Field of Dreams Rescue

I adopted a puppy from this rescue almost a year ago now. Melissa was easy to work with and poured her heart and soul into this particular litter. The entire litter, mom and dad included, were dumped into the shelter. Mom and pups had horrible kennel cough. Melissa nursed all of them back to health and ensured they were all healthy before allowing them to go to their new homes. Our pup was a bit delayed as she suspected he may have contracted Parvo. She got the meds and was up every hour on the hour to administer them. After treatment we were able to take him home.
He is a year now and was recently diagnosed with Tricuspid Valve Dysplasia. It is entirely genetic, but it shortens the dog’s life to a few years depending on the case. Due to it being genetic, I e-​mailed Melissa so that she could let the other adopters know just in case they may have the same heart condition. She responded quickly to my e-​mail with her condolence and said she would contact the others. I explained to her that it was recommended that he not go under any unnecessary surgery (neuter) and she was understanding.
I highly recommend adopting from her. She tends to do it alone and is the sole person who responds to inquiries. Give her a chance to respond. She definitely cares a great deal about the work that she is doing.

Melissa is an awesome example of who should be loving these animals while they wait to be adopted. The second I saw Buddy (who was once Gus) my heart just melted and I knew I had to have him. Melissa answered every question, was quick to get back to me and is genuinely kind. I will always recommend Field of Dreams Rescue to anyone looking to love one of those little guys as their own. Something that may be worth mentioning, «Mama» schools the dogs that are temporary visitors in her home which was perfect for Buddy. We have a cat and because of Mama, Buddy knows not to mess with her.

We communicated with Melissa via email and at first she was responsive. But when she was supposed to email us to let us know when we could come see a Dog we never heard back. We emailed again and still no response.
I obviously feel like we have been completely ignored and I will choose a different dog adoption location to use.

My husband and I adopted an adorable dachshund/​terrier mix from Melissa at Field of Dreams about 2 weeks ago. From the very start, Melissa was easy to correspond with via email and text, and was very responsive to my messages. We were so impressed with how knowledgeable Melissa is, and really appreciated all of her advice, as my husband and I are first-​time pet owners. I honestly thought she was a veterinarian based on how knowledgeable she is, but she just has a ton of great experience. She also had the dogs on really good food as well, so we didn’t have to change it when we brought him home. The only downside is that our dog was covered in fleas when we brought him into our car (thankfully we realized this before we brought him home), which then led to tapeworm, but, a) that’s not necessarily Melissa’s fault (and she had given him medicine before we took him home that would kill any remaining fleas on him), and b) it was easy enough to take care of (medicine + bath) and he hasn’t had any since then. All the dogs seemed very happy to be with Melissa and they are lucky they have someone like her to rescue them! We are so grateful that she took in what is now our dog when he was supposed to be euthanized at the Oakland Animal Shelter. We definitely have our hands full, and our dog is not unlike many other former shelter dogs in that he has some quirks and is a little skittish, but he is overall wonderful and we are so happy he is part of our family now!

I have been fortunate to work with Melissa over the past couple of years. She takes dogs who have no other hope of making it out of the shelter alive. Melissa is very pleasant, helpful, and knowledgable about dog behavior. She is a savior for so many animals. I look forward to bringing dogs to her because I know that they will be in great hands and will find amazing homes. Field of Dreams is one of the easiest rescue groups with whom our shelter works. I’m so thankful for all that they do.

I also want to give a review from the perspective of a shelter volunteer and pilots n paws supporter. Melissa has been nothing but courteous, friendly and outgoing to work with. She has so much compassion for the animals entrusted to her and works hard to save those animals that, without Melissa, would be euthanized in our overcrowded shelters. She is always very flexible with her time in order to save these animals. She is the type of rescue we need more of, not one to belittle or shame. Keep up the great work Melissa!