Animal Rescue Fund Inc

My family and I have adopted several dogs from ARF and I have helped to place many dogs from this shelter. All of the dogs I have helped to place or adopted myself or adopted by my friends have been wonderful pets. They will take animals other shelters will not take. This shelter is a no-kill shelter that operates with no government money. It is funded strictly by donations and a bingo they run. I have placed dogs from them as far away as Chicago and everyone has been very pleased with their dogs. I would highly recommend you consider adopting from ARF.

After reading some of these negative reviews. I definitely have to put my two cents in. I have bought two dogs from ARF and they have turned out to be amazing dogs. I plan on going back and getting a third. ARF has be nothing but good to me and my family, my parents have bought 5 dogs from ARF and they live a very happy life. I'm glad they don't have to do a ton of paper work to be able to adopt a dog. Because most of these other places want u to fill out a book of info, and on top of it u have to be put on a waiting list. ARF takes very good care of there animals and of the customers coming to adopt. I have never had a problem with ARF. I will alway adopt from ARF!!

I adopted Sampson in March after seeing hi on Fox19. He is a very friendly 2 yr old Great Perneese/Collie mix. He's a great dog but too big for me. I am looking to turn him back into the Amelia ARF. If anyone is interested in giving him a loving home, please email me
pevans31461@gmail.com

I adopted a cat through Animal Rescue Fund, which was through a local Petsmart. Other than a kitty cold and dirty ears, the cat so far is in good health and is a healthy weight. She came spayed and with a Rabies vaccine.

My concerns:

1.) Paper work was not well documented. This cat is an adult and we (including our vet) could not determine what other vaccines she had based on the paperwork we were given.



2.) Her date for the feline leukemia test was listed as her actual date of birth - which is incorrect. The vet that did her spay could not locate this test in their records when I called. She thankfully tested negative at our vet.



3.) Our vet noticed that her vaccine paperwork from Animal Rescue Fund was for canines, not felines.



4.) No one at Animal Rescue Fund could give me sufficient information about this cat's background when I called. They said her paperwork had been pulled and to call Petsmart. Petsmart had no information for me other than the minimal paperwork they had on file for her. Petsmart told me to call Animal Rescue Fund.



5.) There was NO screening process from either Animal Fund Rescue or Petsmart. I told Petsmart what cat I wanted, they handed me a couple papers to fill out, and the cat was mine. There were no questions concerning other pets at home, claw vs. declaw, indoor vs. outdoor or even if I owned or rented my residence. I went through all of these questions at the county shelter with my other cats and could not take them home until my apartment complex verbally gave permission to the shelter.



6.) There has been no follow-up from Animal Rescue Fund regarding the adoption. My county shelter did a couple follow-ups with our cats after we adopted them.



What was good:

1.) Although I could not get the information I wanted, everyone was pleasant over the phone.



2.) Like I said, the cat ended up being in good health and a healthy weight.



3.) For the cat, the adoption cost was an appropriate $75 fee.



3.) Perfect or not, I commend anyone who saves animals and tries to find them a home.



Bottom line, I chose the cat, not Animal Rescue Fund. I would not go through them or Petsmart again if I could help it. There is a lack of communication, information, and most importantly, they need to better understand who is adopting their animals. I should not have been allowed to walk out of Petsmart so easily with that cat. Screening is extra work up front, but could make all of the difference in ensuring a pet does not go to an abusive home and or show back up at a shelter.

After losing our 7 year old boxer to cancer we decided we wanted another one and the route we decided to adopt from a shelter rather than from a breeder. The lady that was at the front desk treated me as if I couldn't afford the high adoption "donation" of $350 and wouldn't help us to even meet the pet outside of the cage. She was very hateful and quite unfriendly. We ended up giving this puppy a home, but since the day we brought him home he has been sick. I called ARF to let them know we had been sold a very sick dog that almost died. I asked for the owner to call me that was on March 2nd, I have since called three more times with no answer. I feel that the quality of care is less than good for these poor animals in the month we have gotten the dog diagnosed he has gained 13lbs! I think that ARF should be responsible for this bill of almost $700 because they sold me a dog that was supposed to be healthy at a very high price. I could have bought three puppies at this point from breeders with a health guarantee.

After seeing a negative review about the ARF shelter in Amelia, OH I felt the need to write about my family's experience a few years back. We decided a dog would be a great addition to the family and looked for months at various area shelters as well as online. Finally after visiting ARF we found a great dog who had apparently been taken to ARF because the previous owner could not afford a non-urgent but much needed operation on her leg. After several visits and much consideration we decided despite the known surgery we would still love to have this dog. It haste been 3 years now and we couldn't imagine our home without her! Much thanks to ARF for rescuing and providing a home for an injured dog. Many other rescues may not have given her a second chance. We have had a wonderful experience at ARF and have only good things to say about them. As for the donation mentioned in the negative review, that is how the shelter is funded. It only makes sense to donate money for the care of a pet you can no longer keep yourself. Otherwise you would just be dumping your pet on them and expecting them to care for it for free.

After many tear filled nights, I had made an excruciatingly painful decision to take our cat to a no-kill shelter because of some "bathroom problems". I contacted a very well known and reputable no-kill shelter first and was told that the shelter was at maximum capacity. In addition, after learning of our pet’s “bathroom problem”, they stated that it would not be likely that the cat would ever get adopted. In addition, that shelter told me that I would be lucky to find a no-kill shelter with space. I then contacted the Animal Rescue Fund. The phone was answered by a woman who was less than sympathetic to the fact that I had just made an incredibly difficult decision to abandon our pet but went on to state that they could take our pet, we just needed to give them a biography of the cat and we had to bring $150.00 in CASH as a “donation”. When I asked about the likelihood of adoption all she said was “not a problem” and then went on to reiterate two more times that we needed to bring a CASH donation of $150.00. I hung up and called the first shelter back. I described my experience with the Animal Rescue Fund and the person on the other line simply said “we never require a donation”. I then asked if she knew for sure if the Animal Rescue Fund was actually a no-kill shelter and all she responded with was “I wouldn’t take my animal there”. I then asked her who regulates no-kill shelters and she referred me to their on duty officer. I left a voice message for the officer but never received a return phone call. Ultimately, I decided to keep our cat and make her an indoor/outdoor cat. I’m happy to report she is healthy and as happy as could be and I couldn’t be more happy as well. I will not tell you to not support this facility but I would strongly suggest that you do your own research and trust your gut with the information you obtain. My gut told me that the Animal Rescue Fund may not really be a legitimate no-kill shelter. I couldn’t get past the fact that the $150 donation HAD to be in cash. Perhaps so no one could trace it?