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One Tail at a Time

4.8 (174 reviews)
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Arnie!!
Debbie L.

We adopted Arnie, our lovey wonderful dog, from OTAT in late summer 2018. Everything about the experience there was wonderful. I have and will continue to recommend them to anyone looking to adopt.

sleepy pup
Jinhee K.

One Tail at a Time changed my life! I was never a big dog lover - always thought they were cute but never thought id actually want one of my own until i met Eddie, a small 10 month old bundle of love i fostered through OTAT. He was already house trained (although he did mark his territory as soon as he arrived...but all is forgiven because he's so cute), isnt destructive (no biting or chewing on anything in the house), is soooo gentle (doesnt bark at other dogs or people) which made taking him in soooo easy. Poor pup had an ear infection when I took him in but all his medical supplies were taken care of by OTAT and I just had to administer at home. The food, toys, crate etc were also all taken care of by OTAT which made fostering so easy and pretty much no cost. The staff is super responsive and helpful - I have never had a pet of my own before so I had no idea what I had to do to help him settle into the house, brush his teeth, etc but the foster coordinator/resources that OTAT sent me were all great. they also provide temporary fosters for times I will be away which makes traveling really easy as well. Eddie is sweet, loving, good with other dogs, and hilarious (he gives these big sighs when I ignore him begging for food) Also, if you foster a dog, you have a window of time where you can be "prioritized" for adoption which is really nice because it's only been a week but I already can't imagine a life without him. pretty sure I will be adopting him (foster fail whoops haha) I'm literally spending all my free time (and money) shopping for cute sweaters to put him in and toys to have him play with. I am absolutely in love and my life is forever changed! I'm not sure if I was just really lucky with a great pup so I can't guarantee everyone has the same experience as me but fostering through OTAT is REALLY great if you are trying to see if you can manage having a dog of your own.

Cassidy B.

Like many others, my partner and I wanted to foster a pup during the shelter-in-place orders. We submitter a foster application and were contacted within just a day or two for the interview. It was a very informative and friendly process. As with many other rescues in Chicago at this time, there are more fosters than there are pups (what a problem, right?!). With a small team working overtime during a global pandemic, One Tail has still done a wonderful job keeping up with sharing available dogs with fosters. It took some time for us to finally receive a foster dog but we did! One Tail has an exceptional library of resources and support for fosters: Facebook group, a resource guide book, a foster coordinator and even foster mentors. When we were encountering a few training issues with our foster pup, the volunteer foster mentors responded to our email within minutes. Their advice was friendly and incredibly helpful. We never felt alone in the process and greatly appreciated the strong support system for fosters. We had such a great experience that we ended up adopting our foster! One Tail facilitated the adoption process with kindness and ease. We received our pup's medical records digitally and the adoption fee covered initial medical costs like vaccines. From seeing the Facebook group, I know that One Tail takes great care to place these dogs in the right home. If you adopt through One Tail, you know that you'll be getting a dog that will be the right fit for your home and circumstances which is a great comfort! I would recommend One Tail at a Time to anyone!

My sweet OTAT rescue
Missy B.

All I can say is- AMAZING. They were so helpful in the adoption process & got me to my best friend. I love this organization so much & have continued with them through volunteering & becoming a member of the board. They truly love their animals, whether that be a dog, cat or rabbit!! Adopt, don't shop & check this place out for your next fur baby.

Our Foster - Gilda
Courtney R.

We had the opportunity to foster through OTAT and honestly we were pretty nervous about it going into the experience. We had never fostered a dog before, but had a good amount of experience growing up with lots of dogs. It's so apparent how much the staff and volunteers of OTAT truly care about their animals and the community of Chicago, and finding the best fit for each of the animals in their care. Our foster coordinator and volunteer contacts provided for our foster dog were available to answer our questions at any hour, dropped off supplies to us so that we didn't have to venture to the store during the COVID season, and were so genuine though it all. I would recommend volunteering, fostering, adopting through them any day! Plus their pups are really cute, check them out :)

Hilary D.

How I adopted my dog through One Tail at a Time: Sunday - fell in love with my dog on their Instagram Monday - filled out an application on their website Tuesday - met my dog at her foster's home Wednesday - committed to adopt her through email Saturday - picked her up at the adoption center! And just like that, I adopted my best furiend! ** bonus points for the all-hands-on-deck community that comes along with rescuing through them!!! Facebook groups, info sheets, recommendations for all dog related things. Just an amazing experience!

Nicole K.

In spring of last year, my mom lost her long time fur companion. When she was ready to find a new dog, she went to one tail at a time. I was familiar with the process so I instructed her to fill out an application and start looking at the website for available dogs. She found Willow soon after and they have been been inseparable since Fast forward a few months, I was following one tails social media pages and they posted about needing fosters. I started my first fostering in November, foster failed and adopted Narwhal in December :)

Mallory B.

We adopted our Sunny from OTAT and they were so helpful throughout the process. They are so busy but still answered our questions. We had stopped by their facility several times to meet other dogs and they were always accommodating. They go above and beyond for their dogs and have taken in a lot of high need pooches. They also take back pets that can no longer be cared for, which is admirable. Sunny loves OTAT!

Adopted the best boy in the world.
Amanda S.

OTAT is amazing! Fostered & adopted through One Tail. The amount of support they give you is unparalleled, and the community is so supportive as well. They do so much to save dogs, to educate everyone about dog behavior and care, and to support the communities of Chicago. They're amazing and I can't wait to get a house so we can adopt a second.

Carolyn H.

We connected to OTAT thru others in rescue and did our research. There's w wide array of rescues in the Chicago area, large/small, brick and mortar/foster only, etc. We did our research, and liked a lot of what OTAT stands for: - best fit for both pets and people - stuff happens in life, don't dwell on a pet's past or judge their owners, move them forward - pet rescue is a part of bettering the community - solve the current issues, and fix the future...they're active in shelter intervention, trying to keep pets with families wherever possible - they're active in community days that help with food, vaccinations, appropriate collars/leashes (many times those with little funds take in strays, etc, sharing what little they have...an extra helping hand goes a long way for pets and owners So with all that, after we lost our 16yr old JRT mix, it was a natural to check in with OTAT, where we found our little "Mouse". We're thankful to have him, and thought OTAT was great thru, and after, the adoption process. We expect to be members of the OTAT fam for a long time to come.

Tracy R.

I recently adopted my dog, Dasher, through One Tail at a Time and they were amazing to work with. I initially inquired about another dog that was just adopted, but they got back to me and suggested another dog that might be a fit, and he was! They were very helpful and responsive throughout the process. This is definitely an organization that cares about saving animals and helping them find their forever homes!

OTAT Alum, Ruthie (FKA Gummy Bear)

I've both fostered and adopted through OTAT. They are an extremely professional rescue organization. Great protocols, resources and support groups for both fosters and adopters. Adopted a HW+ dog from them and she received great care from OTAT, along with my vet after adoption. They are smart about matching dogs to the right home. After applying for a couple of dogs & fostering 2 dogs, happy to finally have the perfect dogg-o match!

Suzy K.

I worked with OTAT for the first time this year during the pandemic. I fostered 3 puppies until I found the perfect pup for me! Their team of trainers and matchmakers were super helpful and explained exactly why my lifestyle would or wouldn't be a good match for a pup! It's been over six months since I adopted Zoey and OTAT has been super supportive pre and post adoption. I loved working with their team and donating to all of their animal and community needs!!!

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The best in town. I volunteer here occasionally because I love working with people who truly love the animals they serve.

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Ask the Community - One Tail at a Time

Do they have cats kittens?

One Tail at a Time does have cats and kittens in foster as well as our new location - Tortie & Co.!

How old do you have to be to volunteer at One Tail at a Time?

18 years or older.

I want to find a puppy that i can call my own. I lost my little dog 2 years ago i loved him so much. So i need a dog to love and care for again. Anybody know of good places to get small dogs?

One Tail at a Time has dogs of all sizes and ages. Give them a look.

View All 4 Questions

Review Highlights - One Tail at a Time

OTAT was very honest about Mavis' personality,and looked into my lifestyle to make sure we would all thrive

Mentioned in 96 reviews

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Anti-Cruelty - Adoptable female cat, Lotus, posing for a photo as staff prepare the adoption center for the day's visitors.

Anti-Cruelty

(464 reviews)

River North, Near North Side

Great staff. I had researched cats on line and knew the one I wanted to meet. The staff were great,…read moremeet went well and the adoption process was easy. The huge problem was my cat was starving. When I looked at the records this small cat lost 20% of her body weight in about 3 months. When I got her home and fed her the same food she couldn't keep it down. If I continued with feeding her that food, and I added a good quality canned food, same issue, she wouldn't have last 6 weeks. Luckily a friend gave me a bag of food which I tried. 3 months later she is healthy, great weight and happy. I know they are a huge number of animals to watch but even their vets commented on how skinny she was and how she was losing weight. There is some lack.

Have been trying to adopt a surrender. We've talked to several people about this and each one…read morepromised to call back. We know the person that surrendered him and this is where he took him. First we were told he had been neutered and it would be a couple of days. They knew we were going to take the dog! Called today, got the run-around, put in hold and then disconnected. Called back and was told the dog was "transferred" but they would not divulge where he was taken. We were told a manager would call back ... didn't happen. Sent an e-mail to Darlene, the president, again no response. How sad. I used to donate a lot of money to this shelter, but stopped because of poor practices. I'll send my money to Felines and Canines. They genuinely care about the animals. Please don't take your dogs there!

Tree House Humane Society

Tree House Humane Society

(224 reviews)

West Rogers Park

I am a crazy cat lady. With that said, I always look for excuses to pat more cats I can find. On…read moreone October off-work day, I made a reservation for the "Tree House Humane Society" cafe to see some cats in West Rogers Park. Reservation was done online and no deposit was needed. I paid $10 onsite which included a drink or pastry of my choice and 30 min play time with these feline beauties. When I arrived at the cafe at the scheduled time, the young lady at the cafe informed me there was only one cat in the cafe area but offered me to see some more cats upstairs. Honestly, that was a great trade-off even though she kept apologizing to me for the inconvenience. I was able to enjoy my iced chai and visited some kittens and adult cats in different colonies. Toys and hand sanitizers were provided as we entered and exited each colony. The barista lady introduced me to the cats that were awake for some playtime. Too bad 30 minutes went by way to fast and it was time for me to leave. "Tree House Humane Society" is near the 49B (Western) bus stop. I personally had to take 3 busses from my house to get there, so I do recommend driving since parking should not be too hard to find. There are spots by the building for the patrons I assume.

What an impressive rescue shelter. It was the first stop on our journey to find a new cat. After…read morereviewing all of the adoptable felines, we fell in love with a small 1 year old cat that they called Toaster. She is perfect. Because of Bissell's Clear Out The Shelters" special (May 1- May 17) adoption fees were reduced from $115 to $70.

New Leash On Life - NLOL alumni Olivia happily living it up in Southern California!

New Leash On Life

(44 reviews)

The Loop

I want to give more than 5 stars for NLOL. Our adoption counselor Jackie is just amazing in terms…read moreof support she provides! She checks in with me about the dog almost everyday provide appropriate support and guidance every time when I was faced with difficulties because the dog was not fully house trained. NLOL offers two week foster period before adoption, which is a wonderful mechanism to get to know the dog before the big commitment. I am still in the middle of the foster period but I am just beyond impressed by the support I was given. It has been an wonderful experience so far. I would recommend NLOL to everyone who is considering adopting a dog!

If you read nothing else - fostering with New Leash on Life is the best, no-regrets decision I ever…read moremade. If you want more details about how and why I reached this conclusion, read on. I wanted to volunteer with animals, and I was frustrated by the larger organizations extremely limited opportunities and complicated process to volunteer. No, I didn't want to read a 50 page manual and take a test just to clean cages. I wanted to make a big difference in the lives of dogs and help Chicago become a no-kill city. Surely, it couldn't be that hard to find an organization with no red tape and an easy process to volunteer. Enter: New Leash on Life. I found them about 2.5 years ago on this Yelp page with their address listed downtown. I later realized this downtown address was only a PO Box which means NLOL does not have a physical location/adoption center. The implication of this is that all dogs go straight from rescue into foster homes until they find their forever families. This process can take weeks or sometimes months - depending on the dog. Don't let the uncertainty of a timeline deter you - fostering for New Leash is an absolute dream and here are my top three reasons why: 1. Unparalleled people - the nicest and most sincere adoption counselors. They constantly check up on the pups, their progress, and making sure you as a foster have everything you need. Not just via email- typically by text messages which means a quick response time. 2. Super flexible - a. Vacation or trip? No problem! New Leash will work with you and your schedule b. Work long hours? No problem! New Leash can schedule a walker to come during the day 3. And last but not least, THE DOGS. They really know how to pick them. Every dog that I've fostered has been kind hearted, adorable, and an A++ cuddler. Every dog deserves the right to a loving, safe home. Yes fostering is a short term arrangement, but it's a critical piece to helping these pups find their long term forever. Nothing makes me happier than seeing every dog I've fostered thriving in their forever homes. If you're on the fence about fostering, just try it. Anyone who loves dogs can do it and do it successfully. It is an extremely rewarding process and this organization makes it SO easy.

Be Fido's Friend

Be Fido's Friend

(9 reviews)

Noble Square, Near West Side, West Town

I absolutely love my dog from Fido but I have to warn people about what goes on there. I adopted a…read morePomeranian and when I visited her twice she was calm and sweet to all people and dogs. 24 hours after adopting her demeanor totally changed and she was aggressive to others and dogs. She is amazing to me but I know now she was definitely drugged before we met because she has severe social anxiety. So just beware! They will drug aggressive dogs so you will be fooled. I love my dog so much and we have been training and her vet gave her trazadone to calm her which works wonders but ethically, this is not a good establishment.

I love BFF. I was looking to foster for a local rescue and my vet recommended Be Fido's Friend. I…read moream SO glad he did! I filled out a foster application and 'Liked' them on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BeFidosFriend) One day I saw a photo they posted of this adorable little grey dog in a cage saying they needed someone to volunteer to foster her so they could bail her out of the pound. I eagerly volunteered. I was so excited to pick her up---BFF arranged to have her looked at by a vet, spayed, chipped and vaccinated before I got her. I immediately fell in love with her. It wasn't long before I knew I was never going to be able to give her back. I adopted Poppy back in November from BFF. I am so grateful that they were able to introduce me to this little pup who I've grown to love as if she is my own child. I then fostered another dog through them who I also fell in love with, but this time I was happy to know that she went to a really loving home. BFF is great. They aren't pushy at all like a lot of rescues are. Everyone is so friendly and helpful. They offer you some bonuses when you adopt from them, like lifetime help and support for your dog among other things. They are completely, 100% run by volunteers which is extremely impressive. They recently threw a really fun fundraiser at Bucktown Pub which was a great way to give back to the rescue and all of the lives that they save. I've volunteered with various rescues over the past few years, and I must say Be Fido's Friend is one of the best ones I've had the opportunity to work with. I highly, highly recommend them to anyone who is looking to adopt or give back and help some pups.

Harmony House For Cats

Harmony House For Cats

(39 reviews)

Avondale

Found Harmony House on Instagram as my toddler loves cats and unfortunately we are not able to get…read moreone at the moment. So I wanted to take her to a place where she can visit and play with cats and Harmony House was perfect for that. They had a Holiday Bazaar event which was a free event and they had raffles, a bake sale, etc. All proceeds went to helping the cats. What we loved about Harmony house was that it's a cage free shelter for cats. They had several rooms filled with different cats that you can go into and play with them for however long you wanted. It's a great way to get acquainted especially if you're thinking about adopting! There were several cats available, different breeds and all different temperaments. Such an awesome cast shelter to visit! All of the people that worked there were so friendly and informative too! They all knew the names of each kitty and some names were very clever. If you're looking to adopt a cat or thinking about it, I highly suggest checking out Harmony House For Cats!

What brought me to Harmony House were the humane traps they "rent" out (as long as you bring the…read moretrap back, they never charge you a dime). So I can't comment on the adoption process, but I can speak to the friendliness of the staff/volunteers and the cleanliness of the facility. I was trying to help out a stray cat who'd been coming by and meowing loudly at the door. I was not in a position to adopt another cat, and never once did anyone pressure me to take one of their very cute residents home. Fast-forward to two weeks after picking the trap up, and I'd caught all manner of local wildlife but not the cat. I called to see if I could get a weeklong extension and they cheerfully gave me two more weeks. The building is very clean and modern. Everyone there was very nice when I was picking up and dropping off the trap, if a little harried. I got the impression that they work hard to care for the cats they have and that they sometimes get unscheduled drop-offs (when I showed up to get the trap, the woman who met me at the door looked relieved and said that when the doorbell rang, she was afraid it was "another dump") -- which is sort of heartbreaking. I hope people who have the room and the resources to adopt will check out Harmony House, because their residents certainly deserve a second chance.

Famous Fido Rescue - Nov. 2023

Famous Fido Rescue

(87 reviews)

Irving Park

I am truly grateful for coming across Famous Fido because now we have been able to welcome…read morefantastic cats into our family. I can't help but feel as though a lot of these negative reviews are a bit harsh and unfair. I also noticed that the negative reviews did not come from people who actually adopted animals. As someone who adopted 2 excellent cats from Famous Fido, I can not give enough credit for all their work. Animal care is an incredibly serious commitment and one not to be taken lightly. The folks at Famous Fido do ask questions and do not instantly turn over their animals that day. I visited the cats a couple of times before adopting them and was given time to really think it over and prepare our home beforehand. When I went to visit them I was able to enter their space, see how they interact and play. No one hovered over me and told me which cats I should get. I actually appreciated this process because I got to know the animals. It was a bit of a process but they wanted to ensure the animals were going to a good home, which I deeply respect. Being a rescue they take in a lot of animals from rough situations and rehabilitate them and put them in a safe environment. One of the cats we adopted came in with serious health issues and they took care of all of her medical needs, she is now fully recovered to the sweetest cuddliest angel. I could not recommend Famous Fido enough. The cats that we adopted are well adjusted, well-behaved, and comfortable with socializing.Thank you, Famous Fido for helping our little guys be happy and heal before having people adopt them. Just be sure you are ready to be taking on this commitment and the responsibilities of having an animal join your family. Once you are it truly is an absolute joy.

This business needs to be shut down. It's like a filthy horror show with poor helpless dogs. The…read moresmell is overwhelming and the place is squalor. I was so shaken when we left with the poor dog they had not yet fed by late afternoon. They did not bathe or groom the dog prior to our adoption. Poor thing had burrs and crusty stuff in his fur. He was clearly afraid of them as he would bark and squirm and fight against them trying to shove him in our crate. It was all so upsetting we ran out. Once we were out of there the dog was completely normal. Looking out the car window, snuggling, happy as can be. I cannot stress enough how horrible this place is. I was horrified.

One Tail at a Time - animalshelters - Updated May 2026

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