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    CARE STL

    3.1 (14 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
    Updated 1 month ago

    Services - CARE STL

    Pet adoption

    Animal shelters

    CARE STL Photos

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    Bob B.

    We've long been fans of adopting dogs, especially Pitties. When our beloved Romeo left us in late January of 2022 we took some time to regroup and then set about the process of looking for our new dog. CARE STL came on our radar-I forget exactly how but we were incredibly impressed with them for several reasons. -Their web presence, FB page etc. So easy to search, great stories and pics and they are UPDATED!! This is one of the most important things for a shelter-updating the page on a regular basis with dog info. -Their Fostering Program and the incredible team of Fosters that are part of CARE is just amazing. We wanted to select a dog that had been in a home environment, we were interested in info on how the dog did in a home etc. Care Fosters are incredibly nice, passionate, clear and honest about the dogs. They want the dog to find a home where it will stay-not simply looking to offload dogs or get them out of the shelter. -The staff team at CARE is great. We stopped in to visit some dogs after our application to adopt was approved and met with one of their staffers who took the time to ask questions about us, our home and the environment we would be making available for the dog. She gently guided us away from some dogs who were not a good fit and suggested others who could potentially be a better fit. We eventually adopted a puppy named Daisy, she's been a delight and a ton of fun. The Forever Families FB page has been a lot of fun for us to keep up with other families who have adopted through CARE and it's even more fun when the volunteers/fosters leave comments. We're searching for a second dog now and we're looking thru CARE, the volunteers and fosters have been equally as awesome the second time around. They provide great feedback, information and they truly want to see us matched with the right dog who will fit in with our Daisy. I can't recommend them enough to you, check them out and you'll be glad you did.

    Kiara
    Vivienne C.

    I love the work that CARE STL and as an active foster mom, I simply cannot recommend them more. CARE STL is a nonprofit organization that is chartered by the city of St. Louis to care for dogs and cats (sometimes other animals) that are found by Animal Control. From there they try to find homes for all of their animals. Just a quick plug, as of December 2022, my current foster dog KIARA (attached) is available for adoption! She is around 4 years old and was found under a porch with 8 puppies. All her puppies got adopted except for her, which is so heartbreaking. She is friendly and curious! She loves to snuggle and roll in the grass. She knows how to sit, raise a paw, and lay down and is very potty trained. If you are interested in adopting her, please go on to CARE STL's website and fill out the application form and we can be in touch! Oh and also her floppy ears are truly the cutest :) Here are some of my favorite parts about CARE STL from a foster parent perspective: - It is so evident that they care about all of their animals. Every time one of the employees or volunteers walks by a dog or cat, they always stop to pet and interact with them. They also take all their dogs out to walk 2x a day which is amazing for an animal shelter because they are so busy all the time. - It is so incredibly easy to foster. All you need to do is fill out an application form online and go into the shelter to pick up a dog or cat of your choice. When they pair you up, they really take into account all of your needs whether you want a puppy, friendliness with people, potty trained, etc. Although I will say that all their dogs are pretty big because that's the nature of dogs that end up in the animal shelter. - The flexibility they have for a foster is insanity. You can take one of their dogs home and take it right back the next day. Of course they would prefer you to take the dog until they get adopted, but any time outside the shelter and away from the cages will help the dog's mental health substantially. This flexibility is really nice if you're someone who travels a lot or is temporarily staying in St. Louis. Let's say you're a student going home for winter break, they can take care of your foster dog for you and you can pick them right back up after you come back to St. Louis. - As a foster parent, CARE STL provides literally everything you would ever need, you don't need to spend a single dollar to care for one of their animals. When I went to pick up our dogs, they gave us all the food, treats, toys, poop bags, shampoo, toothpaste, cage, blanket, etc. It was more things than I would ever need to make my foster dog feel comfortable in my home. - There's free vet services! We all know that that's the most expensive part of having a dog, so its nice that all their vet services are free of charge. - The adoption process is very fast too. If you meet someone who is interested in your foster dog or cat, you can just set up your own meeting with the prospective adopter and during that meeting if it seems like the right fit, they can take your fostered dog or cat home. There are so many benefits to fostering. Something I will say that its a little weird that they don't vet their foster parents or adopters for abuse, etc. but I guess they don't have enough personnel to do that, so that makes sense. I cannot urge people living in St. Louis more to foster or volunteer with CARE STL. Their mission and the things they are doing for the St. Louis community is amazing and there is so much heart in the things they do. If you have even 1 week in St. Louis and your residency allows for pets, please consider fostering. It is so easy and you can help a dog or cat relieve a little bit of stress from living in the animal shelter.

    Audrey B.

    Amazing shelter/animal rescue. It's incredibly clear how much people care about these animals. I've seen many shelters and this is definitely one of the better ones They are constantly sacrificing their own space and comfort for the animals they rescue. They are no-kill and accept not just cats and dogs but also other random animals even including an alligator once! I had the privilege of taking a tour here and getting a firsthand look at what volunteering is like. I plan to return. It's super organized which is RARE for shelters like this. You are trained to the specific animals you want to volunteer with and are given many options for volunteering from cleaning to enrichment (playing with kitties!) to walking and training and even tasks like laundry and dishes for those who don't necessarily want to be physically with the animals. They do their best to keep animals comfortable even when they have a billion of them at once. Staff makes sure that enclosures are big enough, have enough toys and comfort items, and that animals have the chance to get outside or spend time with other animals and other people. Just an all around awesome place. If you have time to volunteer or want a new fur-baby, definitely check them out!

    Rooster
    Devon B.

    I have been volunteering here since last year, when I came for a Yelp Elite event. CARE has many great staff members and volunteers who care for these animals. They keep the place clean, they bring in animal trainers, they keep the pets healthy, and they work to make sure each animal gets put in a home that will fit them! If you are looking to adopt from somewhere, there is no better place than here!

    Max R.

    This place is amazing. They're basically taking care of the city's underserved animal population. I love the way they say it, rescuing and enriching the lives of these animals in Saint Louis. They so obviously work hard at this, and when you come, you'll see, it is no easy task. The staff here and the volunteers pour a ton of empathy and care into what they do and obviously are passionate about providing better lives for these animals in Saint Louis. When I stopped in last week, I got to spend time with the cats and learned so much about the needs of kitties in our city! They have multiple rooms with cats in different situations. There is a room of feral cats, who they basically fix and then re-release, which helps the population issue were facing. They have another room for adoptive cats and also rooms for cats with needs for special care. They go to great lengths to support the community who support animals too and have various programs that give food and support to folks who adopt their animal. This place rocks and it will be somewhere I regularly volunteer moving forward.

    I'm a happy kitty!

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    Center for Animal Rescue & Enrichment

    Center for Animal Rescue & Enrichment

    (3 reviews)

    Midtown

    I found the staff compassionate and efficient. My dog that I adopted, Angeline (now Angel), had…read morebeen well cared for in this shelter. Her known history and medical care was well-documented. I was very impressed!

    I have been volunteering here for 3-4 years…read more First off, the positives - which there are a lot. The CEO cares more about animals than anyone I've met. She is amazing and works tirelessly to make St. Louis a better place for animals and people. She's also very warm, empathetic and nonjudgmental toward anyone who needs to give up their pet or needs help. Staff is mostly the same way. The facility is awesome and constantly changing. I swear every time I go in, there's something new. It's definitely the cleanest shelter I've been in. There is a cat area and a dog area in a separate building. Sometimes the dogs overflow into the other building when they're crowded. The cat area has as many cats roaming freely as possible (ones that get along with one another and people). They do great with feral cats and socializing them. The dog building can be very overwhelming when all the dogs are riled up, but they do their best with calming music and sound dampening materials. The flexibility of volunteering is awesome. You do a training session for cats, dogs, or both then you can basically come anytime to walk dogs, clean enclosures, play with cats, do laundry or dishes, or really just sit in a room with a pup who needs some company. There are multiple volunteer programs too if you have more time to bond with an animal (fostering, staycation, 1:1 program, and more). Even if you only have 20 mins to run in and walk one dog, staff is so grateful. There is also a Facebook group where volunteers can post pics and talk about the animals! Adoption-wise: I adopted my cat, Bali, from CARE. She is absolutely amazing and I'm so grateful for her. I originally brought her home for a "straycation" (a short break from the shelter) because I wasn't sure if I was ready for a new cat after my previous one passed away. The straycation turned permanent after a week of seeing how perfect she was for my family. The adoption process was incredibly easy and I love how CARE makes sure to vet people before adopting and education people about declawing and letting their animals outside, etc. before allowing them to adopt. A few cons: As I mentioned a little, the dog area can be overwhelming. There are absolutely people who are happy to help you but sometimes everyone looks extremely busy. Policies change often which is difficult to keep up with - though they have been working hard on signage for this. Speaking of policies, it can be difficult to keep up with the protocol for volunteers/fosters at the adoption center. The feeling when you first walk in very much depends on who is working at the time. Sometimes, I arrive to welcoming staff and and can go right through to the cat area or the warehouse. Other times, I am looked at like I have 5 heads when I come to hangout with the cats or told I have to stay in the waiting area to receive foster supplies. It's a little odd to me that the front door is locked and requires you to ring the doorbell. I completely understand concern for safety but I don't know any other business that has a locked front door during regular hours and it feels less welcoming to be asked why I'm there before I'm allowed to come in. Finally, the veterinary care is sub-par. They recently built a vet area which is amazing, but I haven't had much luck with the actual vet and I know other volunteers with similar experience. Of course vet care is expensive and it's difficult to find vets who will volunteer their time or be paid minimally for a non-profit, but there is room for improvement nonetheless. The main vet is supposedly very experienced, but he has sent me home with numerous fosters who had issues after their alters or general medical issues. I have brought in cats for him to check out, told they were fine, but then they were very much not fine and had to be brought back in. He is completely unfazed by most things. I'm sure he has seen a lot of severe injuries in his career, but the cavalier attitude toward concerned foster parents is off-putting. My advice is to be very thorough and assertive with fosters - if you think something is wrong, don't give up just because they took a quick look and didn't notice anything obvious. Do some research in advance on how to recognize fleas, infections, etc. so that you can really examine the animal you're thinking about bringing home so that you don't inadvertently take on more than you can handle. Overall, I absolutely recommend CARE for both adoption and fostering/volunteering, just with those few caveats. Even with those concerns, CARE is the best shelter I've ever volunteered for and am proud to be a volunteer.

    APA - Brentwood - stray Boston terrier

    APA - Brentwood

    (43 reviews)

    We adopted our last cat from the APA in Brentwood (on Hanley) and that was 15 years ago. The whole…read moreprocess was simple and we loved our Oliver, a big orange tabby cat, until a little over a year ago when we lost him to kidney disease. He was a great addition to our family. I regularly donate clean old towels and blankets to the APA. Their staff are all competent and friendly and they all love animals! I've always been impressed with their veterinarians. I know that we adopted other pets over the years from the APA, and my family of origin did, too, when I was a kid. I'm so happy to have a wonderful organization close by to help families find wonderful pets like Oliver to add love and joy to each family!

    I'm grateful they were able to take in the stray Boston Terrier we found. She had no microchip, and…read moreI'm relieved she's safe now. That said, our interaction with Lance was surprisingly rude and dismissive. When we told him we'd been calling her "Mama," he rolled his eyes and said, "We have so many Mamas," like it was an inconvenience. When my friend offered to foster, he brushed her off, saying the dog would "probably get adopted quickly anyway" and that she could "maybe go on the website." He also made the whole intake process uncomfortable. I was sitting with the dog in my lap when he sat at a desk far away, asked for my ID (which my friend had to bring to him), and then slapped it back on the counter without a word. The entire time he was typing things in, he didn't explain what he was doing, what the next steps were, or even why he needed my info. I'm thankful they took the dog in, but the lack of kindness or communication really soured the experience. It shouldn't feel like a burden to bring in an animal who needs help.

    DreamCatcher Hill Puppies and Rescue - French Bulldog

    DreamCatcher Hill Puppies and Rescue

    (14 reviews)

    I first met Lauren when I thought I wanted a Cavapoo (Cavalier King Charles spaniel & Poodle mix) …read more We went to see her puppies, but my husband thought a Cavapoo would shed too much. We had Cockers for years and really loved them. Talking to Laurel, we decided to order a Maltipoo (not even bred yet). She had such extensive knowledge about every breed she has that we both felt this was a better choice for us. She is so VERY careful with her breeding schedules that the pup would not be available for a few months. If she ran a puppy mill, she would have at least tried to talk us into a puppy she had available right then. Our puppy was born later so we went to see her and she was darllng! When she was old enough, we picked up the little bundle of white fur. She was perfect. Smart, affectionate...just what we wanted. She had been vet checked, given first shots, microchipped, etc. Laurel made sure I knew how to care for her, gave me a generous supply of food to last until I could get some for her. We never had any health problems because Laurel knows about all the possible problems and has the pups checked to know they are OK when they leave her home. We got along great until my precious baby was 4 1/2 years old. She got out into the dead-end lane in front of our house, was hit by a truck and my worst fear happened. She didn't suffer, but I did! I searched for rescue Maltipoos and Maltese, but people don't rehome Maltese often because they are so wonderful. I called Lauren (I was crying for Beatrice and so was Lauren) but she had 2 Maltese girls from her last litter. Again, the puppy was perfect and helped fill that hole in my heart. We also have 2 older rescue dogs and my new baby loved them. Sometimes too much. They would rather sleep than play sometimes, so now we have 2 darling litter-mate girls that are cousins to the baby I lost; they have the same grandmother Beatrice had. I even see some of her mannerisms in them. They entertain themselves and us with their antics and our older dogs get their sleep in. My sister also lost her dog to old age about the same time we lost Beatrice and ended up getting a Cavapoo from Lauren, too. She is perfect for my sister. Someone on this website made a comment that she thought Lauren had a puppy mill, but there must be more behind the story because nothing could be further from the truth. Lauren is very careful with her breeding program, retiring her breeding dogs when they reach an appropriate age, Her dogs have good food, recreation, love, room and a place to run and enjoy the outside, and are well cared-for. She always has dogs in her home with her. NOT ONE DOG is forced to spend their lives in tiny cages with little food or water and no recreation. I know this because I went to her farm to see for myself before I would get a dog from her. Anyone who thinks differently is sadly mistaken. I have fostered dogs for an animal rescue near me for several years and have seen dogs that come from those terrible places. I won't go into any details, but I have shed tears just seeing how hey have been so extremely mistreated. I have told many people about Dreamcatcher Hill and will continue to do so because I don't think anyone could be more concerned about their animals and the homes they are going to than Lauren at Dreamcatcher Hill. Sorry this is so long, but I had to let everyone know that though I'm not a close personal friend of Lauren's, I feel privileged to have found someone who cares so much about their puppies so I can have such smart, well-bred companions!

    My Westie is a healthy and happy 14 week old puppy. Been to the vet a couple times with no health…read moreissues. Laurel was very helpful when he had some transition issues to my home and made some recommendations on how to get him over the hump and start eating. Worked like a charm I would recommend Dreamcatcher Hill Puppies.

    The Cheshire Grin Cat Cafe

    The Cheshire Grin Cat Cafe

    (15 reviews)

    Marine Villa

    While we were walking around and exploring Cherokee street (highly recommend!!) we saw the art on…read morethis building, noticed some cats in the windows and then realized it was an actual cat cafe!! I'd been wanting to check one of these out so we immediately went inside. The first room is where you can place and order for a drink from the cafe and check in for your visit. We didn't have reservations but they were able to accommodate us without a wait. Entry was $5 per person which I felt like was a good value. There are two floors of nooks, seating and of course cats! The best interactions seemed to be the natural ones. We sat down at a table with a game of scrabble and had a couple of visitors come by. Overall happy we did it and really enjoyed our visit! This could be a place to come back to many times. Free street parking

    Passed this cute cat cafe on an antiquing day and stopped in for some lemonade and some pets. All…read moreof the cats (the awake ones) were quite friendly and 100% of the cats were sweet! The facility is cute! A downstairs and an awesome upstairs with windows, a large table, chairs, and the cars who just want to get away from it all (downstairs is smaller and busier). I had a lemonade and only stayed 10-15 minutes. I'm glad this place isn't full of cushions like the other local cat cafe I have visited. I think that must help with the hair and likely the aroma too. It does smell like an animal shelter in the combination of animal + recently cleaned scents. This did not bother me. My experience was not what the first reviewer's were, nor would I mind much if it had. (No shade to Karen; she should share her opinion of the place.) Gentle reader, if the cats happen to not be "friendly" or "social," consider that they were recently rescued from the euthanasia lists at local shelters. Maybe they're not used to being in a building with so many people coming, going, and letting them all day... Or being in a room with multiple cats. Or maybe it's just what they are like. Not all cats are extroverted. They can still make great pets. They're purrfect to me! Will be back with friends!

    CARE STL - petadoption - Updated June 2026

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