I volunteer with ARFhouse walking dogs and holding them at adoption events. This is a great organization 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. read more

ARFhouse Chicago - Animal Shelters Near Me

Like many of the other reviewers, I wish I could rate zero stars. I don't really need to explain, just 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". read more

I rescued a wonderful dog in the fall of 2010 from this organization. I am extremely thankful for him in my life and that I rescued him from this horribly run organization. I have been trying in the past six months to get in contact with the Linda Vegan to switch my dogs microchip identification tag to myself as the primary, rather than Arfhouse Chicago. She would not respond. After visiting the vet last week (for a routine check-up), I discussed with them my concerns. Not only did my vet have strong words against the organization, but strongly encouraged me to (1) put my dog in my will so he never goes back to them, but (2) to call the microchip organization and switch it over myself. She was kind enough to provide me with the mircochip number in my dog and the number to call. I was shocked, appalled and horrified to call Avid today and discover that no one had ever registered the chip in the first place. I had been operating under an assurance that if my beloved family member had gotten away, he would be scanned and somehow gotten back to me. I was incorrect. I have immediately corrected this error and he has been registered and Arfhouse Chicago will never, ever, EVER get their hands on him again. The sad part of this is that ARFHouse Chicago has a lot of dogs that deserve good homes. But I would strongly caution everyone from getting involved with them as it is mismanaged and very disorganized. read more

If you want to abandon your dog for some bullshit reason or another, you should hardly expect someone to hold you by the hand and tell you that it's totally cool and easy to do so. All the 1 star reviews are from people that live in an ivory tower and have not witnessed an INKLING of the unspeakable cruelty, neglect and ignorance that those of us who work in rescue have. I, too, will hate your guts if you tell me that you want to get rid of your dog because you're having a baby (this makes me *livid*), or it is no longer convenient to you, or you are too lazy to take on the responsibility of rehoming your "beloved" pet yourself. Both my absolutely amazing Arf alumnis, Ginger and Darby, are my life and so is dog welfare/pitbull advocacy. Nothing could make me part with my pups and my heart breaks for animals that're tossed away like yesterday's newspaper. With that said, bravo to Linda and to Arfhouse Chicago. She does fantastic work and has committed herself entirely to her cause. The things you've quoted her as saying are quite tame compared to many things that've come out of my mouth, and I haven't even seen a tenth of the horrors that she has. If you're "offended" by her words, you need a serious reality check. Responsibility to the responsible. At the end of the day, though, it's not even about the rescue you choose to adopt from. It's about the fact you ARE adopting a pet and saving a life rather than buying a puppy from some money-hungry asshole. So chill out, stop hating and appreciate the work that any and all rescues do. read more

I rarely, if ever, rate a business 1 star. I know that a negative review can have a major impact, sometimes for the worst. I am very reluctant to write one, but not for ARF House. I must give ARF House 1 star (which is, to many Yelpers, 0 stars). ((( You may skip the following part to get to the point. It's mostly about the situation of Halpert. Although I recommend reading the first paragraph. ))) Long story short: Halpert, my cat, has behavioral issues. They have worsen since Curtis started working after school in addition to his regular hours. He is gone for about 14 hours each day. My workload has increased tremendously, and I am in the studio or class during the day. Before, I was home all the time. Halpert was happy. Now, he's not. He is miserable. As a result of his loneliness, he has been spray-marking much more than usual. He also goes outside of his litterbox, regardless of how often it is cleaned. We have dealt with his issues since the beginning (and we've tried everything but hire a behavioral specialist - we can't afford one), but since we are hardly home, we can't monitor him as closely. He only scent-marks when we are away. I love the fuzzbutt very much, and I feel it would be very beneficial to find him another home. A home in which he has someone. Someone he doesn't have to wait all day (and more) for. I don't want to do this ... and I've cried. [Halpert is sleeping next to me right now with only his front paws stretched out. It is such a cute sight, I tell you. *sigh*] On another note, we are moving. The new place has a pet security deposit and a monthly pet fee. Forget all that. I am already more than willing to go out across the city to find his special foods, and pay 3x more than regular pet food for them. What's a few dollars a month? This new place though, is carpeted. With his frequent issue, carpet and more will be ruined. Okay, fine, we can get a steam vacuum cleaner, whatever. It takes a few minutes to clean up his mess. Does that remedy his loneliness though? Not at all. We may even keep Halpert. Nothing is set in stone yet. We have a month to decide whether or not we will, and during this time find him a possible home. (((... continued from the top... ))) I wrote an e-mail to ARF House tonight. I listed Halpert's behavioral issues as well as his qualities. I admit, "giving him up" was a poor choice of words in the e-mail. It sounds like we would just abandon him. More accurate is "finding him a better home in which he will have more human companionship". I got an e-mail from the organization. It reads: "You have great timing. We have a whole line of people waiting for a cat who urinates all over everything and has behavioral issues. You love the cat but can't deal with the issues any longer. You write a whole list of all the great things about the cat. Yet, you are dumping the cat because you can't handle the cat's issues. What a selfish, horrible thing to do. You're ridiculous." ... I am extremely BEYOND offended by that message. It is too easy to judge others over the internet. I believe that had I sat down with her face-to-face and explained my situation in greater detail, she would not have been that rude. I read the e-mail aloud to Curtis. He said to ignore it. It's one thing if it's an individual, but it is an ANIMAL RESCUE that sent me that message. So, this is what I wrote back in response: "Linda, Instead of sending an insulting and judgmental e-mail message, which is unprofessional for /any/ organization, a polite decline could have sufficed. You represent your organization, which has good intentions (as do other animal rescues). Your message has left a strong and extremely negative first impression instead of a respected one. - J.R." ... Get this, I get an e-mail a minute later stating that SHE BLOCKED ME. And ARF House is *supposed* to be a compassionate organization. I feel they are quite the opposite at this point. Oh, and I find it funny that the word "vegan" is in her e-mail address. I'm vegetarian, and wow ... how hypocritical is it to talk down to other people when we [veg*ns] are supposed to be "more moral" and "kind" to other human and non-human beings. In any case, ARF House, you disappoint me tremendously. You help animals, I like that. However, you came off as self-righteous and presumptuous. ZERO fucking stars. read more

We just picked up our new American Bulldog,Montana today. We had a meet and greet with Linda and Rebecca on Wednesday so our other dog and Montana could meet and so that our trainer could evaluate Montana's temperament. The rescue had no problems with having such a meeting-so huge bonus points for that(some rescues only want to use their own people to evaluate). The application was quite lengthy and asked for multiple references, but I have no problems with that. They just want to make sure the animals go to better places than they came from. If you are looking for a dog,cat or other furry critter(they also have rabbits and some other rodents),give ARF House Chicago a call or send them an e-mail. Very prompt response and they do rescue dogs and cats from kill shelters!!Kudos to all who work with this group! If you want to see pics of Montana,look in my profile! read more

ARFhouse Chicago has some of the worst reviews I've ever seen on Yelp. While my experience wasn't as bad as the worst of these, I can say that based on my experience with ARFHouse Chicago, and compared to my experience with several other comparable all-volunteer rescue organizations, ARFHouse Chicago is incompetent. I saw one of their adoptable dogs at a street fair. I followed the instructions on their website, and contacted them by email about adopting the dog. I received no response. A week later, I emailed again. Again, no response. A few days later, I phoned and left a message. Still, no response. At this point, I gave up. I have adopted animals from several rescue organizations, and ARFHouse Chicago is the only one that did not respond to my communications within a reasonable amount of time. It's really a shame. There's such a need for rescue organizations. If ARFHouse Chicago can't get it together to function as well as their colleagues -- at a level of administration sufficient to adopt out the animals in their care, a function that is, after all, their primary reason for being -- then they have no business being in business. read more

I frankly don't know how to rate ARF House, as I'm used to dissing on pasta or raving about pancakes! We volunteer there as dog walkers and have always had wonderful interactions with the staff, including Linda and Tex. In fact, when we went to pick up Keebler and Nick today for a stroll, they were adopting this adorable lover pup, Gracie. Housed at the Mutt Hutt, ARF House is a dog lovers shelter, about the dogs, not the frills. They take really good care of their pups and you can really feel the love and care with which they approach adoptions and volunteers alike. As Spring approaches, you know you want one!! read more

We completed an application for a dog we met at PAWS on a Saturday - an ArfHouse volunteer had the dog there. Our daughter fell in love with the dog. We were told someone else had already filled out an application and we would be contacted in a few days. NEVER contacted and never replied to our follow-up e-mail. Try explaining that to a child who asks regularly if they gave the dog to someone else. I would suggest avoiding this organization if you have children. The lack of follow-up is difficult for them to process. We adopted a dog from The Animal Care League in Oak Park. They are amazing!! read more

If only you could give 0 stars.... I had photos of my dog up all over my neighborhood, someone called me and let me know that she had seen my dog at the vet's office who told me that this "shelter" had brought him in. I tracked him down, and brought in my sign saying he was mine. They wouldn't let me take him in spite of posters with his photo on them, his vet records and rabies tag, other photos of him I brought in, the shelter who adopted him calling them to verify that I was the owner, and a policeman asking Linda Widmer who owns the place why she wouldn't reunite an owner with someone who lost their dog. In my experience, every single other shelter I had contacted that week would call me back immediately, and follow up to see if I'd found him. Linda Widmer never returned one of my repeated calls to her about the information I'd gotten noting that her shelter had my dog. Additionally, they do not follow Chicago law about strays, taking them in when officially all strays need to go through Animal Care and Control or the Animal Welfare League who farm them out to local shelters. I'd been at Animal Care every night that week. It took me calling the cops twice and 7 hours, until they let me take my dog home. Additionally, the owner of Mutt Hutt shouted at me on the sidewalk outside her place as we walked away. From my experience here, they are mean, horrible people. I agree 100% with Ruby's review here. I encountered similarly absurdly childish and simply cruel treatment and insults at this place, both from Linda and a guy who must've been "Tex" and another "volunteer." The other girl was so upset by the whole scene she was crying. Not good! I'm guessing I must have been dealing with the same devil's spawn who had been emailing Ruby, as this girl was telling the cops I'd been hitting her, "We have it on video." I noted that they should press Play -- apparently she is unaware of how video works. They had been keeping my dog at the Mutt Hutt on Grand Avenue for 2 days before they'd taken him to the vet, which is disconcerting from the perspective that if I were paying Mutt Hutt to watch my dog, I'd not want him socializing with stray dogs not yet taken to a vet. But that's just me... maybe I'm too picky? *More, "Tex" noted that "Linda Widmer is the kindest woman I know. She takes care of 400 dogs on a farm in Indiana." A little bell went off for me when I heard that number, and from speaking with folks in the pet industry since then, there's a term called "hoarder," which is the hoarding of animals thinking that only you can take care of them. That could be at play with this Linda character. UPDATE: (Dec. 18, 2009) Wow. I got a note from someone here, "Ruby," who I mention in my review, whose review had noted being treated very, very poorly here also, and whose 1-star Mutt Hut review has been deleted. I read her review here before I wrote mine, and had surmised that she and I likely had interacted with the same employee, who had treated me very cruelly, lying and being just super-mean to me. This is the description that Ruby's review had noted also, which I had read here, and which is oddly now missing. If this site is supposed to reflect the honest opinions and reviews of folks who have had experiences at various local businesses, then negative reviews being deleted seems highly unwise. If the site becomes a forum for only positive reviews, the site becomes useless. UPDATE: (June 25, 2012) I am now super-leery of "shelters" who have no physical address. I was nervous to write one part of my original interaction with this place, but see another Yelper saying the same thing that happened to me, so -- I am convinced that this place stole my dog they later refused to give back to me. I left for an hour, my dog in his preferred spot my locked-gate yard, when I got home he was not in the yard and my gate was open. He was "lost," yet he is a dog who doesn't run away and just meanders nearby if "loose", and actually runs back when called, which I did along with driving around, posting a million signs, etc. Trying to get him back that day at Mutt Hutt, after the cop asked Linda Widmer, "Why don't you want to reunite an owner with her dog?" Linda noted, "She doesn't take care of him." How does a shelter know what I do or don't do? The rest is in my original review above. read more

It really does pain me to say this about a no-kill Chicago shelter, but this is one that, in my opinion, you should pass by. My whole ordeal with ARFHouse started with the application process. I understand that a lot of adoption groups aren't able to quickly respond to every possible adopter, but it would be nice to at least hear back from them at all, regardless of what the decision is. I would also expect that the group be able to accept truthful constructive criticism about their procedures without responding with anger. After submitting an online application, I waited and waited, but never received any response on it. My wife and I attended a number of summer festivals and events here in Chicago, and ARFHouse was tabling at a few of these events. When we politely inquired about our application status, we were repeatedly given further and further dates that we could expect a response. At one point, we specifically asked about one dog that seemed like a good fit based on their online profile. We were then told that the dog's personality was starkly different from what was listed online, a strongly-negative personality description that contradicted much of the profile. However, ARFHouse never saw fit to alter the dog's profile in any meaningful way, even after a number of weeks of being prominently placed on their web site. Based on this, my strong suspicion is that this was an underhanded way of pushing us away, rather than being honest about the situation and the dog. After I personally had one more very brief conversation with the head of ARFHouse at a large street-side adoption event, and was given yet another date to expect a response (a date that was months after our application was submitted), we finally resigned ourselves to the idea that the group would not be straightforward and honest with us regarding our application. We inquired about a dog at another no-kill shelter, and eventually adopted that dog. After all of these events, we decided that it was appropriate to post an online review regarding the issues that we had with our adoption application. Within a day of posting this review, the head of ARFHouse, Linda Widmer Cairo, sent my wife a particularly inflammatory email. In this email, she referred to being "relieved" that she would no longer have to speak to us, and that we were unjustified in posting a truthful negative review. She also insinuated that we were purposely attending summer events solely to speak with her. I can personally deny that this was the case. In most cases where one or both of us spoke with the group at a summer festival/event, we were unaware ahead of time that they would even be tabling there. Based on this response, I am deeply concerned that ARFHouse does not have application procedures that are fair to the dogs who sit in temporary housing situations, deprived of a loving forever home in a reasonable amount of time. I understand that the people that run these groups have a lot on their plate, and that it is a very stressful line of work. However, it is work that pays off when you can find a dog or cat a stable and caring home for the rest of their lives. If the group begins to see potential adopters as burdensome, and strings them along with futile months-long promises of a response, it seems to go against everything that a humane organization is based on. The worst part of this situation is that, for every dog that is not adopted from a shelter organization that is at full capacity, there are dogs being turned over to ACC and euthanized for lack of space. When ARFHouse finds a home for a dog, it opens up a space for them to save another dog on a kill list. As a result, it is extremely important that no-kill shelters find safe and stable homes for the dogs in their care, and I am deeply concerned that ARFHouse is not fully living up to this responsibility. read more

This is a small local shelter run by a few very dedicated volunteers. Linda runs this organization through her vision. Her primary concern is the homeless animals not humans with excuses about why they cannot keep their dogs! Linda can be a little harsh but if you "get" her you understand why. It is not personal. This small no-kill shelter wants to adopt their dogs to the right person or family ONCE and careful screening is the key. A pet is a commitment "until death do us part". Not everyone gets that. Please folks, give all these dedicated, experienced, animal advocate volunteers a little credit! read more

This organization is amazing and inspiring. It is 100% volunteer run and actively seeks to find homes - and save the lives - of animals that have been passed over because of their age, breed, or health problem. These animals should never be in a shelter in the first place - adopting an animal is like adopting a child. You can't get rid of your child because he/she has a health problem, etc...it's just too bad many people view animal ownership like that though. You can walk into a store and buy your food or new clothes but you should not be able to walk in and buy an animal just like that - it's a commitment. I fully support the outlook of this organization and hope others will look into them deeper than some other peoples reviews. P.S. I WILL be volunteering with them. read more

I think the Arf House is a wonderful organization! In July of 2010, a friend of mine told me about a 5 week old orange and white kitten who had been found in an abandoned building. This wonderful kitten, otherwise known as Frisco, was found all alone with no mother or any other siblings. I have another orange and white cat who I also adopted from another "well known" agency, who tried to talk me out of adopting him! Against this organizations recommendation, I adopted this supposedly "mean" cat and he turned out to be an angel! Anyway, my friend told me about this kitten and after I heard his story (and seeing how beautiful he was!), I could not help but to contact the Arf House. I spoke to Linda and she told me that I would need to fill out an application and take an interview. I did these things and was accepted to adopt Frisco!!! I was so excited! Frisco was trapped under some debris from the building and had to have some surgery on his paw. When I went to get him, he was sooooo cute and little. I took him home and introduced him to Charlie (who of course was not happy about the new addition to our family at 1st). I called Linda on a few occasions to ask for advice and she was more than willing to give me several pointers. Since I adopted Frisco at such a young age, he had not had all of his shots and also still needed to be neutered. Linda was more than happy to help me set up all of the appointments and I had no trouble getting everything taken care of. Anytime anyone I know of is looking to adopt a new family member, I tell them to check out the Arf House website before looking anywhere else. I had such a wonderful experience with this organization and appreciate Linda's passion and love for animals!!! I would recommend this establishment to anyone looking to adopt a new family member or even to volunteer. UPDATE: You cannot ask for an application at the Arf House because everything is done online. Also, you do not even pick your adopted friend from the Arf House, you pick them up from another location. The Arf House is an organization, not an establishment. I am a bit confused by the person who went into the Arf House to request an application. There is nowhere to walk into!!!! It seems to me that the person who wrote this is making up a review......Just sayin...... read more

My family and I adopted an adorable Chihuahua mix (Chuy) from ARF House Chicago two months ago. While Chuy is a delightful little pet, he did not mesh well with our Shih Tzu, and (in our opinion) prefers to be an only child. We reluctantly decided Chuy needed a family that could provide the undivided attention he requires and deserves. I sent Linda Widmer an e-mail, explaining our situation in detail, asking how I should proceed. She curtly replied that I could return our pet anytime during regular business hours. I was heartsick as I drove our little guy to the Mutt Hut. As I entered the shop and said hello, not one of the four associates present responded. Linda deliberately looked down at her desk and avoided eye contact. What happened next had to have been preplanned by Linda, as it happened so quickly. Both Linda and another young woman snatched Chuy away from me, grabbed the crate, and headed immediately to the back room. I just stood there with my mouth open. The young woman turned around and rudely said to me, "YOU CAN GO NOW." As I turned to leave, I said to the two minions behind the counter, "Is there a reason why everyone is being so rude?" They gave me blank stares. Linda then emerged from the back room and said, "RUDE AS OPPOSED TO WHAT?" I said, "As opposed to...friendly?" She then said, "AND WE WOULD BE OBLIGATED TO BE FRIENDLY TO YOU BECAUSE?" I responded, "Because... it's good business?" She said nothing, and left the room. I said to the two minions, "We adopted a dog, it didn't work out, and I had to bring him back; I don't understand why I'm being treated this way." Again, blank stares, no response. I left feeling heartbroken, confused, and offended for being treated like an ax-murderer. I was somewhat consoled when, as I drove home, my husband dictated to me the numerous negative on-line comments about Linda and how she has mistreated others. She is a lover of animals and a hater of people. How sad for her... read more

After looking around at several different animal shelters and rescue organizations, I decided to let Linda and the ARF house assist me in adopting a cute little pit-bull puppy. I found the process to be thorough, but very necessary to ensure that I was the right person for the adoption. Linda seemed to ask the right questions and had very accurate responses for my questions. I would reccomend the ARF House to anyone interested in saving an animal and finding a new addition to their family. read more

First let me say, I'm all for animal rescue, animals having a voice etc. My primary complaint is with the director, Linda. My boyfriend and I wanted to adopt a dog someone we knew was fostering through Arfhouse. We filled out the application, I spoke with Linda over the phone and set up a time to see the dog and complete the adoption process. In the course of talking, my boyfriend was speaking about dogs with behavioral issues and that years ago he had a dog with severe issues; biting the children and pretty much psychotic behavior. He gave the dog to a rescue place and the woman was going to keep the dog and try to train him. Based solely on this, Linda refused us the dog on the spot, completely lectured my boyfriend for a good half hour about how irresponsible he was, about how the only "acceptable" reason for giving up a dog is death, She even went so far as to say that even if you are homeless you need to keep your pet because if you are able to find shelter and feed yourself, then you should be able to do that for the dog as well. She lectured him on not taking the dog to a behavioral therapist (to his defense, he did look into it but didn't have the $300 per session to work with this biting, psychotic dog). She wouldn't even let him explain the whole situation because in her eyes, no reason is good enough to give away a pet. She also said that she wouldn't even adopt out a pet to some of her own family members. I understand they have "rules", but Linda is on a big power trip. She went on and on saying that she is the sole decision maker and cannot be swayed into letting us take the dog (the dog btw has nervous issues and they were trying to find a home for him in the suburbs because city noises are too much for him). I honestly don't know how they are able to adopt out the dogs they take in. There are probably many nice families that she has turned away, that would love and care for their adopted pet. She wouldn't even give us a chance to just foster the dog and do check-ins to make sure he was adapting properly. The way she spoke to myself and my boyfriend was very unprofessional. After we left, she told the woman fostering the dog that if I was willing to kick out my boyfriend and break up with him, only then could I have the dog. WTF? So, we completely wasted our time traveling from Joliet to Grand and Ogden (Mutt Hutt) to only be told we are terrible people and would never be able to adopt a dog from them. This whole experience really upset me, but that's ok; there are plently of shelters out there and I'm confident we will find the right dog for our family. read more

if you want to find an amazing dog to be part of your family, please ignore the negative reviews and go to arf house. We adopted our dog, Violet, from here about 2 years ago and it was an amazing experience. The owner, Linda, was very knowledgeable about Violet, her history, and her behavior. She spent a TON of time making sure we were going to be the right home for Violet and ensuring that we would provide a high quality diet, exercise, and love for this dog. A day or two after we brought Violet home, we noticed she was lethargic and seemed to be getting sick. I immediately called Linda, who responded right away and told us to take her to Family Pet, the vet that arf house uses and they would pay for it. It turned out that Violet had pneumonia and had to be admitted to their "hospital" for a day or two. They also determined that her heart was enlarged, which the vet thought could be a complication of the pneumonia, but could also be a serious condition. Family Pet contacted Linda, recommending that they run some additional tests the next time the vet cardiologist was at Family Pet. Linda agreed to pay for the cardiologist visit and test, along with Violet's hospitalization. She also listened to me bawl my head off thinking that Violet could die, helped calm me down, answered a million questions, and followed up with me to find out how everything was going. To make a long story short, Violet recovered quickly from her pneumonia, and once the pneumonia was cleared up, her heart test came back normal. She is an amazing dog for our family and arf house was incredible to deal with through all of her health issues. I found Linda to be incredibly responsive, kind, and lovely to interact with. She clearly loves the animals and wants to find good homes for all of them. If she makes it hard for people to just abandon their pets, well... maybe she just wants people to do the right thing by the pets they have instead of getting rid of them because it's so easy.... if you're getting rid of a pet, maybe arf house isn't the place to go; but their business is placing pets in homes, and they do that fantastically! read more

I applied to see a dog at ARFhouse on April 6th and never heard anything back from them. Their policy is that if you do not hear back from them in 5 days your application has been rejected. I was extremely shocked to have been denied considering I have grown up with dogs, have money to support a dog, have time to be with the dog, have trained a puppy, love dogs, etc. etc. So I wrote ARFhouse an email asking if they could please let me know why I was rejected, because they may see something that I do not and make me reconsider a dog. Maybe they (being the EXPERTS right?) could help me see why a dog may not be the right step for me now. Again its been over a week and no response back. I am just appalled and frustrated at this system. I am trying to HELP rescue a dog and I get no feedback whatsoever. I have spoken with my family vet (who is involved with shelters) and everyone that I tell this story to cannot believe that my application was denied AND that I haven't received any info back. Even after reading all the negative aspects surrounding ARFhouse on Yelp I decided to make that application anyway. Wow all of you are so right about this place. I feel bad for the dogs in foster homes who could have a real permanent home with lots of love, but ARFhouse is too self-righteuos to even bother. WHAT A SHAME! read more

My husband and I just adopted a dog through ARF House and everyone involved was so wonderful, helpful and just a pleasure to work with. This is truly a wonderful volunteer based organization. So many of the people involved have full time jobs and devote their personal time to raising money, caring for animals and finding them forever homes. We are first time dog owners and learned so much from Linda. We were given tons of helpful information to make sure his transition from foster home to forever home is an easy one. I am so excited to have adopted through ARF house, really a wonderful organization. read more

Hi my name is joe s i was looking for a dog at paws about two months ago .and i found a chicago shelter there showing dogs a group named arfhouse. the lady that runs arf linda widmer was extremely friendly to me. i was really clueless about the whole adoption process and even caring for a dog this being my first one .she took the time step by step walking me through the entire process and completely educating me how to properly care for my animal .since then i have adopted another companion for my dog. linda widmer is such a wonderfull caring person if you want a dog check arf house out . joe .s read more