Animal Rescue Force of South Florida, Inc.

Reviews

Leandro Frías

PLEASE READ! My Experience with Pet Adoption Discrimination in Petsmart Delray Beach, FL. On Sunday, September 15th, 2024, I visited PetSmart to buy toys for my kitten. While there, I saw another kitten available for adoption and immediately fell in love. I submitted an online application that same day, and on Monday, I was contacted by a woman named Dana Poore from the adoption association. She asked numerous questions and insisted that the payment be made in cash. The following Saturday, I went to pick up the kitten. During our conversation, Dana asked about my citizenship status. I explained that I am a permanent resident and have lived in this country for more than seven years, and that I’m in the process of becoming a citizen next year. Despite this, Dana treated me with unnecessary hostility. She emphasized that the kitten must be kept indoors (which I agreed to) but said she needed to make some calls before finalizing the adoption, asking me to wait an additional 1-2 days. To my surprise, my friend submitted an application for the same kitten, and Dana approved it without hesitation. What made this worse was that my friend (who happens to be a white woman) wasn’t asked anything about her immigration status. Dana happily approved the adoption for my friend, who didn’t face the same scrutiny I did. This double standard left me feeling discriminated against, likely because of my ethnicity. When I followed up two days later, Dana lied, saying her neighbor had taken the kitten. It was clear to me that I was unfairly treated due to my background, as Dana had no issue giving the kitten to someone else without confirming her legal status. This experience was deeply upsetting and felt incredibly unjust. No one should face such discrimination. What Dana did was not only unethical but possibly illegal, and she should not be working in any organization that handles pet adoptions. It was a terrible experience, and I believe it’s important to share this story so others don’t endure the same mistreatment. It’s heartbreaking to be judged this way, especially when all I wanted was to provide a loving home for a cat. If you are not a U.S. citizen, be prepared to face bias. I sincerely hope that management takes a serious look at how they handle adoptions, because no one should be treated unfairly based on their background.

Michael Tin

12/4/2024 Hey Dana, I’m making sure this comment is at the top. After reviewing ARF’s 1 star reviews a lot of people have been discriminated by Dana Poore. I was discriminated for my roommate situation and others by their age or ethnicity. When I tried to adopt my kittens from Dana, I also had to use my “white female friend” and she easily passed the phone call interview she had with Dana. My friend also mentioned that she was her PE student at Carver Middle School in Delray. I can’t believe we let this racist teach our kids back in the day. It’s a small world, Dana. 7/10/2020 I saw that this place does a wonderful job helping the dogs and cats and decided to adopt two kittens to raise. I have been wanting to raise two kittens for a long time and i was at perfect time in my life to accept the responsibility of pet ownership. I was called by Dana to discuss my adoption application. I was quickly denied because i specified that i would be living with my two roommates who both happen to be my best friends. She specifically said that roommates can be problematic for the kittens and immediately deemed me to have an unstable home. I did not like being generalized like that and i was not even given the opportunity to meet these kittens. She did not even want to set up a meeting with my roommates and I to discuss this issue. She quickly ended the phone call. Adopting a human child is probably easier. 7/28/2022. Hi Dana, I bought a house and my three cats that are living with me are very happy. The roommates didn't find the cats annoying. 11/10/2022. My three cats are still going strong. Just got them the Litter Robot 4 because i am a financially responsible cat owner. My cats go to a better bathroom than Dana. 10/02/2023 It has been a while, Dana. I want to let you know a stray cat has chosen me to be its owner. A few days later i found out the cat is pregnant! I am expecting the babies soon. I will be raising the kittens to about 14-16 weeks of age before I help them find their forever home. I have some potential adopters interested already and i will do a better job at screening these people than you did to me. Dana, if you need help with screening prospective adopters, let me know.

Elizabeth Dorow

I have now adopted 3 cats over the the course of 15 years from Animal Rescue Force and will never go anywhere else. The animals in this rescue are so well cared for, socialized, and happy. ARF does such a wonderful job matching personalities and lifestyle to ensure all animals adopted are truly going to their forever home. I can’t thank ARF enough for the wonderful animal family they have given us.

Olivia

My sister was interested in adopting Ajax and she filled out the application and tried calling them and no word back. No one at the store could help. We weren’t even allowed to play with the cat. And she visited Ajax everyday for 2 weeks and still no word back and he’s still there. This whole thing sounds like a cover up to me. Something fishy going on with them. BEWARE

ADAM MARC LEONARD

My Mom tried to adopt a pair of bonded kittens from this so-called rescue. She found a pair online and filled out the application. The next day (10/22), she went to meet them at an event they were having at a PetSmart in Delray. The kittens she wanted were not at this event, as they are with their foster family, and she was told they might be able to meet the kittens on Monday. But then she was told "We don't let seniors adopt kittens." 😱 (She is in her 70s). She told them I live with her (I'm in my 40s) and should anything happened to her I would take care of the cats. That night I filled out online application in my name. I call and leave message to follow up (Their outgoing VM says they only open 3 days a week, on Thursday, Friday & Saturday). So I call back on each of those days. They never return my calls. We wound up going to PBC Animal Control on 10/31 and took home our new kittens the same day. Meanwhile the two cats we were interested in are still listed as available on their website. They seem very disorganized and they discriminate by age. 😢🤯😡

Noah

I'm just going to say this, I'm glad they are non profit. And that they do care for the animals in their own way. But they really need to work on their main shelter, the Rescue Van. Or just work with Petsmart as a Satellite. I adopted my Cat via one of their rescue vans. And no issues with getting my cat. It's partially my fault on wanting to wait to have the foster mom bring her to me. But in the future, it's probably easier to get the cat, head over to Petsmart and get everything in one full swoop. However they do take good care of the animals. Lots of volunteers/foster parents. But this place needs more communication/organization. Not a harsh criticism, just a suggestion. My 8 turning nine year old is not only healthy. But took to my own vet for a 2nd opinion and no issues. Just try to understand you'll be dealing with foster families of these animals, which seems to be a plus. They take care of the animals as if they are their own. I'd adopt from them again.

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Business Hours
Monday:Open 24 HoursTuesday:Open 24 HoursWednesday:Open 24 HoursThursday:Open 24 HoursFriday:Open 24 HoursSaturday:ClosedSunday:Closed

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible entrance
• Wheelchair accessible parking lot

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