A.R.F.-Animal Rescue Foundation Wheaton, Illinois

I adopted a sweet cat about a month ago. However, I would not recommend ARF for adoptions. Their age estimate for the cat was 1, which was a main part of the reason I chose her as a companion for my 4 year old cat. However, two vets since have estimated her age closer to 5 or 6. Further, I inquired about her scratching her ears, and the volunteer dismissed my concerns as her having a scratch on her ear. The next day, the vet also told me she had a very obvious case of ear mites, if you know what the signs are of ear mites. That's something I think they should have known working with cats. Ear mites are also highly contagious, so I was quite concerned for my current cat being potentially exposed, and the volunteer knew I had a cat. Overall, the cat is really sweet and adjusting post ear mites, but I would urge anyone considering a pet from ARF to use caution when adopting from ARF.

The ARF volunteers take such loving care of their foster animals, and work hard to find them the perfect homes

ARF pulls dogs from high kill shelters downstate, and finds them loving homes. The volunteers are all kind and competent.

Everyone I spoke to was very nice for the most part the adoption application and wait time wasnt awful and they were thorough. But once I was approved (Sunday) for the puppy I had applied for I was forced a time and date for a pick up that didnt work for me (the following Saturday) and no one responded to me with any help in setting up a different time or date other than to ask agin if that day works and that they dont keep dogs for any reason in the event you cant make the appointment... basically Monday to Saturday I got no response if I could get a different appointment. It would have been nice to have been kept in the loop if anyone at the foundation was actually trying to help me get another appointment rather than not responding for a week and leaving me in the dark. It was just a bit unprofessional....

Truly the best people to work with. Thank you.

We recently adopted the sweetest pup from ARF! Every human we interacted with was friendly and helpful and you can tell everyone genuinely cares about the animals they take in. They screen applicants thoroughly to make sure these furry friends are going to the best homes. I also very much appreciate their honesty about the pets they foster! Our pup's foster parent told us everything about his behaviors, from the many good ones to the one tiny (and avoidable!) bad habit. :) I cannot recommend ARF enough, and every single person I've talked to who has adopted through this rescue says the same thing. Thank you ARF! <3

There's no way that I could express my gratitude towards Terri and the loving staff at ARF! They really do love these animals like their own. The facility for the disabled dogs is very clean and the dogs are all loved. She really does go above and beyond for these animals. Amazing organization ❤

I adopted my cat from ARF from their cats at the Wheaton PetSmart. The adoption process was very smooth, and volunteer Marylou was very helpful and compassionate. She said to us "have you ever thought about an older cat?" and the rest is history. Lion is the perfect member of our household, and we are astonished that he was in the cat center for almost 6 months before we adopted him. They took very good care of him, and it goes to show that every pet has the perfect family out there somewhere, waiting for them. I liked the process so much I started volunteering for them!

Absolutely wonderful foundation. These people treat their fosters like royalty. You can see in the photos of their animals online that they live in upscale homes, receive great veterinary care, and are well loved. They also do events where foster parents can share stories of their animals with potential adopters. Communications with the ARF liaison were always very pleasant and I really felt like she would find an animal tailor made for my situation. Will definitely be donating to this place in the future and recommending it to my friends and family!

ARF was very thorough in their application approval, lasting a full week, which has its downside when adoptable animals have such a high turnover rate at other shelters. Chicago dwellers, you'd be better off adopting through PAWS or One Tail at a Time as ARF prefers suburban folks in large homes with ample yard space. This goes for all of the other suburban rescue shelters as well.

I don’t know how many nice things I can say about ARF. If I listed out all of the awesome work these guys are doing I’d run out of characters. I applied for a cat during the pandemic and kitten season, meaning these guys We’re super backed up, like all shelters. I live in Chicago. I heard back from my volunteer within two days— notifying me that she was working on verifying my references. The process took a few extra days because one of my references was unavailable a lot of the times she called. But she didn’t give up— Within about 5 days, I was approved. I had my pick at any cat available on their site, as long as the foster OK’s it. Note that at the same time I also applied to PAWS, and not only did they never reach out to my references or landlord, they also never denied me, either. My application was completely overlooked, it seems. So I picked a cute kitten I saw on the site, but oops turns out she was meeting a family the next day and would likely be adopted. No worries, my volunteer, Carrie, offered some great additional options that she thought would do well with my family. I picked another cat, and heard back from her foster, Sharon, within a day. I met her at a petsmart, she did such a wonderful job explaining my new kitten’s personality, and how she did at home with other cats. She was extremely thorough with paperwork and the next steps I needed to take. My kitten had not yet been microchipped, and since Sharon knew I’d driven from Chicago to Darien to meet the kitten, instead of telling me to come back a few days later to pick her back up (which I was ok with), she literally went out of her way to contact the volunteer who microchips, drove the cat over, got her microchipped, and brought her back to me within 30 minutes. She even cut her nails! I took her home the same day. I was so impressed by ARF that I suggested my friend also adopt from them. She also lives in the city. She had her approval within a day and her cat within a week. Since then I’ve remained in touch with my volunteer, Carrie, who has been a great resource. She loves seeing updates and I love my cat so much I’ve decided to adopt again from ARF. She reached out as soon as she got details about new cats being Put up on their site, and I was able to be the very first to apply for a gorgeous little kitten. She sent my application over to his foster, Nicole, who reached out within minutes and has already been kind enough to give me details on him, as well as text over a bunch of photos. I will be meeting him tomorrow, and hopefully taking him home. Now, from a adoptive parent’s perspective, I only know what it was like to adopt a cat from them, and I can tell you they never questioned or saw me living in the city as a reason to deny me. If anything, they always made sure I was comfortable and aware that I’d be driving out to Darien or Wheaton in order to meet the foster parents. Now would it be easier and more convenient for me if they were in Chicago? Sure, of course it would. But this isn’t about me— it’s about the kittens and cats being fostered by some amazing people who don’t get paid to go through this process, they just do it because they love to. So if Darien and Wheaton is most convenient for them, that’s where I’ll go. That shouldn’t be a reason to overlook these guys. The adoption process for ARF has been so personal and I am incredibly grateful to them. $150 is also incredibly reasonable for a healthy, microchipped and spayed kitten. I’ve seen other city shelters hike that fee up to $250 dollars per cat. At ARF, they even provide you 30 days of pet insurance for free. So, that’s my take. ARF has a customer and adoption parent in me for life!

Absolutely amazing rescue run by some very loving and compassionate volunteers

ARF pets are the best pets! #AdoptDontShop arf-il.org

Best rescue ever! Clearly the welfare of the animals is top priority.

Adopted my Kitten from them 2 weeks ago and they were very easy to communicate with and had no problems. They take great care of the animals and provide you with all the records on everything, and called my references - so they clearly want to make sure their animals go to a good home. I would recommend any one looking to adopt to use this shelter!!! Here's my happy little boy in his new cat tree!

We foster the dogs at A.R.F. and that' s how we got ours! Fostering is a great way to try out dogs until you find the perfect one. A.R.F. is great to work with and we have loved all the dogs!

The staff was so rude

Hey im a kid wondering if you guys still take volunteers I would love to do some work there I do not necessarily there for the benefits but I LOVE ANIMALS