Almost Home Foundation Schaumburg, Illinois

Being a volunteer at this foundation has changed my life! I have never met a better group of individuals who cares so much about their animals. There is always a volunteer willing to take a dog to the vet, the groomers, or even out on a …

Truely compassionate and friendly people.

We adopted our first dog from Almost Home in 2009 and are in the process of adopting another. Our experience so far has been great both times. The volunteers for Almost Home genuinely care about these animals. They aren't trying to be difficult when it comes to adopting these animals out...they want each and every animal to live their best life! We dealt with Lynn this time and the amount she cares was very clear, she's been great!

Whoever that Linn or Lindsey; whatever her name is…is a disgusting human being! Learn some respect…i feel sorry for those animals this foundation “rescues” no responding back, no emails, no phone calls. Only attitude problems. Please everyone, do yourselves a favor and adopt elsewhere !!!!!

Do not deal with Lynn. Very unprofessional, rude, discriminative and biased. She is just a foster person and she acts like it’s up to HER to chose who gets the dog. She judges you based on her impression. She can’t even control the animals. I will be going to another foundation that deserves it because of how they act and treat their animals. Poor animals. Edit: who cares she’s an “adopt show coordinator”, she still does not know how to manage and communicate. I’ve never been disgusted of a place like this. Very very very rude.

I adopted Noel from one their Petsmart Adoptathons many years ago, and the experience has stayed with me. Noel, I might add, passed away in my arms on the operating table in Jan 2020, age 7 yrs. At the time I adopted him, he was 8 weeks, known as "Starry Night," and was a "Retriever Mix." I thought he'd fit in well with my German Shepherds, size wise. He was about as much Retriever as my purebred Shepherds. I had a DNA test done and he was American Bulldog, English Bulldog, Saluki and Husky. And looking at him as adult, you could see all those traits. Looking on their website currently, I notice several dogs classified as "Labrador Retriever" who clearly are not from their muzzles and ears. In my experience, this was a well meaning rescue with dedicated volunteers, but sometimes one has to go the extra mile in ensuring the public is not misled in what they're getting. It's up to each adoptee to use their own common sense when adopting, because adoption should be forever.

I wanted to share that the Almost Home Foundation is one of the most amazing non-for profit organizations I have worked with. They truly and sincerely care about the animals and take amazing care of them. They need to get all the recognition they can for all the hard work and volunteers that help. They are amazing!!!! Blessings to all of them! Lorri retzer

I'm extremely disappointed in the way Almost Home Foundation operates. I gave them five stars because I don't want to hurt their chances. But they refuse to interact in any way to the adoptees unless the (the adoptees) are approved. They didn't even estimate how long the process takes (that I could see). How long should we be hoping before we give up?

Hello! Beautiful Susie (previously named Fiesta) is doing great! We are both so happy. Your foundation deserves a lot of praise. One important thing about your rescue is the communication to us humans. I went through several shelters and would not receive an update. The foster mommy(keeping the name private) was wonderful and did alert me of the process and that there were others interested. I can tell you the experience so far with my little Susie has been wonderful. We love each other very very much and the experience to adopt is very rewarding. If there are families discouraged out there please keep trying. There are so many puppies with needs waiting to be loved.

Adoption process was super smooth, highly recommend!

At first everything went great. They forwarded my email and application to a foster parent (kittens) and then I proceeded to speak with them and meet the kittens in person. Let’s just say there was a bad communication and I so badly wanted to ask multiple questions but was wary of annoying the foster mom. Meeting the kittens as well as the foster mom in person was a great experience at the time. She made me believe as if I was going to adopt them and told me that they wouldn’t want to send the kittens to a family with other pets or young children. So I obviously was feeling good. Then comes a week later, then another week, then the third week. Kittens got their shots on the second week, were supposed to get their neuter on 4/7 but turns out it got canceled and the foster mom didn’t think to tell me or respond to my texts until after I reached out again. Then she changes her words and says they’re leaning to another applicant with children but nothing’s official yet. Like why. I’ve bought nearly all the stuff for the kittens thinking I was going to be the one to adopt them. Emailed almost home three times, no response. Called them to see if I could speak to someone 5 times, no one. The lack of communication for both parties is unbelievably irresponsible and unprofessional. Just leaving my frustration here until I get a response.

Highly recommend this organization my wife and I adopted our puppy there, and we are so happy with her and the excellent work they do everyday

I have completed an application days ago and I haven’t gotten a response back, I emailed them twice and still no reply. I was hoping to adopt two kittens, disappointing.

BEST RESCUE EVER! HIGHLY RECOMMEND! My boyfriend and I were ready to adopt a dog. We looked at countless of other places but none of them were good with communicating. I came across almost home foundation and applied for “aboo” (now Milo). We got a response back within 24 hours. We did the meet and greet, home check, and adopted him within two weeks! This place clearly cares about their animals, they put in so much effort to make sure they go to a good home. If we ever decide to add another fur baby to our family, we will definitely go back! (:

I've adopted 2 dogs from Almost Home about 11 years apart. They took their time to get to know the dogs to report on their temperaments, and were easy to work with and friendly. Both dogs have been the sweetest dogs and now that we are looking for one more, Almost Home is our first stop.

Have NOT received acknowledgment to my many emails,application. Interested in adopting better communication

Animal rescue in Huntley that not only takes in animals and stray but has been known to have resources and training for those pet owners who need help with dog or cat training.

Love our new kitty (just adopted in February) but extremely disappointed in the lack of communication from this facility. I’ve reached out via email and phone well over well 15 times AT LEAST! I’m just trying to get my cat’s vaccination record! Unfortunately, a pet resort told me they have a huge amount of complaints from clients on this same issue. It’s like once you adopt, they don’t care. This is my first adoption and they have left a very bad taste in my mouth. No possible excuse for the lack of customer service. Signed, Extremely Frustrated Cat Mom

We visited to fulfill a Cub Scout requirement. While there we made donations, learned about fostering, adopting, some of what volunteering entails, and the most exciting part, we met a few animals. The people running the shelter are pleasant and knowledgeable. The animals they have (that we met), well you just want to take them all home. It seems like a great place to volunteer, foster and especially adopt.

Over the years our family has in total adopted 6 animals, both dogs and cats, which should sum up our love and loyalty for Almost Home Foundation. We love this rescue so much because they CARE. So many rescues adopt out so many animals without question- which I understand, they want to be able to rescue as many as possible. AHF rescues and adopts out animals by the dozens weekly, but they take the time to make sure the animal will be a good fit- which is very appreciated and shows that the rescue wants the best for each animal they rescue. They also try to get all of their animals into fosters to avoid them being in the shelter. Their values on their organization show so much love for their animals. One of our cats recently passed away in December and we were absolutely devastated. This was my first big "loss". While she was sick, we made a trip to PetSmart to get her more of her food that she liked and I noticed all of the cats at the adoption show. Most were kittens, and 1 adult cat. There were so many people giving attention to the kittens, but none to this adult cat, so of course I had to. I fell in love with this cat and knew when the time was right, if he was still available, I wanted to take him home. When I felt ready to bring home another cat, Morris was still available. We went to the adoption show and they were SO informative about him. The volunteers were very informative about all of the cats. They answered all of our questions and let us know the next steps in the process. There were others who were interested in Morris, but we ultimately were the lucky ones to be able to take him home- which we are SO grateful for. He is such a bundle of joy. Without AHF we wouldn't have all of our babies with us. We are so appreciative of everything they have done for us, for Morris, and for all of the animals they continue to rescue. The world needs more good people like them

Organization always trying to find good homes for Great Dogs who have been abandoned or displaced in some way????????

I have been trying to get a hold of the shelter for many days now in regards to one of their dogs. I have had an application sent in and two emails following and still have not received anything. I will be willing to change my opinion on this shelter once I finally get a hold of someone. I understand that theres a lot of people that are adopting dogs at the moment but it is ridiculous that an application has been sent in, two emails, and multiple phone calls and I still can't get a hold of this place.

We got our last dog from here. She's 11 now and still bring us immense joy. Adoption process was professional and easy, great foundation.

Amazing staff! Superior care for the sweet souls they bring in, and continuously placing deserving souls with their fur-ever homes even during the challenges of 2020!

We had the privilege of adopting the sweetest Jack Russel Mix this past Saturday. Due to her heart worm positive diagnosis, there is a lot of information we needed in order make sure she is being cared for properly. The whole adoption process was seamless and wonderful. Almost Home's staff are some of the most helpful and friendly people. They ensured we had all of the information, and did not sugar-coat anything. We also loved the way they ran their shelter. They try their best to get dogs straight into a foster home to ensure they don't have to live in kennels any longer than necessary. This also helps teach social and behavioral skills. We are so thankful, and would recommend them to anyone. If you are looking for an animal, attend one of their adoption shows which are held every Saturday at the locations listed on their website.

At first, I loved this place. We got our first dog from here back in 2009. Despite the fact that her foster dad lied to us about her house training and aggressiveness, we loved her and gave her the best life she could’ve asked for. I also volunteer here and walk the dogs at the kennel. Not to mention, after my dog had to be put to sleep due to old age, we became babysitters and babysat sweet Timon last summer. Now, we are interested in getting a new dog. We took Squirtle home over a week ago. She spent the last 9 days with us. She got attached to me; she slept in my bed, followed me around the house, and went out with me wherever I went. In turn, we got attached to her. We bought her clothes to wear because she got cold outside, we bought her the Royal Canin chihuahua food that her foster mom had been feeding her, we bought her treats, we bought her a new collar, tag, and leash, we bought food bowls, and we even bought her a car harness with a seatbelt for safer transportation. Since we we were under the impression that she would be our dog, we spent a good amount of money on her. I also was working hard and making significant progress with her potty training. 2 days ago we “adopted” her at the Bloomingdale PetSmart. We paid her fee and filled out her paperwork and it was the happiest day ever for my family. Today, ARITA SEGO calls us and claims that she needs to “do a home check”, to which we’re perfectly fine with. She shows up and tells me to go inside so she can speak with my mother alone. Then, she tells my mom that she is taking the dog from us. When I tried to speak to her about it, she told me it was an “adult conversation”. I am 20, not 5. Apparently, they had just then finally decided to contact our old vet (Todd Zink, who is a terrible vet and told us nothing was wrong with our old dog when she was clearly suffering) and he had said negative things about my mother. 1) He is a terrible vet who watched us BAWL our eyes out less than a year ago as we had to put our dog to sleep because he REFUSED to help her in any way 2) we had already had this dog in our home for over a week. We had grown attached to her and her to us. We had bought her so many things. Why would you do this now after we had already had her in our home and “adopted” her? This poor dog has been in at least 4 homes in approximately a year of life and has had at least 4 names. She deserves better. She deserves a family that loves her and will stick with her; we were that family. I will no longer be volunteering here. This place is just outright cruel. They do not have the dogs best interest in mind because if they did, they wouldn’t be removing her from a place that she felt safe and loved. I would like to note that Megan Burns is a great foster mom and if anyone else deserves to keep Squirtle, it would be her.

My experience with this organization in a nutshell was mishandled, misleading and a giant disappointment. We started off on a good foot with the communication piece. Someone from the shelter emailed me to notify me that my application had been forwarded to the fosters of the dogs I was interested in that same night. And within the next day nearly all the fosters has reached out to inform me their dogs had already been adopted (Totally understand and appreciated the response to let me know) At this point I was left with one dog left on my list so I waited a few days until his foster parent reached out to me to basically set up a meet and greet. I was so excited as I hadn’t made it this far in the process yet due to the overwhelming amount of people trying to adopt a dog right now. So we had something confirmed and scheduled for Monday. Everything was going great and we fell in love with this dog. We told the fosters we wanted to move forward with next steps and they said the next piece would be a home visit and we would receive a phone call later that day and get scheduled for a visit this week. Well, Saturday night comes, Sunday comes, Monday and NO RESPONSE. I sent a text today to check in and see if there was an update. I got a voicemail from the foster saying the dog was placed with another family due to a “first come, first serve basis” At no point in our many exchanges was it informed that there was a family ahead of us. Why were we even scheduled for a meet and greet if there was already someone wanting to adopt? I wouldn’t have found out this information had I not reached out and I would still be waiting like an idiot thinking that I was going to be taking home this dog. Just a giant disappointment and unprofessional. We were just lead on this entire time. I really wish this place was transparent with their process/available dogs.

Wonderful organization with amazing volunteers.

This organization gave my elderly parents 2 Chihuahuas that were taken from an animal hoarder. Their house now smells like urine and feces because neither of them can take care of these dogs. This irresponsible placement has caused stress on an already stressful situation. The foster caretaker did offer to watch the dogs while my dad was out for his knee surgery, scheduled the week after this adoption BTW, but the desire to place 2 old dogs outweighed what is best for people. Poor animal placement is a big reason animals are returned to shelters. You are not serving the animals or people by passing them out like Halloween candy to anyone who knocks on your door. Update: An AHF staff member did a wellness check at the home and saw what the living conditions were. She is coming up with an action plan/ and offered to take the dogs for a few weeks. I appreciate her help, even though we are locking the barn door after the horse runs off.

There is not enough time or words that can explain the disappointment with this foundation. My family wanted to foster one of the animals with ability to adopt. After the schedule neuter date it was arranged by us and the staff that he would be coming home with us. It wasn't until we received notice that the dog contracted kennel cough that things had changed. They have a widespread of this disease happening in there facility. His surgery was post poned for two additional weeks. My family and I were willing to pay the adoption fee and by pass the fostering as long as we could bring him home after he was well . We have other pets in our family so we didn't want to take the risk of them contracting it. The foundation said they couldn't hold the dog and there was a chance that we would be put on a "No adoption list". We are the most loving pet people that you could ask for. The very poor response from this foundation is so unbelievable , almost in humane. I feel that they just wanted this dog out of there facility at any cost. We were more then willing to pay the fee for adoption prior to having him come home. In my opinion they are not looking out for these pets at all. After working with the staff for over a week and buying everything he needed to come home with us, it all changed after he contracted kennel cough. I do not recommend this facility at all ! November 30, 2020 UPDATED.... Rosemary, I know there have been many emails back and forth, my husband has also forwarded his review as well. I will be forwarding you my vet bills this week. To your point that Jackie did not want us to bring Woodford into the kennel after we were told about the Kennel cough outbreak at your facility, we did keep him in the car. We were told it would be find to do the meet and greet outside with Lucas because Lucas did not have kennel Cough. My dog has now been sick for almost a week with this virus and now how our neighborhood dog sick as well. Between the medication, X-ray’s and office visits I am close to $1000 in charges from this! Once again this is why we did not want to bring Lucas home until he was well. With you sending home dogs in this condition to fosters or people adopting you are putting other dogs at risk, this is highly contagious and very expensive to treat. It makes me wonder how you are treating your animals at your facility. At this point I highly doubt you have only a couple animals with this virus. In a enclosed environment and no treatments or separations being done this can be spread very quickly as you can see from my one visit at your location. I expect to be reimbursed for these charges.