If you are seeking to do a good deed and adopt a pet - I strongly advise against the ARL Boston. They adopted me an extremely sick pet with behavioral issues then guilted me into keeping this sick pet for 3 1/2 years until his death. Immediately upon adopting this 5 year old cat Sammy, he displayed extreme behavioral issues including excessive fascination with water, chewing power cords, peeing in the corners of the house, etc. The ARL dismissed the problems and told me it was the "stress of a new home". Within two months of adopting Sammy, I took him to another vet and learned that Sammy had kidney disease (I have the paperwork to prove it). When I called the ARL and told them they had adopted a sick diseased pet with extreme behavioral issues, they guilted me into keeping him with crude remarks as if I didn't care about animals. The problem is, this was my 2nd adoption with the ARL Boston and both were similar in adopting pets with extreme problems. Several years earlier I had adopted a pair of cats from the ARL Boston. The pair didn't really seem to get along but individually there were great. They fought like wild animals once I got them home. When I contacted the ARL, they agreed that the cats did not get along but excused their adoption practices upon following the previous owners wishes that they be adopted as a pair. Melissa the Director of the ARL Shelter gives more consideration for diseased and problematic animals than the human beings paying and providing for their care. BOTH times it was not disclosed to me that I was adopting fighting animals or a diseased pet. Melissa the director made remarks such as I get "easily flustered" after sustaining SEVEN YEARS of disastrous pet ownership via the ARL Boston. Please be aware, the ARL does not properly screen their pets for serious medical problems that could costs you thousands of dollars in medical bills and could destroy your home immediately within weeks/months of adoption. Your electronics, furniture, mattresses, bedding, carpets and so on. For me, they set-me-up into TWO disaterous adoptions which could have been easily prevented either through proper medical screening or basic human common sense. The ARL Boston is an absolute insult of responsible pet adoption - if there is such a thing - it certainly is not here. ...read more

The owner, Matt, does not return phone calls or voice mails. ...read more

I adopted two cats from this shelter. I was very impressed with the cleanliness of this place, it didn't have that stench other shelters have and the animals were well cared for. I came in and had some daily visits with my cats before bringing them home in their "playpens" at the shelter. One of my cats had been severely ill and skittish when brought in and probably would have been put down at other shelters. He's been the healthiest and quirkiest cat ever since. Both my cats have no behavioral problems and I believe that this shelter takes time to get to know personalities. ...read more