Ravenswoodpetrescue Reviews 

Have applied twice to rescue a dog. Obviously ravenswood have decided that they can't be bothered to respond. History tells me that so called named person doesn't give a dam as to whether dogs are rehomed.

My daughter and I have 7 dogs between us and 4 of them we got via Ravenswood and we would not be without them so thank you for being a fantastic rescue and long may you continue your wonderful work 👍😘

DO NOT CONSIDER THIS VENUE without VERY CAREFUL consideration. The venue is tired and staff without comprise. The venue toilets are not clean, the window sills are dirty which is not relevant to the age of the building. The outside 'Turrett' is dirty with cobwebs on the ceiling. Broken glass on the outside terrace, all within one hour of another couples wedding. I advised the venue of my concerns regarding the cleanliness, however was advised 'it is surprising what people DONT NOTICE'. I visited the venue 3 weeks later and nothing change and the areas were still dirty. DO NOT SIGN the contract until you are 100% sure as the Venue will not take any responsibility for any our views. Albeit the wedding we booked was for the July 2025, Ravenswood insist on keeping the £2500 deposit, which is MUCH higher than other venues. BE WARNED.

This is the second time we have tried ravenswood the first time was 11 years ago and we never got the 2 dogs we went for Carolina decided to give one to the kennel girl. We ended up going to Bulgaria for a lovely boy called seb sadly he died suddenly from cancer this year so I decided to give raveswood another go wished I hadn’t bothered enquired about a lovely dog called violet got no response so few days later sent another email and Caroline responded in a very rude manner nothing has changed all these on sad thing is they have really nice dogs wanting their forever homes and that’s all me and my husband want to give a dog but nobody seems to want to give us a chance

Pauline from Cornwall

Unfortunately had an awful experience with this charity. Really wanted to help and not buy from a breeder. Dog was unfortunately ill (as puppies are) from his vaccination so I gave a date we could alternatively pick up dog. I texted the following week politely asking how the dog was and could we now meet him. As could not guarantee would have dog before even meeting him, was met with extremely rude text message saying I didn't care and she would not let me have a dog. How can I care for a dog I have never met?! Would be weird if I kept texting her every day after seeing a photo. My text message was caring asking how he was. Now three weeks later same dog up for adoption on fb. Be very wary. However friends had a good experience here, so just depends if you can take dog exactly when Caroline wants you to. The rudeness was uncalled for.

Dog was extremely poorly with obvious medical condition which rescue denied and meant insurance was invalid. Enormous medical costs immediately. Description of dog online was totally inaccurate, clearly the volunteers were too busy and hadn’t actually spent time with the dog or got to know them. Communication is poor.
Unprofessional place, and clearly they do not actually care properly for the pets the claim to rescue. Bitterly disappointed with Caroline and her team. It’s not rescuing if you spend more time claiming you rescue them than actually helping them and getting them what they need (diet, enrichment, exercise, personality check and assessments). Awful. Some people have had good luck but suspect they haven’t rescued before. Be extremely wary.

I so wanted to re home a dog or pup and give to a worthwhile charity but we were overlooked , met by rudeness from Caroline and went elsewhere. Never again we now have a beautiful dog in there forever home from a reputable breeder

Rehomed a beautiful dog from here back in 2010.
We were advised that she was good with other dogs and had been cat tested.
In the event she was highly reactive to other dogs and had a very significant prey drive.
After less than a year she was diagnosed with metastic lymphoma and PTS.
We do not regret rehoming her but I would not recommend this rescue to inexperienced dog owners or people with children as I don't feel that the dog had been reliably assessed. I did email Caroline on a few occasions including when the dog died but never received a response.

I understand this is run pretty much by one person with a team of fosterers. I was lucky, judging by other reviews, to have a homecheck quickly after contacting, and rehomed a dog shortly after. It all felt very fast and I was quietly worried the dog wasn’t going to be there and something would go wrong somehow, as some messages had been abrupt and questions about the process or the dog left unanswered. It felt a little chaotic. But when I went to pick him up, the dog was there ready and waiting, and absolutely perfect - and Caroline who runs the rescue is honestly the loveliest person. I get the impression that she works very, very hard to keep everything going, from fostering the dogs to getting them to the vets, to insurance paperwork, to updating microchips, to liaising with people who want to adopt, to updating the website, and I think she probably needs a bigger team of supporters and volunteers to be able to respond to absolutely everyone.

As for the dog, the description online didn’t quite match my dog (‘travels well in the car’ - I mean, he gets quite badly car sick!) and it was a slightly different breed from the description online - but it’s a rescue at the end of the day, I love my boy, and I’m so grateful he arrived clearly well cared for and comfortable enough to leave with complete strangers! It says something when the dogs trust you.
It wasn’t a perfect experience - as I say, communication wasn’t always great, but the dog is wonderful, and once checks were complete it all happened quickly. It’s a shame I didn’t get to meet him properly before turning up and taking him away, but this is a small rescue, not a large operation, and I understand why it might not be possible and the focus would be on finding the right home as quickly as possible. I suppose it would also be nice if the website were updated - it looks quite dated and didn’t fill me with confidence that the form had arrived and it was actually being kept up to date. I think I’d honestly give this place 3.5*, with the communication and website in mind, but to counter the negativity from people who were disappointed not to adopt from this rescue I’m rounding it up to a 4. From someone who contacted a few places before finding my boy here at Ravenswood, LOTS of places won’t respond to requests if they clearly don’t work for that dog’s needs - they are charities with limited staff and funds, and they can only spend the time responding to requests they can take forward. That doesn’t deserve 1*.

We have been very lucky to recently adopt Lema from Ravenswood Rescue Centre. We were assessed, homechecked and provided with the background information we requested. Caroline and the team of volunteers clearly care about the dogs they look after and are very careful to make sure they go to suitable homes. It would have been easy to have been put off by some of the previous reviews which given our experience it is difficult to comprehend. Some of the ratings seem to hinge on a slow response which is understandable at times, more about an expectation that you are receiving a "service" as a ""customer". My first hand experience is definitely worth 5 stars.

Like many others I have been trying to contact ravenswood by phone and email for several days. Was told to use messenger, but message came up they are not responding to those either! It's so sad because I could have given a loving home to a lovely little man I'd seen on their website. I'm missing out on other suitable dogs while I wait for them to respond, so after reading the other comments, will reluctantly go elsewhere.

Emailed twice, did online application, heard nothing. After reading reviews I understand I’m not the only one. This so called rescue needs reporting to the authorities. As others have said, there is something not quite right about this rescue. I’d urge people to not bother enquiring I’m the first place, if you do & are rudely ignored, report them.

Terrible place.. avoid at all cost.. never ever get back to you..had no idea what was going on at anytime. Filled form out, had home check, only when I checked the website did I find our the dog I wanted had already been rehomed!! I'm so happy CHINA has been rehomed, just wished I'd been told by morons that run this shelter.. I'm hoping that the dogs are treated better than the people that want to rehome them.. manners cost nothing ..very disappointed.

THANK YOU FOR REHOMING CALLIE BICHON WITH US. SHE HAS SETTLED IN VERY WELL, HAS CLAIMED THE MOST COMFORTABLE CHAIRS, TAKES US FOR WALKS IN THE PARK TWICE A DAY AND STARES AT US WITH HER BIG BLACK EYES WHEN IT IS TIME FOR HER FEED.. WE ADORE HER. THANK YOU.

I have been trying to contact this rescue centre for the last 10days via,email,filling out requested online form,Facebook I've phoned countless times..all I've had is a Facebook message which simply said "how can i help",to which I stated the pooch's name I was so keen to adopt,I explained all about myself in detail,I've heard absolutely nothing,I messaged again,still nothing.
I want to give a dog a lovely home & give them money,you can see why unscrupulous breeders make money when rescue centres act like this

We wanted to rehome 2 dogs from ravenswood so I contacted Caroline and filled out the necessary forms.
Homecheck was done quickly which was a good start and then we had a phone call to visit one of the dogs we seen via a photo sent to us, we visited the foster of that dog that evening and the wife was more than happy with him.
I contacted Caroline via email and said we wanted to take the dog and have a look at another one and told her which one, she asked when did we want to take them but I insisted we see the other dog first but we didn't want them for about 10 days , Caroline told me she can't hold them for 10 days as others wanted to rehome them, after a discussion with wife we decided to take them that weekend but said I needed to see the other dog first, I then was told to meet her at the shop to see him following evening.
I seen the dog and was happy with him after going home and speaking to the wife.
I told Caroline and we arranged to take the dogs the following evening at 5.00 and pick them both up from the woman who was fostering the first dog we seen.
When I got home from work the following day I wasn't feeling too good and with my medical history I needed to go to hospital to have my bloods checked.
I emailed Caroline to ring me urgently as we wouldn't be able to pick the dogs up that evening.
I got no reply so I rang the foster woman up and explained what was happening.
I later got an email from Caroline which was a bit blunt saying she was going to pick the other dog up and take it back.
I said we still wanted the dogs but would need to see what happens at hospital.
3 hours later we was on our way home as all was well, I emailed Caroline straight away and told her all was ok and we still wanted the dogs and can we please sort something.
I have never recieved a reply so I'm guessing she already found a home for the one dog before I even got out of the hospital.
I have since read the reviews on here and another site and after talking to a few locals I think we dodged a bullet as they say as some of the dogs have not been in good health.
Personally I do not think the dogs are being looked after properly as everything is very unprofessional and they do things that just don't add up.
They just seem to want to take in dogs and make money from it, I wont use a dog rescue place again unless it is backed by a reputable charity e.g RSPCA.

Michelle Thistleton

1 review
12 hours ago
Very disappointing experience. Enquired about rehoming a young dog and was contacted back via Facebook immediately, asking about my children as the youngest is 2. We then had an independent home check done 2 days later, and the lady was thorough, checked the garden and asked us detailed questions about how we would integrate a dog into our family. These to me, were all the hall markings of a good and honest dog rescue. At the home visit we was told we had passed, and we need to be prepared as the dog being placed with us could happen as soon as the following day.
2 days passed and we hadn't heard anything. I messaged via Facebook, and were as the messages were answered promptly, they now just went ignored. I called their number and left a voicemail for them to call me, but they never did. I tried various times of they day, and no-one ever answered.
I eventually emailed a Caroline, and she replied later that evening asking us to bare with her as she had been in a car accident. I asked if she could give us some information about the dogs circumstances but this was just ignored. A little funny I thought, as just emailing this info, would not have been an issue.
More days had passed, and still no contact. I emailed again, asking if there was any update/progress and if they could tell me the dogs history, but still ignored. My partner starting to say that something was really odd about this rescue. Every evening, new dogs we're being advertised, so I knew they was active, but couldn't understand why they would want extra work if they are falling behind due to a car accident.
I commenting on the original post about the dog and asked if he was still available for adoption. I then had an email through very bluntly saying "it's just be that does everything at the rescue including Facebook, calls and emails". I had obviously received this email as I had public ally posted to the Facebook page.
I replied to the email asking for information about the dogs back ground and what the next steps are and how long it would take but just received an email saying " I will call you Sunday afternoon".
To no surprise, I was never called on Sunday afternoon. I emailed asking when we was going to be able to discuss, and they told me that the dog was going to her friends to be tested with young children the following day. Great- finally progress, but this feeling was short lived as Monday evening, no one had been in touch to let me know how it went. So I had to chase again- and asked how it went.
The email wasn't answered until the next day saying "I'm at work, will email you later".
It was about 20:30 before I left it and emailed as I hadn't heard anything. I got a blunt reply saying " I've just got in from vets with my dog. I will reply when I get 5 mins to sit down. I do work full time".
I also work full time while running a house and bringing up 2 young children and don't like to bing made to feel like a nuisance and had more productive things I could have been doing with my time than constantly chasing this rescue.
An hour later, she emailed me saying that her friend said the dog should live with children above the age of 8 and that they were sorry.
No, I'm sorry for even enquiring at this rescue and putting in so much time emailing, calling and messaging for 2 weeks when I'm not actually sure the dog exists. To this day, nobody gave me any info about the dogs background and the question was ignored every time I asked.
I'm sure some people have had a good experience with Ravenswood Pet Rescue, but in my experience, I found them to be rude, unprofessional and has left us as a family question whether bringing a dog into our family via a rescue centre is the right thing. My previous view, was that we wanted to give a loving home to a dog that hasn't had the best start rather than one that has been bred for selling but I'm questioning this now.
I would avoid Ravenswood Pet Rescue and go to a more reputable rescue such as RSPCA or Dogs Trust.

I've read the other reviews and was shocked. My experience was 5 years ago with our little Lily jack Russell. Home visit was quick painless and she immediately sent email to them saying we were good family. We were aware she had been treated for worst case of worms they had seen and a medicated poop backed that up when we had her. We picked her up next day and adopted mother was lovely, Claire. I kept in touch with her with updates till I got new phone and her number was lost. Lily at 6 months was diagnosed with perthes disease. No one could have known. I let Claire know and all families were contacted to check her siblings. Only one had it funnily enough Claire's cos she had had one too for mother in law. I can't fault them in any way although contact is bit of a pain if you don't have someone's direct number.

I have been trying to contact ravenswood pet rescue for 2.5 weeks but with no joy phoned left messages to contact us email and no response until finally sent a stroppy email and got us a reply only to say that "that is how you feel we will not let you adopt one of our dogs"
DONT GO NEAR THEM
RSPCA much better choice

We rescued a dog from this place and after 15 days we had to have the dog put to sleep due to ill health! Our vet told us there was no way they wouldn't have know about the tumor as our dog was having seizures at least 4 times a day. When we picked our dog up she also had kennel cough and worms! We contacted Ravenswood to be told that they had no idea that anything was wrong. It caused so much upset to my children and us. Maybe others have had better experience with this place but this is our experience.