I cannot express how much I love this place and the people. They are just incredible! They have so much experience with these little guys. Everything is done with lotsa love and care. They are experts at rat stuff, and tbh they knew a lot more than the first vet we went to. They referred us to our last vet (Center for Bird and Exotic Animal Medicine), who have actual rodent knowledge. Thanks so much for that referral too!! They keep a clean and fun (stimulation is so important for a rat!) environment, and Joann is a real rat tamer. You don't wanna shop, you wanna adopt. When you do, please consider adopting your pocket pals from Best Friend Rodent Rescue!! read more

I came in search of a new cage mate for my elderly lady. Her friend had passed away and boyfriend and I said, "Under no circumstances will there be boys!". Well.. I turned up and Joanne had this HUGE altered B/W hooded boy out. We offered him my hoodie pouch where my old lady rat was hiding. He climbed in. She bruxed; he boggled. The rest is history! She has since moved on and we have since expanded our cage and found 3 more ladies to keep him company. Joanne does the bulk of the work at her rescue. It's chaotic and fun and MAN what a knack for rats she has! She's very good at matching up personalities and finding the right fit (even if it doesn't seem like it'll work at first)! She's quick to drop what she's doing and help rats in need while providing excellent care for those currently residing at the rescue. I'm a die-hard BFRRer now. read more

Best Friend Rodent Rescue - My four rescues! - Animal Shelters Near Me

Little did I know that when I found Joanne and Best Friend Rodent Rescue on Facebook, that I would meet a kindred spirit and have the best adoption experience ever! She has an amazing rodent rescue that she operates out of her home and I adopted 2 adorable baby boys from her. She even offers neuter and spay options for your ratties for only $75! I checked many veterinarians and the lowest I could find was $250. My (neutered) baby boys are now living with my 2 senior girl ratties and they are one big happy family! Thank you Joanne! read more

Best Friends Rodent Rescue is great! Joanne cares so much about rats and takes fantastic care of the rats that come to her. I have adopted two rats from her that she had raised from tiny babies, and they are extremely friendly and well-adjusted. Joanne is very friendly and knowledgeable. She takes great care in making sure her rats are healthy and comfortable. She feeds them a high-quality diet and they get lots of attention. Skip the pet store and adopt a rescued rat from Joanne! read more

We adopted our rat Ruby from BFRR in September 2011. Our boy rat had recently loss his cagemate and we were looking to get a new friend for him. All the rats are in very spacy critter nation/ferret nation cages with enriching things for the rats to do and are very well cared for. I was very impressed by not only the conditions that the rats were in, but with Joann's patience and friendliness. Our introduction was extremely long (2 hrs) because we wanted to make sure our boy would get along with one of the spayed girls and she was very accommodating. We still have Ruby now and she has been an awesome rat! I highly recommend this shelter for rats than getting them a pet store in the local area. This rescue has done great things to help support rats and other critters in need! read more

Love my little babies! Everyone there is obviously so cared for, and Joanne is SO nice ! My new adoption place for any babies I would need. read more

Best Friend Rodent Rescue - This is spooky ! - Animal Shelters Near Me

Best Friend Rodent Rescue is THE place to have many rats to choose from. They are so well socialized and cared for by the rescue's creator. The biggest thing that stood out to me when buying my first ever rat was the level of help I received. Joanne really is an expert. She cares deeply about each individual rat. I had a great adoption experience. Upon adding two more rats, Joanne personally helped me introduce the new little ones to my older boys. She is a real life Mrs. Doolittle! read more

My boyfriend and I sort of became rat parents by accident - rescuing a neglected rat from his landlord. Its companion sadly died before we could save it, and I read that rats do much better in pairs. I was referred to Joanne through an ad I posted on Craigslist. From the beginning, I knew I'd really like Joanne. She's incredibly sweet, caring, and knowledgeable and offered me great tips on how to be the best rat mom. We made the short trip to Kenmore with our newly saved rat in tow so he could help us pick his future companion. The whole experience was awesome and we found a buddy for our new friend. Recently, we expanded our rat family and got two more rats from Joanne's rescue. I can't say enough wonderful things about Joanne, her family, and her awesome rats! read more

This place is WONDERFUL! Joanne runs her rescue out of her own home, attends to all the rescue rats like they are her own, and is a wealth of information for any new rat owner. The rats are well cared for, she sends you off with any supplies you might need, and will continue helping you out/answering any questions you have once you take your new rats home. Highly highly recommend this organization. read more

Definitely the way to go if you're looking for a fancy rat! Joanne knows her stuff and truly loves to help in anyway she can - ask her anything, and she'll know how to help. Forget about adopting from a pet store, where you really won't know how well the little babies are taken care of. Joanne treats her foster rats so well, each of them deserve great lives and she knows it! read more

I agree with all the other reviews, and I highly encourage people to adopt rescue rats...do NOT go to a breeder...there are too many neglected and unwanted rats out there that would love a good home. Joanne is simply the best! My husband and I adopted the two sweetest baby boy brothers from Joanne almost 2 years ago and they are the most wonderful fur kids ever...we adore them and they are part of the family. Joanne REALLY cares about her rats and she is so wonderful to work with! Please consider this rescue if you are thinking of getting rats. Avoid the awful pet stores like the plague. read more

I've adopted 5 mature boy rats, and all have been socialized, healthy and happy. Couldn't ask for a better rescue - for any species. Kudos to BFRR for giving these little souls a chance at happy, fulfilling lives. read more

I agree with the other reviewers. Joanne is the best. My daughter adopted three rats from Best Friend. They're happy, healthy, and well socialized, thanks to Joanne's care. Please don't buy from a pet store that sells "pocket pet" rats and live feeder rats. Joanne has rescued both. She's knowledgeable and loves and respects animals. read more

My family and I have had pet rats over the past several years and after losing our special girl Narcissa a couple years ago to old age we had decided we could no longer handle the heartbreak of rats and their short lifespans. Fast forward to this past Fall. My daughters began begging me to let them get rats again. I kept saying no, husband kept saying no (he's not a rat person AT. ALL.). But then we relented and I began looking for rats to adopt on Craigslist. That's where I found Joanne and Best Friend Rodent Rescue. I followed her link to her Facebook page and quickly became a fan and took a look. My 4 year old fell in love with one of her hairless boys and another boy on her page and I began chatting with Joanne. Right from the start, she was sweet and nice to us. My 11 year old daughter and future animal rescuer wanted to help out at Joanne's in home rescue so I asked her if we could come out and she gladly invited us over. She was so nice!! We spent the afternoon with her and all her sweet rats...sad to say we didn't get a whole lot of cleaning done but we came away with 3 (not 2, lol) of her sweet boy rats and a nice cage setup. These rats are the sweetest we have ever had, she really puts a lot of time and effort into socializing the rats who come through her rescue! We plan on adopting from her again in the near future!! Even my husband, who isn't a fan of rats at all admits these are by far the most wonderful rats ever!! Thanks, Joanne! read more

I adopted two rat boys after fostering them for this shelter. This shelter saves many lives and they have adorable critters.

I needed to surrender my pet rat and I heard a lot of good things about Best Friends Rodent Rescue. I was very disappointed in how things were handled. The reason I went to them was because I wanted her to get a good home. Joanne told me she would be happy to take the pet rat. Joanne kept saying she had to wait until the next weekend to take the rat. She said that every weekend. I kept waiting and being patient, eventually she quit responding to my e-mail's and phone calls. read more