10 reviews about Monika's Rescues

10 May 2021

WE walk the dogs voluntarily, and have been trying to adopt a dog, we have chosen dogs suited to out lifestyle, and never received a response, and we went to talk the the head and she completely ignored us and walked passed us after we had asked to talk to her.
Absolutely breaking my daughters heart. We have volunteered for years there. Why can we not adopt a dog?

Approximate cost: $400

mattiasz 07 Aug 2021

Thats a shame that youre not allowed to adopt one. With the walking how long are you able to walk a dog for (hours)? And are you allowed to take dog out of local area (e.g.) in a car to walk in another suburb ?
Thanks

molob 18 Apr 2022

This is typical of how they operate, can I suggest that you try other rescues that this one... there are plenty other rescues that would appreciate your willingness to adopt one of their dogs...

verified email - 21 May 2020

Waste of time. Lost first application, then couldn't find second application. Monika clearly had not intention of allowing anyone to adopt the dog in question regardless of 40+ years of experience of dogs with difficult histories.

Avoid - time waster.

Hiranya A
25 Aug 2014

Fostered a sweet Aussie Terrier named Finn who had been at the shelter for 4, yes FOUR years, after he was initially rescued from death row at Blacktown Pound. I had initially chosen a number of dogs and Monika's personal knowledge of each dog was shown as she said that this dog needed daily eye drops, or that one snaps-so are there children in my home; this other one had another issue etc. As I work full time and already have other pets-doing these extra administrations of various medications etc would have have added more madness to my schedule. It made me realise that other animals adopted at the RSPCA or elsewhere are adopted just on looks etc and people could create real problems for themselves and the poor dog could be returned to the RSPCA etc which increases its chances of being killed. So this meticulous matching of the dog to people that Monika does is really worthwhile thought it may be irritating to some people. Finn suites our family perfectly as he is an independent little dog who definitely wants to be the sole dog in the family. We are hoping to use the Karen Pryor clicker training method to try and teach Finn some basic training-as he is a smart dog and so needs to be kept active and challenged. My cats are getting used to him....and he is ignoring them...so long as they do not run, for then he thinks they want to play chase! I worked out the best time to ring Monika is when she actually sends you the text message-call right then or in the afternoon, say at 5pm. As usually the shelter is full on as soon as it opens, phones going, people turning up unannounced, 100+ dogs barking etc etc. So...I can truly encourage anyone interested in adopting a dog to please make the time and effort to check out Monika's Doggie Rescue Facebook page, go online etc and see which dog they could adopt as part of their family. These dogs are so deserving of their 'Forever Family'.' Sorry for the ramble but...just had to share.

Hiranya A
08 Aug 2014

I had a wonderful day at Monika's Doggie Rescue on Wednesday. The staff there are absolutely devoted to the dogs. The dogs are loved and looked after wonderfully well and are so deserving of a loving home. The office is so busy and they cannot afford extra staff. Volunteers help out but the decision regarding adoption is handled by Monika who knows each personality incredibly well. Please fill out the forms that you will find online and when sent a text message, please persist in calling back - it is worth a dog's life after all.

Cootster
01 Jul 2014

We had a similar experience to Callioe. We couldn't fault the care these dogs are getting or the fantastic work of this volunteer organisation in rescuing these dogs from the pound. We just found them difficult to deal with as the only person who seems to be able to respond to specific requests about dogs or 'match' families with them is Monika herself. This may have worked when the operation was smaller but it may be time to give extra training to those volunteers and delegate a bit more responsibility to them so that dogs can head out to new families more quickly. We were warned about this problem by other friends who had tried going through Monika's and felt equally frustrated. Noone except Monika can answer phone queries or respond to your emails. We were asked repeatedly to fill in a detailed form that we'd already submitted. We understand that volunteer organisations work within limitations but the next volunteer shelter we contacted seemed so much more efficiently organised and able to get the dogs to families ( without sacrificing the important process of checking potential adoptive families out carefully- we filled out a detailed form, had an interview and supervised dog walk and premises check, but different parts of the process were handled by different people so it was resolved quickly and communication via phone and email was excellent). Surely, when the alternative is that the dogs spend longer in cages, it's time to delegate. Noone would question Monika's devotion to this cause or the hours she puts in, just the rather frustrating methods of dealing with people who'd like to adopt a dog.

Butterworth
23 May 2014

Firstly, I would like everybody to know that I am a single female with one dog, we both love all other animals, I have a huge secure yard in the suburbs, I don't have kids, I make a decent living and can provide a loving and caring life for any pet that choose to take in. However, I am very disappointed.... I am also worried about the dogs. I also had a similar negative experience to those listed below. I also called the phone number wanting to enquire about several dogs on their list but was told to fill in the form and email it off. I did this enthusiastically waiting for my call, however, I didn't receive one. Over the next 10 days or so, I got THREE!!! text messages saying "thanks for sending your form, please call us to chat about the dogs, opening hours are...". I called back twice and was told that the person was the only one I could talk to and was busy. I asked if they could call me back when they weren't busy and was told that I could call them when they're not busy!! I asked when that was and was told that it was some time after 3pm.. So I called back after 3pm. Of course, imagine my surprise when the person wasn't available!! Not once was I contacted via telephone or asked even via text to come in. I relayed that I live 2 hours away and would like to talk to someone before I leave so that my visit could be arranged with my current pet to meet his potential brother and my trip wouldn't be in vain if they weren't available, however, the person on the phone told me that "It is a rescue organisation and put your form in and we will contact you", I said, "I have already done this! and would like to come to see the dogs today" to which the staff replied, "they will contact if you have put your form in".. It was quite obvious that the person was not interested in anything I had to say and did not care that I was interested in adopting a wonderful pet and willing to pay for it and love it to bits and spoil it rotten... the staff kept on repeating herself until I was sick of it and gave up. The site alleges that there are 209 dogs being cared for. I find it very surprising that all these dogs are being cared for by one person.. I will be contacting them again in the morning to relay this concern and I will also speak to the authorities about this.

Callioe
12 Oct 2013

We've been a dog owners for over 30 years and thought this time we would give a home to a rescued dog. We filled in an extensive form and were then asked to repeat most things on the form while on the phone. Our current dog can't travel in the car due to illness. It was suggested that despite her illness and that the car makes her uncomfortable, we put some towels down and bring her anyway. Not a very compassionate response from a 'dog lover'. So, they absolutely refused to meet our family because we have one, well loved but sick dog who can't travel in the car almost 2 hours to their location. Completely unwilling to find a work around. Very disappointing.

Jesse28
02 Apr 2013

we visited and amazed at how giving these peopel are! please help if you can

brad.m
27 Jun 2011

Do the world a favour and adopt your pooch from Monika's. Keep in mind this is a volunteer organisation. I was a little overawed the first time I arrived; a lot of barking and a lot of dogs - but I must say they are extremely well looked after in their temporary care. Given these were all "death row" dogs, I didn't have particularly high expectations, but theres so many gorgeous little dogs with a whole range of personalities, sizes and ages available.

TruReview
06 May 2010

We had an extremely poor experience here as only one person is able to meet with potential dog adopters and they were apparently too busy to meet us. We were not allowed to meet any of the dogs or assess their compatibility with our family. We struggle to understand the methodology and have never been turned away from meeting potential members of our family before. We thought the focus should be on finding homes for the dogs and are amazed the many volunteers who were there at the time were unable to introduce us to the dogs.

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