At the end of June 2024 I emailed, called AND stopped by several times over the span of a few weeks as I was interested in adopting a kitten. Not ONCE did they respond or get back to me. What a joke. Am I not worthy? What's your b.s. criteria for deciding to respond to someone who shows an interest in adopting an animal? I adopted another kitten from there in 2011 without any issues. Now, there's some kind of secret handshake I'm gathering that I should've known about in order to receive a response? I've even donated supplies and food consistently over the years. So, this is how you reward folks? Really? I hate to say it but I hope the shelter goes out of business and all of the animals are relocated to another shelter where the staff actually cares. It's NOT that difficult to respond to an email, return a phone call, or respond to a note someone leaves. Thanks for not caring or being even in the slightest bit appreciative of all of the items I've donated in the last 15 years. read more

My daughter has been trying for weeks to make an appointment to get her dog neutered She has called and emailed and no response. You want animals spayed or neutered so why are the not calling back? Confused!! read more

I sent a donation of cat food, litter, and hamster food through Chewy to this shelter. A week passed, so I started wondering if it was received. I left a voicemail and sent an email, but still no response. I know how busy this shelter must be, but there should be someone who actually looks at the emails and respond at the very least when people make donations. read more

We were able to adopt a wonderful dog from WARL. The staff was so supportive, welcoming, and helpful in transitioning our new guy home. They're so lovely! read more

once again i fill out application received email with message i would be contacted soon 2 phone calls later no one ever contacted me i had adoped twice before from this shelter but apparently im no longer worthy read more

I want to give this establishment a better rating. I had a better experience with them surrendering some birds during a not so great time. Well, life's looking up and I've since acquired two kittens. I'm not poor, but don't have enough to pay some private veterinarians. Seems to me many shelters want adopting, not shopping, yet this one requires an appointment to see shelter animals. What?! With many of us vaccinated? Were there large gatherings to see available animals? Seems to me those teary ads about unwanted animals cite so many animals making it into shelters, but few making it out alive. Could restrictive policies like this be part of the problem? Are phone calls to see animals even returned? At least twice I've phoned and emailed about the spay/neuter clinic to get no return call, just an email that "we'll get back with you when we have time." I've heard so many Spay/Neuter to avoid pet overpopulation ads, yet you can't even return one of my calls to set up an appointment. Will you get coronavirus over the telephone? Forget it. I'm giving Vetsmart a try. They at least answered their phone. read more

Went in after seeing them online. Never have adopted an animal in the past. Found the perfect cat for me (Paine) they let me sit in a room with him alone for as long as I wanted. Instantly fell in love with him. Filled out a quick application and I was in and out in less than an hour. They are amazing and the entire staff is very friendly. Great experience and our new family member is loving his new home read more

Worc Animal Rescue League - Animal Shelters Near Me - Worcester, Massachusetts

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So I adopted a red nose pitbull about 8years ago from this shelter. I had no issues with the adoption. I had to put my baby boy down this past dec before christmas. I have been trying to work with this shelter to adopt another dog from them because the first dog I got from them was amazing. The first time ive been back into this shelter I felt like I was being pressured Into fostering a Dog without even looking at any other dogs. I agreed to take the dog home and try the fostering. sadly I had to return the dog after a day due to constantly being bit by the dog. I went weeks reaching out to the shelter and choosing different dogs i would be interested in. I kept being told they would reach out to me and make a appointment for me to come in and meet other dogs. The shelter never called me back after keep getting in contact with them and being told they dont think every dog i picked would be a good fit for me and not even let me come in for a visit to see if it would work. I picked out 8 to 10 different dogs i was interested in. I finally got pissed off and have stop reaching out to the shelter. SO many of these dogs need homes and deserve homes. This shelter needs to start at least letting people come in and visit the dogs at least to get a feel not just chosen the dog for the person. Sad to say I'm very disappointed with this shelter. read more

Ohhhh yes, I'm a big fan of adoption for animals that come into Worc Animal Rescue League. I got my lovable pooch there and he's the love of my life...(next to my two boys and my future daughter in law that is) I go there at least once a month or so just to see what's available. The place is pretty clean and orderly, the dogs are healthy and alert, no jumping buggies on any and the kitties look clean and well fed. The dogs are evaluated not just for adoption quality but you have a good idea whether this particular dog is good with other animals and more importantly children. The only reason it's not getting a 5 star is the front desk staff. I'm sorry but when people who have big hearts come in to find a dog or cat that has been abandoned why wouldn't you be very warm and friendly to all that come in?? Instead they look at you with hostility at times because I interrupted their conversation between each other about last night's escapades. I'm asking a question about a particular dog and I get eyes that roll and curt answers. Not very nice. Thank God I'm not adopted them...the dogs show them up 100% in friendliness read more

I have to say that this facility has gotten much better in the past 2 years. The staff is always every pleasant and helpful. My biggest gripe about them in the past is that they cater to the elderly when it comes to finding homes for small dogs. That seems to have changed in the past few years which is nice. i believe it should be a first come first serve shelter. I got a dog in May 2012 from here (a small one) and she is adorable. The facility has dog training classes every Tuesday and Fridays to help get your dog to be perfect. The time is form 4:00 to 4:45 which is hard for most people but the skills and training from the class are well worth it if you can convince your boss to give you the time off. Did I mention that the classes are free for anyone who adopts. They also do monthly training classes for other special skills for the dogs. These classes are on the weekend and for 2 hours each. The prices for an adoption are very reasonable and the dogs are very healthy once they are ready for adoption. read more

My Kitty Bella is very happy up on the third floor in Worcester. She has a KittyWalk! It is made of iron hoops and a strong fiber net. She goes out every day in the safety of the KittyWalk. I have a bird feeder as well. Bella is now feeling the cold, and she will be inside and sleeping more. Twice a day we play games that have her running after balls and other toys. And then I look for the claws that need trimming. She is polydactyl... Bella would say, "Meow!" but she is usually very silent. She is sitting in a wicker chair in the sunlight. read more

Warl helped my neuter and vaccinate my cats for years. Everytime I go in there, I feel welcomed. I also am glad the way they use Facebook to try to notify owners of animals that have been found to try and reunite them. Please keep up the good work read more

I was searching to adopt a miniature pinscher and all the other shelters had some type of age requirement or living preference before you adopt out. I tried one last time to find a miniature pincher on petfinder.org and came across Skittles. She was incredible beautiful and a puppy, just what I wanted, since it was too late to call or visit I called first thing in the morning. I called and they were very helpful and I end up driving over. They allow me to sit and spend time with Skittles and I filled out the application. The process was very fast and I end up adopting her on the spot. I love this place and if I wanted to adopt another dog I would definitely go through this place here. read more

My family has gotten all our cats from here, they are well taken care of and the staff is very friendly. When one of our cats was sick with cancer, we took him back here to put him out of his misery, and we were so sad to hand him away that one worker cried with us and they let us come back when we were ready to get another kitten for no charge. (since the cat with cancer was only with us for a month so far). Frenchie fave. read more

We were a little concerned about the facility prior to visiting due to the poor reviews we had read on google and other sites. When we got there we found the parking was a bit limited but not uncommon in the city. The staff was nice and we were able to go in the back and see the dogs. The ones we looked at a few different dogs that we were originally interested in and a few that we hadn't originally thought would be a good fit. We went up to the desk and asked about them. They were knowledgable about the dogs and were able to steer us away ones that couldn't be around cats, as we have an 8 year old girl at home. They were also able to answer questions about ones that may be able to be around kids, as we want to start a family a few years from now. We were able to narrow down to two dogs. One we came in wanting to see and a 13 month old who we saw and became interested in. They weren't aware of how either was around cats so individually they were brought into the cat room to see how they reacted. The 13 month old could of cared less and was more afraid of the cats than they were of him. The 2 1/2 year old we had liked unfortunately became very aggressive around the cats and therefor couldn't be a good fit for us. The adoption process is pretty straight forward filling out a form and you can either put a 24 hour hold to make sure everything was ready or take home at that point. We had already done our homework and had dogs before so we took home after filling out the paper work and paying the adoption fee. The staff are very knowledgeable about their dogs and will help quide you to the right one. Just know going in what your wants are and what you can really handle. Some shelter pets need more time to adjust than others, but firm, costant, fair treatment will ensure the dog knows their place and becomes a good companion. My words of caution for adopters are to realize that dogs in shelters are going to be very timid or bark loudly for your attention. It is unfortunate that they do spend most of their day in pen but this isn't untypical of most shelters. Their adoption hours also happen to be the same hours that may people are taking lunch breaks so at times there is not suffficient staff and you may have to wait. We ended up getting a super sweet 13 month old who's very quickly adjusting to life in his new home! read more