Smiley Dog Rescue

I just went to the Smiley Dog rescue site to make a donation and found out they are closing after 10 years! :(This makes me quite sad as everyone involved — Lynn, all the foster parents, adopters have done so much to provide to rescue and find great homes for many.
Thanks! Made a donation to help with residual expenses. :) Best of luck!

As a major dog person and senior staff at a fancy doggie daycare for over a year, it was my time to get one of my own. I spent over a year deciphering my favorite breeds and temperaments and finally figured out what I wanted. I work close to a shelter so I always see these sad dogs out on walks with volunteers and it breaks my heart. I knew I wanted to go the rescue route and adopt!
I went on
and started my search. Mostly younger mutts. I needed the dog to be trainable for my job. I went through lots of terrier mixes, saved a lot of profiles to review back on. After a few days of deciphering which was best for me, I found him. Hansel’s face looked back at me and I just said «That’s my dog!»
Scruffy, young, small, and a bit timid from having some typical rescue experiences, this was the exact dog I wanted. I always love the challenge at work of getting the scared ones to warm up to me. Bonds tend to be stronger.
I filled out an application immediately at Smiley Dog Rescue’s website and got a call that afternoon from Hansel’s foster mom, Valerie. She was very friendly and asked some questions as well as answered some of mine. She was very patient as I got everyone in the household to agree to a pet and scheduled an appt to meet him at her home. Valerie was super sweet and warm and clearly a very loving home for Hansel. He was very shy and barely wanted to come near us, stuck to his foster mom like glue. I knew that wasn’t him, so it was fine, and he was even cuter than his photos!
They gave me a back story to him, let me know of his sibling, his behavior with dogs, let me know if he was house trained and all that. He was already neutered, microchipped, and given his Rabies and DAPP vaccine. He was set!
Next step was to decide if he was for me. I looked at other dogs, but he was the best fit for our home so I sent a confirming email to say I was definitely interested in Hansel. The leader of the organization, Lynn, wrote me back within minutes letting me know they would schedule an appt for a home visit from a volunteer. I knew it was a fat chance it would happen anytime soon bc it was near thanksgiving and I live over an hour away from the Rescue. I suggested sending a video and they agreed. I sent a very thorough video of my home to show all the possible issues they could have with it. They don’t expect an empty house, they know you will have wires and possible fence issues, but as long as you are willing to work out a solution to the problem, they are totally fine. Valerie, Hansel’s foster mom okayed the video herself. From then, I was sent an adoption agreement to sign and give in with the $ 220 adoption fee when I picked up Hansel to go to his new home.
I had Hansel living with us within 2 – 3 weeks of sending the application. He was a great fit for our family and it’s been a great experience with Smiley Dog Rescue. I even keep in touch with Valerie and hopefully we will soon have a reunion playmate with his sister, Gretel, who got adopted previously :)

Why would anyone write a mean review about Smiley Dog? It’s a group of volunteers that work so hard to rescue these poor doggies. The only reason you would be turned down is because there are necessary requirements to make sure that these dogs don’t become rescues again. If you commit to working everyday of the week and your normal job/​family, then you still wouldn’t have an argument.

I filled out an adoption application on December 18^th… the website states a volunteer will respond within 72 hours. On December 20^th, I sent a follow-​up email reiterating my interest in adopting and/​or fostering a dog. Today is December 26^th… I still haven’t heard back.
I’m on my way to TVAR to complete adoption paperwork for another dog. TVAR is also run by volunteeers but seems to have a more vested interest in actually finding homes for the animals they rescue.

I contacted Smiley dog rescue a few years back to help me save an alaskan malamute at a shelter that was at risk of being euthanized. They came all the way to hayward to get him out of there and I fostered him for a couple months, and took him to pet adoption events on the weekends and thats how we found him a new home to a really nice family. The Smiley Dog staff were true animal lovers, and did everything they could to help him get a new home, and made sure that it was with the right kind of people that were not just gonna abandon him like an old toy. If I ever need any help with another dog in the future, smiley dog rescue would be the first people I would consider. Thanks for being awesome!

Well, I have not experience the same types of bad issues as everyone else but keep reading for my ultimate surprise in my journey to meet and adopt our new 5 month old puppy.
Lynne was very helpful, I got a reply from her quickly and when I told her I couldn’t meet them at the Adoption event due to prior plans, I asked her if it was possible to meet earlier if she lived local. She did and the next evening we met at a park near her home. This is where it gets interesting so keep reading.
I met Lynne at the park and she was very pleasant. From what others have written she must have done a huge turn around (or has many facets of her helpfulnes). Anyway, I digress, the puppy rolls on his back and I see fleas on his belly. If they are on his belly he has way more where the hair is thicker. And he has something funky going on with his ear (she said it was a scab of some sort for something healing) and in his ears they were filthy. She tells me she has flea stuff and ear clearner for him she can take care of it. We agree to a home visit the next evening so my hubby could meet him and if all goes well she would leave him with me.
Keep reading this is where the shocking part comes in …
Something doesn’t sit right with a dog that has that many fleas and she did say she has 6 other dogs she is fostering so I can only image what her home must be like if she had him for two weeks and hadn’t treated his fleas already. So on my way home from work I pick up some Zodiak flea shampoo. She arrives and had taken care of cleaning out the inside of his ear but nothing more. We both like the dog and our current dog had fun as well so we sign the papers, write the check and Buddy is ours.
As soon as Lynne leaves my daughter and I throw him in the bathtub. I am not exagerating when I say there were at least 100 fleas on him. And not tiny fleas but the largest most enormous adult fleas I have ever seen and it took us over 30 minutes to pick out all the dead fleas from his fur and do our best to not introduce a problem in our own home.
It is not an understatement to say I was extremely disappointed in the condition of this puppy and in this Rescue organization. I mean the term rescue means they rescue them from death but also other conditions as well. Wouldn’t the first step be to bathe and deflea them, take care of medical issues, etc? Oh, and did I mention? The «scab» on his ear became gummy and gross in the water. Apparently he never even got a bath once he came to her home from the pound two weeks before.
I wrote a check for $ 175 and I felt that was a fair price, but shouldn’t that price ensure a clean flea free animal?

I love Smiley Dog rescue. I had looked for months and months for the right dog — my apartment had rules about size and I had to make sure that my dog fit itno the apartment rules as well as to my lifestyle. In the process of dog-​hunting, I got to know a lot of Bay Area rescue organizations and I thought SD was both responsible and accomodating. They kept him an extra week so I could take Charley home during Winter break and have two weeks to bond with him prior to bringing him home. They did a home visit which I think is very important. They let me walk with him and bond with him. They’re great. Just like every dog may not be right for you, every rescue org may not be right for you. But my experience was positive and more positive than with other organizations and I recommend them.

I had an extremely positive experience with SDR, very different from what I’ve seen written below. We found them through
and submitted our application. A few days later, we met the puppies at the Pet Food Express in Lafayette. All the SDR volunteers there were very helpful and courteous. The home visit was done by Lynne and she was friendly and answered all of my questions. Now, a week after seeing the puppy at the Pet Food Express, we have our newly adopted puppy and couldn’t be happier. Thank you SDR for making our puppy dreams come true and for helping all the dogs in need!

Dog rescue organizations have their work cut out for them — too many dogs to save and not enough humans to adopt them. I imagine that Lynn of Smiley Dog Rescue began with the best intentions. However, my experience with her organization left me concerned for the animals.
My husband and I had recently lost our two beloved dogs of twelve years. They both had cancer and though their illnesses appeared to be developing at a different pace, their paths suddenly aligned, and we had to euthanize them on the same day. We were devastated.
When we were ready to adopt another dog, I contacted Lynn about two dogs that I saw on Petfinder and she told me she would bring the dogs to a Smiley Dog Rescue mobile adoption event in Lafayette on a Saturday.
I arrived early, so I was there to witness the event being set up. Numerous cheerful volunteers began to show up, which was heartening. But then I encountered a woman who seemed stressed and unwelcoming as she ordered the volunteers around (I later discovered that she was Lynn).
Lynn brought out a cage of puppies and apologized for the odor — the dogs truly reeked. She stated that she was a single, working mother with three children and didn’t have time to clean the dogs or the cage. She said that her children were in charge of cleaning the cage and «you know how that goes.» The dogs had obviously been rolling around in their own waste.
When a volunteer brought out the two dogs I had come to see, I asked what she knew about the dogs. She told me that I would have to talk to Lynn, but that she wasn’t sure how helpful Lynn would be because she had just yelled at the volunteers.
Pretty soon there were far too many dogs and people crammed into a relatively small space in front of Pet Food Express. The dogs that I came to see were so stressed by the overcrowding that it was impossible to get a sense of them. One of the volunteers allowed me to walk each dog up the sidewalk a bit. Even though we got away from the crowd, one dog was so manic she spent the entire time trying to escape.
In the midst of the madness, Lynn showed up with a huge, out-​of-​control dog. She was yelling at the dog and repeatedly yanking on the dog’s leash in a very harsh manner to control the dog. By this point I was dismayed by Lynn’s interactions with the dogs and people.
Seeing how stressed and agitated Lynn appeared, I waited for quite awhile before I approached her. I asked her a few questions about the dogs and asked if there was a way to see the dogs in a quieter setting. She curtly told me that being a single, working mother, she did not have time to arrange any other kind of meeting with the dogs.
While both of the dogs that I came to see were adorable, I could not get a sense of them in such a setting, and sadly left the event.
While I understand that mobile adoptions allow many people to see the rescue dogs, I question some of the practices. The number of pets should reflect the amount of space available for the animals. If the area is small, only a handful of pets should be brought to the event. A stressed dog is not going to calm down in an overcrowded setting.
I also think that a mobile venue is not appropriate for all dogs and that each dog should be evaluated before subjecting it to such an event. An unsocialized dog is not going to do well in such a setting and needs to be adopted out in a different way.
In fact, after a long week of searching for a dog, my husband and I ended up adopting a dog through another organization. The woman in charge willingly worked around our schedules and even brought the dog to our house. Our new dog Andy would most likely have been terrorized by a mobile adoption event as he is not well socialized with others dogs yet. By getting to see him in a calm environment, Andy was able to show us his best traits. Had I been able to see the Smiley dogs in a calm setting, they too could have shown their better sides.
I am of the belief that if you are going to devote yourself to something, you should do it well. If you do not have the time to do it well, either do less or simply don’t do it. For the sake of the dogs, I hope that Lynn finds a way to balance her desire to rescue dogs with the reality of her life — sometimes less is more.

I found my new dog, Munch (previously named Mel) through Smiley Dog Rescue. I had found him originally on
as he was listed on the City of Hayward Animal Control’s site. I contacted them that same day (a Friday) and they emailed me back to let me know that because no one had adopted him after a month, Smiley Dog Rescue had taken him into a foster home. I contacted SDR that day and by that evening, I received an email from their lead volunteer to meet Munch in person at Pets on Broadway that Sunday. As soon as I met Munch, I definitely knew I wanted to adopt him and I turned in my application on the spot. The adoption process happened quite swiftly — within one week, including their reference checks and home visit, I was able to take Munch home by Friday! Perhaps the not so stellar reviews spurred SDR to make their process efficient? I am so happy to have brought my little Munch home! I do admit, getting his paperwork took longer than 2 weeks and I had to email SDR and wait a couple days before a volunteer apologized and put the papers in the mail. Nonetheless, I think they are excellent and I would recommend anyone looking for a dog that deserves a second chance to come here!

Props to Smiley Dog (SD) for the work that they do… All of the anxiety and trouble I had was mostly due to me and NOT SD… after going through their process, (one that I found excruciatingly lengthy and drawn out at first) I now see that they’re an organization that looks for responsible homes and families for dogs so that they don’t end up in the pound after the nostalgia wears off. This org is not necessarily for spur of the moment dog purchases and maybe because people see them at pet stores showing animals they get the idea that can just go up to the counter and buy a dog. It doesn’t work that way… If you’re looking for a «right now,» purchase or if you’re not willing to go that extra mile for a companion, maybe you shouldn’t be looking for one. Mostly I want to communicate that I had a quite an interesting experience with SD and I’m a better dog owner for it. Sally is now Daisy and I’m so happy I had the patience to stick with it.
No…don’t work for SD I’m just new to Unilocal and so far have limited my opinion to my favorite burrito joint. I just felt compelled to give my opinion after reading about SD and going through the adoption process myself. A year ago I lost my family dog after 10 years. My wife and me were anxious when I started with the «lets get another dog» thing. I’m glad I stayed the course and trusted that things would work out they way they’re supposed to…

Sigh. We are in the same boat as Xtina Y and Bug — we just had a terrible experience with this rescue group. Others seem to have had good experiences, but I see a trend rising.
Everyone knows that these non-​profit groups are run on shoe-​string budgets. Everyone knows that the volunteers have full-​time jobs and don’t get paid for all of their altruistic efforts in the name of saving precious dogs. Everyone knows that it must be reallyreallyreally hard dealing with people desperately trying to find their «forever» companion in the back parking lot of pet food store in some remote semi-​suburban quasi-​strip mall, sweating on the blacktop concrete. But honestly, Lynn and Trudi, have you tried walking in our shoes lately? Your actions, words and demeanor reveal that the answer might be «no.» Please, for the sake of other potential dog owners, read on:
After days and hours of scouring, we recently found a puppy that might have been compatible for us on Petfinder, which as you all know is not exactly an easy task. There was lots of searching to do, lots of pictures to sort through; it’s very confusing overall. Undeterred, we committed to pressing the «adoption» button. We filled out the long-​ish online application with thoughtful and responsible responses about our family and history. After all, we’re trying to sell ourselves as honorable and solid dog people, right?
I anxiously awaited a response and within a short time, I received a very brief and vague response about coming to the adoption event the next day from 1 to 4pm at a far-​away mall and to please be sure to let Lynn know what time we’ll be there so she’ll be sure to bring the dog. That was all the email said. Excited that we were one step closer, I responded IMMEDIATELY to say that we’d be there for sure and I’d get back to her about a specific time. I emailed her again about an hour later to say that we would be able to leave early from a Saturday commitment and arrive at the adoption event right around 4pm. «We’ll see you there!» I said. I never heard back from her, but she was a professional, right? Off we went with our hearts hopeful.
Arrive we did, with 5 minutes to spare. But, oh, what a waste. Why did we leave our prior commitment early to race across town through crazy traffic, sweating the whole time only to arrive when the last cage was being loaded into a truck and our greeting from Trudi was a very rude: «It’s 5 minutes to 4pm and we close at 4. We cannot help you now.» Lynn didn’t even bother to stop as she was walking by and barked: «I never committed to anyone coming here at 4pm today.» That may have been true, but could you have broken my heart a little more gently? I was told the time frame was 1 to 4pm, not 1 to 3:30. A different woman was nice enough to ask if we wanted to hold the potential puppy. My 10-​year-​old son was smitten, of course, and I melted when I held this furry ball.
Trudi then walked up as we were sitting on the ground with this pup and said: «You got here too late. We’re done. You needed at least 30 minutes to get acquainted with your designated pup. You need to spend time with the entire litter because your pup has many, many applications and there are probably many others ahead of you. So you need to come to the adoption even next weekend — but I doubt this pup will still be here.» Crushing blow. Cruel words. Cruelly dealt.
Lynn and Trudi — it would be easy to state on your website or as a brief note in any of your emails that the adoption and meet/​greet process requires 30 minutes and any potential family must arrive at the event with that time frame in mind. It would have saved us a lot of gas, stress and heartache.
Lastly, we know you’re often tired and unappreciated, but it would be much kinder and gentler to remember that families like ours coming to these events have already invested lots of time wishing and dreaming for this puppy to be theirs forever. It’s truly hurtful when information isn’t given correctly (or at all) and then the Smiley dog representatives act as if this information should be obvious. It isn’t. We’re not the pro’s, you guys are. We, the public, expect you to act like it.
The SF Animal Care and Control and the SF SPCA got our business and we are grateful for their professionalism and kindness.

Like many rescues this is an all-​volunteer organization. People work 60 hrs week at their ‘real’ job, and answer email and phone calls when they can. It is not the Oakland Shelter, where you are going to find someone to answer the phone M-​F, 9 – 4. There are no paid positions within the rescue — so yes, you are subject to the schedules of the volunteers available to help you.
This rescue home fosters all of their dogs. I was very picky when I decided to adopt. I was adamant that as a working professional, that I adopted a dog that I knew would be right for me and my schedule. Namely, I wanted a larger dog, that did not have separation anxiety or destructive behavior, and would be social enough to be able to handle group walks with an occasional dog walker. Having a dog home-​fostered provides priceless information on the habits, training, and personality of each dog available.
All applications are submitted online. I in fact highly advise submitting an application before you even start looking. The rescue is great about pointing out dogs that may be a good fit for your family, and honest about ones that won’t work for you.
All in all, I have nothing to complain about. Many other area rescues basically slammed the door in my face when I said I worked 7 – 5.
But thanks to smiley dog, I have my baby. We walk 1.25 miles each morning, and each night. She has a dog walker for fun a few additional times a week. She sleeps with me. We spend each weekend on several hour long walks or at the dog park. We are a match made in heaven.
To those that have issues with Smiley… all I can say is that I am shocked. No rescue will let you walk up and take a dog home that day. There are applications to be filled out, data to be verified, home visits. There may have been someone that filled out an application for a specific dog before you even met it. That is life — there are many dogs out there worth saving — and perhaps that one wasn’t meant for you.
As for physical treatment of the dogs, again, I am shocked. All dogs are vet-​checked, spay/​neutered, vaccinated, etc. Many — when they first come out of the shelter — ARE matte-​d and frighteningly ugly ;) But with a little foster home love, a good pair of clippers, and a bath… they transform. Yeah, it takes a while for the hair to grow back, but sometimes before you know, you see a mangy ‘mutt’ transformed into a silky purebred — you just couldn’t tell what was hiding under all that matted hair. I’ve never seen Smiley show a dog before it was vet-​checked and ready to be shown…
Smiley has changed my life… it will change yours.

We had a similar experience as Bug (see previous below). Cancelled/​postponed previous engagements to travel to the event to Montclair. Montclair on a Saturday is extremely crowded so it wasn’t easy getting there and we got lost. We had filled out an application online before hand and after some spotty/​vague communication we were told that the dog we were interested in would be at the event. So of course we went, excited to meet a possible new member to our family.
We got there and arrived to the rescue’s leader (Lynn?) screaming at a dog for barking. They’re dogs… they are going to bark in a ultra busy/​crowded area like Montclair on a Saturday. That kinda broke my heart. We approached Lynn (who is very unapproachable in many ways) and told her that we were the ones interested in so and so. She didn’t acknowledge at all the email conversation we had… didn’t say oh nice to finally meet you… didn’t say anything about the dog other than ‘oh she’s coming but isn’t here yet’. Then she walked away! Strange.
So we waited. And the dog arrived but we hadn’t known she arrived because it was so crowded. And obviously Lynn knew and didn’t bother to let us know and let us wait around. We had to figure out ourselves that the dog arrived. And then it seemed like other families were already bonding/​interested in the dog too. Instead of adding to the confusion, fighting for the dog, we left. I must admit that my heart broke again for the 2^nd time.
I do understand that this organization is volunteer-​driven. I don’t understand why this is an excuse for poor customer service. In the end, the poor customer service, the inability to reach out to the family wanting to adopt… it all ultimately is a disservice to the dogs they are trying to rescue. I know they cannot just adopt to anyone and have the dogs in mind first. But I just question their priorities. If they work ’60 hours’ a week at their real jobs, how can they have time to foster?
And I am not the first to write a bad review so I know I’m not alone in this and that it was just me.

We adopted our first dog, now a 7-​year old pit bull mix, from Smiley Dog two years ago. While communication is definitely spotty, let’s recognize that the organization is almost purely volunteer-​driven and that the volunteers keep nothing but the well-​being of the *dog* in mind.
If that bothers you, then a rescue organization isn’t a good fit for you.

We adopted Harley a 8 – 10 year old Min Pin in Feb of 2007. He has been the greatest dog for us. I know the people who run smiley dog rescue only care for their animals. I always mention smiley dog rescue when someone asks me about my dog and where they can find a dog of their own.
I hope the people who have given negative reviews found dogs from other places, but their claims against smiley dog rescue are in my experience are unfounded.

We adopted Harlow from Smiley Dog after meeting her at an adoption fair at a Pet Food Express in Lafayette.
She was just a tiny pup in someone’s arms — so young that she hadn’t had all her parvo shots and therefore was not allowed to roam freely in public spaces just yet.
We didn’t even think she was up for adoption and were looking at other dogs when the boy happened to glance her way and Harlow’s handler asked, «Would you like to hold her?» It was all over from that moment on.
6 days later, we brought Harlow home from Concord. Lynne, her foster momma and also a Smiley Dog officer, is something of a one-​woman dog rescue in and of herself since she often has 9 – 10 assorted rescues at any one time, waiting to be adopted by the right person (s).
Communication with Lynne was speedy and constant. We decided we wanted Harlow that Saturday, emailed Lynne that evening, and by Wednesday had a Smiley Dog volunteer inspect our apartment. Once Smiley Dog had our landlord’s written confirmation that our apartment was dog friendly, we were set.
Harlow came with her 1^st set of parvo shots and was spayed and micro-​chipped. We had an awesome experience with Smiley Dog and our lives have been changed forever — for the better — by our furry little lovechild.