A Wish for Animals Dana Point, California

We adopted the sweetest puppy from A Wish for Animals in December and could not be happier. To start, our pup is just the best and you can tell he was loved before he joined our family. The vetting process was thorough but also very comfortable and I had some great conversation with Shawna about adopting prior to heading to the adoption event. Toni, who leads the rescue and who was taking care of the pup we adopted is so dedicated to these dogs. She took all the potential adopters off to the side to have a discussion about good practice and a checklist. She didn’t push any dogs on anyone and was very honest about the dogs’ traits in relation to what an adopter noted on their application. Since we’ve adopted, we’ve gone 2x for vaccines and our little guy still loves on Toni as soon as he sees her and she also takes great care to look over him and offer extra supplements for immune support as well as even cutting his nails for us. A lot of information in this review but wanted to share it all to explain how lucky we feel to have found A Wish for Animals and our sweetest new family member.

I had a great experience with this rescue! Met my dog at an adoption event (after seeing pictures online) and instantly fell in love. The adoption process was thorough but not daunting and my puppy was healthy and already had a round of shots! The staff was friendly and the owner was very knowledgeable. We will definitely come back to this rescue for our next dog.

I adopted a puppy and I was so impressed with the help I received from Toni, Laura, and the volunteers. The application process was thorough and fast, within a couple days they reviewed my application and called for a phone interview. They requested a video tour of my home to make sure a new puppy would thrive. I appreciate the time they took to make sure I was a good candidate. They went over so many details that really helped me welcome my new little guy. I'm so happy to have Ash, thank you!!

I have adopted my sweet boy from Toni. She rescued him from a horrible situation. He was abandoned and neglected by a family. Toni pulled him out of a horrible situation and gave him a chance for a forever home with us. My experience with A wish for animals was nothing short of exceptional. She cares about all animals and takes on the most abused dogs. I am very grateful to Toni for her dedication to saving animals and helping us find the perfect boy for our family.

I can't say enough great things about this rescue. Their love and care for animals is over the top and Toni does a fantastic job finding a good forever home for all her animals. I am so grateful to have Lucy as a part of our family. The adoption fee covers all shots, spayed/neuter and micro chip. They even treated Lucy for worms and trimmed her nails. Thank you to A Wish For Animals. We love the work you do.

We've adopted a couple dogs from A Wish for Animals throughout the years and we have had the best experience with everyone that we have ever spoken with. The volunteers all care about the dogs and also gave us great feeding tips to help keep our dogs healthy for a long life. So far these tips have proven to work for our 6 and 12 year old healthy pups. Thank you for all you do for our sweet fur children. Keep up the great work.

So happy we adopted our fur baby from this wonderful organization. The volunteers and Toni were always responsive and they really want the best for the dogs. The $400 fee covers all their shots, microchipping, and spaying/ neutering.

They were super amazing the entire time. From the time i was interested in our dog I got a response very quickly. They called and did an interview to make sure it was the right match. That weekend we went and visited the dog we were interested in. They had a meet and greet. We brought our dog because they wanted to make sure our dog would get along with the new addition to the family. They really care about the dog finding a good forever home. They are very responsive when i had questions that came up. They are all very kind and willing to help in any way possible. It was a very smooth adoption, and i would highly recommend them!

I have fostered multiple times with this organization and have had a 12/10 amazing experience each and every time. Everyone that works for this organization, especially Toni, dedicate so much of their time and effort into the wellbeing of any and every animal and to make sure everyone has a great experience with them. I have volunteered with them and have had close experience to see how much dedication and love people put into ensuring the best for this organization and everyone involved. Could not think of one complaint.

I have known a wish for animals for over 15 years. I have had the joy of adopting 2 beautiful dogs from them. I also fostered a pregnant mom and they helped get 5 puppies get adopted to wonderful homes. Toni works 24/7 to save the lives of helpless dogs and ensure they have the best match with their furever families. She and her volunteers work so hard it is unbelievable. She always takes the time to screen and educate the adopting parents on proper care for the dogs mental and physical health. We need more people and organizations that care about abused and neglected animals as much as Toni.

I had a great experience with AWFA. Helpful and knowledgeable throughout the adoption process, took the time to listen to my concerns and give advice. Spent tons of time over text and phone with me afterwards answering all of my questions as this was the first pup my family and I have had together. Absolutely recommend!

A Wish for Animals is a wonderful rescue run by the most caring, selfless team. As an entirely non-profit organization, Toni and her team dedicate their own time, resources, and energy into rescuing, fostering, and finding forever homes for their pets. I have found the most perfect fit through this organization and hope to dedicate my time as a foster in the future. Seeing the rehabilitation of animals in need is the most rewarding experience. Highly recommend!!

I've worked with this organization before and they are incredible! They are organized, make sure to check up on you frequently, and everyone involved seems to be super friendly. They make fostering such a rewarding experience!

I have fostered well over thirty dogs with this organization over the course of the past year, and every single pup found the best possible home! I am so grateful to foster for a rescue that truly cares about the animals. Not a single volunteer profits, and everybody at AWFA is highly communicative and experienced in animal care and placement. Adopt don't shop!

I wish I read the negative reviews beforehand. Would never adopt from here again. I adopted a puppy, which was labeled as a lab terrier mix, but after paying a lot of money for multiple professionals, it was determined this was a pitbull, which will get me evicted from my apartment. This puppy also had severe fear issues and would nervously glue himself to people rather than play like a puppy. When I brought back this puppy, there was 0 remorse from the AWFA team. Super disappointing and heartbreaking. I hope no one else has to go through this.

I fostered a mama dog and her 5 newborns for 2 months and then went on to adopt one of the puppies of 5. Best experience, highly recommend. ???? They want the best possible homes for the dogs and choose accordingly. The price covers the medical costs and that is not much. Very informative and helpful always.

Our sweet rescue had obviously been well fostered and cared for. He was nursed back to health after a rough start to life. The only issue is that his neuter certificate was never found despite the physical proof that he had had surgery. A wish for animals has been responsive to phone calls and obviously have this organization because of their passion for animals.

I found this organization through a post in my city’s Facebook group. I reached out about a 12week old pup. Toni and her team are amazing people. Working very hard to find these puppies an amazing home. Yesterday we adopted the sweetest boy - Tyson. I truly liked how Toni went through a checklist and provided websites on how to properly care for them. What foods to give and not give. She also gave us the history of the pups, which was a sad story but completely amazing how they reuse these sweet animals and provide them love. Amazing team Toni. And thank you for all your help.

Everyone was extremely helpful and friendly! Along with helping me through the adopting process, they made it very quick. They all truly care for the animals and give them all their love. Even after the adoption they’re open to quick and easy communication for any other questions or concerns.

Toni Eakes, is really unprofessional and inconsiderate. I submitted an inquiry on a dog for adoption, she replied and sent an application quickly, but then completely blew me off. would not reply to any of multiple email or phone calls at all. I know it's not because my app was bad, because I submitted apps to two other adoption agencies and they both offered me dogs right away. 4 days later and Toni Eakes still has not responded. I found a great dog elswhere.

We got our furbaby Peanut from this rescue, we would highly recommend working with them. Toni and the volunteers are very nice and I think they run a great rescue from the resources they have. They really want to make sure each dog is a right fit into each home!! We also have a few friends that have got their puppies/dogs from A Wish For Animals and everyone has had great experience. Keep up the great work!

I started out fostering two senior dogs for A Wish for Animals; of course, they are now mine!!! Toni is extremely nice and helpful as are her volunteers. The adoption fee was reasonable and the process very smooth. Thank you Toni for my precious boys.

A Wish for Animals is an incredible organization! We adopted our beloved "Cocoa Pup" on 07/22/20, during a pandemic. She truly has been our "sweet," in a time of uncertainty. Our family had lost our dog, Sparky, in February. Being a family who loves our furry family members, we were definitely missing something. Working through our grief, we decided to look into adoption. Our family believes A Wish for Animals is a unique and special organization. It was clear that they wanted all of their prospective adoptive families to be able to provide a safe and loving environment by the extensive interview and home inspection process (which, because of COVID, was still conducted but via ZOOM). My family and I drove over an hour (from where we live to Orange County) to have the opportunity to adopt. We were not only greeted by A Wish for Animals' dedicated volunteers, but also from the foster mother of the litter of puppies! This was truly priceless, because we felt they were able to match our family with the perfect puppy for us! Cocoa has brought so much joy into our family's life, as well as to our home, especially during such an uncertain and dark time in our world's history. She has completed our family, and has brought us even more love, loyalty, and laughter! We are fully aware and sincerely grateful for the hard work of A Wish for Animals, the dedicated organization that brought us all together!

My sister adopted a puppy from this Rescue 4 months ago. We have had a wonderful experience with the people people who helped us go through whole process, because we are new parents who had never had dogs before. I really appreciate all the time that Toni spent with us and all tips she gave us on our puppy. In fact we were calling her all the time for advice and sending her pictures . I appreciate all time and effort and patience that Toni spent with us to help our puppy. Please recommend this Rescue to everyone who wants to adopt and save a life.

I adopted a dog named Jenny in 2016 from A Wish For Animals. I was impressed with the professionalism of this rescue and its thoroughness throughout the adoption process. Toni took the time to listen to my questions about the dog, the process and the rescue as it was the first time I’d used a Rescue to adopt. I appreciated the hard work Toni and her volunteers do to help provide homes for Southern California’s shelter dogs. I appreciated it so much that I’ve become a volunteer foster with A Wish For Animals. I’ve had several dogs come through my home as fosters. Under Toni’s guidance I’ve learned to meet with potential adopters, transport dogs to adoption events, and ensure adopters homes are fenced and safe for animals. Toni goes through extraordinary lengths to help animals including feeding feral cat colonies in downtown Los Angeles. I also know that she’s shown up to pick up one dog at the shelter and leaves with several more because these dogs were just placed on the euth list (set for euthanasia). I have fostered and foster-failed over 10 dogs and cats for Toni and A Wish For Animals since 2016 because every animal deserves a loving home. Please adopt don’t shop and foster if you can. Fostering means one more animal out of a kill shelter.

A Wish for Animals is an amazing rescue foundation! They truly care about the well-being and health of all of their animals. Their dedication towards helping animals is so admirable, and I feel so lucky to have a dog from this foundation! I would recommend this foundation for anyone looking for a dog or cat to adopt. There are always plenty of adoptions from ages to sizes to breeds— you will find your forever furry friend from A Wish for Animals!

Reviews are usually only sent because someone was asked or because you had an awful experience. I have literally found a place that cares. My family adopted a young puppy that was great for 3 days. Then took a turn and we thought it was going to be it. We went to the emergency room for animals and they told us parvo. Well this shelter took it upon themselves to help guide us through. Toni was available at all hours and she provide us Laura who came by on Christmas Eve and Christmas to provide care. This was at home care and not something they have to do. Not only is Chip back and acting a like a puppy but a wish for animals helped nurse him to perfect health. Why for you: They provide ideas and how to care for your puppy They provide updates and instant feedback They want it to work ( you get interviewed and need to send videos of where the dog will be) You spend 1 hour with the puppy before you get to adopt the puppy to make sure there is a connection They take care of booster shots and other processes for the first 6 months I highly recommend as this experience was a first!

This is a wonderful foster group. The volunteers that run this organization have a heart of gold and are doing a wonderful thing for these animals and their community

I am in absolute awe of the selflessness of Toni & her team of angels. They work tirelessly on behalf of the animals, giving up their days, weekends, time and money. They truly CARE about rescuing the dogs and placing them in GOOD homes. The application process is to ensure that there is always a love connection with the fosters/forever home parents and their new family members. Thank you A Wish for Animals, without you there would be a lot less love in these animals lives.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS. This is a terrible company run by terrible humans all hiding under the guise of being an animal rescue. Toni is completely unprofessional, as well as Catherine. These people communicate so poorly even though I provided complete transparency in who I was what I do and how the dog would be cared for. Yet, they give me the run around for days claiming they are "busy". Yes REAL rescues are busy bc their top priority is getting dogs into loving homes. This is clearly not the case here. I read some of the other reviews and it looks like not just me that has a problem with this place.