Staff members at OTAT were very helpful and informative, their dogs are clearly loved and well…read morecared for. They gave us great tips and resources after we adopted Fitz! The process was easy and affordable. Thorough medical record keeping. The only bad thing I could say is the facility does feel a bit under-resourced for a rescue group that has been around for 3 decades. Feels like walking into a rental home, but I assure you this group and their team were highly professional and high quality! Will certainly be recommending OTAT to others. :-)

I have been fostering with them for 6 months now and I can't say enough good things about this…read moreorganization. The staff loves their job, are on it when your foster is sick and are pros at social media marketing to show off the fosters cuteness. What I love most about this organization is that most animals are in foster homes. It gives them time to decompress and allow them to show their true potential. Future adopters are able to really get to know their likes, dislike and quirks. Don't hesitate to volunteer, foster or adopt your newest cuddle buddy

I want to give more than 5 stars for NLOL. Our adoption counselor Jackie is just amazing in terms…read moreof support she provides! She checks in with me about the dog almost everyday provide appropriate support and guidance every time when I was faced with difficulties because the dog was not fully house trained. NLOL offers two week foster period before adoption, which is a wonderful mechanism to get to know the dog before the big commitment. I am still in the middle of the foster period but I am just beyond impressed by the support I was given. It has been an wonderful experience so far. I would recommend NLOL to everyone who is considering adopting a dog!

If you read nothing else - fostering with New Leash on Life is the best, no-regrets decision I ever…read moremade. If you want more details about how and why I reached this conclusion, read on. I wanted to volunteer with animals, and I was frustrated by the larger organizations extremely limited opportunities and complicated process to volunteer. No, I didn't want to read a 50 page manual and take a test just to clean cages. I wanted to make a big difference in the lives of dogs and help Chicago become a no-kill city. Surely, it couldn't be that hard to find an organization with no red tape and an easy process to volunteer. Enter: New Leash on Life. I found them about 2.5 years ago on this Yelp page with their address listed downtown. I later realized this downtown address was only a PO Box which means NLOL does not have a physical location/adoption center. The implication of this is that all dogs go straight from rescue into foster homes until they find their forever families. This process can take weeks or sometimes months - depending on the dog. Don't let the uncertainty of a timeline deter you - fostering for New Leash is an absolute dream and here are my top three reasons why: 1. Unparalleled people - the nicest and most sincere adoption counselors. They constantly check up on the pups, their progress, and making sure you as a foster have everything you need. Not just via email- typically by text messages which means a quick response time. 2. Super flexible - a. Vacation or trip? No problem! New Leash will work with you and your schedule b. Work long hours? No problem! New Leash can schedule a walker to come during the day 3. And last but not least, THE DOGS. They really know how to pick them. Every dog that I've fostered has been kind hearted, adorable, and an A++ cuddler. Every dog deserves the right to a loving, safe home. Yes fostering is a short term arrangement, but it's a critical piece to helping these pups find their long term forever. Nothing makes me happier than seeing every dog I've fostered thriving in their forever homes. If you're on the fence about fostering, just try it. Anyone who loves dogs can do it and do it successfully. It is an extremely rewarding process and this organization makes it SO easy.

This is a tough place to review since it's not a "typical" service, but I really admire the work…read moreCACC does despite being overcrowded and stretched thin. They're doing their best for the animals, and I hope sharing my experience helps anyone considering adopting. We ended up with the sweetest little cat that we absolutely love! We first visited on a Thursday around 4 pm. After waiting about 10 minutes, we filled out a form about what kind of pet we were looking for. About 25 minutes later, a volunteer walked us through the facility. It's clear they're over capacity, there were animals even in the hallways and in the cat rooms the cats are kept in wall cages. You don't get much time to interact, so it's tricky to gauge temperament. We chose a cat we thought seemed sweet. She still needed to be spayed and microchipped, so we couldn't take her home that day. They couldn't give a clear timeline, but by Monday we got the call that her surgery was done. We picked her up Tuesday, which took about an hour of waiting. Adoption fees were completely waived (normally $65, which is already very reasonable), and the cost of her surgery and microchip were covered. Once home, she did come down with a URI, so we had to visit the vet and get her some meds, but she's doing well now. Overall, CACC is a great place to adopt from if you're patient and want to give an animal a second chance. The process isn't super streamlined, but the staff and volunteers clearly care, and you'll be helping an animal in need

While staying with a relative on the south side, my daughter and I encountered a very friendly,…read moreferal cat, who we fed regularly. Whenever we opened the back door to let our dog out, she would run in to the enclosed porch to look for a dark place to chill. We would escort her out and she would always come back. The next week we noticed whenever we let our dog out, she would always run under the house. One morning when my daughter was out back with our dog, she excitedly came back in and said there were 6 kittens under the house. Ahhhhh!!!! We took care of them for a couple of weeks but knew we couldn't keep them. I found a PAWS location but was referred to animal care and control. When I got there, there were a few people in line. A very brusque and unfriendly security guard immediately took my id and handed me a form to fill out. The wait was long and people had questions for the guard who was behind a locked door, but she quickly and rudely blew them off . This made everyone very angry and uncomfortable. I was told it was a "no kill" facility, but once I got inside, I became uncomfortable. Staff was very no-nonsense and there was a dude in a hazmat suit walking around pushing what looked like a laundry cart. What did that mean? I really don't know. They took the cats, gave them a couple of shots and put them in a cardboard box and sent me on my way. I left feeling kind of sad. And when I talked to a friend later, she informed me they were a "high kill" shelter and when I told her one of the staff members said it was "no kill" she laughed at me. I don't know.

Great staff. I had researched cats on line and knew the one I wanted to meet. The staff were great,…read moremeet went well and the adoption process was easy. The huge problem was my cat was starving. When I looked at the records this small cat lost 20% of her body weight in about 3 months. When I got her home and fed her the same food she couldn't keep it down. If I continued with feeding her that food, and I added a good quality canned food, same issue, she wouldn't have last 6 weeks. Luckily a friend gave me a bag of food which I tried. 3 months later she is healthy, great weight and happy. I know they are a huge number of animals to watch but even their vets commented on how skinny she was and how she was losing weight. There is some lack.

Have been trying to adopt a surrender. We've talked to several people about this and each one…read morepromised to call back. We know the person that surrendered him and this is where he took him. First we were told he had been neutered and it would be a couple of days. They knew we were going to take the dog! Called today, got the run-around, put in hold and then disconnected. Called back and was told the dog was "transferred" but they would not divulge where he was taken. We were told a manager would call back ... didn't happen. Sent an e-mail to Darlene, the president, again no response. How sad. I used to donate a lot of money to this shelter, but stopped because of poor practices. I'll send my money to Felines and Canines. They genuinely care about the animals. Please don't take your dogs there!

I LOVE U.S. Bones! They have been around since '05, and they are dedicated in raising money for…read moreanimal welfare groups (shelters and rescue)! They offer a variety of pet products, such as bones, rawhide, chews, pet food/supplements, treats, and cleaning products. I love that their prices are deeply-discounted and/or highly-competitive with other pet supply stores. Their warehouse is based out of Chicago, so if you're a local resident and want to save on shipping, you have the option to pick-up your orders there! :D Don't forget to sign up for their Customer Loyal Rewards program (free), as you can rack up points for further discounts! The staff here are very pleasant and offers a high level of customer service. +fundraises $ for animal shelters & rescue groups (!!!) :D +based out of Chicago +local warehouse pick-up available (free shipping)

I absolutely love my dog from Fido but I have to warn people about what goes on there. I adopted a…read morePomeranian and when I visited her twice she was calm and sweet to all people and dogs. 24 hours after adopting her demeanor totally changed and she was aggressive to others and dogs. She is amazing to me but I know now she was definitely drugged before we met because she has severe social anxiety. So just beware! They will drug aggressive dogs so you will be fooled. I love my dog so much and we have been training and her vet gave her trazadone to calm her which works wonders but ethically, this is not a good establishment.

I love BFF. I was looking to foster for a local rescue and my vet recommended Be Fido's Friend. I…read moream SO glad he did! I filled out a foster application and 'Liked' them on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BeFidosFriend) One day I saw a photo they posted of this adorable little grey dog in a cage saying they needed someone to volunteer to foster her so they could bail her out of the pound. I eagerly volunteered. I was so excited to pick her up---BFF arranged to have her looked at by a vet, spayed, chipped and vaccinated before I got her. I immediately fell in love with her. It wasn't long before I knew I was never going to be able to give her back. I adopted Poppy back in November from BFF. I am so grateful that they were able to introduce me to this little pup who I've grown to love as if she is my own child. I then fostered another dog through them who I also fell in love with, but this time I was happy to know that she went to a really loving home. BFF is great. They aren't pushy at all like a lot of rescues are. Everyone is so friendly and helpful. They offer you some bonuses when you adopt from them, like lifetime help and support for your dog among other things. They are completely, 100% run by volunteers which is extremely impressive. They recently threw a really fun fundraiser at Bucktown Pub which was a great way to give back to the rescue and all of the lives that they save. I've volunteered with various rescues over the past few years, and I must say Be Fido's Friend is one of the best ones I've had the opportunity to work with. I highly, highly recommend them to anyone who is looking to adopt or give back and help some pups.

My kitten was brought here to get spayed, her incision didn't seem fully closed, but over the…read morecourse of a few days she reopened it. The main part as to why they don't get 5 stars is because they do not answer the phone. You can call and call but they refer you to a voicemail even if you select that your animal is currently in their care or has recently been there for service. It's very inconvenient to not be able to contact them, and in my opinion unsafe if my animal were to be in their care at the time. I went up to the clinic without an appointment and let them know the issue, and they fixed it right away. I waited no more like 5-10 minutes for my kitty to be brought to the back to have her incision stapled, with new medication, a cone, and instructions to bring her back in the following week with no ifs ands or buts. I was appreciative that they fixed the problem so seemlessly, but wish I could've had the comfort of knowing before I got there that it wouldn't have been a problem! All in all I've brought every single one of my pets here for a neuter/spay and will continue doing so

I've been supporting Paws "fur" several years. I've donated tens of thousands of dollars. I've…read morecontacted them several times, the most recent, to adopt beagle who was rescued from WI. I wrote to Paula, the founder, the only email address I had, long story short, rude, rude, rude the second time I've had contact with her always rude! I adopted a beagle, who was a "beauty" pageant girl, who lived in a cage her whole life. She got to come out when she was "preforming". I've had her 4 years now, and, she's just beginning to know love and trust! So, I know I know how to adopt a baby, and my baby would also help. But, I guess they don't care about people who donate, and walk the walk

A wonderful rescue! They TRULY care about animals. Many have been rescued from high kill shelters…read more Animals that are set to be eauthanized because they're homeless. Reach Out Rescue's animals are fully vetted and spayed/neautered. They don't have a facility but a number of loving fosters throughout the surrounding communities. They do have adoption events and more information on their website. They also have a Facebook page. It's been a great pleasure dealing with them!!

ROR really cares about the animals they take in. I haven't adopted from them but know Tracy and…read morehow much her and the ROR members care about the animals and about animals that may otherwise been put down. I find Lauren's review so unsavory. My husband and I recently adopted a Golden Retriever puppy from a rescue and 3 had to give 3 PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES in addition to lots of info. Guess what? They called them all to see what kind of home we could give Dylan. Lauren - the rescues want to make sure they have chosen the best home possible. I'd rather give a rescue my info than a pet store my credit card!!! Save a life - adopt!