lyndsey's Blog

anonymous - April 06th, 2009
This also happened to me but in a different tone we wanted a puppy we were a match and the day we were to sign the papers we were told they just adopted him to someone else and when we wrote to the directer about getting our money back she told us it was nonrefundable and that since we were rude would never adopt a dog from any rescue shelter or anything in the state of co.....I wish I would have saved the emails

anonymous - April 06th, 2009
Hi, I have not dealt with CFB. But last year dealt with a rescue group called PAAL's. It was horrible, I got a malnourished, very sick puppy, and fought tooth and nail to get all the paper work. I had dealt with this woman named Susan, and she sent me many nasty emails. And in the end explained that she had quit PAAL's and had started another rescue of her own (I think is CFB). What you did was the right thing, she is a scam artist, she was stealing from this other rescue place (which in the end wasn't that great either). But when ever I had to deal with her, she would send me rude emails, finally she called me up at work and cussed me out. All because I was demanding my dog's paper work from them and she never had it. Turns out, my dog never got the shots he needed or anything. Also, Susan was using this foster mom who had split off from PAAL's to work with CFB with Susan. And this woman, was later arrested a month ago, because authorities while doing a search of her and her boyfriends home, found 30 dead cats and dogs that had all starved to death. This same woman was the foster mom of my pup. So, ignore her email, she will probably call you up for posting and call you a bunch of names. But in the end, know you did right.

anonymous - May 19th, 2009
It's good to know we aren't the only ones with a horrible experience, but at the same time it is terrible! Today there are so many pets available for adoptions, yet they make it so difficult! Fortunately we found a Cell Dogs program in our state. They were great to work with and we are very excited to be bringing home our new family member! If you are interested in adopting a dog, I HIGHLY reccommend finding out if there is a Cell Dog or K-9 Correction program in your state!

anonymous - June 20th, 2009
Wow you people are amazing! You people clearly do not understand the operations of a rescue. I volunteer for a rescue in my city and let me tell you it is more than a full time job. I spend 40 plus hours each and every week on fundraisers, applications, recruiting volunteers, etc.... That's all in addition to the nights of no sleep because the puppies are terrified due to the circumstances they just came from. Instead of criticizing everyone maybe you'll want to join in to help solve the problem. My biggest pet peeve in the world is people that complain but never try to help.

anonymous - June 24th, 2009
I've read your post numerous places on the internet and felt it necessary to respond. We adopted a puppy from CFB about 3 weeks ago and had none of the issues you are talking about. I submitted an application and was contacted by someone the next day. They came that evening and did a home visit. The next day the puppy's foster mom contacted us. We set an appointment and drove up there to meet the puppy. They invited us to bring our current dog to make sure they all got along as well. We brought the dog and all of his records home with us that same day. I get that you had an awful experience and you want to warn people. However, there are plenty of people that have had a great experience with this company as well. It's about the animals - not the people that run the company. And a big thank you to all the people that volunteer to be fosters until the animals are adopted. I have had bad experiences with the Dumb Friends League and we were denied adoption by the Lab Rescue. So.......voice your opinon but leave the animals out of it.

lyndsey - June 24th, 2009
Well I'm glad you had a good experience and I understand that not everyone who has worked with them has had a bad experience. I just don't understand what you mean by leave the animals out of it... I don't see how that relates. I had no issues with the dog we looked at from the shelter, other than she was not what we were looking for in a family dog, it was the process of getting to that point and interacting with the staff that was a pain in the ass, along with the response we recieved after letting them know that she was not the dog for us. It is about the animals because we all want the animals to go to a good home. Being a shelter, I thought they would be more understanding of wanting an animal to go to a good home that fits them rather than a home where they could possibly be given up again because it was not a good match in the first place, but my husband and I were not given that feeling. Instead we had are heads bitten off and in my opinion that is just very wrong and unfrofessional. I retract my statement from my original bog... feel free to adopt or attempt to adopt from this shelter, however just be aware that you could end up with a bad experience like my husband and I had. I would also like to add that we kept up our search and were finally able to find a great dog to add to our family!

anonymous - June 24th, 2009
It sounds like you are a bit confused. They are not a shelter. They are a rescue. Rescue means that they operate on a foster home basis only which means these great people open their home to these precious animals and provide a loving environment while they work hard to find them a great home. Second of all every single person in the organization is a volunteer. Often times volunteers pay for things out of pocket. At a shelter people actually get paid for the work that they do. These people do not. Thank you Colorado Furbabies for what you do. Thank you to all of the generous volunteers. It's a fact of life that someone is always going to complain. I understand it is a thankless job that you do so Thank You.

lyndsey - June 25th, 2009
Shelter , rescue, staff, volunteers... all the same thing in my mind. Both are out there taking in rescued or injured animals and turning around and adopting them. This is just my opinion though. I also believe that either way if you are getting paid or not and are dealing with "customers", you need to be professional. From my experience the people working for Colorado Furbabies were not professional by any means. I'm not saying that I don't appreciate what they do, or in my case what they were trying to do, I just don't appreciate the way we were treated. I whole heartedly support rescuing/sheltering animals from broken homes or whatever their background is and praise all the hard work the people involved do, but when you run an organization (volunteer or not), like I said you need to be professional. Writing an extremely rude in response to us looking at one animal and finding that we could not profide the right home for her is very unprofessional and very uncalled for. We looked at ONE animal and she seemed like a very good dog and would find a great home, that great home just wasn't with us. Why should we be shunned and told that we can no longer adopt from them for being honest. We could have taken in a dog that didn't fit our family and our situation, but honestly in that case, what are the chances of the animal being given up to a shelter/rescue later down the line? I would say highly likely, and that is not what my hisband and I wanted. Doesn't a shelter/rescue want an animal to go to a permanent home rather than a temporary home?

anonymous - June 25th, 2009
I understand what you are saying, but let's face it I have plenty of years of experience in customer service. There is always two sides to the story. My guess is that the picture you are attempting to paint does not describe every detail. It's normal human behavior to describe the story in a manner that makes yourself look like a saint. It appears that you are simply one of those people that feel they are perfect and everyone else should always be. I hope you eventually learn that all people have flaws. You may just want to consider the other person for a moment and think about the million other things they were dealing at the same time as you. Maybe a precious puppy had just been put down that they could not save in time. Either way, whatever you story is I would truly hope that you would reconsider your attitude. A wrong doesn't make a right. Sure they may not have acted as professional as they should have, but you are simply out to get them at this point. You have posted comments bad mouthing them every where you possibly could. To me that is unprofessional. Best wishes to you. Just remember you only have one life... live it to its fullest. Grudges are a waste of time and only lead to misery.

anonymous - July 13th, 2009
All I can say on this subject is that I too submitted an application and after several emails to CFB, I have yet to hear from anyone in the organization regarding my application. The least they could do is tell me they received it, or that they denied it for whatever reason. I haven't heard word one from them. So my opinion is hat the organization is poorly led, and I will adopt from a more reputable one.

anonymous - July 14th, 2009
Susan is so rude... I have a lovely pet from them but it came with mites and GIARDIA. They first told me it was the deworming what was making the dog sick...when I sent a letter of complain because I though puppies went through a vet before setting them up for adoption, I received nothing but RUDE letters from Susan...crazy. Her job is admirable, her people skills suck

anonymous - July 25th, 2009
I too am having problems with them right now. The dog I adopted has become very aggressive and I have a 16 month old daughter. I am trying to get him removed from my home for over a week now. In that time Ihave sent e-mails everyday and only get a response when I threatned to take him to the shelter. The response I got was VERY rude and unprofessional. I am in the process of trying to figure out what I can do.I'm sorry you went through this but it feels good knowing at least I'm not alone. I thought maybe it really was just me.

anonymous - July 27th, 2009
We just ran into problem with them as well. It took agood three weeks to get from application to the home visit (not meet and greet). We have a townhome with no yard and were specifically looking for a smaller dog who would be okay being kenneled. We finally scheduled a visit with a foster family - there was no information regarding size in her posting, but were told it was a good match) We were greeted by the most adorable, loveable 100 lb dog you could imagine. We cannot, in good conscious adopt this wonderful animal. It would be unfair, and possibly destroy her incredible demeanor. We felt as though it was a waste of time for us, the foster family and the dog. Sadly we bonded fairly quickly, only to realize that there was no way she could live with our family.

anonymous - August 04th, 2009
Well I guess its my turn. This is Susan from CFB. If anyone would like to contact me about the comments above, please do.
I have all of the correspondence between these families.
Unfortunately we are run by volunteers and not everyone understands this. We all have full time jobs and families.
It is not rare , depending on the location of the family, to have to wait to get a home visit completed. Again we do this on our own time, own gas.
There are times that a family applies for a pup/dog that is then adopted by another approved family. Its unfortunate but it happens.
There are two sides to every story and some of the above comments werent what we were looking for in a home for that paticular pup/dog. There are many many dogs/pups on death row in high kill shelters across the country. Not being able to adopt from CFB isnt the end of the world.
NOW as far as the comment that I was using the gal from PAALS as a foster that is a complete straight up lie. In fact, when I was with PAALS, this lady and I didnt speak, AT ALL. From the day I met her I was suspicious of her and anytime I saw an animal in her care they were ill. I was a volunteer with Paals. I didnt run the organization and when I felt things werent on the up and up , I left and started CFB.
I am also willing to share the hundreds of letters we have from happy families that have adopted from CFB.
I can be reached at fortheloveofthedogs@yahoo.com

anonymous - September 01st, 2009
I adopted my dog from Colorado Furbabies several months ago, but I am having a different problem now and wanted to know if anyone else has run into this. Adopting our dog was actually fairly painless, and we have been extremely happy with our puppy since.

We paid a $175 adoption fee, plus a $50 "refundable" fee, which is supposed to cover not only the puppy, but also all shots up to that point and having the animals spayed or neutered. When we adopted our dog he was 14 weeks old, but they don't recommend neutering until 4-6 months. So we were told that we would be contacted by their vetting coordinator in several weeks to set up his appointment to be neutered.

Our dog is now over 7 months old, and for the last 2 months I have been trying to get in touch with someone at CFB to get some answers and we have received NO response. The number listed on their website does not work and they have not responded to my many emails. I have contacted local authorities, who have urged me to file possible fraud charges. In the meantime, I've contacted Max Fund, which offers low-cost neutering. It's just frustrating because we thought we had already paid for it.

Has anyone else encountered this situation, or has actually had their pet spayed/neutered through the CFB vet? I'm curious if they actually follow through most of the time, or if I'm the exception to this. I look forward to hearing from someone soon!

anonymous - September 06th, 2009
$225, plus $50 for a supposedly refundable spay/neuter deposit, for a mutt puppy with limited vetting? You are kidding, right??

anonymous - September 13th, 2009
I was checking out rescue groups to make a donation to, and Colorado Furbabies does not show up as being liscensed in Colorado(via Secretary of State site-click on research charities). Does anyone know what state they are iiscensed in?

anonymous - September 16th, 2009
CFB is licensed in Colorado. Under the Secretary of State . I just looked it up myself.
Many rescues in this area charge what CFB charges but do not cover the spay/neuter. CFB does cover the spay/neuter so 225 is reasonable.
There is NO way that the idiot above paid for the puppy then it was adopted to someone else. Thats a crock. When you signed the contract and got the puppy thats when you would of paid .
You people amaze me!! Have you ever volunteered? Maybe you should.

anonymous - September 18th, 2009
I did find the answer to my question- CFB is liscenced in Colorado under the Secretary of State's site. It is listed as Colorado Furbabies Rescue, under the business tab. That is all I was looking for, and finally found it.
To the person who wrote the last half of the above post-wow, that is not a nice way to talk to people or about people at all!! Guess I will just have to consider donating to another organization, where ALL people are treated with respect!

anonymous - September 18th, 2009
You arent going to donate because of my opinion? I adopted from Colorado Furbabies and had a great experience. Im just so sick of the complaining. Its the same people over and over. Im sure they do have many satisfied families that have adopted from them.
You should donate to them as they are a great group. Meet some of the volunteers. They are enthusiastic and very helpful. They have great passion for the animals and spend many hours helping save more.
I like the fact that they dont always have the "cutest" puppies or dogs. They are not breed specific. Their website says it right, everyone gets a second chance.
Please reconsider your donation. They derserve it and will use it well.

anonymous - September 28th, 2009
Director of Colorado Furbabies has a court judgment against her. A fund raiser for products not delivered. She refuses to repay my money. She is a THIEF!!!!!!

anonymous - September 28th, 2009
DONT donate to Colorado Furbabies, she pockets all the money for herself. She keeps adopting out sick dogs. She owes everyone money. THIEF

anonymous - October 09th, 2009
I'm so disappointed to hear this. I adopted a puppy from CFB - it's an almost identical story to the vetting story listed above. I also paid 225 plus 50 refundable (upon spay) - so far have no paperwork on shots she has had (I personally wonder if she had any before I got her), and now can't get anyone to let me know where I need to do the spay. Believe me, I am not a person who is picky and always dissatisfied, but have given Susan many kind (not rude) calls and email in an attempt to get this information. My guess is that I need to just write it all off and move on. Susan - if you're reading this? I understand that it's a lot of work to run a rescue organization, but if you can't do it - get out. You are likely doing more harm than good to animals you may have set out to help.

anonymous - October 15th, 2009
I have to say that I am on both sides of the fence here. I adopted my pup from CFB and it was a good experience and pretty fast. What I am having problems with now is the "refundable" fee. I payed 175 for the pup and 50 fee that would be refundable upon her spay. She has been spayed now for a month and the check has just been cashed. I am furious because we did not expect this money to be cashed as we followed all the procedures and did as we were told to do regarding the spay with CFB vet! I will have to see how this plays out because I just emialed the coordinator about this issue. If my money does not get refunded I will file a complaint with the police as this is not the terms we agreed to upon adopting and I will never adopt from this rescue again!!!

anonymous - October 21st, 2009
I'm the one that wrote on September 1, about our vetting issues. I just wanted to provide a follow up to the people that are going through the same thing right now. I ended up filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and conveniently...that was the day the vetting coordinator finally got around to calling me. I told her I'd rather make the arrangements myself to have my dog neutered, I just needed the number of the vet they use. She would not give me the information and told me that I HAD to go through them to coordinate. I explained that I've been through enough with their organization and I'd rather just take my dog elsewhere and know it would be taken care of. According to the signed contract from CFB at the time of adoption, if you choose to take your dog elsewhere for spay/neuter, they will reimburse you the amount they would pay at their vet (which is $45 according to Susan).

So I made an appointment with the Max Fund ($62 for a neuter and they were amazing with our dog!), and I promptly received a NASTY email from Susan telling me how my complaint to the BBB was "a bunch of bull" and how rude I was to her vetting coordinator. I simply explained that I didn't trust her organization anymore and I would send her the paperwork after my dog was neutered in order to be reimbursed my deposit and the $45 neuter fee.

About a week later, I received another email from Susan. She must have seen this blog post, as well as another review I posted, and these are some excerpts from her email:
"I am in the process of smearing your name. We will post against you as well and show your true colors. .... Congrats on your blog of lies.
Susan"

I think this woman is delusional and has very serious problems. This is no way an executive director of ANY organization should act. We are currently waiting for our deposit and reimbursement check, and I'll keep you updated when we received that confirmation. Good luck to anyone going through the same situation.

anonymous - October 27th, 2009
Ok so I am clearly not the only one having problems with this woman. I did like my experience until just recently when I posted about my supposed 50.00 check that was cashed and was not supposed to be as stated in the contract. I have sent SO many e mails to her and there have been so many plans to return my money which have all failed on her end. She keeps telling me all these things are going on and to be honest i do not believe it. I am still waiting for the return of my money and will soon be contacting the BBB on her and the police if necessary. I have left messages and she has not called me. I am not going to put up with this any longer!!!

anonymous - October 28th, 2009
To last blogger: PLEASE contact me via e-mail. I have had the exact same experience with CFB. I am in the process of filing a complaint with the BBB as well and have already contact Tom Martino from 9news. She will not contact you or refund you. She cashed my check as well and I, too, have called and e-mailed her MANY times. I would like you to contact me, as well as ANYONE else who has had a similar experience. I think if we gather enough folks who've been through this, that we can definitely take her to court. The rescue started off with good intentions, but has become a scam...I know this for a fact. I can give you more details of what I know through e-mail. I am LIVID about this situation and I want Susan to pay back everyone to whom she's broken a contract with. She is also committing check fraud, b/c the $50 is not to go to CFB, but it is to go to the State of Colorado for the House Bill initiative. My e-mail address is spring6984@yahoo.com
**For those of you who have had good experience with CFB, I am happy for you. I would never try to ruin the integrity of an animal rescue. I am a HUGE animal rights person...but I also believe that if someone is running an organization that they need to be professional and they need to resolve monetary issues as they arise. I am a firm believer in dog rescues...just not CFB and Susan Matthews***

anonymous - October 29th, 2009
To the lady whose dog became aggressive, how long did you have the dog before it "became" aggressive? I can't believe you want to blame it on the rescue.

anonymous - October 30th, 2009
To anyone who reads this and has had a negative experience with CFB (especially one that involves them taking your money), please contact me ASAP: spring6984@yahoo.com
Thanks!

anonymous - October 31st, 2009
I complained about CFB to the BBB (and Attorney General - who forwarded the case to the BBB). She responded to them with complete lies. FYI. Anywone on here - please don't hesitate to contact the BBB with your claims.

anonymous - November 02nd, 2009
Same with me.. I filed a complaint and she told them that I was the liar and I had no grounds for the complaint. Completely dismissed my concerns.

anonymous - November 09th, 2009
This is so sad. We adopted a wonderful animal from CFB. Now that months have gone by and I don't have any of the information that she promised... I am beginning to wonder where these animals originated.

anonymous - November 11th, 2009
I have posts above. I've complained to the BBB, the Attorney general, and the state licensing organization. Recent SHOCKER! After many a complaint, phone call, email to Susan and the vet coordinator, I finally got a call from the vet coordinator who scheduled an appointment for my dogs spay. I still don't have the paperwork from her initial shots, but they pulled through on the spay. They are working with a vet that they just began working with recently. I'm grateful to have had the spay of my dog covered, and by a seemingly competent and caring facility. I do still believe that CO Furbabies should be approached with caution.