Homeless Animals Rescue Team-Hart

I adopted a beautiful dog from them. I did not experience those types of interviews. I don’t think it is the rescue but some of the volunteers. I have experienced similar things with volunteers at other animal rescues not at Hart.

Me and my husband just adopted two precious kittens from Hart. We were so pleased with the whole entire process. We found comfort in knowing that all these animals are going to good homes. We worked with Bettina, who was incredibly knowledgable and so helpful. We are so happy with our new additions to our family. I highly recommend using this rescue!

I’m really disturbed by the reviews here. Clearly people do not understand the world of animal rescue. When you have a picture of it, and the heartache that volunteers have to face, you will understand why rescues are guarded when it comes to adopting. They want to find a good fit, and a fit that will stick. What you nasty people do not seem to understand, is all the volunteers go through to pull as many animals as possible from high kill situations, and get them ready for a loving home. A ‘loving home’ that sometimes turns around and dumps that animal at a shelter, or returns them when they face the first issue. HART goes to great lengths to vet animals and to prepare them for a new life. They are thoughtful in pairing people with animals to try to reduce the number of returns. Many adopters actually appreciate this. Shame on those that criticize a team of volunteers that are faced with horrors you will never know.
Adopting from HART means 2 interviews, a vet check, and in many cases, a home check. The cat team and the dog team are two different teams. Both sides work tirelessly to help animals in need. They will also work with you if you face any bumps in the road.
The nicest thing about adopting from a rescue is most of the animals are in foster care. You get a good sense of personality before you select who to adopt. This is especially important when you have children or other pets. Most adopters are very grateful for this.
The next time you want to lash out at a rescue, consider what they go through to save the animals. Consider that they go to shelters (some that kill EVERY animal weekly) and decide who can be saved and who they know will die there. Consider what it’s like to try to save a litter of kittens, or an old dog, that was discarded, only to have it be too late. Consider how hard they may have worked to get a dog or cat to a place where they trusted humans enough for adoption. And then consider how you may feel protective over that life. Consider how you’d feel when that ‘loving home’ dumped their adopted animal right back on because a new girlfriend had allergies. Put yourself in their shoes.
I’ve adopted 3 cats and a dog from HART. I appreciate what they do, clearly way more than any of the other ‘animal lovers’ who bitterly drag them through the mud on here.

This place is a joke. After interview us, our vet and numerous other people to adopt a cat, they actually had the audacity to ask us if our son gets a girlfriend that is allergic to cats, what will we do?
On top of the the rescue gave us a very very sick cat with an upper respiratory infect that has the potential to infect our current cat, which they knew about because of the interrogation interview tactics. Do me a favor, don’t support they heartless people. They should be brought up on animal cruelty charges

Some of these reviews are ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS.
You won’t do obedience training — professional or on your own? Have fun with an unruly, scared, and likely unhappy dog.
HART asks these questions because people don’t treat their dogs well and HART has spend countless hours and hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars saving these dogs. You are out of your mind if you think that HART volunteers are going to let you steal away a special pet after a thirty minute interview and a showing that the dog «likes» you. If this is your personal philosophy, you shouldn’t own pets! You can love a dog all you want, but if you are unable or unwilling to CARE for the dog properly, then you aren’t a good fit, period!
In my experience, they certainly aren’t looking for perfection, but getting upset because you don’t fit the adoption criteria is a bit juvenile, isn’t it? Additionally, some rescue dogs are skiddish and scared — children are absolutely unpredictable (especially most of the little snots running around PetSmart without supervision) — jumping, lunging, grabbing, or otherwise getting up in the face of a dog is a terrible idea. HART is just protecting themselves from liability, the child from injury, and the dog from further fear or injury.
My experience with HART was the exact opposite of these posts. My hound dog came from HART. They were wonderful, friendly, and understanding. We were encouraged by the fact that they do home visits and multiple interviews because it let us know that they have the dog’s best interests in mind. The fees were reasonable and they made it a point to check in with me periodically to see how my new dog was doing.
I was so impressed with HART that we ended up fostering a couple of their dogs. I have since moved from the area, but I have not found a rescue that could compare to HART. I am very thankful that they rescued my dog from sure death and that he is now in a loving, financially stable, and experienced dog owner’s home.

HART is very out of touch with reality when trying to adopt dogs. Do NOT bother trying to adopt a dog from them. They have had the same dogs for months because they are looking for the perfect dog owner which does not exist. Because they are a volunteer organization, they are also very ineffective at communication. But being volunteer is no excuse for the terrible communication. Most rescue groups are volunteer and their are plenty others that are worth your time. Once again, do not chose HART. Heck, it doesn’t matter because they won’t chose you!

HART’s philosophy is that interviews to adopt animals give them an accurate picture of where the animal ultimately ends up — in a loving, caring home for the rest of its life. As a former owner of cats and rabbits, I get that.
On the day we went to meet our new potential dog, there were tons of dogs, many of whom were too cute for words. Many of whom were immediately attracted to either me or my husband because we played with them and pet and rubbed their bellies.
It was then time for interview #1 (after 45 minutes or so of complete disorganization as to whom was doing what and where). The interviewer, Sandy, seemed pretty nice. She started talking to us, went over our application, and then began asking us questions. The questions started off ok but then she became very rude. In fact, you could tell by her face that she was not happy because she became bright red. The question that turned her face red: are you willing to consider obedience training? We said that we are considering it. Well, she nearly flipped out and that is when she became very judge mental. After hearing her talk ad nauseum about obedience training, she made us feel like we would not be adequate parents to a dog let alone a child (which we hope to have in the future). They are basically looking for people who can afford to have a single family home with a fenced in yard, one person who doesn’t work so that someone can take care of the dog (to walk the dog the same time every day), and commitment to obedience training. Most families in Northern VA don’t fit that criteria because both individuals must work to support the household. Oh, and forget if you might possibly be away for more than 5 hours or suggest that you might use a penned in area instead of a crate. They are looking for perfection.
Listen. The world is not perfect. No one is perfect. But the way they treated us is rude, inconsiderate, disorganized, and unprofessional from the way they interviewed to the way they rejected us 6 days later. They don’t tell you why — they just tell you that they have decided to not move forward with your application. Also, I’ve been on job interviews which were easier than this.
Perhaps if they didn’t let personal feelings get in the way, they would be able to see that even though someone may have never owned a dog, it doesn’t mean they can’t be good dog owners. A lot more pets would have loving homes.
Note: The family whom she interviewed after us also was berated. As we stood around waiting for our second interview, we overheard her berate a little girl about how to act when she’s around the potential new dog.