Animal Rescue League of Boston

If you are seeking to do a good deed and adopt a pet - I strongly advise against the ARL Boston. They adopted me an extremely sick pet with behavioral issues then guilted me into keeping this sick pet for 3 1/2 years until his death. Immediately upon adopting this 5 year old cat Sammy, he displayed extreme behavioral issues including excessive fascination with water, chewing power cords, peeing in the corners of the house, etc. The ARL dismissed the problems and told me it was the ""stress of a new home"". Within two months of adopting Sammy, I took him to another vet and learned that Sammy had kidney disease (I have the paperwork to prove it). When I called the ARL and told them they had adopted a sick diseased pet with extreme behavioral issues, they guilted me into keeping him with crude remarks as if I didn't care about animals. The problem is, this was my 2nd adoption with the ARL Boston and both were similar in adopting pets with extreme problems. Several years earlier I had adopted a pair of cats from the ARL Boston. The pair didn't really seem to get along but individually there were great. They fought like wild animals once I got them home. When I contacted the ARL, they agreed that the cats did not get along but excused their adoption practices upon following the previous owners wishes that they be adopted as a pair. Melissa the Director of the ARL Shelter gives more consideration for diseased and problematic animals than the human beings paying and providing for their care. BOTH times it was not disclosed to me that I was adopting fighting animals or a diseased pet. Melissa the director made remarks such as I get ""easily flustered"" after sustaining SEVEN YEARS of disastrous pet ownership via the ARL Boston. Please be aware, the ARL does not properly screen their pets for serious medical problems that could costs you thousands of dollars in medical bills and could destroy your home immediately within weeks/months of adoption. Your electronics, furniture, mattresses, bedding, carpets and so on. For me, they set-me-up into TWO disaterous adoptions which could have been easily prevented either through proper medical screening or basic human common sense. The ARL Boston is an absolute insult of responsible pet adoption - if there is such a thing - it certainly is not here. Pros: Looks nice and makes you feel comfortable Cons: I've been duped TWICE trying to do a ""good thing"" more

I adopted two cats from this shelter. I was very impressed with the cleanliness of this place, it didn't have that stench other shelters have and the animals were well cared for. I came in and had some daily visits with my cats before bringing them home in their ""playpens"" at the shelter. One of my cats had been severely ill and skittish when brought in and probably would have been put down at other shelters. He's been the healthiest and quirkiest cat ever since. Both my cats have no behavioral problems and I believe that this shelter takes time to get to know personalities. Pros: Not depressing Cons: Not that easy to get to more

I just finished adopting a cat from ARL Boston, and I had a wonderful experience. The staff there is excellent; they obviously care a lot about the animals. I was subject to somewhat a rigorous examination by one worker (?you planned to adopt the cat on Wednesday, but you just mentioned you also planned to leave town all weekend, so how were you planning to take care of her while you?re away??). The worker clearly had the best interest of the cat, not me, in mind, and although this was annoying at times, I really appreciated their value system. Their policies ensure that fewer animals are left homeless or in bad or unstable conditions. They discovered my cat had a heart murmur, so they gave her a cardiogram ($275), then neutered her (~$100), also treated her for worms and gave her all her shots (~$200) but only charged us $100. I will be making an additional donation. The real advantage to ARL is that they have an animal behaviorist, so you can trust that the pets available for adoption are all good natured. My new cat is doing very well and although I?m glad I picked her out, I think any of the animals there would have made excellent pets. If you are thinking of getting a pet - please use this place rather than a pet store because you are not only supporting a homeless animal, but a great organization. Pros: Staff, vetinary services, adoption process, pets Cons: Nothing more