I've adopted 2 pets from Toronto Animal Services North Region…read more First was Riley, an 8 year old Lhaso Apso who was found wandering the streets. From his condition, it was evident he was homeless for many weeks and unfortunately, showed signs of being abused. It took a few months for Riley to build his trust with humans again, but for the 6 years we had him, he brought untold happiness to our home. Recently, I've adopted another dog...Finnegan, a 1 year old Shih-Tzu/Pomeranian mix. Finn was turned in to animal services as his owners could no longer care for him. Like Riley before him, he has personality with a capital "P"....and has, in a months time, become an old friend. When thinking of adopting a pet, why not look at an animal shelter or humane society? They have numerous animals looking for what they call "forever homes'. Some animals come with little or no background, so they are assessed and information is provided based on professional observations. Some animals are turned in by their owners, for whatever reason, and some background information is available. Some animals are rescues from a life that is unfitting anything. Besides dogs and cats, they have other animals as well, rabbits, guinea pigs...the list goes on and on. The people that I have been fortunate enough to deal with at Toronto Animal Services North have been stellar. They truly love animals and are careful to ensure that pets available for adoption are placed with individuals who can provide proper care for them. Sorry if I can't recall names, but everyone there was pleasant, knowledgable and obviously loved their jobs. They made the adoption process so much more enjoyable and they seem thrilled when one of their animals finds a new home. The cost is minimal and there are companions waiting to be found here. Please, before visiting a pet store or breeder, give a pet in a shelter a chance. You won't be sorry

The only reason I'm not giving them a 1 star rating is that they might be good at the actual…read morespaying and neutering, but I never found out! Calling them for the last 2 weeks, no one ever answers the phone, literally, not once. I'm talking calling 20-30 times per day, 2-3 calls at a time. Then their answering machine....the message is literally 3 minutes long. THREE MINUTES for what should be: "Leave a message after the tone" !!! So leaving an actual message for callback is very frustrating, as the message says so much information it kills your entire train of thought. Among other info, the message stated that they will call you back within 24 hours. It's been a week, no callback again. When we did get through to them months ago, we asked for spaying of 2 of our cats. The receptionist was very rude and we felt like she was just trying to get us off the phone so she could go back to playing Solitaire on her computer. She told us the fax number where to send all of our info and that it set up through that. Ok, so I faxed all of our information about both our cats. We did not receive any call back or anything, so after 2+ weeks passed, I got frustrated and called them again. The same (rude) receptionist picked up and said that they did receive the faxes and booked the cats for spaying. One was due to be spayed the next day, and the other in a week! Needless to say I was very upset, since they first off, booked both my cats on different dates, even though I requested they both be done on the same day. More importantly, I was upset at the fact that no one called us to tell us about the booking dates in the first place! Needless to say I cancelled. So yea, price wise this place maybe cheap, but they have absolutely NO customer service what-so-ever. Worst receptionist I've ever encountered with any business!

I can't thank EHS for the effort they put into keeping Marlin alive for a number of years through…read moretheir "no kill" policy. In August of 2025 I adopted Marlin who was left abandoned several years ago. With a number of issues, being larger in size and quite a bit older - I took a chance on him. He is the most loyal companion I have ever had. I encourage anyone interested in adopting/fostering to give EHS consideration. EHS, you have a fan for life in me - keep up the great work. Al

BEWARE! - Gatekeeping, Rigid Policies and a Failure of Judgment…read more My experience with the Etobicoke Humane Society exposed an adoption process more concerned with enforcing rigid policies than evaluating the merits of a prospective home. I applied to adopt Klaus. I disclosed that my apartment has a balcony, provided photographs, and explained that any balcony access would be supervised. My previous cats were my world. They were exceptionally well cared for and enjoyed supervised balcony access without incident. None of that mattered. My application was rejected under a blanket indoor-only policy. There was no meaningful consideration of my history as a responsible cat owner, the photographs provided, the proposed supervision or any reasonable safety precautions. This was not a careful adoption assessment. It was automatic rejection by checklist, with no room for evidence, context or judgment. A competent adoption process should distinguish between an unsafe home and a responsible home capable of addressing a specific concern. The Etobicoke Humane Society demonstrated no willingness to make that distinction. That is not responsible animal placement. It is bureaucratic gatekeeping. If supervised balcony access is an automatic disqualification, the organization should disclose that prominently before accepting applications. Applicants should not invest their time and become interested in an animal only to discover that one honest disclosure will automatically end the process. Other public reviews raise similar concerns about rigid procedures, excessive gatekeeping and resistance to questioning. My experience does not appear to be isolated. Invoking "safety and well-being" does not automatically make a policy reasonable. Animal welfare requires transparency, proportionality and practical judgment. None was evident here. Klaus was offered an experienced, attentive and loving home. The Etobicoke Humane Society rejected it without conducting a genuine individual assessment. The decision was indefensible, and the process was unacceptable. Prospective adopters should demand a complete list of automatic disqualifications before giving this organization their time or trust. - Peter H.

I adopted my cat after my 15 year old had to be euthanized due to kidney failure…read more THS has been wonderful: beautiful pets available for adoption, dedicated staff and doctors, very affordable prices. Most of my cats were strays. My current one is the second time I adopted from THS and my cat is wonderful. She was spayed, microchiped, dewormed/parasite free. She had her rabies shot and FVRCP, just needed a booster for FVRCP from my vet 2 weeks after adoption. The adoption fee was incredibly affordable. The THS does great work. Thank you so much for all you do and my amazing little cat.

The Toronto Humane Society is a great place for anyone looking to adopt or support animal welfare…read more The staff and volunteers genuinely care about the animals, and you can tell they put in a lot of effort to make sure each one gets the right home. The shelter is clean, well run, and offers a lot of resources, not just for adoptions but also for pet care and education. Even if you're not looking to adopt, it's worth visiting or donating because they do so much for animals in need. They also have a variety of programs, from fostering to veterinary services, which makes a real difference in the community. You're even able to book "corporation events" for your company a great activity for team bonding and take care of these beautiful fur friends.

We adopted our doodle from TAS West last summer (2012). He had been a very sick dog when he…read morearrived at TAS and they had to treat him for 3 weeks before he was healthy enough to be adopted out. Once we brought him home, my vet reviewed the paperwork that TAS (& associated vets) had supplied and said they did extensive work on him to bring him back to health and that they didn't spare any expense to get him to where he needed to be. She said that she was very impressed with the treatment he received while he was in the care of TAS. On our end, they were very professional, compassionate and understanding during our doodle adopting process. I wouldn't hesitate to adopt another dog through TAS nor would I hesitate to recommend them!

The shelter is completely disorganized and truly makes me question their priority of the animal's…read morewellbeing. On Wednesday, I saw a dog that was available that was perfect for me. I've rescued dogs my whole life and knew this would be the perfect home. They do not accept emails so I set an alarm to be up and ready for their opening at 10:30 to be able to call. I get through, and the 7 million directory voices make me press a bunch of things until I finally get their *full* voicemail where it says try again later and the phone then automatically hangs up. From then on for hours the line was busy and I could not get through to even a ring. I took screenshots of all this. I got a hold of a human by noon and at this point the dog was already taken because "phones were off the hooks." I know.. I was the first caller so he would have been mine. Then that night, I see an add for another sweet dog in the West location's shelter. Perfect. I set an alarm and THE SAME THING HAPPENS. Now I lost two dogs that I would have been perfect for and kudos to the person who got through to a human because I genuinely do not know how they did it. All I can say is if your priority is rehoming the dog into a good family, the dog should not be "claimed" between 1030 to noon, without background checks and inspection. Regardless, now I'm upset because it seems like the shelter's priority is who has the quickest fingers to dial, rather than who will make a stable home for a rescue dog. Also, it's covid- get a call waiting system.

I love the work the people at Redemption Paws do. They're incredibly thoughtful and diligent in…read moretheir approach with animal adoptions. Keep up with the good work.

As someone who has followed the story of Leo (Cruze) and the foster who cared for him for months, I…read morewas deeply troubled by the lack of communication and transparency surrounding his case. Fosters invest enormous amounts of time, love, and effort into these animals. I believe fosters deserve timely updates, honest communication, and the opportunity to receive closure when a dog they have cared for is removed from their home, or worse, euthanized. Leo was very much loved and cared for in his foster home. It is beyond devastating that his foster was not given an opportunity to say goodbye after loving him and treating him like family for months. I hope this organization reflects on how it communicates with its volunteers and takes steps to improve transparency and compassion going forward.

I wanted to warn people about this particular rescue we adopted our rat terrier from…read more There have been multiple issues including the fact that before we started fostering our dog we repeatedly let them know that biting was not something we could handle. The day we pick him up after a 3 hour delay, he is almost microchipped a second time, I'm informed he bites. The other day he snapped at my partner and contacted the rescue about what to do and they showed zero empathy or accountability and said that if I sent photos of him they could put him on petfinder. In their rescue headline it says that coordinators were available for help and guidance however, during my time of fostering I wasn't given any instruction, no one checked in with me and the treasurer of the organization also added pressure for me to sign and pay the fee for his adoption and made a remark that he wasn't my dog until I had signed everything, when I had only started fostering him for 2 weeks. This rescue is full of people who are unfit to work with people and the lack of transparency about his behaviours is concerning for further adopters. It left a bitter taste in my mouth and I feel as someone who has managed a non profit that even if they are operating at capacity they are not meeting the minimum of making sure the homes the dogs go to are prepared. Very irresponsible.

We adopted our Jack Russell/Chihuahua/Australian Cattle Dog mix from the Jack Russell Network of…read moreCanada (JRNC) in November 2020. This dog should never have been adopted to a city dweller. He spent the first 6 years of his life in a country setting, where he was allowed out for the whole day and only came in at night. When we got him, he had been neutered just a few months earlier, and his tail was amputated. In the shelter he was first put into, he chewed his tail to the point that it became infected and had to be removed. Our home is in the middle of the city, with access to a small back yard, and 3 walks per day. Obviously this was not what he was used to and it was difficult for him to adjust. He was reactive to other dogs, lunging, barking and growling. Walks were never very pleasant. As time went by, he became more frustrated and eventually he attacked our adult daughter. He launched at her with his jaws around her nose and wouldn't release until my husband shouted at him. Fortunately our daughter didn't need stitches, just antibiotics. It wasn't his fault, I had brought a bit of food to him and my daughter bent over to pet him at the same time. According to an animal behaviourist I spoke to, the dog did not attack. What he did was to give a warning. We finally surrendered him back to the JRNC after more aggressive behaviour towards both of our adult children. And then we saw his profile on Petfinder, where they were saying he was good with older children and other dogs. Our family was shocked as we had told them in our email and on the surrender document that the dog should be in a rural home and no children. Our fear is that if he were to bite a child, then he would be put down. He doesn't deserve that. I emailed JRNC about our concerns and the only reply was from one of the coordinators who thought she was talking to the director. We were referred to as being a pain, and that we should be told not to contact them anymore. Please think twice about adopting from this rescue. They are rescuing too many dogs without the proper resources to help these dogs adjust. Many of the dogs are coming from Texas and Louisiana.

(Disclosure: I currently volunteer with ACR as a foster parent and communications volunteer.)…read more I have adopted two cats from ACR - the first was several years ago to be a companion for my other young cat. I had initially inquired about a differnt cat but after chatting with me about what I was looking for, the adoption facilitator suggested I set up a meeting with Cookie. I spent about 1 1/2 hours at the foster home trying to get a good look at him - he was very shy - I appreciated the 24 hour "think it over" time - and decided from chatting with his foster mom that he would make a good buddy for my cat. I had time to build a relationship with him. Cookie was quite shy when he came but within months he was my companion too. The second cat is a foster-fail. Shadow has been with me for more than a year and had had no contact with people. She would normally have been TNRed but there was no place to return her to. Shadow is still quite skittish and sometimes still even hisses at me but will come right up on the bed in the morning and enjoy cheek rubs and goes crazy playing with Da Bird. She is also best friends with Cookie and he washes her head. ACR fosters have to go through the same process as everyone else so I set up my phone call. Both times, the experience was a good one. The volunteers are honest about the nature of the cat and you know what you are getting. They are also available if additional "settling-in" help is needed. And nothing beats watching these cats, who have come from difficult and traumatic situations, gradually relax and learn to trust (again). Adoption is a life-long commitment, after all.

No amount of praise I write for ACR could be enough. I found my baby Fiona through their rescue…read moreagency and the entire adoption process was seamless. I learnt so much about Fiona's quirks and habits through her foster mom. When we decide to adopt another Cat, it will surely be through ACR.

I was so sad after my 18 year old cat (also a rescue) died in June, and did not think I could adopt…read moreanother cat so quickly . . . but found myself going into all the PetValu stores in my neighbourhood and applied several times for cats whom I met there. The fourth time, one of the volunteers, Arlene, was just settling in a new young tiny cat who had recently been fixed after having a litter, and she let me handle Rocky Road and urged me to apply for adoption. Renamed Roxy, we picked her up one day later, a month ago, and she has changed from a skinny scared little thing into a strong, fearless, friendly, sweet, playful and perfect cat. Toronto Cat Rescue interviewed us, provided us with Roxy's medical records, mailed us her tags, followed up via email re our experiences, and it was all in all a great experience. We ran into Arlene, the volunteer, again at a different PetValu as she was settling in another little cat and showed her photos of the new happy Roxy. I am very impressed with the volunteers, and we are considering adopting another cat eventually from Toronto Cat Rescue.

Bad experience with a volunteer, contradicting the adoptable status of a specific cat, sermonizing…read morehow fast ALL cats need to go out the door, but firmly insisting ... TO ME ... I RECONNECT down the road later due to her misunderstanding my wording? Misunderstanding my emails, albeit I was very articulate in explaining my over 30 years of experience in owning cats throughout my life time. **I WANTED A SPECIFIC CAT **NOW** AND I WANTED TO ***PAY FOR IT NOW*** ... BUT THIS PERSON told me ONLY e transfers are accepted as a method of payment??? NO CREDIT CARDS, NO DEBIT CARDS, NO CASH OR CHEQUES.... ONLY E TRANSFERS????? No wonder Toronto Cat Rescue CLAIMS they have hundreds, and they sermonize how essential it is to expedite their cats' forever homes .... I SUGGEST TO LOOSEN UP THE VARIETY OF METHODS TO ACCEPT FEES FROM ADOPTERS TO GET THAT FLOW MOVING FOR CATS TO GET THEIR PERMANENT HOME!!! YA THINK????

I was leaving the Starbucks when I spotted this pet store across the way. I haven't heard of Ren's…read morebefore. It was a decent sized store when I walked in. Immediately I noticed that it is dog-friendly with a few small dogs. I was drawn to the huge freezer along the left wall at the entrance of the store. They have a lot of fresh meals prepared for pooches there. There were raw packaged meals, fully-cooked frozen meals, bone broths, frozen eggs, and lightly processed meats. There is a brand called Tom & Sawyer that has really fancy meals made from human-edible ingredients. I picked up a couple packages - one that is kangaroo meat and the other that is a rosemary venison. I also saw flavours that were seafood based and a coconut chicken! They are a little bit pricey though at $10-12 a package. Per the portion size instructions, a 30 pound dog would need 1.25 packages a day! The staff there were pretty nice. The top shelf of the freezer too tall for little ol' me so I had to ask someone for help. They were happy to oblige and then helped me check out as well. I was asked about whether I wanted to sign up for their newsletter and was told I would receive a coupon via email sometime later. I'm hoping I star to see more of these stores around the city.

I find their online subscription service hard to navigate. Products will be on sale online but not…read moreif you have a subscription. Also, getting in touch with customer service by text which they provide on their site has given no response over 3 times for multiple issues.