While I'm so thankful that Sav A Pet is a non kill shelter that takes in all animals I really think they need to network more for their dogs to get adopted. I've been on their site Over the last 5 plus years and see some of the same dogs. Over 5 years in a shelter is terrible. Why are they not getting these long timers out at adoption events or into foster homes? 23 hours a day in a cage with all the commotion of a shelter can be really stressful.... I see other shelters like Paws Chicago or CACC that get I their dogs info out DAILY and more often than that the longer they've been there. Sav A Pet needs to advocate for these dogs and get them I to homes! read more

We adopted a puppy (almost 2 weeks ago) - Chris Kirkpatrick, a cute terrier mix that's an absolute doll! The staff is good, don't be in a hurry, it does take a little time to do the application & paperwork. read more

The staff truly cares about the animals and it shows. I adopted a cat from them years ago and would do it again.

Horrible place, do not go here to adopt your pet. But, if they have a pet you fall in love with LIE about any prior pets you've had that had any issues. I was denied a pet because my previous pet became ill and had to be put down. The decision was made based on a 3 minute interview and approved by their manager without even talking to me or asking to speak with my veterinarian. Call me crazy, but I think I know better than the shelter what was in my cat's (whom I had for 10 years) best interest. Further, the shelter requires you bring your children with when adopting so your children get attached to an animal then they tell you you've been denied. Great policy!! Our four year old cried all the way home. read more

We adopted our adorable cat just over a year ago. We love her very much. We just found out she has a very painful gum disease and must have all or most of her teeth pulled. I asked our family Vet if this was something that Save-A-Pet should have caught and all she'd say was "I don't know what kind of Vet's they have." We followed all the rules that they had as far as getting her to our Vet shortly after the adoption and she did notice that something was going on in her mouth. After a long time of antibiotics and steroids nothing helped. So, surgery is tomorrow, at the cost of 800-1100 dollars. We're retired on a fixed income. It'll be tough but we can't let her suffer. Now she's only 2 years old. read more

I go there often with my older teens because they love the cat room. However, the customer service is awful. There is a large woman with reddish hair that sits at the reception desk and is honestly downright rude. She makes everything difficult for everyone that comes in there. She is rarely ever pleasant and makes people feel like they don't deserve to adopt any animal or that they are "bothering" her when asking a question. When I mentioned my special needs son would like to volunteer, she rolled her eyes and sighed heavily because she had to find the paperwork, as if she was annoyed I was making her do her job. She is not the person an organization should have as first contact! read more

This place is run by a bunch of arrogant people who think the animals that are there are "theirs" and they will only let you adopt one through their own grace and knowledge. Arrogant pricks to say the least!!!!! We went there earlier this year to adopt a cat to replace one we lost at nearly age 22 last year. After looking through the many, many cats they had there, we found one we thought would be a great match for us. I swear it took us over an hour for someone to finally begin the adoption process. The first person had no idea where the records on this cat were located. The second person "had to go on break." The next one told us to wait as she'd be back "in a second." She vanished and never came back. Someone else told us to see someone else. Finally we got the adoption form, filled it out, then waited to see the adoption person. And we waited. And waited. And waited. Then the adoption person looked over the form and came to the part where it asked, "Where will the pet spend most of its time?" We answered, "The basement" (We have separate areas for the dogs and cats. And, by the way, the basement is fully finished with carpeting and furnishings (plus scratching post, litter boxes, and all of that). Well the adoption counselor got all upset. "You're going to leave this cat in a cold, dark, basement all day, all by itself?" "No, there's another cat and the basement is heated, carpeted, and fully furnished." "Well, I can't allow you to abuse one of my cats like that. Get someone to contact us so we can verify your story and we'll reconsider your application." Though we had several people call them, two weeks later, despite several phone calls by us, no one from Save-A-Pet called us back. Don't waste your time at this place. They deserve zero stars. read more

We got our cat Krista from Save-A-Pet. This is a nice shelter. It's clean and you can tell they really care about the animals. They'll make sure you're going to be a responsible pet owner before they send any animal home with you, but that's part of their job. I'm sure the adoption fee they charge is way under what a veterinarian would charge you for the same services (feline leukemia test, spaying, feline distemper vaccine, plus whatever else the animal needed). I was a little surprised they don't vaccinate cats for rabies anymore--I guess they need to cut expenses somehow, and they expect you to keep the cat inside anyway. It wouldn't hurt to slip them a little extra if you can afford to. read more

This place is a disaster. Though we've adopted cats and dogs for many, many years from many different organizations, this organization treated us like we wanted a black cat on Halloween!!! They managed to "misplace" our application and we spent several days trying to convince them that we are good and caring pet owners. In the end they never did contact us again as our repeated calls went unanswered. And all through the process, several staff kept referring to the cats as "THEIR" cats, apparently afraid to adopt them out. Despite the impressive facility, lots of available dogs and cats, and all of the people who both work and volunteer there, this place needs some serious customer relations training. Never once did any staff or volunteer ever ask, "May we help you?" We'll never go there again. Don't waste your time here. read more

This place has the worst customer service and these people clearly don't want anyone to adopt the dogs. When looking for a dog we found three suited dogs and they immediately ruled out 2 for no reason. The last dog who was so sweet they talked about how horrible she was and how basically no human ever would be able to provide for her. The best part was this was based off of one family who adopted a month, a whole month. I'm sorry is a kennel better than a home because they seem to think so. Don't ever waste your time there because they will do nothing but tell you how high maintenece and horrible each and every dog is. I have owned many dogs for many years and not once have I ever had a problem. Like I said before they clearly don't want you to adopt a dog. read more

This place is Horrible. They are NOT interested in having their animals adopted. Me and my wife have been denied adoptions on TWO separate occasions and NO explanations have been given. If you want to made feel like you are worthless if you want to be forced to snivel before some petty functioneers with delusions of grandeur, if you want to be forced to jump through the hoops as if applying for government top secret clearance, by all means work with them. Otherwise STAY AS FAR AS POSSIBLE. They are NOT interested in you adopting their cat, they are interested in getting their rocks off on a power-trip over you. read more

This place has the worst customer service and these people clearly don't want anyone to adopt the pets. Very RUDE staff. They do not have many pets and they want to keep them for job security, so they look like they are working taking care of pets and to ask people for donations, on line and at charity events. They use the money for employee's salaries, not to take care of pets, and they look into all kinds of reasons to say that your family is an unfit pet owner. Anything, from you having had a cat in a 3rd world country, that was not spayed, when nobody in that country spayed cats, or that you had an outdoors cat when you were living on a farm in Wisconsin, will make you unfit and they will decline you. You have to say that your animal will be caged indoors. If you are separated and your spouse lives now in another country with his new girlfriend, your ex-spouse needs to come in, before you and your kids can adopt a pet from them When looking for a cats, we found three suited cats and they immediately ruled out 2 for no reason, saying that they are not good around children, when my 3 kids held them and pet them for a long time, and the cats were perfectly friendly to my kids. These placed would rather keep the animals caged and ask donations that they mis-use, then give the pets to nice families for adoption. They are saving the pets from you giving them a better life. Horrible place, Save yourself the frustration and agravation. read more

Absolutely rude the whole time. We went to see the dogs and every time we weren't exactly in the middle of the aisle we got yelled at. I went to go ask more information about a dog and got yelled at by a big man with a ripped shirt and messy looking was 100% rude about us trying to take one step towards a cage. The person that showed us the cages didn't know what to do she was quiet and mumbled and never told us once to please stay in the middle or to back up. Everyone was unprofessional looking and messy. Got out of there as quick as we could. read more

I can't say enough good things about this place. They're truly animal-lovers, in every way and it shows! I appreciate and understand why they need to, thoroughly, check out each and every potential pet owner, because they want to make sure the animal is going to the best possible home. I wish every animal shelter, pet store, breeder etc, operated as Save-A-Pet does, because, animals deserve to be taken care of and shown love. They're treated so well here. I'm so grateful for the care they showed my kitties, whom I adopted here awhile ago. They have such a happy, loving, well-socialized and sweet-natured demeanor and I owe that to this place. This place is clean and the animals are very well taken care of. They treat animals with the kindness, love, and compassion, that they deserve. It was so hard to not adopt other cats there, as there were many choices. It was such a pleasure visiting with all of them though, as they are all different and have their own journeys:) read more

If I could give this place zero stars I would. They refused adoption to me because I am only 20 yo. I have worked with non profit animal rescues and vet clinics my entire life and live on my own wanting a companion. They just refuse one of the best caretakers they could have asked for because of non-sense. I feel bad for all of the animals in their care for they will never find their forever homes:( read more

We have adopted three cats from Save-A-Pet, and they are wonderful pets and the staff were great to work with. The facility is kept very clean and the cat room had ample room for cats to move freely, and they seem to look after the health of the animals very closely. The staff in the cat room knew the cats very well and could answer all of our questions. The application/interview were well done and it is clear the volunteers connect to the cats and want to see them in the best homes possible. I highly recommend Save-A-Pet to anyone looking to adopt a cat or dog. read more

We were stuck between a rock and a hard place with a kitten with behavioral problems. No one would take it or adopt it. Our last option was to put it down. Save A Pet was our last hope to not have it destroyed. Thankfully they accepted the kitten and are working with it. The outlook is not so bleak. We thank them very kindly for helping to keep a beautiful animal alive. If you can please donate to them as they are not funded. Once again we are deeply grateful. read more

This is our second experience with Save a Pet and neither have been good. It seems the staff knows nothing about customer service as we have tried to adopt a dog and later a cat. It really seems that they want to keep their animals and not place them in good homes. For our dog, we thought we should save and adopt but after our experience, decided to go with a breeder. After yesterdays experience with a very heavy lip pierced individual, we went to Pets in Need and adopted the same day with an awesome experience. I will never support Save a Pet but Pets in Need in Ringwood will get all of my support and donations. read more

I was disappointed with Save-A-Pet because they don't take in feral cats. Someone told me that they used to have a room dedicated to ferals, where volunteers could go in and spend time, getting the ferals acclimated to humans. I've been using the Spay & Stay program and several of the ferals in my neighborhood seem to be warming up a bit, but they're certainly not adoptable yet. I've brought a few into my home, segregated from my cat, but according to our village, am only allowed to have 5 cats inside my home....will they check? I sure hope not. But I don't have room to bring all of them inside and our resident neighborhood crank who complains about everything has complained to the police that the cats were messing up his yard. Police told me that although it isn't against the law to feed/shelter feral cats, if he complains enough (and he will) they will call in animal control to trap ad take away. Being feral cats, I believe everyone knows what happens to them then. I believe ferals can be acclimated to be pets, if given the chance. If Save-A-Pet had a room dedicated to ferals, and could show volunteers how to interact with them, it would be a good service and fall right into their "no kill" policy. I, for one, would volunteer to be there to volunteer as much as needed! Save-A-Pet, won't you please bring this up before your board of directors? Can we make Save-A-Pet a truly no kill shelter. read more

i had adopted a small dog from them years ago when they were newly open in Grayslake. Great experience. i recently visited to look at adopting and went into one of their kennels to check out available dogs. I was bending down in front of a cage with a small dog and trying to get a better look at it, see how it reacted to me, etc., and this complete b*** (didn't get her name but she was a large woman with reddish hair and glasses) came barreing up to me yelling "Ma'am, we can't have you bending in front of a cage or putting your hands in the cage!" I told her i was not putting my hands in the cage since they would obviously not fit through it, (btw i completely understand what could happen if i did that...I'm not an idiot... ) but that yes, i was bending down simply to get a better look at the dog. Her response: "you can set up an "interaction" with the dog". I told her i wasn't sure i wanted to have an "interaction" with the dog unless i was able to get a good look at it, as well as the paperwork hanging on the cage. I asked "so what am I able to do?" and she told me to walk down the middle of the row and look from side to side. So guess what, I turned around and left. Sorry, but you can't tell people they can't bend down to look at an adoptable pet, or get close enough to a cage to read the paperwork hanging on the cage about the pet. I understand that these animals are volatile and high strung in this environment but from an adopter standpoint, we have to be able to determine if there's a reason for an "interaction" with a particular animal. There are other, better resources for adopting animals and any good this organization is doing is wiped away by their staff accusatory and unrealistic "interactions". read more

I like save a pet a lot more than orphans of the storm. I had recent visits at both places so I think I can fairly review them. Save a pet is a lot cleaner and spacious than orphans of the storm. Also, I liked that save a pet had tons of nice volunteers everywhere and they actually knew a ton about the animals. The staff at Save a pet didnt blow me away or anything, but I didn't really have to deal with them much because I was just looking that day and the volunteers answered all my questions. I don't know if save a pet walks their dogs more than at orphans of the storm but for some reason the dogs at save a pet were less barky and anxious to get out. I also liked the fact that the dogs at save a pet had beds and blankets to lay on instead of just newspaper like at orphans of the storm. The cat room at save a pet was also a lot less overcrowded than at orphans of the storm. So all in all my overall impression of save a pet is great. The ONLY con is that they don't update their website frequently so when I went in I found out the dog I saw on their website was already adopted and they hadn't taken her off their website yet. Also, they don't add all their dogs to their website so if you find one that's interesting while you're there make sure to ask all the questions about the dog right then and there because you won't be able to refer to the website when you get home. read more

I am so disappointed with save-a-pet! I adopted my cat from them four years ago and since have contributed a fair amount of money and more in supplies. I sent a friend down to adopt a dog as she had just lost hers and wanted another companion. i new save-a-pet would welcome her adoption even though she can't walk very good. She as three dog walkers on call at all times, has a large back yard fenced in with a 6 foot fence. You couldn't have asked for a more loving, caring,lover of animals. She has always made sure her animals have the best vet care and the best of everything. She was refused adoption of Alpine because she couldn't walk him, even though she was there and brought all her dog walkers with to make sure they were compatible with her new furbaby. He would have been well loved and taken care of but someone decided it was best for him to stay in his cage alone and not be adopted. Doesn't make sense to me!!! read more

Recently, I had to give up my 2 little babies ,both dogs. I am a widow,with a son who has health problems,making it very difficult to keep my little guys. I did my research,and prayed. Save a Pet is the BEST place for helping you in this horrible,painful process. I literally have cried for a week. It is getting better,since the staff at save apet has been caring,compassionate,and truly loving my babies.I have called,and been treated well,and informed of the status of my boys. They did not judge me or my son. We loved the dogs for 10 years. I was told yesterday that both dogs are being adopted into loving homes this week. Of course, they can not tell me where they are going,but showed great kindness and consideration for my feelings,by letting me know the kind of loving homes they will go to. I trust their expertise in placing the babies,and thank them over and over again for caring for what I have been going through,as well as the babies. I especially want to thank Bridgette,the Intake Manager,her asst. Gabriel for listening,calling,and putting me at ease. After losing my young husband suddenly years ago,this was the second saddest,most traumatic event for me. I cherish the memories,but know that their homes will be good and safe,and I thank GOD and SAVE A PET for that.. read more