We just lost our boy Buddy. We got him from Bow Wow Revolution about 10 years ago. 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. read more

I really can't say enough about Bow Wow Revolution! Jen , Melissa and all of her crew has done an incredible 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!! read more

Bow Wow Revolution - Pet Adoption Near Me

Bow Wow Revolution has their hearts in the right place but the communication is TERRIBLE. I reached out about a dog and got the adoption paperwork back. The application was four pages long and I completed AND emailed back within the hour. I got a response back from Jen very promptly who asked about the vet history from my parents dogs growing up (I don't know why because I was a child and I understood the responsibility of a dog but those were not my bills to pay- regardless, the vet records were up to date and I sent her the additional information within the hour). Then... No response. I emailed again to follow up a day later requesting a specific weekend to meet the foster family.. No response again. I tried looking up a contact number. Nothing..just a fax number, so I emailed another follow up asking them to call me or if I could call them... And two days later I emailed Again, saying how interested I was in fostering and adopting. During this time Bow Wow Revolution posted about how the specific dog I was interested in needed a new home. Ridiculous! I was trying to provide one for this poor pup! After a week with no responses I gave up. I had sent a total of 8 emails looking to help better a dogs life and it's unfortunate lack of communication from an organization prevented me from doing so. I DO not recommend even investing time in trying to contact them. read more

With no facility and 100% staffed by volunteers who pull animals from high kill shelters, work with vets to resolve all kinds of medical conditions, foster animals, work through many adoption processes each month, plan and manage adoption events and pursue monetary and pet supply donations, this is the kind of rescue you want to donate to and adopt from. 100% of all funds, donations and resources go to directly to the care of the animals. I found a sick dog through a group of CACC volunteers. He was on the urgent list and needed rescue from CACC. He just broke my heart. I offered to foster through the Facebook feed, but no takers. One of the volunteers suggested I reach out to the shelters that are able to pull from CACC. I sent 20 emails with photos asking for support. Only Bow Wow responded and I became a foster home for them. This is not a big organization. It's a small group of very dedicated folks who truly love animals. A+ dedication. I am proud to be a foster home for Bow Wow Revolution. To those who post anything negative about a dedicated group of volunteers SHAME ON YOU. We are very fortunate in Chicago to have MANY no kill shelter groups who are dedicated to making Chicago a no-kill city. All rescues screen to make sure animals to go loving homes, this takes time. If you need help with a rescue, reach out to many organizations as I did. read more

Bow Wow Revolution - Herbie is ready for his next Bow Wow adoption event - Pet Adoption Near Me

Ok so I had recommend this rescue to my mom who was looking for a dog. I am very sorry I had. Here is my experience with this group.: My mother was over and I had my Facebook page open and Bow Wow had posted a picture of a dog needing a home. My mom was instantly interested so I had sent an email off within minutes of the picture being posted. A few days later they sent the paper work that needed to be filled out. Once the paperwork had been sent back they contacted my mom with some questions. I was very impressed with how quickly they were going on this. Then nothing for almost a week. Finally they sent an email saying the dog she had been interested in actually had a meet and great with a different family. My mom while sad wished them the best and thought that was the end of it. A little over two weeks later Bow wow contacted my mother again saying the family was not keeping the dog, was she still interested? My mother said absolutely. She was informed that they needed to find a foster home then would set up a meet and greet. My mother asked if there was a way that the dog could just meet her then go straight to her home no foster home needed. She was informed that was not how theydid things. So another week passes. During this week the dog was put back up on Facebook and Petfinder.com. Finally a foster is found and my mother begins and email chat with the foster mom to set up a meeting!! Everyone was thrilled that things seemed to be moving along. The foster mom had informed my mom that the dog was an absolute sweetheart and was wonderful with her own dog. My mother had mentioned that if sounded like she should start looking into a brother or sister for the dog. Twenty four hours before this meet and greet with the dog my mother was informed that the dog was no longer available because the foster was keeping him!! No please do not get me wrong I am so glad that the dog has found a good home where he is loved but what a horrible way to run a shelter!! I was horrible disgusted with this turn in events!! I can not believe that they did that. After a little over a month and it having been Bow Wow that made the contact the second time seeing if she still wanted the dog I am completely disgusted! My husband, daughter, and I will be looking for a dog for ourselves in the next few months. I keep thinking how horrible it would be if Bow Wow had pulled this stunt while my family and a dog my 4 year old daughter had called in love with. My daughter would have been heartbroken and my husband and I would have to pick up the pieces of our daughters heart. I know disappointment is part of life but this is completely avoidable by not using Bow Wow. My family has always adopted and never had this issue before. I just hope that this was a very rare occurrence but it is more than enough to turn me off and warn everyone I can to go somewhere else to get your pet! did things. read more

Bow Wow Rescue ON NOTICE .We met a marvelous dog at our local doggie daycare I learned he had been living with a foster mom helping out on behalf of BOW WOW REVOLUTION . The pups temperament and personality ,I knew immediately, would be a perfect fit for both our family & our dog Buster who lost his pack mate in 2013 . We sought to adopt from their website at Bow Wow revolution. Nowhere on their website was the dogs picture or description , ( first red flag) but the foster care "Mom" advised to just to go ahead and fill out the application for adopting him. So, we applied for adoption instantly . The process started mid December and was slow. Really slow. Communication from DWR was lacking . No follow-up, I did wonder if they even received my application after days and days sans confirmation . Moreover, I had questions like what was their fee and criteria and even asked if there's anything on my end I could do to expedite their process. Each time I reached out, an auto - reply email would come back ,with no information ( Second red flag) other then they are a small non-for profit with full-time jobs and families... Very busy... I guess too busy to reply personally ,timely,professionally. I got word that there was one applicant deciding between the one dog we knew and another BWR dogs.I learned later that they did not pick the dog we love. Fast forward two more weeks -all the way to January and still no word with status or answering questions from BWR. No photo of the dog included anywhere on their site. None of my references have been checked yet either . Sigh. Hmmm? Weeks later , still no picture of this dog seen with all the dogs for adoption ( to date) which was bewildering to both the foster mom and me. This made ME "UNEASY" but we would see it through . This was going to require patience and persistence. That I had. What I didn't have was the disregard for placing a dog who's been in foster care for ,unnecessarily , too long , into a forever home -when there are decent suitable options ! More radio silence ...With no movement with us from BWR, the foster mom took initiative to bring the dog to our house for a meet -&-greet us. As suspected, it went very well. She agreed and recommended swiftly, positively, back to BWR . We were in the "homestretch " or so we thought . My two young adult , children, were thrilled as well . Fiinally , BWR (other than the automatic reply ) emailed stating ,for the first time ,-one month in to the process , their $400 fee (but still I knew they hadn't checked my references or would answer any basic questions ) GULP. . I had budgeted for a lessor typical adoption fee & after our family's bonded with & made a significant time investment by now ,Dec. into January , I did not want this high fee to impede the adoption . So again I emailed them asking what the 400.00 included and offered up how disclosing information would have been been good ...professional and courteous. Although , not a deal breaker , for us , I did want to have a family meeting to make sure everybody was on board, thoughtfully. I followed up swiftly &notified BWR reassuring that we hadn't "moved on " but asserted it was important for us to expect them to answer my basic question as a measure to responsibly move forward to adopt on our end. It was right at this point via email that they ironically claimed ,they were "uneasy" and declined to answer our two basic questions and moreover NOT to let our family adopt. REALLY?' To say the least , we were perplexed by their knee jerk decision & frankly "uneasy" by their disregard for doing their due diligence before denying us. Third red flag . Pointedly, I did ask specifically what they were "uneasy" about ,thus trying to open an actual dialogue /real conversation & ask if they were open to reconsidering. No reply. No follow thru & seemingly no credibility with BWR. To be clear, these folks never ever checked even one reference, never checked our home, never had a conversation with me or any of my awesome family, and provided a totally unwillingness to answer any basic question with in their entire process other than saying they received the application . Bow wow Revolution , won't you please take a moment to read this and your other negative reviews because they offer constructive criticisms and could certainly improve your mission , if you cared to. It was promising to see you had some good reviews as well so I have to think that you started out for the right reasons and just got overwhelmed along the way, to put it kindly. Please remember, we are all busy and many of us too have families and full-time jobs outside of our other good works. You will never get a second chance to make a first impression. You could, moving forward, do the right thing though, in the name of dogs. [Your] egos have no place here. Paula O'Neil and family ,EVANSTON ., IL read more

My favorite new rescue! Over the summer I spotted a dog at the shelter that looked exactly like my own. She was rescue-only and none of the other organizations I'd already been working/fostering with had the space or time to rescue her but I was determined to get her out, so I started contacting other org's and that's how I came across BWR. They were quick to respond to me and acted swiftly and professionally to get our girl out, keeping both the rescue dog (Wendy) and my own dog's comfort, health and well-being front and foremost in the whole process. Fostering with them was pain free, they are super responsive and well-prepared. When Wendy got sick or we needed more food, they didn't keep me waiting. And unlike some rescues that seem to do one or the other, BWR uses a really good mix of on-site events AND online resources to network their dogs. I also like that they support all different types of dogs, and even cats and guinea pigs when needed! I'm so happy to report that they found Wendy a perfect home (see review from adopter Laura T.!). The experience of handpicking and rescuing a dog from the shelter, fostering it, then seeing it go to a perfect loving family is just an incredible feeling and I have BWR to thank for it. read more

Think twice about adopting, fostering, or supporting this organization. I personally fostered 2 dogs with this organization and I am sad to say that I will never foster again after both of my experiences. Without making this long, age discrimination is a real thing and they definitely discriminate. They have a once size fits all policy regarding their adoptions regardless of what the foster parent's suggestions might provide. Instead of placing a dog in a home that found a perfect fit, they are leaving that home empty and have lost a foster home to help save future pets. Yes, I wrote a four page letter in support of the placement, another person wrote a supportive letter and three people( family, friend and neighbor)all agreed to open the home to a dog if and when it is time. It is a shame some organizations operate like this. read more

Do not use this organization. They are unethical and discriminate. I witnessed first hand their refusal to let one of their dogs be adopted by a lady that had formed a tight bond with the dog during a foster period simply because of her age. Do not use them. Look elsewhere. read more

Hello, I am at a loss here, I am very interested in a Dog on the website and have emailed and facebook messaged and sent in my application and have not received a response. Is there an actual phone number of someone I could call and talk to? Thanks, Heather read more

Would not recommend them based on my experience of trying to adopt a dog. After submitting an application for two potential dogs about two months apart, experienced a complete lack of communication on Bow Wow's end. My full experience can be found on a review on their FB page. Hopefully they can improve their channel of communication with potential adopters as there are too many pets in need of a good home for organizations like this to waste people's time. Will be taking our search elsewhere and hope others will do the same until Bow Wow can get it together. read more

This pet adoption agency has it's heart in the right place but, unfortunately, is totally incompetent in actually carrying out the adoption. The lack of communication between the director(s) and their foster parents made our experience unnecessarily difficult and painful. Really totally incompetent. There are plenty of other pet adoption services in the Chicago area. I would highly suggest that you use them to choose your next friend from. read more

BWR - I wouldn't recommend BWR; their lack of communication is awful. We have been trying to find out where we are in the adoption with no answers. These guys couldn't possibly want what's best for those animals. read more

I understand this rescue is mostly foster based, so I can imagine they are really busy. But I agree with some of the reviews here on the lack of communication. IT IS SO SLOW TO HEAR BACK. I feel like there is no sense of urgency to get the dogs placed in a home. 14 back and forth emails and a week later they still haven't told me the status of my application even though I asked them about it 3 times. I'm sure I passed because I have been looking for a second dog for about a month now with multiple shelters and I have passed them all. I was really looking for a good fit so when I came upon Bow Wow Revolution on Facebook and a pup I felt really strongly about, I immediately emailed and messaged them to see if the pup was still available before I filled out the 4 page application and willing to open my home to their "house visit". They told me she was available for adoption but 14 emails later she was adoption pending with someone else. No phone numbers provided so I can't talk to anyone from the organization. They ask for references but don't call them. I don't know why they go above and beyond to make it difficult to adopt, I get they want to place these dogs in forever homes but the 4 page application is a bit intense + references. I provided my landlords number but they don't call. I have received emails from them in which I have responded to them WITHIN 5 min but then I hear nothing back until a day and a half later. Any one who keeps following up with them pass 7 emails should be a sign that that person is dedicated to adopting. They don't answer any questions via Facebook, they refer you to their general email. They don't have a viable web page (its under construction). When I email them, I had to email them twice before I get a response. When I have emailed, sometimes I get an automatic message from them and sometimes I don't. Their responses seem scripted. Point blank - It's great to have an organization like this but there seems to be a lack of communication, no sense of urgency to adopt out dogs to a stable home, and I can see why people just go elsewhere. I at least have given up trying to get anywhere with them and will just look elsewhere. read more

I adopted a dog from Bow Wow a few months ago and they were amazing! At first I showed interest in a dog and they promptly set up a meet and greet. When I met with the dog, I knew quickly she wasn't the best match. I felt my reasons for not wanting to adopt this dog might of seemed shallow but they didn't make me feel bad at all. They wanted to make sure I adopted the right dog. A few weeks later they sent me pictures of a dog that was a little better fit. I was still a little hesitant as he was a little younger than I had hoped for but they told me I could foster and if he didn't work out, they would find him a home. I got the new dog home and he quickly became ill from being in the shelter. Bow Wow told me to take him to the vet and they would handle the rest. Our new pup (still a foster) was in the hospital for almost two weeks. I was so impressed by how much Bow Wow fought for him. He really was hanging by a thread at this point but they didn't give up on him! After some time in my home, I knew he was a good fit. Bow Wow was patient with me while I decided to adopt as I wanted to make sure he was well and didn't have any long term problems that I might not be able to deal with. Long story short, I now have the cutest little dachshund and I love him to pieces! My favorite part about adopting with Bow Wow is that they did indeed screen our home but it wasn't this crazy intense process like I've heard others talk about from other shelters. The adoption was super easy but thorough. Thanks so much Bow Wow! You were amazing!!! read more

Okay, I guess I'm a crazy cat lady. That said, I have nothing but good to say about Bow Wow Revolution. I have two sister kitties who were found in an alley and turned into Bow Wow. Because Bow Wow has no brick and mortar shelter, they were taken to a "foster mother" who cared for and socialized my little gals. A volunteer brought them to my house after I met them and wanted them and paid a reasonable sum for them. She made sure my residence wasn't harmful to living things and stayed for a bit to make sure everybody settled in. I have an older cat who is 18 years old and had been an only child for a long time and I was a little nervous about introducing new kin into the mix. Guess what? By the second day, the three catties were eating and sleeping together and I'm betting Midge and Scout's high spirits and love have added to Oliver's life span. They've definitely livened up the old pop stand. I would adopt from Bow Wow again, they made it easy by making all the shot and neutering appointments, but don't want anyone to think I'm nutty or anything. read more

Bow Wow Revolution - Oliver, Scout and Midge - Pet Adoption Near Me

We had a very unfortunate situation with Bow Wow. After losing our dog, we were very excited to get a new dog from a foster mom in the neighborhood. We were told the dog was 3 years old, loved to play and go on walks, and had no other ailments. It is now one year later and the vet we took her to has informed us she is at least 12. She has gone blind from cataracts, her hips collapse when she walks, and she has never been continent of urine nor stool. We are likely going to lose her very soon. Heartbreaking to have to bury a dog again after we were told we were getting a joyful new puppy. No doubt this organization is doing great things, unfortunately it just did not do a great thing for us read more

Great organization! I got my little min pin from here and they were helpful, courteous, and very attentive throughout the adoption process. And they have a lot of great pets to choose from. Would highly recommend them! read more

Hi! It's about time I wrote a public review for Bow Wow Revolution and my hopes are that anyone reading this will be inspired to foster. First off, this rescue is run by amazing people- volunteers but they are completely competent and very knowledgeable. Second, I was finally a first time foster with this group, and really cannot say enough... Everything was provided, we had constant communication, and it could not have been easier. Lastly, I will see we did end up adopting our foster, which was actually not our plan, haha, but we did not NOT because of our attachment, we did it for the best interest of the pup. This may be the hard part for those of you seeking to adopt and getting disappointed- I know our guy had SO many applications come in. We adopted before a greet happened, but Bow Wow honors, trusts (already went through the app process), and approved the foster family... Less change is better for the dog, right?! So I highly recommend fostering with Bow Wow- I set out to be a foster only home. And things changed. So for those looking to adopt, I suggest starting by fostering so that when you're match comes along, the behind the scenes work is already done. Please foster- it saves 2 lives, not 1 and these ladies will make it an easy experience! Those of you who do, please leave a review for this group :) read more

We recently corresponded with Bow Wow Revolution about our interest in adopting one of their dogs. Another family was ahead of us in the process and was ultimately a good fit for him, but we were very pleased with the communication of the BWR team along the way. They certainly seem to have the animals' best interests at heart, and we would definitely consider trying to adopt through them in the future. read more

THIS ORGANIZATION DOES NOT HAVE THEIR HEART IN THE RIGHT PLACE... If interested, I have all emails and text messages where you can tell they were not interested in helping save a dogs life. They want to play the blame game. We just wanted help. I am a BIG supporter of a few shelters and I donate my time, money, supplies needed, and I have fostered for them. I have receipts and pictures to prove this. I never want to see an animal not helped. The emails and text messages speak for themselves. Imagine an organization like Bow a Wow not helping you rehome a dog who lost his owner due to cancer in August. Since September we have been asking Bow Wow to help. I had to forward our info three times to Bow a Wow as they kept forgetting the situation. Prior to holiday we reached out again and they asked if we could hold on until after the holidays so we did. Contacted them again about a week ago and got a call from Jen and begged her to help this dog. After listening to how she had to pay someone $75 for transport and pay $175 for vet bills to get this dog ready to be placed in foster home and hear how she no longer lives in Chicago and how hard and difficult it is, I told her I would help with expenses so we could find a home for him. She gave me directions to meet someone at PAWS on 26th Street at 6:30 am. I was there at 6:00 am lined up outside waiting for them to open a 7 am. I called and called the person who was to meet me and they never came. I ended up leaving at 7:30 am because I had court. I called Jen of Bow a Wow a Revolution during this and told her the person never showed up nor answered their phone. She turned the table on me and basically blamed my family. This is a life we are talking about that I'm trying to save. I have 4 dogs, two of which I have fostered for Bow Wow and then ended up adopting which was $300 adoption fee for each one. My husband and I drop off food, bleach, towels, blankets, volunteer over on Cermak at open access shelter, and we constantly share Bow Wows posts for the dogs that need to be adopted and always tell family and friends to adopt. We try and do what we can and we asked for help this one time. I see on Bow a Wows page a number of times they have helped special situations. It's a shame a good little boy is being pushed to the curb due to money, attention, or whatever it is. Maybe he doesn't pull enough heartstrings. I'm sorry but if anyone has been ignored by an organization who you looked up to and supported as much as I did, you would be disheartened too. And I also reached out to Trio Animal Foundation and basically they told me to take him to open access shelter and dump him there. I guess he did not have a serious enough illness to pull at people's heart strings so they would donate to their organization. I'm so pissed and will never support these two organizations ever again. #BOWWOWREVOLUTION read more

My boyfriend and I are foster parents for Bow Wow Revolution. It is a fantastic organization! We have worked with both Heather and Gabrielle (and also ran into Jen when taking our first foster to the vet). It's very clear that the organization's leadership is passionate about what they do and that they always have the best interests of the animals at heart. read more

We adopted a special needs dog from Bow Wow Revolution a few weeks ago, and could not be more thrilled with our decision! This was an older, blind dog that many other rescues would have deemed unadoptable and simply passed by.. I am so glad BWR took a chance, and took the time to find her the perfect home. They were always very responsive to our questions and concerns, and I would not hesitate to recommed this organization to anyone looking to rescue a pet. read more

We adopted our cat, Penny from them. The process was slow going, but worth it in the end. Patience is a virtue here. These are people that work full time, have families, and try to take care of the animals. I had requested information from them and the foster contacted me about a week later and told me all about Penny and asked me a bunch of questions about caring for the animals so that she could make sure I knew how. She was very educated in the care and treatment of cats. She called the vets of my other pets to make sure that everyone was fixed and up to date with vaccinations. About a week after that, I went to the foster's home to meet with the kitty and I told them that I was ready to adopt. The following weekend, someone stopped by my home for the home check which was quick and painless. Took all of 5 minutes. The following weekend, we met up and we took Penny (formerly Arya) home. Yes... it takes awhile. Yes... you have to be patient. But in the long run, it was worth it, and we love our Penny Lane. All in all the process took 3-4 weeks. Adding a pet to your family should be a well thought out process. If you want to take a pet home within a day or two, visit your local shelter. If you want to meet with the pet, and really find out if it is the right fit, and take your time? Contact Bow Wow Revolution. read more