Over the last year, I or me and my family, have gone into the AWLA a few times in search of a dog…read moreor cat; whichever fits our lifestyle the best and normally we go to the "cat room" and visit with the cats and then am taken back by volunteers to meet whatever dogs are available. Normally the 2 volunteers that take me back are not chatty with me (but are with each other) and neither really seem interested in helping me - I believe Diane and Mattes. Nice enough people but they just seemed a bit annoyed or bored or both, seemingly every time we were there. That all changed the last time I was in, which was a few weeks ago and had 2 different people help me. They were volunteers Valerie and Lisa (purple hair). They both seemed excited to show me the dogs (and Valerie had helped me in the cat room - although there were only 2 cats and one was adopted!). Those two ladies were funny, cheerful and and answered all of our questions. Ended up not adopting but they said that was OK - I could come as many times as I wanted until I found the right dog (or cat).

Great experience fostering a cat with them so far! They gave us everything we needed for 2 weeks…read moreand very responsive and supportive. I feel like they try to get to know each animal and support folks who are fostering as much as possible. I can't speak to the adoption side, but they seem very accommodating to that as well, trying to find the best fit and take time to understand the behavioral info that I shared with them. For fostering, it is our call if we want to meet potential adopters at the shelter and elsewhere - this can be a little confusing but I think it's better to have those in-depth conversations with those who have spent more all-day/all-night one-on-one time in advance of meeting of creatures.

Incredible experience from start to finish…read more I recently adopted a puppy from here, and the entire process was seamless. The staff was so helpful and accommodating -- they worked around my schedule and made everything feel smooth and stress-free. What really stood out to me was the follow-up. They checked in to make sure the adjustment was going well, which meant so much. You can tell they truly care about the animals and the families they're placing them with. I absolutely love my puppy -- she has been such a wonderful addition to our family. I'm so grateful for the support and kindness we received throughout the process. Highly recommend!

DO NOT USE THIS RESCUE! I have been trying to get in contact with them to receive vaccination…read moredocuments to pass onto my vet and they STILL have not provided me with anything. I was told I would receive it in my email upon adopting, and that they would mail hard copies in the next week (still havent recieved 4 weeks later). My vet got in touch with the rescue this evening and were informed my dog, that I adopted April 10, will need all her vaccines again since they expire May 23. STAY FAR AWAY FROM THIS RESCUE...they should NOT be adopting dogs out knowing all the vaccines expire in 6 weeks without informing the new owners!

My husband and I saw a dog we were interested in meeting and possibly adopting so we reached out…read morethrough Instagram to get more details. We got a quick response, which was nice. They let us know that based on the dog's profile, they recommended that we do a meet and greet with any family dogs we already have at home. So we get ready, load up our pup, and go to the center. When we walked in, we felt like the vibes were pretty off immediately. The front desk staff seemed to be pretty unfriendly, barely addressed us, and barely made eye contact with us. But we moved on and I tried giving them some grace... We then told them which dog we were interested in meeting and they let us go back to the kennel for a first glance. We came back out and when we asked for a meet and greet, the one worker seemed super hesitant in even allowing that. Lots of "ummm, yea, I guess you can" vibes. My mother-in-law waited in the lobby with our pup and they led my husband and I to their yard for a visit which went well and I asked if I could switch out with my mother-in-law and were told that it'd be best not to have the dog meet too many people in one instance since it has a "stranger danger" personality. What if the people after us wanted to meet him, would they have turned them down because it was "too many people"??? We then asked to have our pup meet since our meeting went well and were met with more hesitation. We let the staff know that we also have kids at home and they recommended that we come back with them so the adoptable pup could meet everyone at once instead of letting our dog meet in that moment.... we thought that was odd since we were already there and prepared. My husband was already over it and left and I went back in to ask if the dog we were interested in could be adopted that day or before we were able to come back. They let us know that they couldn't guarentee he'd still be there. Never once did they really walk us through the process or even offered that we could essentially put the dog on "hold" until I kept asking more questions. They finally directly us to a QR code that went to an interest form. I filled out the whole thing and then they were like, "oh, BTW, its a nonrefundable $50 fee/donation to put an animal hold on". So... fine.... because we really wanted to make sure he was still there when we came back. Fast forward to the next day, we bring our kids and our dog back in. They then tell us they they're going to have our dog meet their dog 1st and if that goes well, we can introduced the kids. What the actual crap since we already had our dog in the day before! So the meet and greet with the pups didn't go the best which isn't anyone's fault. We understand and recognize that is out of everyone's control and don't fault the staff for that interaction. One of the other workers who wasn't there the first day tried helping and made some suggestions to have us adopt and older dog but at that point we were ready to go. We were so frustrated with the entire process. They wasted our time, weren't upfront about the fee/donation, and the staff either didn't understand the process themselves OR they really didn't want it to actually work out with us from the moment we walked in there. We've adopted from Wolftrap Animal Rescue twice and had wonderful interactions. We also visited the Lorton Animal Shelter and everyone there was really kind and friendly so I'd recommend others going through one of those other agencies instead. We just hope our nonrefundable $50 donation goes to good use...

With the assistance of others we rescued a dog. I drove to the League only to be told I could not…read moredrop off the dog unless I specified an address where the dog was rescued. The woman did not even say an intersection was satisfactory. I was resigned to drive back to pin down the address with the rescued dog but recalled a restaurant I was heading to and used that address as it was near the rescue spot. The rules of the League is obnoxious. I always recall several years ago when they failed to rescue a cat on their property because they would not put up a cat trap at night due to regulations although the cat was seen in daylight. A cat trap is effective at night time. Changes are needed for the rescue and adoption friendly processes at government animal shelters like the The Arlington Welfare League.

This organization is serious about rescuing dogs and kitties. The community of fosters and adoption…read morealums is warm and generous with their support of fosters and adopters alike. Had a very positive experience with CDCK!

I give one star because there is no zero to choose from. I haven't seen a rescue or shelter so…read moredifficult to deal with. I am 100% sure they kidnapped my cat from my community and hostage her for donation and selling as a business rather than a non profit organization. Pure intention matters! I have donated to multiple organizations monthly base, raising fund for good purpose, money is not a problem for me. However, I don't want to reward bad behaviors. The missing time for my cat and the one they posted online matches and the very detailed stripes pattern matches. It's questionable that one employee said she from North Carolina, another one said she from West Virginia. I have my cat since she was born, I can recognize this cat from eye contact. Well, if you know your children, you know them by the spirit, right? I sent them many details to JUST take a look, they refused. It's not built to help ppl or animals at all. I will show how my cat look like and how sick she is now in their foster home. I'm deeply saddened and worried about her. She is territorial as a cat does. She has been a happy cat in her own home, wtf they think this is a rescue. Now I have to either kiss their ass or be assertive to fight against this negativity just to get her rescued from these horrible ppl. F that! If they don't practice as ethical as it should be, this is a big big issue! I put the photos of how my cat looked before and how she looks now in their foster homes(one with name caption) I am seriously furious and frustrated about this. If they couldn't give me an explanation why they made it so difficult to meet the cat. I have to say I will use my popularity and influence to the extreme to make things right!!!

We just adopted a dog through AHOTO. Everyone on the organization that we interacted with was kind,…read moreprofessional, responsive, and very knowledgeable. We highly recommend them!

I adopted my cat through AHOTO. They asked me to foster and it was obviously a fail. The…read morecommunications and support were great. Natalie is very attentive to all their cats and kittens and super helpful with adoption. She knows which cat to pair which human with, and is always spot on. I would 100% always adopt from them.

Emma (Manager) is incredibly friendly and always eager to help! She patiently answered all our…read morequestions and was wonderfully considerate of our children. The pops are absolutely adorable and added a delightful touch to our visit.

The staff and owners of this store lied to me. I went here hoping to buy a puppy for my birthday…read moreand left feeling disappointed and angry. During my visit, I fell in love with a fluffy little girl. I had already decided to buy her, but I wanted to follow the basic steps that responsible owners recommend. I asked about her vaccinations and about the health testing of the parents. The staff told me that all of their puppies come from small local families here in Virginia, that the families vaccinate before shipment, and that they only breed from healthy parents. I felt reassured and excited. To be safe, I asked to see her paperwork. I was told earlier that everything was local, so this was supposed to be a simple confirmation. Instead, the papers said she was bred in Missouri. I asked the salesperson how Missouri counted as "local to Virginia" and why he had told me the exact opposite. He said he got confused. That explanation made no sense. I pointed out that he had spoken with confidence about all of their puppies coming from local families, and yet the paperwork showed something completely different. At that point, I could not trust a single thing I had been told. If you are thinking about buying a puppy from here, look at the paperwork yourself before you make any decision. Do not rely on what the staff tells you. My experience showed me that what they say and what is written on the documents are two very different things.

We have two great cats that we adopted from KSC. We got our first guy, Bear, and he'd had a very…read moretough life before he came to the shelter. then about a year later we adopted Charlie. Charlie had been in a good home for the first 5 years of his life but then his owner had to go into assisted living and couldn't keep him. They are crazy funny together and enrich our day to day lives. King Street Cats is an amazing organization for the number of cats adopted annually but also for the care they put into the selection of forever homes for these cats. They work very hard to ensure that both the cats and the new owners are well matched and have the best potential for success. I have great admiration for the entirely volunteer staff that keeps finding homes for these cats in need.

I found this organization when I was ready to adopt after the loss of a senior cat, and was mainly…read moredrawn in by being able to go in to meet the cats and by how close it was to my home. The people that work at this location were all wonderful and I greatly enjoyed speaking with them. They deserve endless praise. I put in a general application and followed up to ensure I didn't need to submit anything further, and was informed that I was approved and asked to come in to complete the process. I replied that I was making sure everything was in order and that I had a foster in the home until the end of the week (for sure leaving over the weekend) and would have space after that point. I asked a few follow up questions about a particular couple of cats that I was instructed to ask by the adoption counselors. My egregious mistake was either following up in less than 7 days, or it was that I had dared to foster with another organization. Based on the emails that would follow, it seems that it's unacceptable to contact any other adoption organization or to foster (even though there's no information on fostering through KSC?). So I was approved around March 9 and it's now the beginning of May and I've finally gotten them to say that I am being turned away, with no stated reason, after an initial approval. In the meantime, whomever was emailing me was incredibly rude for the sake of it. I asked for clarification about an ambiguous wording on dogs and was told that this cat's rule on dogs is clearly stated and that she must go home with another specific cat from the shelter. Unfortunately, the adoption counselors had also thought wording was ambiguous and told me to clarify. And they weren't aware of her messing to go home with a specific cat. In fact, they told me she'd been there years and clearly wanted me to take her. Unfortunate that this person would rather keep a cat for years in that tiny place than adopt out. Additionally, there were constant comments that were an obvious attempt to take a moral high ground but didn't make sense as a reply to an email, and it quickly became clear that they were trying to insult me and insinuate that I am not capable of caring for a cat. I inquired about one not yet medically cleared and they made comments about how "expensive" her condition could be. My resident cat was on the same ear drops and the combined household income is far above what is necessary to care for medication. Lol we both work in healthcare. The scrambling to find any reason to deny my application after having approved it was impressive. And unlike some other reviews, it seems that no one was able to dig up any even minimally negative information that could be used to deny my application after the fact. It's unfortunate that poor attitudes kept a cat or two out of a good home. If you read the other negative reviews, know that they're real. I had plenty of pleasant interactions until suddenly they weren't. You'd think I insulted them by contacting other organizations, or that a couple extra emails is actually a burden. They seem to not truly be about the cats at the top level.

This review is specifically for the agility class...which is AMAZING! I literally can't say enough…read morepositive things about the agility class! My pup LOVES it and the instructor Sherri is SOOO patient and so good with the pups. She tailors the exercises for the different skill levels so it's fruitful for everyone. I know my pup is...different (he's part husky so he likes to talk) and Sherri never makes me feel bad about it. The Level 1 class is difficult to get into because it's sooo popular but so worth it!

Have been going here for years and love it. The workers are fantastic and they will work with you…read moreif you need something specific with your pet. We love our time with them.

This is a very trustworthy and conscientious rescue organization. We adopted a dog through them…read morelast week and are very happy with how everything was handled.

Lucky Dog Animal Rescue (LDAR) was recommended to me by a trusted area groomer. She suggested I…read moreapply online before the adoption event, and I'm glad I started the process before arriving so that I was pre-registered, so to speak. The event was well attended so I recommend arriving early and checking in with a volunteer (green tent) so you get instructions for navigating, selecting, and adopting. You want to be first on the list to adopt your dream pet. Due to the great turnout, and the number of foster parents there with the dogs, I couldn't find the dog I originally arrived to adopt. Keep an eye on the LDAR website for the most up to date list of dogs and cats. I found out the day before the event that another wonderful pup had be transferred to VA, and so I inquired about him as soon as I arrived, which gave me priority. The whole adoption process took about four (4) hours - about half of that was due to shopping for my new bestie. The lines can get extremely long during adoption events because the store is open to the public and a hundred or so adoption guests the day I visited. There was a small wait (30 minutes) to have my application reviewed, and for the pre-interview. Then about 30 minutes before I found out I was approved to adopt the puppy. There's another wait to go through adoption counseling (30 minutes - where you should shop for appropriate items such as a martingale collar, leash, name tag) and the counseling took about 30 minutes (I had questions). The process was seamless and LDAR has been great about following up with me since the adoption. I also received a number of online resources that helped me acclimate my new little guy, and house train him within a week! The volunteers are transparent about the fine print, so it's important to know what you are responsible for. LDAR, thus you, might not have all the details on the pet's health and temperament. No take backs! With that said, an adopter will be on the hook for vet bills to ensure the safety of the animal. After our first vet visit, a few days after adoption, I did learn that my pup had a few things we needed to take care of, but this comes with pet ownership. I would recommend LDAR to anyone who is looking to adopt a pet. Visit an event and ask questions to see what it's like.