On Angels' Wings - Pet Rescue & Resale Store — Local services in Crystal Lake

Don’t adopt a pet from this shelter unless you want to break your children’s hearts. My family has been searching for a pet to adopt for several months. Last week my husband found a picture of a puppy, named Shadow, at On Angel’s Wings. We filled out the application on Saturday and were approved later the same day. We met Shadow the following day (Sunday) with our three daughters. We loved the puppy but of course needed to discuss it as a family since it's a big decision. We decided by Sunday evening that we were interested in adopting Shadow. I called that evening (around 8pm) and left a voice message saying that we were interested. I never got a return call. I tried calling on Monday and got in touch with Lori, but the call was dropped. I tried calling back but only got the voicemail so I left another message. I called again the following afternoon (Tuesday) only to be told by Lori that they had moved on to other applicants. I verbally expressed to Lori again that we were interested in adopting Shadow and tried to get an explanation but once again her phone disconnected and the call dropped. I tried calling again but once again had to leave a message.

I emailed the director of the shelter, Emily, asking for an explanation. She said that their phones were having issues and they were working on getting them fixed (fine, but why weren’t they trying to call back?). The excuse she gave me regarding Shadow was that they decided that Shadow would be better off in a house without children. I find this excuse hard to swallow because her bio specifically says that she is good with kids ( it still does the last time I checked and if they ever change this, I have screenshots to prove it) and when we met her, she was very friendly and affectionate with our three children. I replied with these observations and asked them to reconsider because we feel that we could give her a loving home. When I didn’t get a response, I tried to appeal again, but as of today, they haven’t responded, which I find very unprofessional. If they had other applicants, why were they so eager to approve us right away the same day we submitted the application? If they felt that Shadow was better suited to an all-adult household, why would they approve an application for a family with children and allow us to meet her? My three children are all devastated and keep asking me why we can’t have Shadow. They don’t want another puppy and it’s soured our opinion of the whole shelter adoption process in general.

Bottom line, adopting a pet is probably great, but save yourself some grief and heartache and avoid adopting from On Angel’s Wings.

Edit: They also don't like negative reviews. Less than a day after this review, I'm no longer able to reply to posts on their Facebook page. Hmmm, it's as though they're afraid of people telling about their negative experiences.

Edit #2: They REALLY don't like negative reviews. I received an email this morning from Jeannette, the executive director, asking me to take down this review. When I declined, citing my belief that others should be aware of our experience and make an informed choice, her response was this:

" We're sorry you had a bad experience. Ours was likewise. I guess this makes it ok for us to share with other rescues/shelters why you were rejected for adopting that particular pet (so that they can make an informed decision as to whether or not to adopt to you). I'm tired of people like you who try to make life miserable for others. Fortunately, you are few and far between! "

So threats and blackmail seem to be how they keep rejected applicants in line! That just tells me that there's a really good chance that there are more stories out there...

Wednesday morning visit. Fell in love with a pair of Poms that were listed as 4 year old brother and sister. Bonded pair? Yes. Siblings from the same litter? No. But that’s fine, we don’t mind a plus one, and they seemed to be well behaved, which is usually an indicator of maturity.

Since they had to go together we were told there would be a deal. Nope. They wanted full price for the pair. Side note: There are fist size matted hairballs that I’m sure will require some professional intervention; I priced it and know it’s going to be around $200 for grooming. This is where that deal we were originally offered would’ve come in handy. But again, no worries. Long as they are healthy, we are happy to bring them home. Now, On Wednesday evening when the family visited we were told we were approved and that it would be Friday or Saturday before they were ready because they had an appointment with the vet on Thursday. This morning (Thursday) my husband gets a call asking what time we would be picking them up Friday. My husband asks about the vet visit we were told was to happen. He was told “Well, it’s a mobile vet service and they were checked by a vet before they were turned over.” We understand that, but we were told they’ve been in a boarding kennel prior to being surrendered and are now in a room with 6-8 other dogs. Is it wrong that we need to be sure they haven’t picked up anything during their stay with you? We were also hoping the vet would have a more realistic age estimate as well; we explained to the staff that out 14 year old fur baby had just passed and I wasn’t capable of putting the family through that again anytime soon. We don’t mind older dogs, but if there are underlying health issues that or something that may be terminal, we need to know before making a decision.

Well apparently that was too many questions. Our adoption application was just denied because we “asked too many questions”.

Rather than be thankful that we are thorough and responsible pup parents, we were scolded for asking questions before making a commitment.

The most frustrating thing to me is that throughout, it has been clear that there is little to no communication between employees. Errors in message relay between staff, misinformation received from different staff members, and the attitude of “there are more people that want these dogs” (when we were told there were no apps on them since they arrived two weeks ago) have soured me on this process completely.

I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors and pray that those sweet babies find...

Best of both worlds. I can downsize by donating my unwanted items to the thrift store and the funds help animals in need. This makes it easier for me to let material items go.

The staff is great and the volunteers are amazing. I personally couldn't do retail. The thought of dealing with rude, self-entitled individuals would drive me bonkers. I love the idea of placing dogs and cats in foster homes while they wait for their forever home. The foster parents give so much to help these animals; love, patients, and understanding.

I have been to On Angels Wings on many occasions. The individuals providing service were polite to me. I felt bad because you could tell they were extremely busy taking care of the animals. They were honest, you never know an animal's true history. They're not in a rush to place an animal in any home, they want to find the best home. This could make an individual upset but it's what's best for the animal. The area where the animals are has always been clean. They care about the health of the animals by making sure all individuals sanitize their hands before touching the animals.

I have adopted two dogs from On Angels Wings. Both of my dogs are healthy and well loved. Big thanks to their foster parents. I love being able to stay in touch with the families who have adopted my furbaby's siblings. We all share pics and have play dates. My oldest daughter adopted her emotional support dog from On Angels Wings and it's pure love between the two of them.

I would recommend going there for yourself and check it out. I did...