WOODLES...

[Richard Crowe]

When I post our rescue Maltese on www.petfinder.com (BTW: We have so far placed 15 out of the 17 puppies we had and 4 out of the 7 adults) I often look at the poodle, golden retriever and Labrador listings for a friend who has stated that he is interested in a doodle.

I found a bevy of wonderful dogs that are at www.gentlegiantsrescue.com of Norco in Southern California. These magnificent dogs are Woodles, Irish Wolfhound and Poodle mixes. I absolutely love the looks and temperament of the Wolfhound and think that they are wondefully regal animals. Judy has drawn the line and stated in no uncertain terms that one large dog in our house is all she wants. I can definitely see her point since we often have upwards of 20 Maltese (28 was our top number - 24 rescues and 4 of our own) living with us.

However, if anyone is looking for a really unique doodle type dog, take a look at these Woodles from Gentle Giants Rescue.

http://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?animal_type=Dog&pet_breed=S...

[Taylor & Huff]

So sad:( What did you end up naming him?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Taylor, our rescue responded only to 'Bad Boy' as a name also. Isn't this sad?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I did some research and in my opinion Gentle Giants is not a reputable place. Norco is a town in my county and I tried to visit. I e-mailed that I was interested in one of their dogs (well, I was interested in seeing any dog at all and its condition), etc and the only response I got was a canned one with their rules and requirements but not one response to my personal questions. They require you to buy their products and their 'guarantee' is worthless.
PS Since this isn't a breeder that I am bashing is it ok to bash????

[Richard Crowe]

BTW: Our members who work with adoptions only get the medical bills reimbursed. All food and extensive travel expenses are borne by the members. Unfortunately, our organization (although we are incorporated as a non-profit organization) is not 501C3 eligible and thus we cannot even deduct our rescue expenses on our income tax. Please don't ask why we are not a 501C3 organization. I have been fighting for this aim for years. We have just recently evolved to the level of technology where we can accept Paypal donations. However, even then, the AMA site is laid out in a confusing way and that it not quite evident.

[Taylor & Huff]

I have seen a woodle in person before but he was very abused. He was from gentle giants too. The owner of this woodle told me that he wouldn't come to any name until she called him "bad boy". Then, he came running. Now his name is Little Boy.

[Richard Crowe]

We ensure that when one of our dogs is adopted, the dog gets off petfinder within a day of adoption. We have too much work on the dogs we have to worry about answering emails and phone calls on dogs that we don't have available. We also put our dogs on petfinder as soon as they become available for adoption.

We usually charge a $250 adoption fee for a rescue adult and somewhere in the neighborhood of $500 for a puppy. If a dog is oolder or has special needs, we will reduce the adoption fee accordingly. Pupppies leave our home neutered or spayed and with a microchip. We have not had extensive medical costs on our puppy rescues but, our organization has funded large medical bills for some adults.

As an example, here is an image of Tracy and Eddie who were recently rescued from a terrible puppy mill. My parents always taught me not to speak ill of the dead but, the owner of that horrible place died and I hope she is roasting in the fires of hell.



These poor dogs were emaciated and their teeth were so bad that Eddie could not close his mouth and Tracy had a lesion on her neck which traversed out from the infected gums. Our vet (who provides care to our rescues at half price) said she never saw dogs in worse dental condition but, after over $800 worth of medical and dental work, these two guys are on the road to recovery.

So "true" rescue organizations don't usually "make any profit". If we did not have donations coming in from American Maltese members and other donators, the adoption fees would not be enough to pay for the medical care of the dogs if prorated among the healthy and less-than-healthy rescues.

[Camilla and Darwin]

The discussion kind of says it all, but I will say what I do know. It seems that many people, have complained that the dogs listed on Petfinder are never actually there. Like, they keep rescue pictures up even after they are adopted and rarely have the "selection" they show on the site. I have done a lot of research on this, and honestly, some may be truth and some may be lies... but at least SOME of the controversy is true so I'm going to steer clear!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Best Friends is completely legitimate. I'm sure they receive their share of complaints, and there are some who believe that dogs are better off being euthanized than living out their lives in a sanctuary, but Best Friends is open and above board, and they are very well-respected in most of the rescue world.

[Richard Crowe]

What a shame... I have never visited them but, have offered to shoot pictures of their resident dogs (they have really bad photos on line) but, have never received a reply. Legitimmate rescue organizations have a hard enough time these days without a "Big Name" organization with lots of publicity competing and not being a legitimate organization.

I have also heard some very negative comments (as well as some extremely positive comments) about Best Friends Sanctuary in Utah.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Gentle Giants is not really a rescue and their dogs are not available to the public. There is much controversy about them, and they have been entangled in many legal battles for many years. Most of the dogs they list have been pictured on their website for several years and do not exist. Lucy the labradoodle has been listed for over 2 yars, and dozens of people have tried to obtain information without success. It is believed by many that they are breeding the dogs themselves. Nobody is allowed inside their "compound" and nobody can see the dogs or whatever else is going on there.
Their adoption "contract" is absurd, requiring you to purchase your dog's food directly from them for the life of the dog, among other crazy restrictions. But don't even worry about that part, because the average person will never get that far along in the adoption process. Their "adoption" fees also hovered around $1000 per dog, last time I looked. I know of one human being who has actually "adopted" a dog from them, and she is the daughter of former U.S. vice-presidential candidate. GG is extremely well-connected politically and legally.
Most websites that cross-post available dogs for adoption do not bother posting any GG dogs. It is an waste of time.
I would strongly urge you to avoid any dealings with this extremely questionable facility.
One of many on-line websites warning about Gentle Giants:
http://www.gentlegiantnews.com/index.php