to write a response .
We submitted an online applications for a dog, and we truthfully answered all the questions. to my surprise we were dismissed with a short your applications is not accepted .
I asked why which then ensued a rather heated exchange .
We have owned dogs all our life they are a part of our family and this rescue group is rather rude and dismissive .I am glad they have so many applicants lined up to adopt their animals and are so heavily funded they can treat people in such a dismissive manner. we ended up rescuing from another group .who found us perfectly acceptable adopters

My compliments to Big Dawg Rescue-​Livermore Chapter. I’m on the hunt for my rescue dog. I learned a lot about rescue from them & how they work together with other rescues (their Facebook pg is a great example to monitor). They got back to me fast on the dog I was interested in. The match didn’t work but the rep (Allie who they were working w/who’s with Lily’s Legacy) really took the time to help me get to now the dog prior to our meeting (his story) as well as my story to see if we’d match. We met but the dog wouldn’t work for us. However this group was communicative as I’ve been hunting for a dog. You weren’t waiting for days. I really respected how they work with other rescues for the best interest of the dogs they have. This was a great organization to find your dog. My hunt is still going on, but I monitor what they have.

I struggled with the star rating, but I feel like it’s fair given the circumstances. We were not refused by Big Dawgs. In fact, we were able to adopt a super sweet little girl named Minnie (now named Cali). We adopted her knowing she had giardia, and was provided medication to treat her. Four days into the adoption she became very ill and was diagnosed with parvo (not unimaginable as she was found in a box in the middle of Modesto). I was told by the vet her survival was unlikely, but we should treat her. We decided to go ahead with treatment, and after 5 days she was not improving. It was at this time our vet had the conversation with us that she may not get better, and we would have to start preparing for her untimely death. Hearing this news was devastating and overwhelming. We had just adopted this beautiful puppy, and I was so angry at the unfairness of it all. Distraught and probably not making much sense, I reached out to Big Dawgs. I know that they are largely voluntary with a limited income which is why I specifically stated on my message that I wasn’t looking for them to pay the bill. All I wanted to know is if they had this experience before, if there were any support groups and maybe they could set a donation can out at their next event or post something on their website regarding Cali’s situation ($ 10,000 worth of vet bills).
I didn’t even get the respect of a call back. Not even an acknowledgement stating, I’m so sorry, there’s just nothing we can do. Absolutely nothing. I couldn’t believe it.
Thank God for SAGE veterinary clinic who cared and loved this little girl as much as we did. They saved her life and worked with us on our bill (our honeymoon money).
I know you’re busy and probably do other work, but the lack of follow up is just astounding and disrespectful. I hope you’ll take this review to heart and not let this happen to any of your other rescue families.

We tried to adopt 2 dogs in Livermore in Jan 2014, and we were very mistrated by these people. Every single question we asked was misunderstood by them:
1. We wanted to adopt 2 siblings, a male and a female. We asked about castration to avoid the breeding. They understood that we wanted to buy so we could breed and sell puppies. They refused to sell the dogs to us due to this reason, when in reality that was not our intent. It was just a question! Unbelievable!
2. We asked about what to do with the 2 cats who ‘adopted’ us at home. We asked if the 2 dogs would get along with the cats. They understood we wanted to throw the cats away, kill them by dropping them off on a animal shelter, and went on for 15+ minutes explaining why we should not do that. They said they will not sell us the dogs because we were planning to throw the cats away. Unbeilievable!
3. The last unpleasant misundertanding was about our lifestyle. They asked questions about us, and went on and on saying that we cannot adopt a dog if we both work. One at least has to stay at home. Otherwise they would not let us adopt it. Unbelievable!
In general. we do not want to do business with those people. They are very rude, they do not listen. they misunderstand everything we say, and they basically made us feel like we were lying about everything we were saying, when in reality we were telling the truth. We feel like they hurt our integrity. We could not even hold the puppies without a lot of people staring at us thinking that we were just going to run away with them. Unbelievable!
We do not recommend this place. There are better animal rescue’s organizations out there. It is unfortunate for the puppies because our home would be a loving, comfortable and safe place for them. We are still heartbroken, but we will heal from this experience, eventually.

I’m very happy to see all the wonderful reviews!
I became a kitten foster thanks to Jackie!
After my shitty experience with Ariana at the Berkeley humane society, I ended up on
, and sent out a few emails about becoming a pet foster.
Jackie replied promptly in the morning, and made herself very easy to reach by phone. I called her that night to talk about the fostering process, I went home, submitted my online application, and the next day I was sent pictures of 2 cute little kittens who were ready to be placed in my home! :)
Super fast and easy. The kittens came with supplies! (I now provide food and litter.)
*****THE AMAZING PART*****
THE KITTENS WERE DELIVERED TO MY HOUSE IN BERKELEY!!! How effing awesome is that??? I didn’t have to travel, buy a litterbox, or toys!!! (But did because I’m a loving person)
The kittens are extremely well behaved, cute, fun, trained, clean, so so so AWESOME. I could not have imagined a better experience or better pets being placed in my home. They totally brightened up my life and I’m glad to support these little kitties! Jackie impressed me.
Loving my fostering experience. Hopefully you can try fostering or adopting through this wonderful place!!!

I have come to «like» Big Dawg Rescue on my FB page after a friend of mine suggested them to me. Day in and day out I see on my news feed all the hard work, pleas, pictures of all these animals that need homes, fosters that I have even decided to start donating to this great cause. I know it is a difficult job, but Joanne continues to fight for these voiceless animals to help find their forever home. I already have 2 Pomeranians and one rescue from another group so I am not able to foster. But I have decided to help donate whenever I am financially able. Let me tell you, Joanne personally emailed me «thanking» me for my donation when she didn’t have to. You have my respect and my support Big Dawg Rescue! Continue doing what you are doing as they depend on us.

This rescue organization works hard to save the lives of so many dogs and does good work in the community. Unfortunately, however, I would have to agree with previous comments regarding the rescue founder’s abrasive and rude manner. I know several families and individuals that have had bad experiences with Joanne: the main problems being the derogatory and judgmental attitude in which she speaks to/​of people, her incessant foul language, and overall unprofessionalism. I have worked in the veterinary field for nearly 10 years and understand and respect the physical, emotional, and financial stress that this line of work can cause – however I find this no excuse for such distasteful public behavior, especially when representing such a wonderful cause and all those individuals that devote their time, effort, money, and homes to help.
That being said, if you are looking to adopt a dog, I would not hesitate to do so from this rescue as I a believe they take excellent care of their dogs.
However, if you are looking to volunteer, or need to surrender your dog due to unfortunate circumstance, I would not recommend this organization.

As far as we’re concerned, Joanne has earned a comfy furry spot in heaven for the amazing things she does for animals.
Today we went from feeling hopeless, faced with vets that turned us away due to lack of funds, and the thought that our pup may face amputation, if not death. As a last ditch effort, we contacted Joanne to see if she could at least point us in the right direction of a vet that would be willing to work with us on payments. When she realized we were calling for help, and not to surrender our boy, she was 100% on board to pay for our vet fees without ANY hesitation. After being faced with at least a dozen people unwilling to consider our desperate pleas, this was almost unbelievable.
Joanne genuinely cares. She is willing to assist in any way she can, and she does it for all of the right reasons. I have encountered so many people at rescues that have lost faith in people, and can’t see past those who neglect and abandon their animals, that they turn people off to adoption. Joanne has not let the careless pet owners jade her, and that has made all of the difference. Joanne does amazing things for animals first, and in turn their owners, too.
Please check out Big Dawgs Rescue if you’re looking to find a new furry friend, or even just foster one until they find a home. This rescue deserves help and support in every way.

Goodness where do I start?
My in law’s neighbor was evicted and abandoned their dog. We didn’t even realize they had left her because the poor thing was so famished that she wasn’t barking and wasn’t very responsive. When we found out that she was still in the backyard, my sister in law called for help, but it was a Sunday and we got the run around and pretty much have received no help from the Fremont Animal Shelter or Police Department. Thankfully, my fiancé noticed a post by a friend of mine on facebook of a rescue center in Livermore. He called and within hours someone from the center came and picked her up.
From what I understand, she’s doing great, skin and bones, but she’s happy and gave them tons of kisses for saving her. They are going to nurse her back to health and there are already ppl interested in taking her.
The lady from the shelter even called my fiancé back with an update and offered to send pictures of the pup.
When I think of an animal rescue center I think of people that are dedicated and TRULY do what they do because they are passionate about saving the lives of these wonderful creatures. Big Dawgs Rescue has surpassed my expectations in every way. The people are AMAZING, compassionate, and loving. The world needs more shelters like this.

Big Dawgs Rescue is AMAZING!!! I adopted my little kitten Miley from Big Dawgs and Jackie, the feline coordinator, has been so helpful. I’ve been a cat owner before but having a new kitten is all new to me and Jackie has been able to help me with any little questions I have. A few days after I adopted Miley, Jackie emailed me to see how she was doing and if I had any questions. And since then, anytime I have ANY questions I email her =)!!! She’s so great at emailing me back quickly. I thought my Kitten was sick and I emailed Jackie and she was so kind enough to take a look at her and give her medication if she needed it. Miley is A okay, healthy and purrrfect.
Miley is so sweet. She is great around my family and even my niece and nephew!!! I think it helps that she spent time in a foster home and was socialized around people.
Big Dawgs Rescue is truly a standout adoption agency. They really care and want to see the dogs and cats go to a good home.