P.A.W.S. of Tinley Park - Tinley Park, Illinois

Heather Ann

We got the most amazing dog for my parents. It’s been a year since we adopted him and he’s so perfect. The application was easy, we saw him and got it same day. Was a little nervous about the no return policy but he was exactly what my parents wanted in an adult dog.

donica deeski

I'm not sure why there are bad reviews of this place. I filled out an application on line, they got back to me with a series of questions that I thoughtfully answered and I was approved to adopt a pair of bonded sisters as attached now named Sky and Terra. I was amazed at how quickly the entire process was. I wanted two cats so no one gets lonely and am very happy with my new fur babies. They are true adults and I knew going in I didn't need kittens, let me take someone who might get passed over. Kudos to Thelma and Louise's (old names) foster parents. You did a wonderful job. These pictures are only after a week and they have adjusted extremely well. Thank you PAWS, hope to send you update pics for many years to come. Please come adopt your next best friend here!

Anna Endres

While I’m incredibly thankful for the wonderful dog we adopted from Paws of Tinley Park in May 2024, the shelter’s recent behavior has left us heartbroken. What was once a trusted shelter has shown itself to be unprofessional, uncommunicative, and negligent in its adoption process.

When my niece wanted to adopt a second dog, I recommended Paws of Tinley Park based on our positive experience. We drove over an hour to meet a dog who seemed like a perfect fit, and volunteers encouraged her to apply. However, her application was denied due to their 50-mile radius policy, which we understood. My mom then applied for the same dog, excited to give him a loving home.

Shockingly, her application was denied without any explanation or effort to speak with her. When my niece followed up, she was told my mom’s application was denied due to “inconsistencies” in my niece’s application and that neither my niece nor anyone related to her would be allowed to adopt. This blanket ban was applied without a single reference check or conversation to clarify intentions. My mom, a retired caregiver who has looked after dogs in our family for years, was unfairly dismissed.

Weeks later, the dog is still at the shelter, growing older and missing out on a loving home. Emails I sent to the shelter asking for clarification went ignored, and the lack of communication has been deeply frustrating.

To make matters worse, the dog is listed as a shepherd, despite looking more like a long-haired lab mix. While he could have shepherd in him, the classification of him solely as a shepherd is damaging, as many apartment complexes ban shepherds. This kind of mislabeling limits his adoption prospects unnecessarily and shows the shelter’s carelessness.

What’s most troubling is that Paws of Tinley Park frequently posts dramatic stories about animals staying there for 100-200 days, claiming no one has shown interest. I suspect this dog will become one of those cases. I can’t help but wonder how many animals had adopters wrongly turned away, only for the shelter to mislead the public instead of addressing their flawed adoption process.

This shelter clearly does not care to address reviews or take accountability. They’ve allowed someone to make adoption decisions without speaking to applicants or checking references, which directly hurts the animals they claim to help.

I regret recommending Paws of Tinley Park to my niece and strongly urge others to avoid this shelter. Many other rescues genuinely care about their animals and adopters, but this one has failed on every level.

Sara Breann

I have never been so disrespected in my life. The way the staff treated my husband and I tonight I will never go back or recommend this place to anyone!!!! I believe there is a lot of discrimination, deception, and shady stuff going on with the adoption of those poor animals. Long story short.. our family friend had rescued a dog and brought it to them to go through the system to see if the owners would claim it instead of just bringing it to us. We were 100% okay with this, because we wanted what was best for the dog. We have been in constant communication with them and will county rescuers with the intention to keep the dog if it is unclaimed. My husband walked in a few times but they rushed us on our way and refused to let us see the dog while giving us a horrible attitude. We brushed it off. We waited the 5 days that they were insisting us to wait. (Even though we didn’t stand a chance). They put the dog up on the webpage for adoption for a couple hours, then took it off, and NEVER NOTIFIED US. They secretly had people to come get this dog and lied to out faces saying we are were never mentioned… THE LADY WHO TOOK HIS NAME DOWN STOOD THERE AVOIDING CONTACT. They made it a point to string us along and not notify us what’s going on and implying that we are not approved for this dog… I put in the application online the seconded it went up and then they began to interrogate us with multiple question's to rule us out of favor of the dog. We were told that our name would be on the list for this dog since day one of bringing her there. This was never the case. We showed up that night to a line full of women getting snotty with us and refusing us to see the dog, claimed our application was not approved, said we needed an appointment, and implying we are not fit to have this dog but can adopt another. To find out, while we are walking out a group of 5 people and another breed of that dog walking out with a pink slip in there hand to adopt OUR DOG. Well bottom line is my husband and I are good people and the way we were treated tonight by those women and LISA who insulted my husband multiple times should and will not be left alone. What happened tonight should be illegal. I will not rest until this place is thoroughly investigated. What goes around, comes around. Merry Christmas…

Nicole Salow

We adopted Suzie here. I wouldn’t say the process was difficult, but they definitely need to work on communication and customer service skills.

We were told different things by different volunteers, no one ever clearly told us what the adoption process was. I’m not sure why we needed an appointment to adopt when we had already met her once before and our app was approved.

The front desk woman was not the friendliest, but she wasn’t outright rude. We stood there for 15 minutes while she attempted to scroll through emails from us / other potential adopters about Suzie to make sure we could take her home? We were already there and approved so it was strange that they would do that after telling us repeatedly it was “first come first serve”.

Would I adopt from here again and continue to support? At this time the answer is yes. They are one of the most affordable shelters to adopt from outside city owned shelters. But they really need to work on their policies and adoption processes to make sure it’s 100% clear to all involved.

Maybe they need better volunteer training…and definitely need to tell their volunteers to work on their customer service skills. There are a lot of bad reviews here, mostly due to rude volunteers and poor communication. I hope they learn from these and do something to fix it, even if that means removing some volunteers from the front desk.

Vivienne Teodoro

Came here on Saturday, Oct. 5th. I waited until doors opened at noon. I filled out an application a week prior (inquired on retriever mix who got adopted while I waited to hear back from them). I was interested in seeing three dogs I found on their website. I brought my in-laws along since they were looking to adopt as well.

I was told I did NOT have to fill out another app. The woman, Deb, told me to email PAWS with name(s) of dogs I was interested in. In return, PAWS would contact me to schedule time/day to meet dogs. In addition, I filled out an application on behalf of my in-laws who immediately fell in love with a 2-year old dog. We left with eagerness to hear back from PAWS.

Two days later, I received an email asking me to fill out an application. I was confused as to why another one was needed, contradicting to what Deb told me. Anyways, more than a week later and *crickets*, absolutely nothing!! I feel that they are very discriminatory. I have to mention the staff member was very condescending towards my in-laws at our visit. Very rude!!

I found this facility to be very complacent!! They have no regard for people like my in-laws and myself who desperately want to give a pet(s) loving homes.

I have rescued dogs from other well-organized/compassionate shelters. I would NOT recommend this place!!

Alexandria Morton

This shelter and organization is an incredible disappointment. I obviously should have read the Google reviews. I went to the shelter on November 27th to see the cats. The woman who showed us the cats was very nice. We were told we needed to fill out an application online and it could take 7-10 days for a response which was very off putting. On November 29th I received an email asking additional questions which I found to be a bit judgmental and harsh. I have two young children and they were overly concerned about how my kids would interact with the cats. Also asking for a copy of my lease. Frankly I just think they are doing too much and wonder why they have so many unadopted pets in their shelter. They really need to look at their process for adopting. I adopted two kittens from a different shelter and I am very happy I did. Do not go here!!!

Mrs.S Fierce

I don’t think they are really trying to helps these pets, my first visit was over 3 weeks ago and I did the application the same day. Went back a week later to see the cats again and check on my application status. They finally replied after 2 weeks to ask for proof my condo allowed pets, sent it right over then they said the condo wasn’t in my name I told them it’s my fiancé and they stopped replying. They also try to push multiple cats on you even after you say you only wanted 1! It’s about to get cold outside and you would think they would make room for more homeless pets!