Famous Fido Rescue

I know Gloria can be overprotective of the dogs she rescues, but it is only because of her love for each and every one of them. As an owner of a pet grooming shop in Lincoln Park, I have been witness to many of the dogs she has found homes for. I know this might not make sense to the people who found her suspicious of them… but her heart was in the right place.
Some of the things we have witnessed as far as animal abuse have probably made Gloria a little over protective. But better to be over protective
Then not protective enough. She has done so much on her own for the good of animals, that I hope people can overlook what might appear to be rude.

We adopted a dog with Famous Fido’s help. They arranged for us to meet him, and to introduce him to our other dogs. They expedited our paperwork and took care of his vetting and neutering. Within a few weeks, he’d adjusted to his new home and «brothers» and is a vital part of our family. Famous Fido is a great rescue — big hearted people out to save lives and place animals in homes where they can thrive.
I am very excited about their plans to expand and to add a no kill facility.
Please check them out when you’re looking to add a furry family member!

I found an old yorkie outside of my boyfriend’s house the other day who was shivering like crazy and sneezing, he also appeared to have cataracts. We ended up spending our morning and early afternoon trying to find a no kill shelter that could take him in. after bouncing from one place to another we finally ended up at famous fido. the lady was really helpful, taking him in when no one else would even though she is planning to move, you can tell she really cares about the animals she works with.
i’ve read through some of the other reviews and would like to address some of the other things mentioned as well. As someone who has volunteered in shelters before and worked in a pet shop, cages don’t get cleaned ²⁴⁄₇. its literally impossible to keep everything spotless all day long, things are going to get messy during the middle of the day, most of the places I’ve worked we’ve made sure that the cages were cleaned at least twice a day. when we came in everything was clean. also, the comment about the dogs running around on the floor as if they were starving as someone was about to feed them?! have you ever fed an animal before? that doesn’t mean they’re starving, even overweight animals will get really excited over food. the animals are treated well here.

Gloria is a God-​send who has dedicated her life to helping dogs (and cats) in need find a good home. She makes sure that the dogs go to good homes and not just someone who «thinks» they want a dog but doesn’t necessarily want to take care of it. She resuces dogs that someone threw away and gives them a new lease on life.
We adopted 2 dogs from her last year and they quickly became an important part of our family. Rescue dogs make the best pets! After the hell that they’ve gone through they appreciate finding a good and loving home. The world could use more people with Gloria’s dedication to these «throw-​away animals».

I’ve been a volunteer with Famous Fido for three years, and have personally witnessed the commitment of Famous Fido founder Gloria Lissner to the dogs and cats she takes into her care. She has pulled many off of death row at the City shelter; she has helped re-​home those destined for the overcrowded shelters; and she has never hesitated to step up for those animals that need her help, or people who have come to her for help. She truly believes in the inherent value of every life, and works every minute of every long 12+ hour day on a shoe string budget trying to save the lives of healthy but homeless companion animals.

I WOULD NOT SUGGEST WASTING YOUR TIME TRYING TO ADOPT FROM FAMOUS FIDO RESCUE!!!
I went to Famous Fido Rescue on Tuesday, July 22^nd after filling out an application and making an appointment to see a dog named Leyla and I was treated like I was not worthy of adopting a dog.
I arrived there with my elderly mother to spend time with Leyla to see if we were the right match for each other. The owner, who’s name is Gloria was very rude and treated us like we knew nothing about dogs. We have owned a couple dogs in the past for several years until they were diagnosed with cancer and passed away. Gloria stated that two other families adopted the dog before and wound up bringing the dog back, because they had several children and the dog had snapped at them and bite the dad.
I explained it was myself (I’m 45) and my elderly mother, who is 71. Gloria kept repeating herself over and over, that we were not to put our hand down by Leyla, because it was an open invitation for her to bite us and do not put your face near her or she would bite you. After about 45 minutes of being lectured and treated like children by Gloria, she passed us off to Martha, who brought Leyla out. I took Leyla for a walk and then spent a good hour with her and had no issues. My mother and I kept petting her and sitting on the floor with her. Leyla was very sweet and never snapped or tried to bite us. Later Gloria come back and started lecturing us again, because we were down at Leyla’s level and putting our hand by her. Gloria then started telling me that I would HAVE to buy dog insurance for Leyla and if something happened to me, who would take care of Leyla. I informed Gloria that my sister would take Leyla. Gloria then said, I WOULD have to write a living will and have it drawn up by an attorney, then Gloria would have to meet my sister.
I have no problem with everyone in the household (me and my mother) having to meet Gloria, but her telling me that I HAVE to buy dog insurance, draw up a living will and met my sister. That is going way overboard in my eyes!
If Gloria is SO wonderful in putting dogs with the right family, why did she let two different families with children adopt Leyla? Evidently, Gloria did not learn her lesson with the first family and is not very good on her judgment of people and placing pets with the right families, if Leyla was returned twice!
Gloria also kept stating she had too many dogs up for adoption and could not accept anymore and here is someone with no kids, that is eager to adopt Leyla, but treats us like criminals! After being lectured for another hour, Gloria said that another lady named Patty would come out to the house with Leyla to do an inspection.
Martha stated that Patty would be there in about a hour and half, so they would find out her schedule, so I should call them tomorrow to find out when Patty could come out with Leyla.
The next day I called Gloria and Gloria seemed very annoyed and said that she was very busy and had several people calling her about adopting other dogs, so she did not have time to deal with me. Gloria said she would call me back over the weekend or most likely on Monday. I then sent Martha a email, stating that I had called back as she instructed and it seemed like Gloria was not interested in me adopting Leyla. In the email I asked Martha to be honest with me and let me know if they thought I was the right fit for Leyla, because I was very eager to adopt her. If she did not think I was the right fit, to please let me know, so I could continue my search.
It is now Tuesday, July 29^th, and I have not heard from Gloria or received a response from Martha in regards to my email. I feel sorry for the animals that Gloria supposedly rescues and finds GOOD homes for, because she is very over bearing, rude to her clients and has poor judgement in people! Hopefully the animals she has placed in other homes are doing well.
I have since found beautiful and loving dog that is wonderful for myself and my mother.
Gloria also stated that Cesar — The Dog Whisperer on National Geographic knows nothing about dogs. This women is VERY full of herself!
I WOULD NOT SUGGEST WASTING YOUR TIME TRYING TO ADOPT FROM THIS WOMAN!!!

Good intentions, poor execution.
I do not want to dissuade anyone from adopting from Famous Fido because I do not want to stop these dogs from being adopted, but this is a very difficult rescue to work with. Most rescues seem excited to have their dogs adopted, but I was treated with apparent suspicion and doubt. I understand that places need to be selective in order to make sure that their dogs go to good homes, but Famous Fido is not at all coy about their general suspicion of all potential adopters. I honestly do not know how anyone has ever successfully adopted a dog from here, but they do have some really sweet ones. If you’re willing to be persistent and have thick skin, go ahead and give it a try.

FFRA is a really great rescue that does fantastic things for animals in desperation. Some of the people who have written reviews about Famous Fido seem to really miss the point of rescuing. Rescue organizations are NOT a business, the «customer is always right» policy does NOT apply and there is probably a reason you were rejected as a potential adopter.
My dog, Francois, came from FFRA. He was surrendered at CACC with his son. Francois was about 11 years old at the time, in bad health and «poor» behavior (which we later found out was a result of over a decade of abuse). He was going to get euthanized, but FFRA stepped in and pulled him at the last minute. Not a day goes by that I don’t thank Gloria and her volunteers for saving my little «French Man.»
You see, all of the dogs at FFRA are very special in that they have been abandoned by families who were supposed to take care of them. FFRA appreciates how hard this is on the dogs, so they are very careful with adoptions in order to prevent these dogs from being surrendered again. Not to mention, these animals deserve fantastic homes!
If one is not patient and understanding through this adoption process, would one be patient and understanding with a less-​than-​perfect pet?

I adopted my 8-​year-​old shih tzu, Basil, from here 2.5 months ago and I could not be more in love with him. I have so much respect for the people who work at this rescue. They work ridiculously long hours and on a tiny budget. I have no doubt whatsoever that every penny goes to those animals. Famous Fido take a lot of dogs many other rescues won’t take, due to medical or behavioural issues. They nurse them back to health, pay medical expenses and even fund behavioural training classes to make them more adoptable. Potential adopters should be aware that they will not pop in and walk out with a dog, nor should that ever be allowed. Photos of where the animal will live are required. An interview and a home visit SHOULD be expected. This is to prevent animals that are already traumatised, from going to homes that are not suitable for them and being dumped back into the shelter.
I’m sorry to hear that some have had bad experiences with this shelter, as this is certainly not what I experienced. I saw dog lovers working 13-​hour days, a phone that doesn’t stop ringing and an owner who cries every time I post a photo of my little dog, happy in his new home. I think people should exercise a little understanding when dealing with people that work so hard for so little. I wouldn’t do it. The customer does not come first at this shelter; the dogs do. Sometimes you have to call back at a quieter time, sometimes you have to wait if you arrive during feeding time, but I have never seen a shelter more deserving of support.
We hope that our little Basil has a few more good years in him, but when he finally does part with us, I will be heading back to this shelter to save another one and make room for another dog that no one but Famous Fido would take.

All I can say is… Carol, I think either you work for these people or you are a relative because I did not see anything redeeming about the place or the woman in charge. Those poor dogs! It amazes me that the health department or the ASPCA hadn’t been notified about the conditions that those animals are trying to live in.
My very recent experience is very similar to the other reviewers listed here. I filled out the application for a specific dog, and waited for a reply… and waited some more. I was very specific about my past experiences with previous pets and how much I loved and cared for them. When I did get a reply, I was told that they had to check on the pet I was interested in to see if he was still available. I even replied to their answer by indicating other possible choices in case there was a problem with my first choice. I am really serious about how much I care about animals in general.
Since I really did not get a reasonable answer, and I actually had some time on my hands, my nephew and I drove the 20 miles to check out the place and see if we could meet some of the potential adoptees. What a mistake!
The place was a real mess and smelled really bad. While some dogs were in cages, the others were running around on the floor like they were starving for food – it appeared that they were preparing to feed some of them. It looked pitiful. I had a completely different impression of them from the web site they have.
When the woman who seemed to be in charge finally had a moment, she asked if she could help us, so I explained that I filed an online application for a Jack Russell that was listed on their web site. She then asks if I made an appointment, which I did not, so she seemed to get a bit ticked off. She then asks me all kinds of questions about my other pets, what happened to them, if I have a yard, and that all the dogs she had had «special issues” – i.e., that they were all yappers because they were Min-​Pin mixes, etc.
She did NOT like any of my answers, and practically accused me of not knowing how to care for dogs. She especially did not like that I lived in an apartment building – I did not find any prerequisite for having a regular house over another living arrangement in order to adopt a dog. Many people I know are apartment dwellers with dogs as pets.
Within that 5-​minute conversation, I suddenly felt that she did not want me to adopt a dog from her. I asked her as much and she mumbled something inaudible, and I replied that she just did not want to help me. On that note, I told her that I was leaving and I would make sure all of my friends and co-​workers would know what happened there, but she did not seem to care.
I wonder if she would care if the BBB or the ASPCA or BOTH were informed by more people who tried to save a dog or other pet from this whacked-​out woman! The BBB at the least should be notified with a review…

We tried adopting a dog from this place. I first filled out an online application which, like many other people seem to experienced, went unanswered. So my boyfriend and I stopped in just to check the place out and talk to the owner. She told me she «remembered» my application and decided not to answer it because she wanted to keep the dog I was interested in! She told me she could perhaps find us a dog from the city shelters the next time she went looking. This is when I started to get the animal-​hoarder vibe from her.
The worst part was when she started considering us as decent pet-​owners because that is when the «stories» started. First, she told us to get a Chihuahua because there are so many on the streets due to the fact the «Mexicans» bring them here and then leave them here when they go back to «Mexico.» She also told us that she needs to do a home-​check and keep frequent tabs on her animals. I guess in the past, two girls fostered a dog from her, and the first weekend they had the dog was upsetting for this Famous Fido owner because they did not get back to her the whole weekend after several calls and emails. So she deemed them unfit. She once again has ownership of the dog. She told us she wanted pictures of our apartment and to visit the place. My boyfriend and I decided we didn’t like the idea of this woman coming to our home and keeping tabs on us once she found us a city-​shelter dog (which is something we could do ourselves). Also, there are so many dogs in the back, why aren’t any of these dogs ready for adoption? Why does she have to act as a third– party and get us a dog from the city-​shelters that she thinks «fits us» based on a brief conversation? Is it bad to assume that dog rescues want to free up space in their shelter so they can rescue another dog?
Also, her dogs are kept in the back. They are barking their heads off, and are there stacked on top of each other in metal cages. All of this contributes to the hoarder vibe.
All I can say is go somewhere else! We did, and we now have had a lovely little dog for about 9 months. No harassment from the shelter we went to, and it was a very clean and nice place.

I found a dog on Petfinder and absolutely fell in love in with him. I was very anxious to meet and hopefully adopt him!
We tried calling and emailing once every 3 days for about a week and half. We filled out an application and sent photo’s of our home inside and out.
I finally received an email from them showing a different dog that needed to be adopted but never mentioned the dog I was interested in.
Just called again and found out the dog was adopted.
I know they are volunteers and very busy but they did not respond at all. Over the years I have adopted from other shelters and didn’t have a problem.
It was an extremely frustrating and disappointing experience.

My experience was fairly similar to LW.‘s; after filling out an application to adopt my follow up left me with nothing but unanswered emails, phone calls, and messages on Facebook. What’s ironic is that if you go to their Facebook page on any given day they’re always soliciting adopters, fosters and donations so you’d think they’d be more responsive. I’ve contacted other rescue organizarions about dogs and have always heard back from them within 24 hours. No worries, I adopted an absolutely incredible dog from Animal Welfare League and I couldn’t be happier.

I was very eager to adopt a dog, but phone calls and e-​mails were never returned. Even after I filled out the online application, I never heard back. When I called, and gave my address, I was asked if that was in a «bad neighborhood»? You may not be familiar with all neighborhoods in Chicago, but there might be a more tactful way to ask that. It worked out though, because I ended up adopting through PAWS Chicago instead.

We adopted a dog a little over 2 years ago from Famous Fido and our experience was nothing but first-​class. Gloria is very particular about who she allows to adopt the dogs, and I think that is something to be applauded. We emailed her about the dog that we wanted and then had a conversation over the phone with her about why we wanted to adopt and how we would be as pet owners. We then drove down to meet and interact with the dog we wanted to adopt. Gloria made sure it would be a good match before we left with our new best friend. We appreciated the effort Gloria made in order to ensure a good match between owner and pet. We think it is wonderful what she and her volunteers are doing and I hope they keep up the excellent work! We need more places like Famous Fido!

I visited this store on January 19^th, and I’ve heard of this place for years, but never took the time to drive up to the location in the Andersonville neighborhood. It’s a combination of a pet store and grooming salon. My issue was that they could have kept the place a little cleaner because you could see where people’s pets had accidents on the floor and they didnt get the dog feces up very well. The grooming salon was a bit on the small side so that could have posed a problem for heavy clientele coming in wanting grooming services for their dog or cat. The check out counter was inundated with a lot of stuff and you had to kind of push things out of the way to set your items on top of the counter. They also needed to have a back office to use a desktop computer and not using it to do their invoicing at the front of the store. They also needed to use a proper cash register to take care of cash and credit card purchases. Another problem is that a supposedly known place would also consider expansion because they obviously needed the room to expand and make the store a little more fresh to the current trends of pet stores. My biggest thing is cleanliness because nothing is more gross than past pet accident stains on the floor. They should have taken up all the rugs and had them power washed and mopping the floors with some industrial strength disinfectant to get rid of the smell of dog urine and to kill bacteria from animal feces so the place does not smell like a stable. I picked up some peanut butter bones for my 4 year old dachshund and I give them credit for making treats for dogs that are not loaded with additives and made with all natural ingridients. If they would get the space and cleanliness issue straight they could take their buisness where no buisness has gone before. I would rate it higher had had the space and clealiness deal been a priority to making this buisness a kick ass success.