Labradors and Friends Dog Rescue Group

While we didn’t end up with a dog from this rescue, I had one of the best experiences, as far as dog adoptions go. I worked with Heather and she went out of her way to help us find a dog. Great communication and effort.

Our family adopted a great Lab mix puppy from them last August…
The person who is the treasurer does not refund the deposit the contract states they will refund back to you for training and spay/​neuter once you send them proof-​.
I have been given all kind of excuses not to refund the deposit after our dog was neutered. 2 weeks later since I never received the deposit back I called and was told the treasurer said I never paid and needed to show proof of payment.. So I sent a copy of my credit card statement showing the charge to Labrador and Friends. Then another 2 weeks and I have to call again to request the deposit back and was now told that the treasurer needed my credit card number to verify… what? you have proof (still, I had to contact them yet again), with my name and the charge. now over 2 months have gone by, still nothing and was told last week that she did try to credit it back to my card but it wouldn’t go thru… I called my credit card company after a week of that excuse and … nothing showed as any activity from them regarding a credit.
This treasurer makes this such a hassle that most people would probably give up on collecting… it’s only 75 dollars, however now it is the principle of following thru on their own contract to refund the deposits.
I finally have had enough of their excuses and have disputed the charge of their deposit that I am owed and it will be credited back to my account. from my complaint
.
The good deeds to the dogs are wonderful, however Their bad accounting practices of holding on to other peoples money should be a warning to everyone wanting to adopt from them to pay by credit card only.
On a good note, we did get a fabulous dog thru them… Too bad the treasurer would rather give all kind of excuses not to refund the deposits… wow

7 months ago I posted an updated review and received this response:
Hello Marilou,
This is Robert Maudsley, Vice President of Labradors and Friends.
I’m a little confused by your 1-​star review. Your first review was 5-​stars for Saving Tugboat and getting him adopted, which according to our records we did. He is now living with a wonderful family in San Diego. But your second review says you are furious with us for not saving Tugboat and saving another dog.
Please explain a little about what you are upset about and I will see if I can clear things up. But in any case, you should understand that we cannot save every dog that ends up in the shelter, especially the sick or injured ones. Sometimes the illness or injury can just be too great or that perhaps the the dog’s quality of life would not be good even if we could save them.
Sincerely
Robert
ps. If you want, I can try to get a current photo of Tugboat.
Obviously the «Vice President» Robert didn’t read both of my posts, the original and the follow up. My dog was rescued from the pound yes, but we had to give him up. Another family who gave up their dog to the pound because of illness and an inability to pay the bills was helped by Labs and Friends, accept they got to keep their dog and Labs and Friends started a fund for future care.
My question was why did they help that family stay together but not ours? Our situations were exactly the same. Why weren’t we offered to keep our dog and have a fund setup? Why did they cover that families bills but not ours?
When we gave up our dog to the pound I had already called several «rescues» and all of them couldn’t help. The pound was our ultimate last resort and when Labs and friends rescued him I even told them that giving him up was something that we didn’t want to do.
Also I never mentioned in my follow up that he wasn’t saved so I don’t know where this «Vice President» got that idea from.
This organization is a joke and they don’t even bother to read all of these reviews and contact/​apologize.

Pretty dogs, some nice people, but one very rude lady. Now I’m not one to complain over logical decisions that don’t go my way, so this is not just another person whining. The truth is, this company didn’t even give us a chance. We went to one of their adoption events open-​minded and in hopes of meeting a few dogs and seeing if one fit our personality and lifestyle. After filling out a generic application, one volunteer reviewed our application and was very rude toward us. Immediately implied we were not fit to be dog parents as my fiancé is in the military and I work. I’m sorry, who doesn’t work during the day? We left with a sour taste in our mouth and the following day received an email saying we would not be allowed to adopt a dog because we had given up a dog in the past. Let me set it straight that we did not put this previous dog on the street nor send her to the pound. We had done a trial period with a dog for a week and a half and realized we could not give her the attention she needed, so we gave her back to the rescue we got her from. This dog was a puppy, had separation anxiety, and needed to be with someone who was home all day. We learned we wanted an adult dog that knew the ropes a little and we could leave in the house without the dog tearing the place up. We expressed this very specifically to the volunteer, but she still looked at us like we were the worst people ever. Now, the point of the story: what about this experience makes us unfit to have one of their dogs? We know more about our preferences for a dog now and we’re completely honest from the beginning. I personally believe this «policy» to not adopt dogs to «homes like ours» is horrible. We will make another dog a very happy home one day and have the same goal in mind as any rescue: give a life-​long home to a dog who needs one. I sincerely hope you reconsider your selection process as it was completely unfair. Also, just because someone volunteers does not mean they should be allowed to work these events. Common courtesy lady, we are not just a number on a piece of paper.

There are a couple of people who run events for this group; one is reasonable, the other has some sort of personality disorder and should not be dealing with customers.
The day we attempted to adopt a puppy we got the latter, who summarily rejected every applicant while we were there. We witnessed not only ourselves getting rejected, but two other young couples as well. It was clear her criteria was wholly subjective: she provided no justification for her decisions and treated all three couples rudely and without empathy for their rejection. She clearly views her position as an opportunity to power-​trip over other people, and she was exploiting that.
Later that week, the other coordinator contacted me, sort of apologized, and offered me one of the siblings of the puppy that I wanted on a «trial» basis. I kindly declined.
The next weekend we adopted a puppy from another rescue – Second Chance. That was 9 months ago and we couldn’t be happier with our puppy and our experience.
Bottom line: there are many rescues in San Diego. Please find one that genuinely wants to find good homes for dogs, and treats the owners-​to-​be with the respect and consideration that all people deserve.

My family and I adopted a dog from Labs and Friends in August. We love the dog and he’s great but Labs and Friends has been the exact opposite. I’ve been trying for over three months to receive the $ 75 rebate for having my dog fixed. I paid this money to the rescue knowing that I would receive it as soon as the procedure was done. I sent three emails and left three voicemails to which they’ve only responded once. In that return call, I was assured they would process the rebate. Nope. Still no rebate. My guess is that they try to make it so difficult to get the $ 75 back that you’ll eventually just give up.
It’s sad to see that dogs aren’t going to get adopted because of the negative reviews on Unilocal.The animals shouldn’t suffer because the management can’t process rebates or return calls/​emails. C’mon, Labs and Friends, you can do better.

We adopted our dog, Hurley, from Labs & Friends in November of 2013 and it was a wonderful experience. We had recently lost our dog to cancer and were looking for a new family pet that would fit into a home with small kids, cats and a rabbit. We worked with Cindy who helped us find a dog that would be the right fit for us. We looked at several dogs before she suggested Hurley as he was being fostered with a cat and 3 dogs at the time. We wouldn’t have picked him on our own but now we are so grateful that Cindy really did find the right fit. He is our daughter’s best friend, naps with the cats and can hang out in the yard with the rabbit. Since we’ve had Hurley, I’ve learned more about rescue groups and how tirelessly the volunteers work to save the lives of so many deserving dogs.
It makes me really sad to read some of the reviews on here. Since adopting Hurley, I have volunteered with Labs and Friends and am currently fostering one of their adoptable dogs. I am in awe of this group of people. The group is made up entirely of volunteers, many of whom have full time jobs and families. Their priority is to find the right family for each dog and they really do put the needs of the dog first.

This «rescue» is a joke. Below (bottom) is the email response I received after filling out an application expressing interest in a puppy. I think my email response (also attached) summarizes my experience. I’m disappointed and extremely discouraged. Good luck to the next person that gets their and their family’s hopes up about a new family member. Hope you don’t have a job but can afford the $ 300 rehoming fee.
To Whom It May Concern (Since you didn’t sign your response),
Thank you for responding to me regarding Matador. Are you telling me you will only adopt Matador to someone without a job? Without a full-​time job? As I noted in my «application», I’ve successfully raised multiple dogs from puppies. You were able to ascertain from my «application» that I wasn’t a strong leader? I suppose these are all rhetorical questions and I don’t expect a response back. I am extremely disappointed in your pompous response with the assumption I’m not capable of giving a puppy a fantastic family life due to the fact I have a JOB. I will NEVER adopt a dog from your joke of a rescue. I will tell all my friends and family members of this disgraceful experience. Poor Matador is all I can say. You really should be ashamed of yourselves.
Jxxxxx
— – Original Message — –
From: dogs
Subject: Important Message Concerning Your Application with LFDRG
Jxxxxx, thank you for your application for Matador. Unfortunately, at
this point Matador is a full time job as far as training is concenred.
He is 100 lbs of puppy and will need a very strong leader and
constant attention and training. Are there any other dogs you may be
interested in on our website.

UPDATE: In July I was contacted by Robert Maudsley, Vice President of Labradors and Friends inquiring about not receiving my $ 75 training deposit. He apologized that it wasn’t handle properly, got all of my info and about a week later I received a check. He stated it was never their intention to keep the $ 75 deposit. They were having some challenges in their refunding process. The 4 star rating is based on my experience with Robert and how quickly he remedied the situation once he was involved.

My sister came down for an appointment to sign adoption contract and to pick up her rescue lab when they cancelled at the last minute to say dog wasn’t ready for placement and then they gave the dog to someone else the following week. Is this standard practice at Labs and Friends? Questionable integrity and dishonesty.

Well — here is the update… after raising the issue on Unilocal (of all places) of not getting the refund back someone from LAF contacted me and worked this out relatively quickly. While it is too bad it took so long I am happy that they seem to have figured it out and made things right. I hope they can keep doing their good work & improve their service to the adoptive families as well. Best of luck to the organization.

I’m glad Labradors & Friends can make so many families happy, but we did not have a good experience with this organization. Long story short, they had a dog listed on rescue sites and their own website for adoption. He was recovering from being hit by a car. They accepted our application for adoption, got a call from the foster, then never got a response on followup on his progress. I made several calls and e-​mails — still no response! We fell in love with this dog. We wanted this dog and would do whatever was required for his rehab.
Last ditch effort, we went to the OC pet fair as we saw they would be there exhibiting. Actually spoke to the foster and after a discussion, the dog needed to rehab more and we decided it wasn’t the best dog for us at this time. Foster said there were 3 other dogs that she felt would be a good fit for us and would send us photos and info THAT day!
Long story short, we never received photos, never received any other information from this organization. Luckily for us, there are thousands of dogs that need rescue, and we adopted a great dog through a reputable, communicative rescue.
In the long run, we got the greatest dog, and made an extra donation to our fabulous rescue group. If you want to know which rescue we found our fur baby, please send me a message!

We adopted our dog, Apollo, from Labradors and Friends almost a year ago. From what we understand they rescued him from a shelter in a desert community and placed him in a foster home. He was an escape artist and they tried several fosters before they put him in boarding to keep him safe. They had him a few months total before we showed up at an adoption event looking for a smaller lab mix. They were very helpful in finding out what type of dog we were looking for (active for my teen sons, willing to be submissive to an older dog, a snuggle-​bunny for me, around 50lbs). They steered us to the perfect dog. We filled out the application and got to take him home that day.
What I really liked about the process was that they listened to what we wanted and helped match us to the perfect dog. Also several people gave us the dog’s full background story, and even warned us about his escaping tendencies and separation anxiety. No one held back information — they were very honest. Though once he knew he was staying with us for life he adjusted fine.
A few months after the adoption we even got together with one of his former foster families and I was really pleased to see how much everyone really cares about the animals they adopt out. This is a really excellent local Southern California rescue and I recommend them to everyone looking for a midsized or large dog.

I recently got involved with LAF when a friend of mine adopted through them. I own two rescued chihuahuas from the San Diego Humane Society, and I’m also currently fostering a special needs Pitbull puppy through LAF. I try to help this group as much as I can, I have donated, volunteered at adoption events, and am now so pleased that I can foster for them as well. I also have offered my services as a training consultant (people, not animals, lol), and will be helping them with some other administrative tasks as well, because they just keep growing! It’s wonderful to see the organization grow and thrive and be able to help more and more dogs (and people!) find their best friends. I’m actually hoping I might one day adopt our foster, but I want to wait until he gets bigger than our chihuahuas and see how they do with him before I make the move.
The people who are giving low reviews, especially that one guy who «did his own aggression test,» they clearly don’t know a thing about dogs or dog rescue. Please don’t take their comments as fact, it’s utter garbage, and it’s disgusting.

They are horrible. They do not pay you what they say they will when you get your puppy fixed or get them trained. They ignore your emails and calls so they don’t have to pay you. Stay away!

This is such an amazing organization that does so much good work far and wide. San Diego is lucky to have such dedicated individuals advocating for the dogs here and far. They are so compassionate and save so many elderly, sick and «unadoptable» ones from high kill shelters proving these also have worth and giving them the love and care they deserve. I have no affiliation with this group but see their work first hand as a fellow rescuer and I truly feel they set the bar for other rescue organizations to follow. Thank you Labs n Friends for all you do!!!

I have personally fostered, adopted and donated to this rescue. They are passionate, diligent and provide an awesome service for a well deserved cause. I believe that about sums it up!

A wonderful rescue! They save so many mixes, and seniors. It’s been my pleasure to support their work for several years now.

We adopted a dog almost three years ago from this organization. We just saw the picture at thy e internet and we fall in love. They never said what kind of breed was him. After a while we made a DNA test and he is a PURE AKITA INU. He is the most loyal, amazing, good dog that you can imagine. We are so grateful with you guys for keep those dog save. Thank you. You are doing a great Job.
About the other reviews the dog learn what you teach to them.
Silvia.

My girlfriend bought a lab mix from these guys on 12.30.2012. We were told he was part beagle and was non aggressive. I did my own simple aggression test and he failed. The people working for Labs and Friends reassured my girlfriend that he was non aggressive and she dropped her $ 350 Christmas money on a dog that was to be her best friend for a decade plus.
Turns out, the dog was NOT a Beagle Lab mix, but a But a Basset Hound mix which exempted him from select apartment complexes. He was by far the worst dog I have ever had the mispleasure of caring for. He destroyed everything, pissed on everything and even attacked other and my own dog leaving a hole in her head (dachshund).
We got rid of the dog this morning but it completely broke my girlfreind’s heart and she has been crying and missing her companion as he had his three strikes. Now she won’t ever know what happened to the dog she had for just shy of ten months as she had to expel him from our lives. We share the responsibility of my children, and my own dog who is well trained, and they deserve to be safe.
Do Not Adopt a dog from these people. They do insufficient testing on their «adoptable pets» The dog we received was a long time stray and had multiple homes. Information that we received months after purchase/​adoption.