I volunteer with ARFhouse walking dogs and holding them at adoption events. This is a great…read moreorganization where the focus really is on rescuing pets and finding them permanent homes. The shelter rescues dogs and cats of all shapes and sizes from local kill shelters and also picks up strays. Many of the dogs ARFhouse takes are senior, have health problems or "their time is up" at their previous shelter. I love the fact that so many of the dogs are in foster homes or at doggie daycare. This makes them super social with both people and other dogs, and they learn good doggie manners. The adoption process is very thorough (no same-day adoptions) to make sure the dogs are going to good homes. At ARFhouse adoption events, the dogs are right out there on a leash, not in a cage or separate room. This makes it easy to meet a number of different dogs and instantly see what they're like around people and other dogs. I have to address some of the negative reviews of ARFhouse by pointing something out: Everyone who has bad things to say about the organization was trying to get rid of a dog or a cat. They already have a pet and are either sick of dealing with it or just don't want it any more. The shelter doesn't accept pets from people who are trying to dump them, and it says so on the website. ARFhouse fights for dogs who are totally alone with no family at all.

Like many of the other reviewers, I wish I could rate zero stars. I don't really need to explain,…read morejust read this chain of emails with this delightful organization: Dec 23, 2010: Hello, Who would I contact regarding a dog that we need to find a home for? Thank you, Jason Response: Is it a personal dog of yours or somebody you know or is it a stray somebody found? Dec 24, 2010: ME: The dog belongs to my Grandfather but he is unable to continue to care for her. I am trying to find a home for her otherwise my Aunt is going to have to put her down. Response: That's a shame a family member won't take a dog so she has to be put down. Dec 26, 2010 Me: Is it your policy to try to make people feel guilty when they come to you for help? This isn't an easy decision, its our only option. Thanks for nothing. Response: Yes, that is exactly our policy. Actually, it is our policy not to help animals who already have homes and take the guilt off people who shouldn't have it taken off them. We don't appreciate the "if you won't take it, it will get put down" speech. How many times a day do you think we hear that? It's not our responsibilty to help your family members. Me: To Whom it May Concern, I apologize. Perhaps, to avoid your judgmental statements, I should have provided some background. On December 11, 2010, my grandmother passed away at 83. While she was still alive, she cared for my grandfather of 87 who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Because he has lost his caregiver and wife, my relatives have had to make the difficult decision of putting Grandpa in a nursing home to get the care that he needs. Also, because many of my relatives live in California, he is being moved to a home in that state. At this same time, a decision has to be made about what to do with his and my grandmother's beloved dog, Molly. An extremely difficult decision that has been made by my grandfather's children and that I do not chose to judge. We must find Molly a new loving home or put her to rest. I do not want to divulge further heartbreaking details as to spare the dignity of a sweet 87 (almost 88) year old man who has lost his wife of 65 years and now has to part with his dearest friend as well. If you, or your organization have policies that must be followed I understand. It's unacceptable for you to simply judge people who are reaching out to you and berate them, when you have no idea what their circumstances are. I do not expect any sort of resolution here as there really is no dispute. My purpose of this is to make people aware of the level of professionalism - or lack thereof- that exists at Arfhouse. It seems that you clearly do not care about helping a needy dog find a home. If you are curious as to how I am going to let people know...please visit Yelp.com and view the comments about your organization. This entire email thread will be posted for all to see, and I plan on making contact with your superiors. Thank you and Merry Christmas. End of thread. If anyone on Yelp has suggestions about how to find a home for Molly please contact me. I will be updating this review if I receive more responses from Arfhouse. UPDATE 12/27/2010 Here is the e-mail I received in response to the last one: This e-mail in no way changes our opinion of you or what you are doing to the memory of a "beloved" relative. To explain in such detail is just you trying to make yourself feel better for..what is it you said..."putting a dog to rest", which is killing the dog. Spreading the word on Yelp about what a horrible thing you are doing is only a reflection on you. We don't care. UPDATE 12/28/2010 This may or may not be related. Strange occurrence: at 4 am my relative received a text message from "Joe" stating "continue electronic harassment". We think they meant "discontinue".

We just lost our boy Buddy. We got him from Bow Wow Revolution about 10 years ago…read more He was a collie/Sheltie mix. Our hearts are broken. I will always be grateful that the process went so well, and he was an amazing dog.

I really can't say enough about Bow Wow Revolution! Jen , Melissa and all of her crew has done an…read moreincredible job with the whole adoption process of Kimber. Our family is complete due to selfless efforts of the whole Bow Wow crew that take the time to volunteer their efforts. Look no further, to find your family pet!!

Working with MARS has been a great experience for us! My husband and I searched online for…read moreadoptable puppies, and that's when we found MARS. We found the most adorable puppy, Hannah (now Bailey!), and filled out an application, which was reviewed and approved in a very timely fashion. We were even able to reserve Bailey in advance, which meant we didn't have to worry about missing out on her or something going wrong. Shortly after we were approved, Alex got into contact with me via email (which is great for me!). I asked TONS of questions and wrote a few lengthy emails- All of which Alex responded to usually within a few hours and took the time to go over everything I wanted to know in detail. We weren't getting this kind of attention with other rescues, so it was a great feeling to see how much they care about their animals and finding them good homes! When we went to our adoption event, they offered to stay a day late since we couldn't make it for their original time due to a family wedding. They gave us all of Bailey's medical records and explained everything on there. They made some great recommendations for food, treats, toys, and keeping her healthy. We took Bailey home that day, and couldn't be happier! She's a wonderful pup, and has been a wonderful addition to our family!

We adopted Mulder (FKA "Cider") shortly before Christmas. Even though we were running late to the…read moreadoption event, MARS representatives stayed late and made sure we had a connection with the dog that we only originally knew from pictures. Their care and concern for the puppies was evident. They also helped us select the right dog food and essential accessories, which helped us immensely. They were honest about his lack of housebreaking and leash training, and directed us to sources for assistance in those areas. Since we got Mulder just before he was scheduled to be neutered, MARS provided a $75 rebate with proof that the dog was fixed (required with the adoption contract), which was sent to my PayPal account. He was also up-to-date on his puppy series shots and very healthy. Although we never needed it (yea!) also knowing that I had a month of free health insurance for Mulder was also very comforting, as was his microchipping. Throughout the process MARS representatives have been very responsive and communicative, answering even the "tough questions" and concerns. I'm sorry for the experiences that people had 2 years ago, a sick puppy is no fun. Thankfully, our experience with MARS has been excellent in every way, and I would definitely adopt from this no-kill rescue again.

We adopted our second bulldog from CEBR (Betty!) several years ago, and can't speak more highly of…read morethe organization and those running it. I've always loved bulldogs and knew they came with a big commitment to keep them healthy. Even though we had our other bulldog for 4 years when we applied for Betty, i was very happy that CEBR put us through the application process, including a house visit. So many people love bulldogs, but many don't understand the commitment that comes with them and they are often neglected or given up. The CEBR application process demonstrated to me that they want to be sure the animal's new home is truly their forever home. We've since moved out of then Chicago area, but continue to love our Betty four years later...and even though we are out of state now, i continue to support CEBR through financial donations. I highly recommend this organization!

Be careful engaging this organization. They appeared to be well-intentioned and thorough…read morethroughout our difficult decision to surrender our bulldog. However, CEBR selected a foster home with another dog (which we specifically advised against and appears to be generally against their own policy) and the foster family proceeded to return our bulldog 2 hours after our dog was delivered to the foster home. We never heard from the organization again.

Sheri was fantastic with us; took the time to assess our situation and needs from a pet so we…read moredidn't get in over our head and (more importantly) the dog found the best home possible. The application was thorough, she communicated quickly and efficiently, and when we went to meet the dog we took a long walk with him and Sheri to further assess. Once we got our bundle of joy home, it was clear he had been shown lots of love and received the benefit of lots of training and attention while he was at Friends of Petraits. He's a 5 month old Golden Retriever who is housebroken and full of love and life. Similarly to the other review, we contacted about a female Golden pup Sheri had, but a couple came the next day to adopt her. Sheri let us know she ALSO had her brother who hadn't been posted yet; so we jumped on the opportunity and I'm so glad we did.

I love what they do, and by no means want to tarnish their reputation but the way they lied and…read moreomitted crucial things like for example, they said my 6 year old pomsky was potty trained, he's not. He didn't have flea and tick medication, so I ended up adopting a dog that I got expecting him not to be perfect but at least potty train a dog especially if he's in a foster family.... my point is; this couldve ended badly for everyone

First off, these guys are a non-profit--so it's going to be a lil' bit different than working with…read morea breeder or going to a shop. But they genuinely have the dog's best interests in mind and want to make a perfect match. They specialize in Pitbull / Staffordshire Terriers and mixes and the like. Before you get excited....these are "high maintenance" working dogs (they need to do things, even if it's something simple like ripping a leather work glove into the teeniest bits). And, they can be headstrong (the dogs, not the .org). They need jobs, exercise, and rules, and a strong "leader" who will enforce those rules. Then you will have incredibly happy dogs. I would not recommend these breeds for beginners, but an experienced dog person will be delighted having one of these incredibly affectionate critters around (I get leaned and slobbered on when I come home. Pretty great!). I found my interaction with this crew to be professional, although somewhat scatterbrained because there are a bunch of people who are involved on the back end and AFAIK they all have day jobs as well. However I found my perfect puppy here and adopting her was pretty painless. I genuinely feel these guys are out for the dogs' best interest. There is an application to fill out and a phone call and a home visit. They want to put these critters into loving homes--not fighting rings or puppy mills. Remember though, these are generally larger working dogs and they need exercise and challenges! If you want a moving pillow...do not go this route! Get a Cavy Span http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/cavalierkingcharlesspaniel.htm instead. But, If you want a challenge and are active and don't mind working a dog into a silly mess that slurps up water and then licks your face with ridiculous amounts of happydrool, please browse those pretty faces and fall in love with a loving critter who would love a comfortable permanent home.

I adopted my pit-mix, Cooper, from these guys nearly 5 years ago. At the time I was without a car,…read moreso they actually brought him to me and did the home inspection and everything all at once. I'm so lucky to have gotten such a fantastic, docile, easygoing (see:lazy) dog. Hes generally good with other dogs, loves people and little kids and unless he gets in the trash when I'm at work, he's just about perfect. Thanks for a fantastic dog and smooth experience!

***If you're looking to rescue from here BEWARE***…read more I adopted a puppy from this organization in 2019. Unfortunately after years of trying to correct behavioral and paying hundreds of dollars trying to correct this nothing worked. I reached out to Marsha Perry in 2020 to inform her of the problems and she simply told me to look into training (which we already had spend hundred on). In March of 2024 I reached out to her again to tell her I had tried everything and couldn't keep the dog anymore. Marsha said "ROAR has not been doing dogs for many years and has transitioned to mostly cats". She also said "can't he be kept in a cage or in a separate area of the house?" She became extremely vile, unresponsive at times and simply refused to help. At the time do adoption we were told they would take the dog back NO QUESTIONS ASKED, should "life happen" and we could keep him anymore. Clearly not the case. I continued to reach out to other rescues in the area and unfortunately a few months later my husband lost his job, we had to move in with family and their senior dog gets severe anxiety around other dogs. So keeping our behavioral complex dog was not an option. I reached out to a shelter in desperation and explained to them everything that Marsha had said to me. I even showed them emails and they were APPALLED! They were happy to take him in and take care of him. A few days later Marsha emails me with a very nasty tone "I can't believe you thought this was a better option for him." Ummm...you left me no choice! Please stay away from this organization. Not only will they NOT honor signed contracts, the owner Marsha will harass you, belittle you and be flat out be nasty to you. I have reported this organization. These people shouldn't be allowed to continue to foster animals. I can only imagine how they treat those poor animals.

Well they let me adopt my best friend so I'd say I loved it ! Please adopt don't shop!!!!!read more

In May of 2022 our family was looking to add a young cat to our home. We visited PAWS twice but…read morejust didn't "click" with any of the cats we met at that time. I had 2 friends that had adopted their cats through Precious Pets, so I decided to look into them and I'm so happy I did! I love that they're a foster-based rescue. The application process was lengthy but integral to finding the best fit for our family. I appreciated that they took the time to "vet" us and figure out what would work best for our family. It showed me that they truly care about where their animals go and want the absolute best outcome for them. We were looking for a cat to join our 2 cat, 1 toddler (at the time) home. We went to visit a litter of kittens that were about ready to be adopted out at their foster home. We initially were interested in one of the boys, but one of the girls ended up stealing our hearts at the meet & greet. The foster was able to tell us more about their personalities since she helped raise them, and I really appreciated her insight because it helped us pick the best cat for our family. We needed a gentle and patient cat for our growing family. Sesame came home with us a few weeks later and we just love her so much! She has grown up to be one of the most calm and gentlest cats I've ever met - sweet and curious and sometimes mischievous too. She loves her people & two older cat brothers - we couldn't imagine our lives without her now! I truly believe that Precious Pets giving Sesame a safe and healthy foster home to grow up in helped shape her into the wonderful cat she has become.

I can't believe I'm just posting a review for this amazing adoption group. We adopted our Leon…read more(was Peaches) about five years ago from PPAH. I can't quite remember who helped us but everyone was great! I really appreciate that they take the time to get to know you and know the adoption is right. I can't imagine our lives without our sweet princess.