Animal Welfare League of Arlington

Kallie Mosley

2024-01

Wow, where do I start?!? This is the best adoption facility!! They are so empathetic. I unfortunately made the decision to surrender my dog before asking my family for help. The employees were so understanding of the situation and let me readopt her so she could go with my family. They didn’t have to do that because I legally surrendered her, but they did because they are good humans. This place is the best. Thank you again!!!!!!

K S

2023-12

We had an amazing experience adopting two lovable guinea pigs here. The staff were super welcoming, nice and supportive and we couldn’t have asked for a more positive experience for our family’s first furry pets. My children appreciated the time to get to meet the animals before selecting our new friends. Highly recommend coming here to find a companion (or two!).

Kiana C

2023-11

This review is several years late. But I wanted to thank the staff/ volunteers here, family pet bunny died (old age) and the people here were so significantly kind and caring. Someone actually drew a picture of our beloved bunny which we hang on our wall and keep it with us whenever we travel. So thank you so much, this is place has the most kind and caring people.

Maria Ashwell

2023-12

This is a wonderful place to get great resources and assistance for our fur babies!They also have a lot of fur babies that are still in need of forever homes. Please adopt ❤️

Kalissa H.

2024-01

We adopted Dodger almost 2 weeks from Animal Welfare League of Arlington. He's the best cat ever. He's so adoarable and healthy.

Lesly Lopez

2024-02

I adopted my beautiful tiger from this beautiful place, they answered all our questions and helped us in the processand it is our happiness, my daughter loves it, thank you very much.

M Cox

2024-02

Very clean and organized. The volunteer in the cat room is amazing she’s an older lady and she’s so kind and beautiful.I’m happy there’s not many animals at the facility because that means the community is doing their job of keeping their pets and taking care of them!

Calista Ogburn

2023-05

We adopted our kitten (Barley) from here and absolutely loved the service, environment, and staff. The staff are responsive via phone call and are super patient and supportive. I loved the adoption process and how extremely understanding the staff were. Their app provides real-time updates on which animals are still available for adoption and it was a SUPER great way to keep track of all the animals. I would highly recommend adopting your new fur buddy from here!

Abigail Conner

2022-05

This place is absolutely amazing!! I am a first time dog adopter (I just graduated college and have been waiting to get my own dog for years!!) and they were so helpful. I have gone in a couple times over the last couple months telling them what I'm looking for and they were honest when they didn't have the right fit, which I really appreciate. There was no pressure to adopt the wrong dog.Finally, last week, they had a dog that fit my needs! I was able to meet her and the next day took her home for an "overnight". During overnights, AWLA allows you to take a potential dog home for 3 days and 2 nights to test out dog ownership and make sure it's the right match for you and your family. Nell (formerly Norah) is the PERFECT fit for me and my living situation (my roommates ADORE her), and I adopted her! The shelter did such a great job with communication, helping me understand the needs of my new BFF and giving me a certificate for a free wellness appointment to a long list of participating vets in the area. In addition, they gave me all the information they knew about her medical and behavioral history. She came to me fully vaccinated at no additional cost. The shelter is extremely clean and well managed and they have a great, highly responsive staff who actually care about the animals and want the right fit for the animal and the potential owner.I cannot say enough great things about this place. I would recommend it to absolutely anyone-new or experienced pet owners looking to make a difference in an animal's life.PS-if your apartment building or house has breed restrictions, this place is great-their dogs are not all pitbull mixes. Nothing against pits, they can just be difficult for housing restrictions.

Zainab Arshad

2024-02

Horrible Experience!! I adopted 2 kittens (Miso and Max) couple months ago and paid $450 in total for it. One of the kittens had behavioral issue and I had discussing with behavioral support but that didn't help either and we had to bring kitten back. Other kitten had to be return to shelter because he needed another kitten with him.No one told me I could get refund after returning the kitten which I later found out. I called them NOT for refund but to waive adoption fee for kitten so I can adopt again but this place is such a scam that she didn't care what I had to say and kept saying you have to pay adoption fee we can give some discount. For her $450 that I already gave means nothing.

Bonnie Erbe

2023-12

I dropped off small boxes for wildlife rescues. The staff were all extremely kind. The office the front office is were very clean and well kept. I did not go back where the animals are, but I would imagine it too is well managed and neat..

M Ayers

2023-05

After having lost my sweet 6 1/2 year old cat very suddenly in March, I realized my almost two year old cat really needed a companion. He wasn’t eating well and was just acting depressed. I went to go look for two kittens and instead fell for a sad, scared 5 year old cat. The staff at the shelter were wonderful, especially the sweet lady who took me through the kennel on a Saturday afternoon. The thing that impressed me was that unlike other shelters and rescues who in my opinion make it hard for good people to adopt a pet and I’m sorry but seem to be very judgmental, they made the process easy and very uncomplicated. I think many more animals could find loving homes if people did not have to jump through hoops. I applied Saturday night to adopt this kitty and Sunday I received an email asking me to do a telephone interview on Monday. After I spoke to the nice girl Monday she approved me I paid my adoption fee which seem to be very reasonable especially compared to some other places and arrange to pick up my new baby on Tuesday. I also received a voucher to go visit a vet which they would like you to do in the first I think it’s a week to 10 days. All in all, it was a wonderful experience, the shelter was very clean, and I appreciate all the work they do there to help animals

D P

2023-05

This place is the best. I just adopted a dog from there. They are very thorough and detailed. They know the animals that they take care of. I really appreciate the customer service and the information they provided. It was a great experience. Thank you Ryan and team.

David Morrison

2023-12

I've adopted 2 dogs and a cat here... great facility with friendly, knowledgeable staff. They also host birthday parties where the kids can see animals and even do a little volunteer work or have families donate in lieu of birthday presents.

Christina LillBellSpark

2023-05

It was an amazing experience after Covid to actually be able to meet the available pets. The staff were amazing at guiding us to the room where the small animals were in and provided us with information on how there adoption process worked! It really shows how knowledgeable and caring the staff are! Prior to the day we picked up our Guinea pig (Picadilly) they provided clear instructions, and helped us bring Picadilly into the carrier in a calming way to not stress her during the ride back home. All in all I would recommend checking this animal shelter if you are looking for a pet! These animals are looking for loving, forever homes! And bonus here were some pictures of our Guinea pig Picadilly when we were able to visit her and her sister!

Elizabeth Elee

2023-05

First time visitor here! I easily donated a doggie platform bed (used only once -- too large for our dog) to AWLA. The Black front desk staffer was friendly and efficient with her donation directions. Thanks AWLA!

Nathan Lapin

2022-05

We got a guinea pig. His name is Ned Flanders, like the Simpsons, his cage mate was Homer. As for the Animal Welfare League of Arlington itself, the staff were incredibly knowledgeable and could tell they cared for all their animals and they were comfortable. Go here if you are looking to adopt.

Nikole Metz

2022-05

I have spent months looking for a dog that I bonded with and was ready to bring home. After meeting so many dogs I went to AWLA on a Sunday out of the blue even though none of the dogs on their webpage really sparked my interest. (Mainly due to apartment restrictions not allowing certain breeds). When I walked into the dog room the first one I saw I knew was for me. He hadn’t been added to their webpage yet and it was his first day on the adoption floor so it was meant to be. In the weeks I have had him he has been such a joy and a wonderful dog to have. Thank you AWLA for bringing me and my best boy together!AWLA is incredibly well run and really cares about their animals and treats them very well!

Holly H. Tran

2021-05

WOW i adopted a second bunny!! Her name is bobbie the shelter told me she recently got spayed and how we should take care of her. She’s adorable and so soft! I kept her name as bobbie but changed a few things, her name is officially Bobbie Daisy Mae!!!!!!!

Melanie McGuire

2023-05

Thank you so much Arlington Animal Shelter! You made the process so easy to adopt my new little girl…Grace ‘AKA Grape’ who is a wonderful little kitten and now little sister to her Cavapoo sister! Thanks for all you do for placing pets with families! God bless you!

Jeff Parker

2023-11

This is by far the best animal adoption and care facility that I have ever seen. The staff are very courteous and caring, and the pets are in great hands while they are here. I'm glad to have find my new four-legged Very Good Girl 🐶 at AWLA.

Kari Petersen

2022-05

This is a wonderful shelter! They actually care about animals getting adopted to good people without being worse than the DMV with requirements like the other shelters and rescues I've looked into in the area. I got to take home my beautiful miss Essie yesterday (previously known as Oatmeal but she had been a stray so wasn't attached to it yet and my son wanted to name her). We are so happy and grateful that everyone at the shelter was so kind and made the adoption process as smooth and timely as a safe adoption should be.

P Rogers50

2023-10

I phoned to inquire about Saturday hours and services before the impending storm on 9/23/23 . The response I received was not at all helpful, I was asked if I had an appointment - my response no because no where on the website have I read I needed to make an appointment for a clinic which happens monthly. Only the was it stated by appointment tomorrow and we don't follow any specific procedure! Really, do they think people are stupid - that doesn't even make sense. The problem here is that all published announcements and the website messages about low cost vaccines only site the $10.fee. DO NOT USE Warning! You might as well pay for service and convenience with a pet company which will vacinne and respectfully receive your cat/dog which you need to have the pets seen.

Crystal

2020-05

We adopted Louie from AWLA and couldn't be happier. He's the best and we had a super smooth adoption after fostering on a Friday. We drove all the way from Manassas to meet him and when we arrived they were informative about his "special needs" Adopted by Sat evening! I would recommend a foster/adoption of any animal at this location.

justacat

2023-07

I've adopted from there before and they've been good in the past, but someone was extremely rude to me when I went in today. I've kept rats for years and used to foster for a rat rescue. I've probably taken care of over 200 rats over time.A volunteer opened a rat cage to show me a rat today then left the room for a second to ask a question about one rat's recent surgery. A woman came in, chastised me for having the cage open as if I were a child, and when I explained a volunteer had opened the cage she said "I'll put locks on the cages again if I have to." Very condescending tone of voice, as if I'd open cages unsupervised a hundred times.If they do get people opening cages a lot, I'm not surprised. There was no clearly visible sign in the small animal room telling people not to open cages, which are also not species-appropriate.I understand looking out for animals' well-being, but that was extremely rude and unnecessary. Please don't talk to anyone that way, especially potential adopters.

Kathryn

2023-07

Very nice employees. I'd called ahead to be prepared. You need to make an appointment.Process was straightforward to surrender pets ... though sad for us, even though we'd only been taking care of the animals for a few days. You can also donate all your pet supplies.Watched the video on their website; they offer a lot of services: food pantry, vet care, help training your animal, etc.Though I'd never had a hard time calling, the phone was ringing a lot when we were there.

Steve O

2023-10

I can appreciate that the animals are in foster care, but the new model for adopting based on pictures online doesn't work for me. I liked the ability to see and pet multiple animals and see which one picked me. I am looking to adopt a cat for our family and I'll be looking elsewhere.

ambie Oberoi

2020-05

I stopped in to visit and donate cat food and have to say I like the new look. I picked up a few toys from their shop. They were amazing when we adopted our doberman puppy(one of harley's litter) a little over 3 years ago. She's the best pup ever! Thanks for all you do!

kenny farrar

2023-08

I donated some dog food and cat food recently because both of mine passed away. I adopted them from the shelter and they were very helpful both times. One thing I'd like to add I wish they would use the pets real name if they know it. They researched the person that turned in the cat I adopted and found out her real name so I started calling her by that and she felt so much more comfortable. She was five when I adopted her so I wanted to use her name she was used to Daisy.

Cindy Machado

2023-05

They really care about the animals and all the workers were patient and helpful! They provided my pets towel to cover there carriers because it was cold outside.