Josh and his team are amazing. We had an injured feral cat. He came right out and showed me how to use the cage. He kept in contact with me throughout the process. I was able to rescue one cat with a badly injured leg. The cat would cry throughout the night and also get attacked by another feral cat. I was able to get him at night and drove to their location at night to drop off the injured cat. They were able to get him fixed up as good as new! Thanks for all the work you do! read more

This is from last year. I never post it on yelp only on facebook. I see there are alot of negative reviews regarding bad customer service and being treated unfairly. Someone needs to get fired. Alot of pets needs home and if she is in charge people will get denied just because she feels like it that day. Review I posted on facebook last year below. *Paula has been so rude. she is not approving me after I had to reschedule Saturday due to an Emergency. Before that it was due to an ESA letter not being enough for her because it had to specify more than 1 animal. Once I got it fixed she texted me and said lets move foward and meet the kitten. (She did not even ask me for proof of the letter) she said she would call me to reschedule after and then text me saying she is declining me and not give me a reason. She has been trying to deny me since day one and will not give me a reason after asking her more than once read more

East County Animal Rescue - paula is gray text - Animal Shelters Near Me

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First off I hate being negative and sharing negative comments. But at this moment I feel crushed beyond words. The last few years have been tough. I had a fire and lost alot of things. Then found out that I had several sisters that had cancer. But what made my life better was having my two cats. Sadly one that was 18 passed away from health issues February 28. 2023. My second cat Just passed away February 21. 2025 from cancer. This is after losing two of my Sisters from cancer. One in December and one March 1st. Needless to say I having been hurting. I decided that I wanted to get another cat or two for myself and my roommate. I checked many places and was not seeing want I wanted. Then I stopped into a Petsmart store and saw two Beautiful cats. I talked to the volunteer that works there and with East county Animal Resuce. She was warm, friendly, caring, attentive and very informative with a great heart for animals especially cats. I was happy to know that there are amazing people taking good care of cats. I could see that she had a heart of gold. I told her my situation and that I wanted two cats that were siblings or bonded, so she advised me to fill out an application since this store had two cats that I liked and fit my wants and needs. The application is very long but I undestand that they want to learn about you and find the best people to care for cats. Plus it helps weed out people that are not a good fit for cats or might be less than good people to cats. The lady there said it would be a few days before I heard back. Then when I did I talked to another lady that was equally awesome and amazing and she began to ask me lots of her own questions. After this I was told I sounded like a good fit for the cats. But she told me that the next step was talking with the person that has been the foster person for the cats. The next day I had that conversation and I thought it went well. This person was also warm, friendly, caring and in my opinion probably a great person. Anyone that takes care of cats as a foster parent in my opinion is awesome. Especially knowing that they will let them go at some point to a good home. All of these steps took about 6 days , which is hard when you are trying to add a special pair of fur babies to your home. From all of this I was told I was a good fit for having cats. However after all of this in the end I was declined to have these two cats. And now im crushed even more then all the things that have happened in my life lately. And now I also found out by being declined that I can't even try for other cats through East County Animal Resuce moving forward. I tried to follow up with them and plead my case in hope with getting the cats i wanted and desire or if nothing else some other cats. But they refused that. I understand that their goal is for the care and well being of the cats they find, rescue and foster. But They should also care about the people that want these cats. There are lots of bad people out there that would be a bad fit for animals and could hurt them or just not be good cat or dog people in general. So weeding out them is a important step. But why hurt and crush good caring people like me after all I shared about myself and what i have been through and the fact that I have had cats over the years and have been as good a person to cats as anyone of the people working at the East County Animal Rescue. The East County Animal Rescue is a amazing Place and what they do for the animals is nothing less then Spectacular. Based on this I would have given them 5 stars. But after everyone saying I'm a good cat person then declining me and saying I can't ever try to get a cat or animal from them moving forward is kind of harsh for someone they say is a good cat person. How can you keep cats that have had a rough or challenging start to their lives in a store verses a wondeful caring home with someone that would care and protect their pet with all their heart. I wish them success always for the pets only but if you have a caring and giving heart that wants to give a good home to a pet you will have to decide if you want to go through them and risk the possible pain and heart ache that I when through to find a loving fur baby to add to my home. read more

these folks are great doing great things. I adopted a kitten from them and a few days later went back and adopted her brother whisper and joker now in forever homes thank you ECAR read more

East County Animal Rescue - Animal Shelters Near Me

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Our street has so many unfixed community cats & strays, constantly breeding & the poor cats were getting hit by cars & being targeted by neighbors who hate them. For so long I had tried to get help through my local Bonita shelter & they were truly apathetic. I was literally out of ways to help all of these poor cats when Feral Cat Coalition suggested I contact ECAR. I wrote to ECAR & Stephanie replied that they would help us no matter what & at no cost (they rely solely on donations so please help them, they really have been absolutely amazing at helping us get the cats in our street spayed, neutered & vaccinated etc). ECAR have been out here all week trapping the cats, taking them to get TNR'ed & caring for them. So far they have trapped 10+ of the cats and still counting. They also rescued 7 kittens from 2 different litters, some of whom were malnourished & they are personally nursing them back to health despite being at capacity for taking in cats. Josh has been here from 8am every morning, often releasing skunks from traps & going from house to house helping everyone with the cats, then if we catch any cats late in the evening he has come right out & collected them - he is absolutely legendary! There were even some ferals from a street away he is helping to trap on top of all the work he's doing in our street. ECAR have also told us they will continue to help us until we catch every single cat & get them fixed, that's some outstanding commitment to cat welfare! I wish I could give this small grass roots charity more than a 5 star rating, they really stepped in for us when no one else would. I encourage anyone considering donating or adopting one of their many beautiful cats to please do so & spread the word, they need all the help they can get & this is one of the most caring dedicated groups of people I've ever witnessed, they truly commit to the animals they care for. Thank you ECAR volunteers for everything. read more

East County Animal Rescue - Ecar taught my household how to use drop traps, we call it "cat fishing" - Animal Shelters Near Me

Let me start off by saying that I think Rescues are amazing! My family loves animals and we never shop/only adopt. My family had an extremely disapppointing experience with this rescue today. First and foremost, If you want a certain cat, apparently messaging FB and letting them know you are interested and have an app on file is not enough. If you ever message them thru FB please don't hold your breath. If you do end up going to one of their adoption events, make sure there's not a "hold" on a cat you're requesting to see. After this rescue told us that our first choice cat was adopted out, we chose another cat and requested a room to spend time with her. There was NEVER any mention of the cat being on "hold". We spent about half hour w/said cat and filled out ANOTHER application only to be informed (after the fact) that a family that was previously there came back to adopt her. The hardest part about this situation... trying to explain to my 5yr old Autistic daughter that we were coming home w/out her new baby. Throughout our entire interaction w/the lady that runs the rescue, she kept saying "apparently we're not doing so well here are we?" but it didn't seem sincere. I feel she showed no sympathy for all of the wrongs they were doing. This is clearly not a situation where someone beat us to an item the day after Thanksgiving... the cat we were supposed to bring home was meant to be my daughter's baby and a member of our family. Unfortunately its rescues like this that deter me from adopting thru them and just go to Craigslist. read more

I just want to say a HUGE "Thank you" to Jamie and the team!!! They helped me save this baby girl!!! She lived under my house for months and is only 4 months old. They helped me get her fixed dewormed and her vaccinations. She is such a blessing to our home. You guys go over and beyond helping!!!!! Thank you again Jamie!!!!! read more

East County Animal Rescue - Phantom resting in her new home! - Animal Shelters Near Me

We were so grateful for these volunteers and lead volunteers. We found our forever kitties! Pros? Easy to work with Really care about the animals TNR for the area Keep kitties that need extra care and can't really be adopted out Clear website of where adoptable animals can be viewed, even if it's a little confusing when volunteers may be there to let you in to see the cats Facebook shows updated photos and descriptions of animals Thorough adoption paperwork They'll give you food and advice based on how the cats have already been living which is helpful Cons? The process can take a little longer cause everyone is volunteers and we felt bad choosing our kitties and then not being able to take them home right away but that's because these folks spend their free time to help these kitties read more

These people go beyond the call of duty, I've seen it!! They've saved so many lives! Non profit, I do want to volunteer for them soon! They have tnr'd at least 5 cats around my house & took in kittens I have found & got them furever homes! They're out in the worst storm rescuing a mama with her kittens..these people have the biggest hearts I've ever seen! read more

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July of 2015 my brother who was homeless died he had a beloved best friend of 5 1/2 years he named Panda Bear. My friends and I called many rescues most said no they would not help others said up to 4 or 6 months before they could help by then Panda would be dead. I was becoming panic and terrified cause I was afaird for my beloved brothers best friend then my friend Dottie found Ecar within a half hour I got the call Panda was safe he went right to Josh when he called his name. They went out of their way to make sure Panda was Vetted chipped and on his way here to Texas with help from many of our Facebook family. One of new Aunties was his flying angel all the way to Dallas Texas. Thank you thank you ECAR For everything and helping my brother rest in peace and in getting Panda Bear home. GOD BLESS YOU ALL. read more

East County Animal Rescue - Animal Shelters Near Me

We adopted "Tina" from ECAR on Saturday 9/20/14 and have decided to call her Autumn. She is fully vaccinated and spayed. The fee of $125 is completely reasonable given that she will not need to see a vet for anything other than a yearly check up. We were also given a Petco coupon book that helped get us set up with all of the necessary supplies. Autumn is sweet, playful, and beautiful. As I type this, she is curled up next to me purring away. Thank you ECAR! read more

East County Animal Rescue - Autumn curled up next to me. - Animal Shelters Near Me

Ecar truly cares about the animals in their care and the people who adopt them. They really helped us find the perfect match to our household. They are like a family. Since getting our cats from ecar, Kathy (the foster mom) has been available 24/7 to answer questions, give advice, and supplies needed. I actually consider her a friend now and enjoy keeping in touch with her. My experience with ecar has really developed my passion for helping cats and I'm thinking about applying to volunteer with them now. read more

East County Animal Rescue - Houston... Best cat ever!! We are so lucky to have him. - Animal Shelters Near Me

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This was our first experience with adopting a cat and I wish we would have adopted here sooner. Blue (Anthony) has been a dream addition to our family. He is very loving, gently playful and such a joy to spend time with. Thanks to all of the members of the East County Animal Rescue. They made the adoption process easy and very helpful by providing assistance with Blue and helpful suggestions to getting him acclimated to his new family. Overall great and memorable experience!!! We LOVE our baby blue and so grateful for East County Animal Rescue. read more

East County Animal Rescue - Animal Shelters Near Me

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Here Kitty Kitty! I had a stray cat wandering my neighborhood that looked in bad shape. I reached out to ECAR and they came out and were able to catch her. Turns out she had kittens too. They took them all and told me they would get the medical care and rehabilitated and put up for adoption. So happy they were taken in instead of freezing out there! read more

I have worked with this organization for more than a decade now and I can tell you that the health and safety of the animals is paramount for the volunteers. Making sure the personality of the cat or kitten matches the new family, in order to minimize returns is one of their highest priorities. Please use this rescue for all your adoption needs. read more

East County Animal Rescue, like most local rescue outfits, is run by a group of dedicated volunteers and foster homes. They don't have a store front, they bring adoptable cats, dogs, kittens, and puppies to the Petco on 2nd Ave in El Cajon on Saturdays and Sundays. I think the adoption fee is $100. The pets are already spayed or neutered and had the appropriate vaccines. That alone costs more than $100 at a vet. We just recently adopted 2 kittens from them and we are smitten with our new family members. These people really care, and they go out and rescue kittens that were born homeless, socialize them, and find them homes. If they didn't, those kittens would grow up to be feral (wild) cats and have more kittens. I'm really grateful for what they do to improve our community and the lives of pets that are homeless through no fault of their own. Drop a few bucks in the collection jar the next time you pass by their table at Petco, friend them on FB, or donate online. read more

What can I say?! Thank you to Josh and the team for all your help with Spaying/Neutering ALL my ferals! And of course, for saving Momma's life, even though she lost her tail. She is a loving outdoor cat and healthy now. I am spreading the word. When I first called I was desperate and in tears. I didn't know where to turn. I wish I had known about you years ago. I can never express how much I appreciate that you were there for us! read more

I was very disappointed to hear from the person in charge of adoptions from this charity today. After looking at a young cat to add to our lives (my wife and I have had cats since we were married, and rescued her Fathers cats and gave them a good home when he passed away) we met a nice cat at our local Petsmart who seemed very sweet and liked us. We were told to fill out an application and did so. While filling it out my wife commented that we would probably be denied because we let out cats outside to roam the yard for a bit each day, and one of our cats many years ago was determined she wanted to go outside one night and snuck out and unfortunately was killed by a coyote. I told my wife we needed to be honest, why would they hold something like this against us? We took care of a feral cat who lived until 17 and died of old age, and we still have one of the cats we rescued from her father who is 10 years old and a happy cat who goes outside for 15 minutes a day. My wife also wanted a cat who might kill some vermin outside and in the garage that migrate from our neighbors home. I personally checked over the application to ensure we were being honest, we love our animals and would love to give another cat a good home. After saying goodbye to the kind volunteers (who I had no problem with, you were great) we submitted the application and waited. Today I got a call saying we had been "denied for adoption". When I asked why I was told "You said the cat would be both an indoor and outdoor car and that is a problem". I explained we allowed the cat (if it wants, its up to the cat after all) to go outside for sometime to roam the yard and lay outside and go to the bathroom, but then bring the cats back in. We also teach the cats to come inside before nightfall. So really the cat spends maybe 30 minutes a day outside, and always when we are home, she always come back when we leave. She then said "well you said you had a cat killed by a coyote, and that concerns us." Yes, I told my wife to put that 3 years ago we lost my sweet fluffy cat who loved going out to prowl and you couldn't stop her all the time. You could not keep this cat from going outside, she would see an open door and dart at top speed for the door and sometimes make it out. To ensure she was happy we let her roam for a bit during the day and round her up at night. One night my wife opened the door and the small black cat darted out and she didn't notice (the cat had ninja-like qualities), I was sure the cat was inside since I had let her that night. The next day we found her deceased in our yard and being my favorite sweet cat I was downtrodden for weeks. We learned from it however and we always ensure our other cat is in at night. After that explanation the woman claimed it was because my wife had stated on the application that we wanted a mouser (the order was actually companion for us/companion for our existing cat/mouser). I stated yes, that if the cat was outside or in the garage I would appreciate it if the cat killed some vermin (the garage is part of the house after all and hence not outside). It was apparent after this last "problem" that she had already made up their mind, and no matter how I detailed our answers, no matter what I said...she didn't care. The problem I have with this more than anything is that this organization encourages deception and dishonesty on its application. My wife KNEW that if we were honest we would be denied, and we could have lied (there is nothing they can do to look up to see if our cat was killed, or if we let our cats outside for a short time). People probably know this and lie on the application and say they will ALWAYS keep the cat indoors, and nothing ever bad happened to their previous animals. Those people will get to adopt a cat (and let it outside), while someone being honest on their application is denied. I had a hard time telling my 7 year old daughter that our application to adopt a cat (that she was very excited about) was denied because we were honest in how we care for our cats. I hope the cat we saw gets a terrific happy home, he was so very sweet. I just hope its not from someone just knowing what the right answers were on the form. read more

We adopted (2) wonderful kittens from East County Animal Rescue last year. We can't praise this organization enough. One of our kittens got sick and Yvette went beyond the call of duty to help us and even invited us into her home to assist us with the sick kitten. Sadly, we ended up not being a cat compatible home and Yvette was there again to help us locate new homes for the cats, no questions asked. Yvette and Jimmy were able to find great homes for our cats within two weeks. Thank you Yvette and Jimmy! You guys and East County Animal Rescue are the bomb and your work and love for animals is greatly appreciated. Highly recommended! Todd & Sandra read more

We were very disappointed with how we were treated by the volunteer for this org. We were basically told we were lying to her. We have a very nice house and property but denied adoption after me grandson picked out the cat. Be careful, if the cat is from this org go somewhere else. read more

In July 2015 I received a hearbreaking call from my friend, her brother had passed away unexpectedly. Stephen was homeless, but had a cat named Panda that he had rescued from a storm drain as a tiny kitten. Now 5 1/2 tears old Panda was alone, in a vacant field with no daddy. I called several rescues, 2 said they couldn't, 1 said in 2 weeks, 1 never called back. I contacted ECAR and explained the situation. They said they would send someone out right away. Josh was given the area and Pandas description. He found him right away and took him back to the rescue where they evaluated him, fed him and loved on him. In the meantime we were arranging transport for Panda. They treated him like family while we got things together. They had him vetted and microchipped for the trip. A friend agreed to fly Panda to Dallas with her and Josh took him to the airport. Without their help Stephen's sister would not have the one thing her brother loved the most, his beloved Panda Bear. They were awesome. I have never seen a rescue go into action as fast as they did and I've been in rescue 25 years. They get my highest recommendation. Thank you isn't enough. They went above and beyond. This is truly a wonderful group of people in this rescue. Taking a call from the other side of the country and having Panda safe within an hour is incredible and fantastic. Thank you again for all you do. read more

We adopted our kitten from here a few months ago. He was healthy and well taken care of. He was spayed and chipped and properly vaccinated (due to his age he was due for one more shot which they informed me of) They provided us with his vet records and were avaialble when I had additional questions. We paid $150, which is a little higher compaired to other kitten adoption fees however, I highly recommend adopting through ECAR. read more

We recently lost or dog to old age and were looking for another. Being a multi dog household and fostered dogs for several years, we consider ourselves to be pretty dog savvy. We found a young boxer female that was owner relinquished for having too much energy and escaping from the yard too many times. This was definitely not a deal breaker for us. We own a home with a huge yard, pool, kids, another dog and I work from home. Plenty of ways to keep a dog busy! We went home and brought our dog back so they could meet. The young girl responsible for doing the introduction took one look at our dog and said "he looks like a pit bull, this isn't going to work out". We were shocked. First off, he's an American Mastiff. Clearly this idiot knows nothing about dogs. I fuss with her a bit and she finally agreed to bring her out. Hubby took our boy to the play yard on leash. She came out with the boxer and her energy was all bad. She didn't even want to go in the yard! So of course dogs pick up on this nervous energy. The boxer starts barking and lunging on the leash at my dog, my dog returns the same. Both were on leash with the fence between them. I asked her if I could take the boxer and walk her around with my dog. She said no it's not going to work out my dog is too aggressive. My dog loves female dogs and is very submissive to them. His many girlfriends in the neighborhood will attest to that. But when you have an idiot with her pre-conceived ideas and fears in charge of doing dog introductions, no one will ever adopt any of these dogs. She just told us goodbye, there was no attempt made at all to consider other options. In fact, she just walked back inside and left us out in the yard. Statically large breed dogs have less chance of being adopted. We love large breed dogs, so you would think there would be more of an effort to find a win-win situation. Instead, we felt discriminated against because she thought our dog was a pitbull. We love what they are doing for animals in east county, but they need better trained staff to handle adoptions. read more

My two boys have been adopted from east county rescue. I wanted two orange kittens. They were so helpful, knowing these babies were loved and cared prior to me taking them was very important. They have not bitten or scratched me. I have had kitties all my life and these are so sweet. The adoption for me was easy and I would adopt from them again in a heart beat. read more

I visited the Petco in El Cajon on 2nd Street with the purpose of adopting a kitten. East County Animal Rescue was there with their kittens on display. I searched through the kittens and fell in love with a brown female. The man working the adoption event kept asking me lots of questions. I explained I had other cats and dogs that are cat friendly. I told him about my DOGGIE DOOR that my dogs use. After I completely fell in love with this kitten and filled out an application, he told me I couldn't have the kitten because I have a DOGGIE DOOR. I'm a responsible adult who owns a house. I volunteer for dog rescues for 5 years now, and have experience with kittens. I told him he should have a sign saying If you have a DOGGIE DOOR don't even stop and look at these cats/kittens. This was unfair and very hurtful. I spoke by phone to the person in charge of the rescue. She told me the same thing. EAST COUNTY ANIMAL RESCUE WILL NOT ADOPT TO YOU IF YOU HAVE A DOGGIE DOOR. PETCO SHOULD STOP SELLING DOGGIE DOORS IF THIS IS TRUE. read more

If you want to have judgement passed on you by some self-righteous zealot, then East County Animal Rescue is for you. We had the infuriating experience at the El Cajon Petco trying to adopt a kitten for our 5 year old. He picked one he just loved, and we agreed to pay the exorbitant adoption fee (does anyone charge more?). The bio on the cat said, "Good with kids". Our "application" stated we were cat owners over 20 years, the boy has had one all his life. The first excuse for turning us down was we have a balcony. Well, we stated in our app it would be an INDOOR cat. She saw that wasn't working, so she said, well, the kitty doesn't have any experience with kids, and she wont let your son pick him up and hold her. OK, so the bio was misleading? It isn't good with kids? It will run when people approach her she says. Gee, like oh, 90% of aLL cats? Then she tries to get us to adopt another older cat. OK, so you want us to get an older cat, NONE of which say "Good with dogs" on the bios, when our app says we have two DOGS? And what about our balcony? That's not an issue anymore? They're dangerous for this indoor cat, but not for other indoor cats?The helpers seemed genuinely surprised the lead "rescuer" was turning us down for the kitten we had picked. I knew the couple who arrived well after us was requesting the same cat, so it was pretty clear the lady wanted to give it to them instead of us and was making assinine excuses. She should have told them sorry, they were here first. When she tried to push "ANY OF THE OTHER cats" onto us, I had to bite my tongue, and just take back my "applicaton" and leave. So good job ECAR, you deprived a cat of a loving home today. We WILL be going to a pet store to get our cat. I tried to "do the right thing" and go with a rescued cat, but oh well. read more