Melanie,& all the employees, they care & make that shelter shine 4 those Cats, always cleaning,…read morecats always having food,water,& warmth there.

I have been volunteering here nearly five years. Melanee runs the place and she is great with the…read morepeople and of course the cats and kittens. This rescue is run like no other. Thank you Melanee the staff and our volunteers. The adoption fee is manageable and the cats love running all around and also in the patio

In May of 2022 our family was looking to add a young cat to our home. We visited PAWS twice but…read morejust didn't "click" with any of the cats we met at that time. I had 2 friends that had adopted their cats through Precious Pets, so I decided to look into them and I'm so happy I did! I love that they're a foster-based rescue. The application process was lengthy but integral to finding the best fit for our family. I appreciated that they took the time to "vet" us and figure out what would work best for our family. It showed me that they truly care about where their animals go and want the absolute best outcome for them. We were looking for a cat to join our 2 cat, 1 toddler (at the time) home. We went to visit a litter of kittens that were about ready to be adopted out at their foster home. We initially were interested in one of the boys, but one of the girls ended up stealing our hearts at the meet & greet. The foster was able to tell us more about their personalities since she helped raise them, and I really appreciated her insight because it helped us pick the best cat for our family. We needed a gentle and patient cat for our growing family. Sesame came home with us a few weeks later and we just love her so much! She has grown up to be one of the most calm and gentlest cats I've ever met - sweet and curious and sometimes mischievous too. She loves her people & two older cat brothers - we couldn't imagine our lives without her now! I truly believe that Precious Pets giving Sesame a safe and healthy foster home to grow up in helped shape her into the wonderful cat she has become.

I can't believe I'm just posting a review for this amazing adoption group. We adopted our Leon…read more(was Peaches) about five years ago from PPAH. I can't quite remember who helped us but everyone was great! I really appreciate that they take the time to get to know you and know the adoption is right. I can't imagine our lives without our sweet princess.

This is a GREAT rescue. We didn't end up adopting from here, but we visited and looked at a pup,…read moreand went to one of their events. The dogs all seem happy and very well cared for. The staff is great, you can tell they love these dogs. The facility was pretty nice - like a real house, with a side yard that the pups can run around in. The pups were all on the large side - I saw a couple really great dogs. I LOVE the big dogs, but I was really looking for a smaller dog. Definitely recommended to find your furry best friend!

I have been fostering with them for 6 months now and I can't say enough good things about this…read moreorganization. The staff loves their job, are on it when your foster is sick and are pros at social media marketing to show off the fosters cuteness. What I love most about this organization is that most animals are in foster homes. It gives them time to decompress and allow them to show their true potential. Future adopters are able to really get to know their likes, dislike and quirks. Don't hesitate to volunteer, foster or adopt your newest cuddle buddy

What an impressive rescue shelter. It was the first stop on our journey to find a new cat. The Tree…read moreHouse staff was extremely friendly and helpful. After reviewing 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.

This cat cafe was awesome! I love how they let you adopt the cats as well. When we went, there…read moreweren't many cats left so we played with one cat. But this cat was so active and played with us the whole hour and we had a blast. The drinks were also really tasty and they come with the entry fee which is 10 dollars per 30 minuets. I would definitely recommend!

I've been volunteering for Red Door for close to 25 years. The staff is very caring and dedicated…read moreto giving the utmost care to the animals. They take in animals that need a lot of vet care and make sure they get it and are healed. I've always seen great care and cleanliness at Red Door. I've adopted "many" rabbits and had a dumped cat under my deck that needed to go somewhere and they took him. This place is totally amazing! I've always been treated with the utmost kindness. I've seen them treat everyone like this. Thank you Red Door for your persistent dedication to saving animals! I've seen guinea pigs, ducks and dogs that go into foster homes. Hand punch and chest thump to YOU!!

My experience here was as a volunteer. Every time I came in to help, I was made to do common room…read more(the main rabbit and cat room). It was always filthy, many of the fleeces were covered in so much fur that I was worried about the rabbits getting a blockage, water bowls were often fully empty or had literal soap suds in them. The volunteer coordinator suggests you "spot clean" the litter boxes, though often they are so saturated that the pellets they use as litter are disintegrated. It put a bad taste in my mouth that staff was not following the basic "contact time" instructions on the bottles of Rescue when they claimed they wanted to kill bacteria. They kept a sick cat with giardia in a cage first thing when you walked in. He had a sign that said not to touch him, but not what he had. I saw senior staff repeatedly handle iso animals with no gloves. I saw them put iso laundry right into a pile with the other laundry more than once. I found a wet pile of laundry with feces (or litter, according to the literal president -- not sure that's better) stuck to it sitting on top of the dryer. I was written up for making staff "feel bad" about not knowing how to disinfect stuff when they claim to have vet tech experience, and for not being nice enough about the "litter" on the wet pile of laundry. I saw other volunteers regularly mix in BnB laundry with shelter laundry -- with what I would consider a homeopathic amount of bleach. They were not chastised for doing laundry incorrectly. In fact, they were allowed to train me on laundry. I tried to report a possible historical ringworm infection to the staff just so they knew to be mindful to check themselves and animals for sores, but instead got met with bizarre legalistic stuff about how I might as well be suggesting that I could have gotten it from "invisible space aliens" (that's from the president directly). Look at these photos and tell me if you think it's insane to think someone could catch a fungal infection here. I was then banned -- again, the stated, written reason being that I disagree with their veterinary practices and they've been doing this for 26 years blah blah blah. Ok. I'm really worried about how much else has been swept under the rug in 26 years, then. The president was so cruel to me when banning me that I immediately went to urgent care for medical clearance. The NP was grossed out and suspicious when I told him I got yelled at for trying to let them know about a possible exposure. Staff here does nothing but bully people if they trust you enough to let their true colors show. I have personally heard them do it about sexual orientation, weight, and ethnicity -- they even had rabbits with antisemitic names they got from Seinfeld (they are not Jewish themselves). They stood silently by while a senior volunteer made fun of my sexual orientation the first time I met her, even. They do not have a pride flag hanging anywhere. I wish they would change that, because maybe there would be fewer homophobic and transphobic comments. Though everyone here reflexively "punches down" so much due to their low self esteem that it seems they can't even keep track of what they say. Just know that if you have a certain skin tone, everyone here older than 40 with a sensible haircut has an opinion about your hair being "unprofessional" if you do anything but make it as straight as possible. I grew up in a hoarded house, and I have to be honest. That's what this shelter feels like and part of why I wanted to help. They cannot keep up with the animals at all, especially not while running HareBnB. Over the holidays, for maybe 3 full cumulative weeks of the year, volunteers handle everything in the shelter except paperwork and isos. No one is properly trained -- in fact, I trained several people after doing common room only ONE time. But these photos were taken when BnB wasn't busy. This is what their performance looked like when they had one more staff member than they do currently and very few BnB guests. And I heard the president and VP talk about buying more BnB space as a potential for the future! I don't have a rabbit currently, but if I did, I would not trust BnB. I am telling everyone I know with rabbits not to board at BnB. For a while, they were the only game in town, but now you can do better. I had already stopped finding joy in volunteering, because as soon as I would come in, the volunteer coordinator would sit at a computer and pretend to look at spreadsheets. That would devolve into hours of me hearing her talking and laughing while I did what would've been her assigned work. No thanks. As you can see, there's clearly enough to be done that we both needed to be working at the same time. I would love to see them change ownership and find a crew really dedicated to the mission instead of dedicated to doing a bit less than the bare minimum. It seems like this shelter used to be good, but maybe it was just the quirkiness of a bunny shelter.

Went through the application process and on that application I stated I had declawed my previous…read morecats in the past. This is something I had no idea could effect the cat negatively. When asked why I had declawed and if I would in the future I responded with "The reason I have for declawing just the front claws is because that is something my family cats always had done and it never seemed to effect them. I'm open to changing my mind about this. I have never seen it cause issues in a cat I've cared for (if done young), but if there is research it does negatively effect them, then I would rethink my decision." That response was meet with a declining of my application and no further communication. I responded twice saying I would respect the policy and not declaw. Still no response. I also called and left a message. No call back, no response. Very unprofessional and disappointing.

I LOVE "Friends" and have them to thank for pulling my sweet little Stella from CACC. She was…read moredropped by her previous family with no info, was scared and sick with kennel cough. I met Stella (formerly known as Camilla) through a friend of mine that has fostered many dogs for Friends. Their volunteers really love animals and give these dogs loving homes while they wait for their "forever home". They also do an excellent job taking care of medical issues prior to adoption. I strongly believe rescuing a dog is best - and I think a foster organization like this can be the best way to find your perfect rescue dog. The foster parents can give you the scoop on the dog's personality and training level. I say thanks everyday for Stella being in my life thanks to Friends!

I volunteer with ARFhouse walking dogs and holding them at adoption events. This is a great…read moreorganization where the focus really is on rescuing pets and finding them permanent homes. The shelter rescues dogs and cats of all shapes and sizes from local kill shelters and also picks up strays. Many of the dogs ARFhouse takes are senior, have health problems or "their time is up" at their previous shelter. I love the fact that so many of the dogs are in foster homes or at doggie daycare. This makes them super social with both people and other dogs, and they learn good doggie manners. The adoption process is very thorough (no same-day adoptions) to make sure the dogs are going to good homes. At ARFhouse adoption events, the dogs are right out there on a leash, not in a cage or separate room. This makes it easy to meet a number of different dogs and instantly see what they're like around people and other dogs. I have to address some of the negative reviews of ARFhouse by pointing something out: Everyone who has bad things to say about the organization was trying to get rid of a dog or a cat. They already have a pet and are either sick of dealing with it or just don't want it any more. The shelter doesn't accept pets from people who are trying to dump them, and it says so on the website. ARFhouse fights for dogs who are totally alone with no family at all.

Like many of the other reviewers, I wish I could rate zero stars. I don't really need to explain,…read morejust read this chain of emails with this delightful organization: Dec 23, 2010: Hello, Who would I contact regarding a dog that we need to find a home for? Thank you, Jason Response: Is it a personal dog of yours or somebody you know or is it a stray somebody found? Dec 24, 2010: ME: The dog belongs to my Grandfather but he is unable to continue to care for her. I am trying to find a home for her otherwise my Aunt is going to have to put her down. Response: That's a shame a family member won't take a dog so she has to be put down. Dec 26, 2010 Me: Is it your policy to try to make people feel guilty when they come to you for help? This isn't an easy decision, its our only option. Thanks for nothing. Response: Yes, that is exactly our policy. Actually, it is our policy not to help animals who already have homes and take the guilt off people who shouldn't have it taken off them. We don't appreciate the "if you won't take it, it will get put down" speech. How many times a day do you think we hear that? It's not our responsibilty to help your family members. Me: To Whom it May Concern, I apologize. Perhaps, to avoid your judgmental statements, I should have provided some background. On December 11, 2010, my grandmother passed away at 83. While she was still alive, she cared for my grandfather of 87 who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Because he has lost his caregiver and wife, my relatives have had to make the difficult decision of putting Grandpa in a nursing home to get the care that he needs. Also, because many of my relatives live in California, he is being moved to a home in that state. At this same time, a decision has to be made about what to do with his and my grandmother's beloved dog, Molly. An extremely difficult decision that has been made by my grandfather's children and that I do not chose to judge. We must find Molly a new loving home or put her to rest. I do not want to divulge further heartbreaking details as to spare the dignity of a sweet 87 (almost 88) year old man who has lost his wife of 65 years and now has to part with his dearest friend as well. If you, or your organization have policies that must be followed I understand. It's unacceptable for you to simply judge people who are reaching out to you and berate them, when you have no idea what their circumstances are. I do not expect any sort of resolution here as there really is no dispute. My purpose of this is to make people aware of the level of professionalism - or lack thereof- that exists at Arfhouse. It seems that you clearly do not care about helping a needy dog find a home. If you are curious as to how I am going to let people know...please visit Yelp.com and view the comments about your organization. This entire email thread will be posted for all to see, and I plan on making contact with your superiors. Thank you and Merry Christmas. End of thread. If anyone on Yelp has suggestions about how to find a home for Molly please contact me. I will be updating this review if I receive more responses from Arfhouse. UPDATE 12/27/2010 Here is the e-mail I received in response to the last one: This e-mail in no way changes our opinion of you or what you are doing to the memory of a "beloved" relative. To explain in such detail is just you trying to make yourself feel better for..what is it you said..."putting a dog to rest", which is killing the dog. Spreading the word on Yelp about what a horrible thing you are doing is only a reflection on you. We don't care. UPDATE 12/28/2010 This may or may not be related. Strange occurrence: at 4 am my relative received a text message from "Joe" stating "continue electronic harassment". We think they meant "discontinue".

I volunteered here briefly, and having seen the behind-the-scenes side of things, I can attest that…read morethey are extremely conscientious about the health and safety of all the cats and the cleanliness of the shelter. It is just as unfailingly neat and tidy in back as in the public-facing parts. And their leaders are very careful never to put any of the cats in harm's way. At this shelter, like other good shelters in the area, they make a concerted effort to match the cats with caring humans who are the best fit for each particular cat. But it's just inevitable that a small number of adopters will not work out. That's not a reflection on the shelter. I never heard shelter management badmouth adopters who returned cats, even if some of them may have deserved it. When you adopt a shelter pet, you're making a commitment. It's supposed to be about doing right by the animal.

I have been volunteering for more than a year now, and it is the warmest, most loving and involved…read morecommunity of people, and one of the greatest volunteer experiences of my life! First of all, the staff is absolutely amazing. Completely dedicated to the health and well being of every cats that comes through the door, cheering on milestones, assessing and discussing how best to treat each cat. There are lots of ways to get involved- there is an AM and PM cleaning crew, which might not sound like fun- but I love getting the room clean, the cats fed, and creating a beautiful space for them with toys and blankets. And of course the reward- you clean, but then you get to play with cats! There's lots of other ways to help, too- from stuffing envelopes to writing profiles to taking cat photos to fostering- if you love cats, love a caring staff and meeting/working with wonderful volunteers- this is your place. I fostered one cat *successful adoption soon after!* and just went through my first adoption, which was easy and thorough and just a pleasure. The protocol was outstanding, and my new cat has successfully integrated with my old girl. It is a place filled with goodness, and a glorious addition to Evanston!