AARCS Safe Haven — Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society

My experience yesterday at AARCS left me with a sour first impression of the organization. Myself and the 5 other volunteers arrived on-time for our group training tour/orientation (Part 2) only to be left standing outside in the rain for nearly 15 minutes without not one person acknowledging us or inviting us inside the big orange door.

The session was to start at 2: 30pm and we were left outside waiting until finally someone came and explained that the staff who was supposed to tour us was in Montana. My first impression of the place was that of disorganization, poor communication, and staff that wouldn't look at any of us, say hello, or make us feel accepted and welcome on our first visit to the facility. This left me very unimpressed!

For this reason I decided to leave and will not be devoting my time to AARCS. Perhaps the animals are treated very well, but the humans who are volunteering their time should be too. On top of this I have noted numerous negative reviews on Google from very unhappy people in the adoption and fostering areas. My first impression, which I always trust, has helped me decide that I would like my name taken out of their system as I will be considering other volunteer options moving forward.

It's a great place to volunteer and find your new best friend! They rescue animals of all kinds; critters, bunnies, doggies and kitties too! This is Lucy who came from Aarcs!

We adopted a 5 month old puppy from AARCS in March. She is a fantastic dog, and a huge round of applause, in fact a standing ovation, goes to the foster mom, Leslie. Shilo was potty trained and already knew not to jump up on us, or chew on our shoes, or steal my daughter’s stuffies. She is a wonderful addition to our family, and is amazing with our 4 year old daughter. They enjoy playing fetch and hide and seek. Shilo (formerly Bojan) is learning to walk on the leash, has amazing recall, and is a pleasure in the off leash parks. She gets along with all types of dogs and is great with humans too. We couldn’t be happier with our new love. The adoption process was easy! Thank you!

We just adopted a cat, and everything went so well. She is so happy and we love her so much! The staff are amazing and so helpful!

I adopted my dog in a May 2022. She is lovely and I feel truly lucky to have such a kind hearted dog in my life. The AARCs team was sensational. Everyone from the initial adoption screener to the foster family was so kind and helpful. Cannot recommend them highly enough.

My cat passed away on Sunday. We adopted him as an adult from AARCS in 2018. He was the best cat we could have ever asked for. To honour his memory, we donated all of his things back to AARCS.if we ever get another pet, we will adopt from them. Thank you AARCS for rescuing and giving me my best friend.

I have been a foster and caregiver with AARCS for several years. They provide great training, updates and information. They work hard to ensure that all the foster dogs go to a good family that understands the responsibilities and special needs that each dogs requires.

We were so lucky to get an 11 week old puppy from AARCs!
Hitting their website multiple times a day for weeks and we finally hit the jackpot. I knew as soon as we saw this boy he was the puppy we’d been waiting for.
A wonderful rescue with excellent screening and amazing vet care.
Thank you AARCs for the addition to our little family!

Honestly, 6 stars would be given if I could. I just adopted my new kitty and the process was simple and compassionate.

I would not recommend this place. I had to surrender my pet as my new place does not accept him. After surrendering him. They put him down.

Jerks

Great place to show some love for those furry guys that are less fortunate.come on over and show some support. They also have great merchandise!

We adopted our one of our cats through AARCS and Petsmart in January 2022 and it was a fantastic experience. I love that they partnered with my "local cat food store" to showcase adoptables, because I wasn't actually ready to adopt a cat at the time, but fell in love with her anyway because she was right there waiting for us, needing a safe and happy home like ours.

I love that AARCS interviewed us to make sure we were a good cat home and a good fit. There's a reason places like AARCS makes you jump through a few hoops to adopt a new family member and I appreciate that they vet the families who are interested in bringing home an animal from AARCS.

Thank you to AARCS for rescuing our little love in the first place! So much love and care was given to our sweet kitty before she came to us and we are so thankful for everyone at AARCS.

Kuro is living his best life! Adoption process went smooth and foster parents were amazing. Thank you Aarcs!

This was my first time fostering and unfortunately it did not end well. Initially, I was pleasantly surprised that AARCS provides all the supplies for first time foster parents, as well as by the details provided for selecting an animal to foster and what they expect after the first 3 days of fostering; however, I did not receive the foster animals information until 2 days after I already had her in my care (including how too feed her and her medical summary). This is not a big deal for me, but the attitude of the cat program coordinator was very off putting. She was dismissive and quick to make assumptions of my situation when I unexpectedly became quite allergic to the foster cat. Even when meeting her in person, she was rude and curt. I’d rather take my love and time at a different shelter to foster.

Edit: The two individuals mentioned in the response below have addressed this concern in a timely manner. After I explained my situation in detail, they stated they will revisit "proper correspondence techniques to ensure that the importance of compassion, kindness, and understanding remains at the forefront with our staff". AARCs provides great support for all their animals, ensuring they are given a second chance at being loved. I hope foster parents, particularly those in the cat program, will feel equally as supported moving forward.

Kind, compassionate & honest group of Incredible people all with the animals best interest at heart