One Tail at a Time

Lauren Wenzel · 5★ · 2025-12-11

I LOVE THIS RESCUE SO MUCH! I adopted two cats 3 years ago, and just adopted a dog a couple days ago. The process is SO easy and Jenn (adoption coordinator) is so communicative! I can tell they genuinely care about their animals. I love my babies- Rhonda, Sharon and Lena! (now named Norman, Lana, and Lumi!) Thanks again!

Mary Gignilliat · 5★ · 2025-12-13

On Saturday, July 28, 2018, I headed to One Tail at a Time’s Adoption Center on Wood Street to meet a dog I’d been eyeing online, Cindi. She had arrived from Alabama about a 4 weeks earlier, was around 7 or 8 months old, and had spent the previous two weeks in a foster home. When I met her in the yard, she bounded straight over to the picnic table where I was sitting and showered me with kisses. I walked out with her at 6:05 p.m. I paid nothing because a generous donor had covered her adoption fees. Her name is now Lula, and she is and has been an absolute joy.\n\nShortly after saying goodbye to my second dog that previous April, I embarked on a search for my third rescue dog. After researching shelters, I decided I would only adopt from One Tail. I loved that it is a women-founded, grassroots, community-based organization that seeks to rescue rather than euthanize adoptable pets. Small, but mighty and exactly what I sought.\n\nIn January 2024, I started volunteering with One Tail. Out of all the organizations I considered, this one stood out. I’m now one of over 900 active volunteers.\n\nAfter 3–4 hours of self-paced training, you can sign up for 2-hour shifts at various facilities. Most volunteer opportunities involve hanging out with dogs and cats. I do that and also write thank-you notes to donors and volunteer at events.\n\nAbout 90% of the animals in One Tail’s care are in foster homes, not kennels, which gives potential adopters real insight into a dog’s personality. Many families remain in touch with the fosters long after the adoptions. If adopters are struggling to pay for food, meds, or supplies, One Tail will help through its Pet Mutual Aid Program. See the website for more details.\n\nOne Tail is LGBTQA+ friendly and does not discriminate\nagainst potential adopters. Leases and HOA rules that place limits on pet ownership are usually the only issues that interfere with adoptions.\n\nI could write a novel about why I love One Tail, but it all starts with Lula. If you’re thinking about adopting or volunteering, I highly recommend One Tail at a Time.

Kaileigh DeForest · 5★ · 2022-01-03

My husband and I adopted our first dog from here at the beginning of the year! We could tell they really take care of the animals and are passionate about their future! They supported us through every step and gave us plenty of resources to make the transition as smooth as possible for our girl! The foster parents we worked with were incredible also!\nUpdate: We loved this place so much we adopted a second and are even more in love with them! Wonderful process, very open with us about the dogs behavior(for both), and helped us transition smoothly integrating 2 dogs together! They are now best friends ❤️ so thankful for One Tail At A Time bringing our little family together 😁🥰

Isabella Brock · 5★ · 2022-01-25

One Tail At A Time is one of the greatest animal organizations in the Chicago area, hands down. I recently started fostering with them and have felt very supported through the entire process! They provide assistance with supplies, transportation, and most importantly have an incredible group of pets. My foster dog Quincy came from a high risk shelter in Indiana and is the sweetest boy in the world, I am so grateful to this organization for allowing him to have a second chance at life! The work this organization does is truly amazing I would recommend adoption/fostering/volunteering here to anyone!

y z · 1★ · 2025-10-08

I fostered a cat from OTAT out of genuine goodwill — I just wanted to give an animal a safe temporary home. I double-checked with the foster coordinator that she was healthy and dewormed before bringing her home. Within a few hours, I found a red wound on her ear, and later that night, I saw tiny white worms moving around her anus — live tapeworms, curling and stretching on her fur. It was horrifying. I also noticed what looked like flea dirt around the places she often sat.\n\nBefore calling the 24/7 emergency line, I even checked the foster handbook, which says:\n\n“If you’re unsure whether something is an emergency, imagine if this were your child — would you take them to the ER?”\nSo I called at 2 AM, but the person on the phone said it wasn’t an emergency and told me she needed to go back to sleep. That response felt so dismissive and unprofessional.\n\nMeanwhile, I emailed them about everything. The replies were slow, defensive, and made it sound like this was “not a big deal.” At first, I even apologized for sounding harsh in my first message, but now I realize I really didn’t need to — anyone who saw live worms crawling on their foster cat at midnight would’ve reacted the same way.\n\nLater I learned that the cat had a known flea allergy and a prior flea treatment.\nWhat upset me most was that they had told me she’d had flea prevention — which made me think it was just a routine treatment for a healthy cat, not that she had actually been infected with fleas before. That’s a big difference, and it should’ve been communicated clearly.\n\nAfter reviewing more information, I also realized that tapeworms often develop after a cat has had fleas, since they can be transmitted when a cat ingests an infected flea. Given that OTAT brings cats back together from their source shelter in shared transport, it would be reasonable to expect some health screening or prevention measures before sending them to new fosters — both for the cats’ well-being and to avoid cross-contamination.\n\nWhen I explained that I live in a small studio and couldn’t disinfect properly while the cat was still there, they said it would take at least 48 hours to find another foster. Only after I sent a firm and serious follow-up email did they finally agree to keep her at their clinic for treatment. A kind volunteer from their network later helped transport her there — something I was truly grateful for amid all the stress.\n\nBut honestly, a sick or parasite-infected cat should be assigned to a foster who’s prepared or experienced with medical cases — not handed off to someone completely unaware. It’s unfair not just to the foster, but to the cat as well. She deserved better care and understanding from the start. I truly cared about her, and I felt heartbroken watching her leave, knowing she had been uncomfortable and that I couldn’t help her the way I’d hoped to.\n\nTheir final email ended with:\n\n“Thank you again for being upfront and for prioritizing both Ophelia’s health and your own.”\nAfter everything that happened, that line just felt polished but empty.\n\nI know some fosters have had great experiences with OTAT, and I wish mine had been too. Maybe if the cat hadn’t come with visible worms, it would’ve been different. But if you found moving tapeworms on your foster cat at night, called for help, and were told it’s “not a big deal,” would you still feel okay about it?\n\nI fostered because I cared. This whole situation left me anxious, exhausted, and disappointed.\nTransparency, compassion, and basic respect should come first — for both animals and people.\nI understand that OTAT follows its own policies and that the staff are likely very busy. Still, I wish there had been more transparency, empathy, and urgency in communication. Procedures were followed, but the human side was missing — and that’s what truly disappointed me.