Home For Life Overview
Home For Life has a 3.1-star rating, derived from feedback provided by 16 customers. In the Animal Services category, it secures the 23th position out of 269 companies.
Rating
Contact Information
Website
www.homeforlife.org
Phone
(800) 252-5918
P.O. Box 847, Stillwater, Minnesota, 55082, United States
Home For Life Reviews
Gina
Discrimination and Ageism
I met with the person that runs this place for an interview of employment for the Star Prairie, WI job opening. My interview was at 4:30 but she interviewed her 5 pm interview before me acting as if I got the time wrong but I did double checked my email while waiting. We had to meet at a coffee shop so I sat behind them the entire 45 minutes waiting patiently. Finally she is finished and I introduce myself and I could tell instantly she had no interest in me and I quickly found out why. She felt I was too old and that I would injure myself. Also because my last jod I had had for 16 years in an office setting. I am 46 and live a very active livestyle out of work. I have animals of my own and this would have been a great fit for the both of us. She made it seem I was 66 not 46 but cared nothing about what I had to say in defence of myself in the 10 minutes we did speak. I have never been treated so poorly especially by an older woman than myself. She was also going to call me back to come in on the following Sunday to see the facility but I knew that would never happen and it didnt, no follow up call at all. This person had no right to tell me what she feels I am not capable of. She was very rude and disrespectful.
Caroline
Wonderful and caring staff
This animal shelter takes a great care of unwanted animals. they have well paid staff (instead of volunteers), they provide quality food and treats to the animals, excellent veterinary care and grooming. Bless their hearts for the wonderful work they are doing. the setting is beautiful where the dogs are allowed to run free in the meadows and socialize. The animals have access to the river for swimming during the hot days of summer. So much fun! the owner of this shelter is an amazing woman, she dedicated her life to help unwanted animals. She personally tends to the needs of every dog and cat, she knows their names, their personalities, likes and dislikes.
Anonim
Home For Life - Review in Animal Services category
We donate to Home for Life and have for close to 20 years. Peaches was one of the cats we adopted financially....I met her a few times and she seemed to be happy and content and was friendly. She passed June, 2014...she lived with a terrible injury for a long time...I wanted you to know that I think she had a good life...here's an email after Peaches passed....RIP, Peaches... On Thu, 19 Jun 2014 16:42:24 -0700 wrote: > We have supported Rory the Cat and Peaches the >Cat...Both have passed on. You suggested that we "adopt" >Bianca. That is fine by us. So, transfer the funding from >Peaches to Bianca... > > Thanks!
Anonim
Home For Life Customer Care Review from Lebanon, Oregon
I find it odd that this "sanctuary" blocks and deletes any questions on their Facebook page when inquiring about an animal. Why would they not put the best interest of the animal first? All animals are here for life? No adoptions? 200 animals! HUGE RED FLAG! This sanctuary is bringing in almost 1 million a year according to Guidestar.com and Charity Navigator. I hope these animals are being taken care of properly and this is not another hoarding operation.
Anonim
Home For Life - Animal Shelter Review from Minneapolis, Minnesota
In 2008 my dear kitten, peaches, of 7 months was shot (most likely by a neighbor) while we were at church one Sunday afternoon in November . She and her brother were outdoor cats since we lived in an old farm house with land and woods. She lived but her spine was severed as the bullet went right through, and as a result she became paraplegic. I was in middle school at the time and my siblings were busy with school, my dad was self employed and his only employee with his own business, and my mom a flight attendant. We cared for my cat 100% with 24/7 care for 7 months . She would have accidents everywhere no matter how many times we expressed her bladder and bowels. We kept her in a baby crib with blankets instead of a kennel so that her brother could lay with her. Me being so young and trying to do school and no one else being home, we were completely against putting her down, but wanted to see if someone else could take her on due to my mom and sister missions trip in tijuana Mexico that summer . Our vet contacted home for life, and at first they were very nice and wrote a good story on peaches. However, I've checked up on her every year and her name disappeared from their site around two years ago I believe, I thought she either got adopted or died. However I found a post from 2010. It was nice at first then made my family sound like we threatened them that we would put her down unless they took her and completely used that story to slander families that force their animals on HFL. I'm very disappointed in this as I thought she was a wonderful sweet cat and yes, difficult for a middle schooler to take care of 24/7 but a piece of cake for an animal sanctuary. I would still love to know her status and if she is alive but I don't know who to contact. I just wish people writing the stories of the animals would know the stories before using them to bash families even when they didn't act this way. If you look up peaches at home for life, to can find her story and see how terribly rude it was after the first paragraph. I still have her brother, Mario, and he is healthy and strong. Pictured below
Anonim
Home For Life is THE BEST
I have been a financial donor to HFL for many years. After learning about the negative comments directed at them I was compelled to visit their sanctuary. I wanted to see for myself if the allegations were true or not. I found the staff to be very caring towards the animals and very courteous to me. The sanctuary was clean, the food bowls were filled & the water was fresh. I saw no signs of mistreatment of the animals and in fact they all seemed to be very happy. I even got an opportunity to meet Lisa. She was very gracious but extremely busy helping her staff take care of the animals and ensuring everything was running smoothly with the sanctuary. It was easy to see that the animals always came first with her and her staff. I have visited the sanctuary several times now and not once have I seen anything that would give me cause for concern. They should be praised for the work they do. Even the staff will take time after their work shift to go spend time with the animals. We need more sanctuaries like Home for Life.
Anonim
Home for Life does a great job
I don't understand the negative comments on this site, and believe they are made by disgruntled folks who don't care much about facts. The place is clean, the activities organized, and the animals are obviously well cared for and happy. The animals at HFL are special needs animals, requiring a great deal of special care. Providing this kind of care must be very difficult, and the cost of doing so must be enormous. This facility has been operating successfully for more than 15 years, and I suppose any such charity will unavoidably get somebody mad at it from time to time. The criticism should be ignored, and management should be applauded.
Nasier
Home for Life - a beautiful sanctuary for animals
My complaint is about the obvious bias of the people posting on this web site. As I read these complaints, I see people with personal grudges and people who think animals with behavior issues and/or disabilities are better off dead. Home for Life is a beautifully managed sanctuary that takes in cats and dogs who have behavior issues and/or disabilities that would make adoption very difficult. Animals like this are euthanized at all too many shelters in America; it is estimated that 4 million cats are put down every year. My guess is that the complaints on this web site are being made by people who think it is fine to kill 4 million animals every year. I disagree, of course, and so do most Americans - 70% said that they think it should be illegal to kill animals in shelters. The Home for Life animals would have been euthanized at traditional shelters. Instead they are given loving care at Home for Life, which has been managed effectively for decades. Cats and dogs live in rooms not cages. Dogs live in compatible pairs, and cats live communally. Each dog room has a little outdoor yard and in addition, the dogs are given time to run in huge yards. There are very, very few sanctuaries in America that are providing this standard of care for animals and that have been operating so successfully for so long. I made a major donation to Home for Life after reading the web site and talking to the Director, and I urge other donors to ignore the complaints on this page and gather their own information about Home for Life. I believe that donors can feel confident that their gifts are used efficiently and effectively to provide excellent care at Home for Life for animals who would otherwise be killed at traditional shelters.
Coady
Home for Life, defaming people they refused to help after a third party contacts them!
I don't care who this person is but they are most likely not 100% incorrect. I had a dog years ago that had a bladder problem that made it impossible for him to hold his *** so he could never be housebroken. He learned to go outside to potty but would leak on the way to the door and would have to go out constantly because he couldn't hold it. I spent way more money than I really had to spend just to find out what was wrong with him only to be told "we can't do anything but there's an experimental surgery at the UofM that 'might' work." A. I couldn't afford surgery after everything I spent to just find out what was wrong with him. B. I could not afford a surgery that was not guaranteed to work. Once I found out what was wrong and that I could not do anything for financial reasons I contacted Home For Life and was told "no, we don't take puppies." I then asked my vet if they could help me find him a home that could maybe afford to try the surgery or with someone who was home more so he could be let out to *** when he needed to. My vet subsequently called or emailed HFL and proceeded to slander me to them, telling them I brought the dog in and told them to kill him and other BS. For one, I asked the vet for help finding a home for a dog I could not keep. And secondly, I would never tell a vet to "kill" an animal and would only ask them to euthanize/put to sleep an animal that needs to be to end its suffering. The day I brought my dog to the vet to have his picture taken so they could try to find him a home I get there and they get a call from HFL regarding my dog, the dog they refused to take because he was a puppy! Because I'm there the receptionist gave me the phone and I spoke to the woman who called and she agrees to take him. Set everything up, she asks me to do a monthly contribution to sponsor him to help with his care and I say I will, I drive him there myself, drop him off with a big comforter and a bone(who would do that for a dog they wanted their vet to "kill"?) and think everything is good. How wrong I was! So I look at their site the next week and can't find him listed. How can I sponsor/donate to a specific dog if he's not on their page to select? Finally he shows up and guess what? In his bio the jerks slandered me to the world just like my vet did to them to get them to take my dog. This is how I found out why they took him and that it was my vet for sure because they called the vet about MY dog instead of me. They conveniently forgot I contacted them before my vet did and they refused him. I emailed them irate over that and of course I never got a response. They even went so far as to change his name like he was some abuse case! He was never abused, I loved that dog and he would have lived his life with me if he hadn't had an un-fixable medical problem that made living in a home next to impossible. If I had had any proof he was mine I would have sued the jerks for libel(written slander) and then went after my vet for their slander. God only knows how many other good pet owners that only wanted the best for their pet they couldn't keep were wronged by them in the same way. And no, I did not sponsor the dog after he showed up due to this BS. Why would I give my hard earned money to an organization that defames people AFTER they REFUSED to take my dog from me? Euthanizing him was the last thing I wanted to do but yes, it was a possibility if I could not find him another home due to his bladder problem. I did a lot more for this dog than a lot of people would have and tried to get HFL to take him before my vet ever got involved. If I was truly as a horrible a person as they made me out to be would I have done any of this? No, I would have taken him to a shelter after he didn't housebreak and surrendered him to be someone else's problem or just dumped him in the country like so many do. I did everything I could for a dog I loved and was "rewarded" with viscous slander and libel from both my vet and a place that depends on donations to survive. Well, their slander made one thing for sure, I will NEVER give them a dime and I tell everyone I know not to either. An organization that pulls this kind of *** doesn't deserve support, no matter what "good" they do.
Anonim
Lisa doesn't give last paycheck to workers
Employee turnover is quite high at HFL. They are paid $8 an hour with the promise of $10 an hour after 100 hours. Employees are let go when they reach the point of $10 an hour with the reason that Lisa can't afford to pay so many employees, even though there are new employees starting every week. When employees are let go, they don't always get their last paycheck. I wonder how long this has been going on. Has this happened to any other employees? I have heard outside contractors have had problems getting paid as well. Lisa is a lawyer and has figured out the legalities of how to get out of paying bills
Anonim
Slander or libel
Lisa LaVerdiere fired both of my daughters just recently. One because Lisa listens to, and promotes gossiping between her employees about each other at HFL. The second one was fired because Lisa didn't feel comfortable having her work there after firing the first one. No chance given or anything. Fired through an email on her way to work. Now she has shown up at the second daughter's second place of employment and trash talked her to the manager. Thank God the manager at her second job actually knows my daughter what kind of person she is, so he did not listen to the vitriol spewed by Lisa. He remarked to my daughter that he has never heard so much trash spewed about one person by another. I just wonder how someone like her is allowed to be the director of a place like HFL.
Anonim
Non-Payment to a vendor
We did a substantial amount of work for Home for Life Animal Sanctuary. The owner is disorganized and unrealistic in how she handles work. She does not respect other people, does not communicate well, does not take ownership for her shortcomings, blames others for her incompetence. She failed to meet deadlines to get information to us and then blamed us when things were late. She feels the need to control everything herself and trusts no one. We tried to be upfront on everything, but nothing satisfied this owner. Be careful before you do any work for this owner, you may not get paid.
Sicktomystomach
Horrible Place
HFL is a terrible place,the owner is also a terrible person, who should have her brain evaluated if she thinks she is helping the animals she "suppossedly" takes care of, because she doesnt take care of them!! They are her pay check!! And that is all she cares about! If one of the animals there is sick but has many sponsors she will self medicate that animal without taking it to the vet to prolong its life so she can make more money maybe stretch out that animal's life for at least one more month to get that monthly sponsership. And wait once the animal does pass away, the sponsor does not get told until 3-4 months after!! And they have still been making monthly payments!! TERRIBLE!! Just a paycheck is all the animals are to her. And no there is not a vet there on site once a week! LIE the only time a vet is there is to do rabies shots . that is it! All she tells are lies! LISA LAVERDIERE IS A TERRIBLE PERSON WHO WILL BE ARESSTED!! and she should be thrown in jail for the rest of her pathetic life!!
HSUS
Home for Life Animal Sanctuary Unorganized, Inefficient, Animal Hoarders
HFL Animal Sanctuary in Star Prairie, WI paints themselves to be a beautiful loving home for animals who are sick and/or unadoptable. Their website shows pristine tile floors, animals happily lounging, and healthy dogs and cats. However, upon entering the sanctuary (which you cannot do unless you are a prospective employee, current employee, or give them money) you will see a far cry from what the website portrays. Firstly, you cannot enter a building without being overwhelmed by dogs who due to poor behavior cannot be placed in the building specifically for them. Several of these dogs are also very aggressive and nothing is done to try and correct this behavior. Moving through the buildings you may see dogs clinging onto small stitches of life, and while they are having to be forcibly rehydrated and have their bladders expressed, Lisa, the director, will not make the decision to have them put down until their bodies cannot function at all on their own. Speaking of Lisa, you probably will not find her anywhere in sight as she really only monitors the activities through the surveillance cameras and microphones she has placed in the facility. The floors are usually covered with ***, urine, and around 30-50 blankets that act as "beds" for the animals. Why these aren't shown on the website, I'm not sure. You be the judge. There also aren't pictures of the cats who must be kept in diapers, or those who pull themselves around by their front legs because they have lost all use of their hind legs. Parasites and respiratory illnesses are common in the animals because so many are kept in such a small space. Is that mentioned on the website? I have a hard time believe that the inability to defecate on your own accord, parasites, respiratory illnesses, and not being able to move around as one pleases is "better than the alternative" as one employee put it. Oh, and should I even touch the subject of the goat? This goat has deformities of the front legs which do not allow her to move. She has a very large hairless bedsore on her chest from having to be on it 24/7. She also does not receive proper hoof care. For those of you who know about the gastric system of hooved animals, you would know that they are grazers and need to be moving around grazing for the majority of the day. Their systems are not made to be stationary. Quality of life for Ms. Goat? I think not. HFL also has a very large rate of turnover in its employees. Many employees only see one or two days of work at the "sanctuary" and either quit due to their unhappiness with the job, frustration with the lack of organization, or because they receive an e-mail from Lisa listing no hard reasons as to why they should not return. Employee training (if you can even call it that) is sometimes done by someone who has only been there one time themselves and Lisa is not present when new employees start. She doesn't even do the "interviewing". Is she watching these new employees over her video surveillance? Probably, because she will call and yell at you if you are not using two hands on your mop at all times. There is not someone of power who you check into if you've completed your assigned tasks for the day, no hard copy lists of expectations for employees, no clearly defined protocol, and the whole employee situation there is just ridiculous. The whole process needs revamping or HFL will remain horribly understaffed. Lisa may appear to be a kind, caring, person in it for the animals, but if you do not cater to her every need she becomes very pissy and does not leave any room for discussion. Common adjectives for her around the sanctuary include "crazy" and "***" I would like to add "hoarder" to that list as well and add that she is in this for the glory, but is not willing to put in the work herself to actually go to the facility and put in the physical labor it takes to care for these animals. While some animals there are experiencing a good quality of life, many of them aren't. There are many animals there that should be put down, adoptable animals that should be adopted out, and some nice quality unadoptable ones that should be allowed to stay at the facility until their quality of life ceases to exist and the call to euthanize needs to be made before they cannot function on their own. So many more animals could get help from HFL if this was their protocol. For some animals, coming to HFL can be a great opportunity to live a long healthy life, but for most it is a long drawn-out death hole that they would be better off to never see.
Ciana
Home For Life sanctuary killed my cat
For a year I was fostering 3 kittens hoping to find them a good home. When that didn't happen and the cats had outgrown the little room they lived in, I had to find them a better place. I contacted Home For Life animal sanctuary in WI. They said they had 24/7 professional staff and all the cats and dogs they take in are there for the rest of their lives. The day I dropped off the cats and all their gear, the cat facilities were filthy, stinky, overrun with dogs, and my cats were terrified when the staff just threw them in with all the others and assured me the cats always adjust well to this. 3 days later the head of Home For Life called to tell me to come get my cats; her staff was preparing for a big tour and my cats weren't fitting in, wouldn't eat or come out from hiding, and one was dying. I raced out to get the cats and take them to my vet and within an hour the one did die as my vet was examining her. The others were sick (not eating or drinking or able to use their back legs) for about 8 days. (I believe they were weakened from being too frightened to eat or drink or sleep for those 3 days.) When I requested the return of all the items I'd dropped off with my cats, I was told the case of food had already been consumed (altho my cats had eaten nothing), and they were too busy to find the rest of my things, and the Home For Life head left me long, rambling voice mails that I wouldn't get as much as "a thin dime" out of them, and that I should be grateful to them. By contacting their Board and attorney directly, I finally got some of my things back and a check to reimburse me for the rest, but not for the loss of one cat and the suffering of the other 2. BEWARE of this "sanctuary." I've heard they are no longer allowing people to enter their facilities to drop off pets and that's the first sign that the place has something to hide.