Always great to support local animal shelters while thrift store shopping. Keep up the great work!

Had the pleasure of volunteering here this morning and I can definitely say that I will be coming back. The staff is all extremely friendly and the pups seem like they are takenly well care of and are happy while they are waiting to find a permanent home. I would definitely recommend reaching out if you are interested in fostering or adopting a furry friend.

Havent been able to find the right pet to adopt.

I am a HUGE proponent of adopt dont shop and hate to leave a negative review of any organization that helps homeless animals, but I am seriously disappointed in how they handled a recent adoption.At the beginning of December, 2020, I put in an adoption application for a dog Alive Memphis was fostering. Over the course of two weeks, they checked my app, called my references, and an hour long call with the rescue President, Ranise Coppens, it seemed that all would be moving forward as soon as the dog Id applied for had recovered from a surgery in early February, 2021. In January, I followed up with the President, the Adoption Coordinator, Jenny Hansom, and even connected and chatted with the dogs foster on Instagram. In mid-January, when I reached out to start planning my 4hr trip to Memphis to get him, Jenny and Ranise both stopped responding to me. The foster chatted with me about the dog, but never shared anything about why I hadnt heard anything from Alive. Then one day, she posted on her Instagram feed that she was keeping him- something neither she, the Adoption Coordinator, nor the Rescue President thought was pertinent information for me to know. The whole experience with this agency was completely unprofessional and disrespectful. If it were any other kind of business, Id demand they return the money that my family and friends donated specifically for this dogs treatment in the expectation that he was going to be mine, but given that this is supposed to be a charity, Im glad it at least went to help an animal in need. That said, we will never again support this group in word or deed, and I strongly urge hopeful pet owners to seek a more reputable agency before resorting to dealing with them.

I went to an event to go see the dogs I was interested in adopting. Only to find out they weren’t actually at the event. They told me they received my adoption forms and that I was second in line for the adoption. I’ve emailed multiple times over the past month with NO response in any form. Truly disappointed with their communication. It’s unfortunate that there are people out there who want to give these beautiful animals a family and home, but never get acknowledged. I was also interested in fostering, but again have not heard a thing from anyone.

After expressing interest in multiple dogs, an interview was set up to discuss a single dog. The interviewer was rude and inflexible when we asked questions attempting to find the dog that would best match with our lifestyle. We were rejected without explanation. If we were rejected as dog lovers who grew up with dogs, live an active lifestyle and have experience with training, I am not sure what their goals actually are.

Don’t waste your time with these scam artists. Their 2 star overall rating and reviews on yelp tells the real story. Poor communication. Cumbersome application/ interview/ etc. process. Poor judgement and professionalism. I want to give organizations that are helping animals good reviews but I can’t on this one. 0 stars.

I adopted my senior pup, who had various health issues, from ALIVE Rescue and I couldnt be more grateful for the effort they put into making sure she was properly treated before adoption. Yes, it was a lengthy process (took me about ~2 months to finalize the adoption) but, in my opinion, it says a lot about how much they care about the animals. Theres also coordinators who you can email if leadership cant get back to you. They do the best they can with the limited admin staff they have and the many animals they have to tend to and make executive decisions about. If you arent willing to put the time and effort then, yeah, this rescue isnt for you and you should look elsewhere. I, personally, appreciate their thoroughness. Most importantly, I appreciate the love they have for these animals and for saving the most perfect girl who is now part of my home!

They have a great mission but because they are made up of mostly volunteers there is not a lot of communication and updates. They may get back to you right away or in a few weeks. Website is not continually updated. DO NOT GO WITHOUT A CONFIRMED APPOINTMENT. On Google they have open hours but they do not accept anyone without an appointment.

Truly the most disappointing experience. I have emailed them for over a month regarding a dog and called at least 10 times, to get ZERO response either way. We filled in an application and only then did they email us back, but still would not answer calls from me when I tried 4-5 times to schedule a home visit. The emailed a month later to say that they’re adopting the dog elsewhere because they “never heard back.” I’m truly disappointed in the service here, and after going to PAWS Chicago it truly feels like Alive doesn’t want to adopt their dogs. The process is lengthy and they could have had another dog in a safe home but their service is absolutely terrible. I do not recommend, and will be spreading this story. Please check out PAWS for reliable and friendly dog adoptions in Chicago.

Know this review will properly not make a difference however, wanted to share my brief and strange experience.After finding a couple of dogs of interest in via Petfinder, application was completed as instructed. Due to relocating to Chicago only a couple of weeks before the Shelter in Place occurred, I found myself wanting companionship as I have grown up with dogs all my life & consider them my fur babies. I have adopted a couple of times in the past to great results.With everything having to take place online and email, it is a little more difficult, not being able to go to shelters in person but it is what it is...Sam Grzeskiewicz from Alive contacted me via email March 29 stating my application was recieved & volunteers were combing through the hundreds they had received. She said I would be contacted if I was good fit. After not hearing back, on Apr 23rd I submitted F/U email to Sam inquiring status, to which she responds after reviewing your app, we are unable to move forward with your app at this time.I was flabbergasted and baffled as to why this was. Therefore, immediately responded to find out why this decison was made as I really liked a dog named root beer along with couple of other dogs they had available. Anyone who knows me can atest to my love for dogs and that I am a great dog mom. There is no valid reason why a shelter would turn my application down.Sam never bothered to have the courtesy of responding to either of my 2 emails requesting an explaination. Also sent email to a general info email contact off their website in hopes of a response, but nothing there either.If you are going to tell a perspective adopter that you will not be moving forward with their application, the least you can do is provide a reason for this decision when there is not a obivious one. Just disappointed with this whole situation. I realize there are other shelters out there, which I am pursuing in my hopes to adopt a four legged fur baby very soon, but I find this unacceptable.

Lengthy process trying to adopt only to be told no without any explanation. I currently have a lab mix rescue that i am training to be a therapy dog as I trained our previous dog. Our pets have always been loved members of our family. Had no problems adopting our current rescue dog. We are home 90% of the time, have a very large yard, have obedience trained all previous dogs. Also, our daughter is a veterinarian. If we arent worthy of a dog, not sure who they think is.

This place was great. I highly recommend it. Not often do you find a place where the service and the food are both fabulous!

These people are wonderful. We got a puppy from the Little Barn back in April, and although the process of getting her involved some hoops I really appreciated how hard they worked to find a dog that was appropriate for our family. Plus, the facilities are clean, the dogs all seem super people friendly, and they even scheduled a reunion with our dogs litter so we could see the puppies all grown up.

Fostered and adopted my sweet kitten from ALIVE! A

Very good wonton soup, all good hot and fresh, family friendly and owned, they care.

I had a great experience adopting through Alive. The process is very involved, and took a fair amount of time, but I appreciated this - they care about the families their animals go to and want to make sure that a good match is made.

I love what they do for the animals, but they dont seem to care about their volunteers. Leadership acts like theyre doing you a favor for letting you come here. Makes the rewarding work become disheartening. Please be more appreciative of people who help you run the place, without which you wouldnt exist.

Very communicative staff. They do a lot of pre-adoption vetting of potential pet parents but it shows they care deeply for the animal’s welfare.

Wonderful rescue in Chicago- thanks for all you do!

HIGHLY respectable Chicagoland rescue. If you want to receive thorough information about the history, behaviors, or needs of the pet youre adopting, this is the place to go. They also offer excellent volunteer and foster programs.

They hooked my family up with an incredible dog for the low low price of $375.00, which included all the paperwork, shots, neutering, and basic check up info... Sure you have to go through a pretty extensive vetting paperwork process, but at the end of the day its worth it. The people are nice and working hard to save animals on the streets...

Ive been trying to apply to adopt a dog on their website for at least a month. I dont know why they havent gotten back to me.

I foster through this organization. They are amazing and save so many lives. Please donate and/or adopt!

Food was alright, staff was very nice and professional

Their advertised phone goes straight into voice mail and does not have any recording whatsoever.Chicago is so wildlife unfriendly as you can not find anyone that can help you rescue an animal in trouble.You only find animal killer companies so call animal control. It is a shame.

Great organization! Go adopt a dog from them!

Amazing, caring animal rescue. Tons of heart and very thorough vetting process for adopters to ensure every cat or dog finds their true forever home

Quality! Caring! Saving lives, proud to be part of this group and giving critters a second chance.

Amazing no kill shelter that loves and truly cares for every animal that comes their way!

I called looking for help with rehoming my 9yr old husky. The only thing I received was a lecture I was shamed as an owner despite spending thousands of dollars to solve the issue. Everything I said was not good enough nor correct. As an owner heartbroken about my predicament, this conversation was depressing and frustrating. I felt she knew she couldnt help me (despite saying she probably could) and only assumed I havent tried everything to keep him. I feel she wanted to analyze my story to critique the steps Ive taken as an owner. Nothing was good enough. Thanks for making me feel more anxiety, stress and depression about having to rehome my best friend.

Lets save who in need! our closest once our pets ... really warm heart place

Do you still have tulip

Helped me so much with my dog! Thank you!!

They are the best!!

Place does not exist

Place is for sale.

Its okay when you have a pet