I cannot say enough positive things about the vet services offered at Animal Friends. The staff is friendly and professional, and they take great care of my dog. The prices are so reasonable compared to other vets, I'm shocked every time they tell me my bill. I also love their retail shop. Most (or perhaps all?) of the items are donated, so everything is $10 or less. The *only* issue is that it can be difficult to get a quick appointment, so they are just not a great option for urgent needs. But I come here for all basic wellness and vaccine needs! read more

Animals Friends is an animal shelter for dogs, cats, rabbits; provides veterinary services such as wellness exams, vaccines, and spaying and neutering; offers training classes for dogs, cats, rabbits, and humans (some of which other businesses do not offer); etcetera. Recently, my husband and I visited this shelter to look at their selection of dogs who were available for adoption. Multiple employees promptly and kindly served us. We flipped through binders that described the available dogs. We did not see any dogs that were a perfect fit for our household, so we did not arrange to meet any. My husband and I did walk around and look at the rooms. The animals appeared to be living in good conditions and to be happy and healthy. read more

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OK. I would never take my pet back there. I got my girl cat spayed who was not in heat and is less than 8 months and tiny. When I got there to pick her up the first thing they said when they brought her out was how nasty my cat was and difficult and didn't have the mandatory e collar on. ( the one that has to be on to prevent infection from them licking)I was told they could try to put the cone back on but I'd have to pay a fee, which is aweful had a little store and could have told us that they had soft cones and animal onesies, but they were mad at my cat so they were trying to push us out the door. My cat was supposed to get her rabies shot and they totally FORGOT to give her that, I didn't have to pay for that thank God but they did upcharge me saying she was in heat ( which was untrue. They leave your pets sitting in their pee until you get there to pick them up. The only thing they were good for was a low price, you get what you pay for, so if you want your pets to be treated with respect and dignity you have to pay for it. read more

At its core, Animal Friends consists of some of the most caring and loving individuals that I've known. The facility cares as much as they can for the animals they take in, and it warms my heart for them to be a no-kill shelter. However, there are other aspects of the organization that rubs me the wrong way that keeps it at a 4 star review rather than 5. read more

Took my mini poodle here to be spayed. Very easy process from start to finish. Had to leave a voicemail request to schedule her spay, but I was called back within a couple weeks. It does take a bit to hear back, especially for dogs, because they only do a few appointments a week - Please be patient, it's worth it! The staff put me at ease with her spay. They told me weeks in advance what the check in/ pickup process was, and the fees were extremely reasonable compared to the vet. When I picked her up she had a cone on and some medicine to take home. Nurses gave me post-surgery guidelines to follow. Within a week, my little sweetie was back to normal!! read more

Animal Friends - Animal Shelters Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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I went to Animal Friends on 9/18/24 to adopt another dog since my last dog passed on 8/12. I saw two dogs on this day, catwoman and valley. I ended up adopting Valley because she is perfect. Animal Friends is my go-to place. The staff are friendly and so are the volunteers. read more

Animal Friends - New dog - Animal Shelters Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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I had a little bit of time on my hands so I decided to stop here and check out the animals. I was very happy to see that all the cats have the option between wet and dry food available to them. They all had a cushioned bed and a toy as well. The kittens were super cute and playful! Unfortunately the dog adoption center was not open when I visited, so I included a picture of the hours of that. The retail store was also not open today and is only open on Sunday's, Wednesday's and Friday's. The whole building was clean and seemed to be well staffed. Overall I had a great experience seeing the different animals up for adoption! read more

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Personally took care of us when we arrived. We had gotten our 1st family cat from Animal Friends 20 yrs ago and unfortunately he passed away. We were very sad and wasn't sure we were ready to get a new one. They were so attentive & very caring! We ended up with two. read more

Animal Friends - Meet Scooby & Shaggy! - Animal Shelters Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

I have been taking my great dane, golden doodle, and cat to animal friends for years. The staff are amazing with the animals. My dane is super anxious and they take alot of care and time with him. They go above and beyond to provide care and the cost is a quarter of a typical vet! I wouldnt take my animals any place else! read more

They really are excellent in caring for our animals. Animal Friends' flaw is having enough people to respond to telephone calls.

THE BEST PLACE EVER!!!!!! I had to have emergency boarding for my dogs and they were very helpful and they took AWESOME care of my fur-babies. And kept me up-to-date on everything that was going on. They have alot of animals to adopt as well and an awesome clinic read more

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The process to adopt wasn't too difficult and the staff were very communicative with me throughout the process. I have been a volunteer here for years and volunteer here during breaks from school. The shelter has always been very clean and the animals are always well taken care of. read more

Love this place. They take great care of the animals and great prices on things for my furbaby

Extremely friendly. My kitten was sick and they helped me get him medicine at a very reasonable price. The staff is great! I also got my kitten fixed here which was super easy and once again extremely reasonably priced. I recommend! read more

Don't be fooled by the price here you get what you pay for. The veterinarians are different all the time, the receptionist thinks they are the doctors, no one never introduces themselves, you don't know if you're talking to a technician a volunteer a doctor a janitor or who knows, you can and will only get voice mail even if and when they aren't busy. Please check out Indeed jobs and see what pass and present employees say about Animal Friends. They beg for money all the time, they don't give a dam about you or your pet, just how much money they can suck out of you. Their flee and tick programs are twice the price. Your pet will need all kinds of unnecessary testing done. read more

We recently adopted a dog from Animal Friends and it has been a very positive experience all the way around. This was our second adoption from them and we appreciate all the information they gave us each time. I feel the staff truly cares about the animals and wants to find the best home for each one. The Adoption process is to protect the animals. read more

This was my first experience with Animal Friends and after driving a good distance to inquire about adopting a rabbit I'm happy to say I had a very good experience. I read multiple reviews about Animal Friends on here as well as on Facebook, Google Reviews etc. There were some negative reviews that had me worried at first but after visiting Animal Friends I saw there was nothing to worry about. Many reviews complain about the adoption process but they truly care about the animals they have and care about their future and how they will be cared for. Animal Friends gives you all the resources to help you with your pet and if you're unavailable to care for your pet they will arrange for you to bring your pet back if it's unable to be cared for any longer. Their facility was very clean and maintained and there was a handful of volunteers there while I visited playing and caring for the dog, cats, and rabbits. The staff was very helpful and knowledgeable and am very appreciative of that. read more

Animal Friends - Bunny - Animal Shelters Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

It's devastating to see such judgmental, closedminded individuals in charge of finding homes for these babies. The workers are extremely unsupportive of adoption, especially if you already have a family and pets in your home. I felt like a nuisance for wanting to adopt two kittens. They wouldn't even allow us to see them. They tried saying their reasoning was because the kittens are so scared right now. Well of course they are.... I would be too if I were stuck in a cage. It's no wonder they have so many older cats struggling to find homes. The workers are 100% to blame. read more

My daughter and I went today with the sole purpose of bringing home an older cat we saw advertised online and at Starbucks. Sadly our experience was awful. There are so many cats there that need homes and I feel tremendous sadness for the unfortunate cats that end up at Animal Friends. Not only are you not allowed to interact with the cats ... but asking questions is apparently also not appreciated. The two women behind the counter who are supposedly "adoption counselors" should seek new employment without human interaction. They were both extremely rude and made it clear they were too busy doing something on the computer to help us find the cat we came to see, or another suitable older cat. We wanted to see a specific cat and sit with a few other older cats to find the right fit. We were very rudely told no unless we fill out paperwork and pick the one we will take home today they can't do it. We wanted to take a cat home today, but how do you know for sure until you meet them????? Obviously we made the effort to drive to the adoption center and adopt a cat in need instead of buying one from a pet store for a reason. I have no problem filling out paperwork. But We never expected to be treated so poorly by people who's sole purpose on the job is to help these animals find good and permanent homes. As a business owner, I am appalled at the rudeness of the "Adoption Counselor" employees at Animal Friends. But The volunteers I spoke to were kind. I would never tolerate that type of behavior from an employee who is supposed to interact with people and HELP these animals get real homes!! While instead they stay locked up in small cages. Isn't the mission to HELP and SAVE the animals? Take a closer look at your employees!! read more

Two stars is a gift and only because the vet staff is nice and cordial bur the administration leaves alot to be desired. I mean alot. No return phone calls, no follow-up to recommend procedures. I understand short handed but going on almost 3 weeks with no return call. I would recommend the vets but I cannot recommend the admin side. read more

I absolutely love this place Knowledgeable friendly staff members that are in tuned with the animals as 1 Fresh clean place Plenty of space for the animals to play and be themselves read more

In 2015, my neighbor brought 5 older kittens to Animal Friends because she could no longer afford to feed them and didn't have the networking ability to get them adopted. The kittens were already spayed/neutered and had all their vaccinations. She figured they had the best chance for adoption at this no-kill shelter. We would have preferred the Washington Areas Humane Society no-kill shelter, but it was full at the time. We monitored the Animal Friends web site, but only two of the five kittens were ever listed. About 10 days after my neighbor dropped off the kittens, Animal Friends called her and told her that all of the kittens were sick and that they would give them back to her, with medication to treat them, and she could bring them back once they were well. Otherwise, they would euthanize them. She was aghast, because these kittens had never been sick a day in their lives before going to the shelter. She asked me to go with her to pick up the kittens. She is disabled, so I was the one who got to walk to the back with a staff member and get the kittens loaded into the carriers. I was horrified by what I saw. The nearly adult-size kittens were crammed in very small cages, two to a cage, and all had terrible upper respiratory infections. I was polite to the staff member, got the kittens, got the medications, retrieved my neighbor, and beat feet out of there. We examined the kittens in the car, and were upset by their condition. As we drove away, we both vowed we would NEVER bring the kittens back due to the poor treatment they had received at the shelter. The medications worked, and the kittens recovered physically, but all of them had been traumatized by the experience at Animal Friends. What had been well-socialized, human-friendly, and outgoing animals were withdrawn and skittish for months afterward. True to our word, we did not take the kittens back to the shelter once they were well, and eventually found good adoptive homes for them through private channels. Based on this experience, and what I witnessed "backstage" at Animal Friends, I would NEVER recommend this shelter to anyone. read more

Wonderful clean facility with amazing dedicated staff and volunteers. The cats cages have been renovated and provide much more space.

I have always felt good about taking my furr baby for all her vet visits to Animal Friends . Love the little shop there. Services and items are more than reasonable. read more

I had an appointment for my cat to get a rabies vaccine on April 27th at 11am. My cat is not used to traveling meowed and cried out all the way there and back. I arrived a few minutes before 11am, but at The top of the drive there were 2 police cars and a mail truck stopped and conversing and blocking the way. I waited patiently until they left. When I got parked in the lot I called the number from my email, and the lady said we marked you as a no show. I looked at my phone, and the time was 11:06. She said I had the option to either wait which could possibly take around 3 hours, or to reschedule. I said I would reschedule, then she said someone will call to collect the fee. I said wait, I already paid. She replied, that was forfeited when we marked you a no show. I explained the situation about not being able to come up the drive. She said she would talk to someone, and they would call me back. its Been 3 days, and no one called. My cat who never leaves the house was so traumatized that it took him 24hours to calm down. Total waste of time, round trip 24 miles, with one severely traumatized cat. RUDE people should not volunteer, or work here. I will never step foot into this facility. read more

I have gotten (2) two male cats from Animal Friends and they both where great companions. They both got along with other animals such as my sisters Golden Retrievers and any other animal they met.Animal Friends are the best ‼ read more

After a family member adopted a dog from a shelter in Virginia it was discovered that the pup was not being treated for several medical conditions that occurred from being abused and kept on a chain outside for his short life. We brought him to Pittsburgh and chose to spend our time/money helping this poor pup have a chance at a decent life since the shelter had not addressed any of his issues and claimed to be unaware that he had worms, an ear infection, a bladder infection, stiches in his paws and a gaping wound on his neck. We've spent the last several months taking care of all of his medical needs (he was given a clean bill of health from the vet on Friday), he is now house trained and socialized from doggie daycare and family outings. I contacted Animal Friends to help find him a safe home while I continued to foster and train him. He was denied because he came from another shelter. What I've gotten from their email to me is if I had lied on the application or had just dumped him in the woods (which I would never do) they would have helped. Given that a large percentage of dogs come from a shelter at some point in their lives, how can you not help any dog that has ever been sheltered? I guess only dogs from breeders and private homes are deserving. read more

Friendly and welcoming staff, in a bright and clean building. Dropped off some unopened pet food and other unused items after our pet passed away. They have a food pantry project where people can come in and get the items they need which is great! read more

The paid staff is rude and aggressive towards volunteers. Volunteers have been trying to fight for quality of life for the rabbits, better/safer housing, and more appropriate practices, and the paid staff have met them with rude comments telling them to leave. The paid staff is not providing caring opportunities for the rabbits as they should be and will not listen to the volunteers who are asking for help and change. I have seen first hand the frustration and tears of a volunteer. The paid staff either needs to listen to the volunteers and change their practice or they will be getting reported to the Bureau of Animal Care & Control, the Department of Agriculture, and the ASPCA by me and many others. read more

As an animal lover, I came to Animal Friends for the first time to inquire about volunteering. They said I have to apply online and after attending orientation, there are different levels of animal handling you can attain with training. You start out at a green level. I tried not to laugh when she said this. What is a green level--a scratch behind the ears and then after so many hours you graduate to the blue level of scooping their poop? I walked around and saw the cats and rabbits are all caged. Despite living in a cage, no one other than staff and volunteers are allowed to touch or interact with the animals and a staff member told me this happens "once a day only if the animal wants to come out." That is appalling. These animals need more human interaction. They should be allowing the public to have supervised interaction with the animals. Your ridiculousness is costing those animals love and interaction they could be having outside of those confined tiny cages. And you should get down off the high horse about volunteering. You're lucky to have anyone wanting to volunteer their time for the betterment of adopting animals, yet you want to color-code it by hours of education? Get serious. Did it ever occur to you all that people who volunteer at an animal shelter likely have a surplus of experience in caring for their own animals? Why else would they be there? I gave Animal Friends 3 stars because the facility looks well-maintained. Additionally, if they are that ridiculous about someone volunteering and earning so many volunteer hours to go from one level to another, I can only imagine how strict they are with getting potential adopters approved. I think people taking a pet home should have to go through thorough background checks, so I'm glad. read more

Animal friends is where we have adopted our kitties for the past 16 years. And we take them there for health issues. The are an EXCELLENT shelter and very kind and knowledgeable about health care for our animals. They genuinely care about the animals and help them through loss and prepare them for new homes. With 1 exception, we adopt older cats. They need love and a forever home as well. When our 16 year old passes, we will be getting a pair of mated or family kitties. So they won't fight over whose house it was first. Our last adopted cat was 11.5 when we got him. He had been shot through the head with an arrow in 2013 but was the sweetest kitty we have ever had. I recommend them highly! The facilities are immaculately clean with a dedicated staff. I have never found a better shelter and vet services. read more

I read several bad reviews, but we had a wonderful experience here adopting our new cat. The staff were all incredibly friendly and went above and beyond to make sure our new fur baby would fit in at home. They even gave her a quick vet check up and trimmed her nails before we took her home. They know their kitties well and seem to take good care of them. Everything was very clean and well set up. I would definitely recommend to anyone! read more

Shelly is amazing! She helped us find the perfect kitties for our home!!! I expected to get just one, but we walked away with two! Thank you AFV and Shelly for helping us out and giving us two new family members! read more

I take my four year old daughter here about once a month to visit the animals. We get told not to touch the animals every time. We aren't even "allowed" to pet the animals that are in open wire cages? We were there today admiring a 3 month old Chihuahua through the bars of her cage. An Animal Friends employee, came to get the puppy from her cage to show to a group of about 40 teenagers on a field trip. We asked to pet the puppy as she was bringing her out to let 40 other ppl pet her, but she told us "unfortunately, no". That makes no sense to me! It's a homeless dog, who needs human love, but apparently never from us?! Needless to say, I will continue to pet the animals through their cages while being told not to, but I will never adopt from these over reacting crazy workers. read more

I've called Animal Friends a couple times in my family's recent search for a second dog. They have too many restrictions on adoption and were not responsive to requests for advice or training. My husband and I are experienced dog owners and financially able to take great care of a dog. I called asking about several dogs and they said they were not a good fit for my family. There were never any dogs available during the 6 month period I looked that Animal friends was willing to adopt to a family with small children (but Im sure some of them were fine). They said they would never adopt a dog to me unless I signed a statement promising the dog would never be off leash in my 3 acre yard (unfenced). I was looking for an older calm dog (at least 6 years old) and they told me that was a "tall order". When I found a dog on Petfinder I called them seeking advice. I left several messages asking to speak with a behaviorist or even if I could pay one of their behaviorists to advise me on how to evaluate whether this petfinder dog would be a good fit to live with my current family dog. They never returned any of my calls. It seems like they would prefer these dogs continue to live at their shelter while they hold fundraisers. The only reason I even looked there was because ARL didn't have any older dogs. I agree with another commenter that they were very condescending. We have found a 2nd family dog through our neighbors (an 8 year old mixed breed) who is fitting in well. Its really not rocket science. I couldn't believe they would reject a responsible stable experienced family like mine. Makes me wonder. If you're going to adopt or make any donations to a rescue organization - go to ARL or the Humane Society. Apparently, Animal friends doesn't need you anyway. read more

To start with, they don't have contact numbers for staff members and They rarely answer the phone lines and one must leave a message. Phone hours don't start untupil 11 am! I find this unreasonable. They either need more receptionists and to put money on this very important position. I read other negative review and had the same experiences. The staff can be very offensive and defensive. Its not a pleasant environment for people to come to.....perhaps animal lovers resonate with animals better but still. For the few animals they take in and find homes for, they sure pay staff very well . They are the wealthiest local animal shelter but take in much fewer animals annually. I wish they had a vet clinic, but they don't!!! It's interesting that their highest paid person, the director makes 128,000.00 per year. Check it out on charity navigator. I don't think they offer what the other shelters do to the community. This is a closed door shelter and they don't take strays or peoples pets until a long waiting approval list.......This seems odd because they are an extremely wealthy org. read more

I really should have read their other online reviews on Google before attempting to rescue an animal from them...please, do the same before you consider dealing with Animal Friends. Animal Friends is not a "human" friendly adoption agency and my experience with a volunteer adoption counselor left much to be desired. My family fell in love with a kitten at a Petco location that was housing Animal Friends kittens. The volunteer counselor was offensively rude and interrogated us as if we were planning on intentionally harming the kitten. The volunteer denied our application before even faxing it to the headquarters and even told the manager of the Petco that if we called to inquire about the cat or complain about the volunteer that we were already denied.... We only found this out after we did call the Petco hours later to complain about the rude volunteer. Animal Friends obviously needs to do a better job of screening their volunteers before they allow them to communicate with potential adopters. We even called to speak with their Director of Animal Wellness and she was most unhelpful in resolving the issue. Our family was never given a proper chance to rescue an animal and for that I can never recommend them to anyone. Score out of Five: Friendliness: ZERO Customer Service: ZERO Ease of Adoption Process: ZERO Would I ever recommend them? Never... read more

I enjoy going to their events. Most recently I attended Bunny Yoga. The instructor Jen is great. The bunnies are usually very friendly too. Shelter staff and volunteers are helpful and knowledgeable. read more

Animal Friends - Animal Shelters Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

I first came to Animal Friends for the quality of care. The medical, behavioral, environmental care and the love and dedication of staff and, especially, volunteers is outstanding. That is why I went to them at first. I have yet to see another organization even come close. I liked the organization so much, I became a volunteer, where I learned of all the work done behind the scenes. It only impressed me more. I learned: They spend countless hours and sometimes thousands of dollars getting animals ready for adoption and ask only for a small, voluntary donation. The (volunteer) foster parents rock. Serious dedication to 24 hour care and socialization. They do good work, relying only on donations and volunteers. If they need to care and work with animals for months, even years, for an animal to become adoptable or find the right home, they do it. They do their best to make the right match with adopters and provide support for the rest of the animal's life. Last, but not least, their primary goal is reducing the unwanted animal population through spay and neuter programs, low cost. The do over 10,000 a year and are working towards increasing their capacity. read more

I really was impressed with this place. My brother volunteers so he showed me around and introduced me to a number of his dog friends. The dogs have lots of room and get walked regularly. I am more of a cat person and was equally impressed with the facilities for the cats. Lots of room and clean and well maintained. I lived in South Florida for awhile and our last four cats were from shelters there. NONE of the half a dozen or so facilities I saw there come close to Animal Friends. Came home and donated and filled out the application to volunteer. read more