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June 2025 by Марина Орешко
We drove 40 minutes with my child to visit, and when we arrived and asked to walk a dog, we were told it was too hot outside. However, as we were heading back to our car, we saw two families walking out with those same dogs. I went back to ask why we weren’t allowed, and others were. The staff member said it was because they had a big family (4 adults), while it was just me and my son. This felt very unfair and disrespectful, especially toward my child. The staff was unpleasant and treated us with disregard. We won’t be coming back.
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June 2025 by Tessa Potter
An 80-year-old friend of ours recently lost his beloved black cat, a once-feral animal he had cared for and cherished for years. When the cat went missing, he did everything he could—checking with neighbors, putting in the legwork, and eventually tracking the cat down to the Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter in the Courts of St. James.
Unfortunately, what followed was deeply upsetting. The manager and staff demanded proof of ownership, cited bylaws about roaming cats, and told him it would take six days to check the tattoo through the Humane Society. No one offered compassion, suggestions, or any kind of help to reunite him with the animal he had loved and cared for. Instead, he was met with judgment and obstacles that left him feeling dismissed and heartbroken. The cat, meanwhile, has already been renamed and prepared for adoption.
This experience has been devastating—not only for my friend, who has lost a valued companion—but for those of us who know how much joy and meaning that animal brought to his life. We are disappointed that a shelter whose mission is to protect animals showed so little regard for the emotional bond between a senior and his pet. Compassion should be at the heart of rescue work. Sadly, none was shown here.
Thank you to Carla and the team for their response and for the care they provided to the animal. I genuinely appreciate the commitment to the wellbeing of animals. That said, I want to acknowledge that we had a difference of opinion regarding this situation. In emotionally charged moments—especially when someone is searching for a lost pet—it can be difficult for individuals to fully process policies, procedures, or the financial requirements associated with extended holds especially when they identify the animal in a cage and are told a black cat is hard to identify in photos. These are hard conversations, and I believe compassion is needed not just for the animals, but also for the people involved. While I’m saddened that the pet won’t be returning home, I remain hopeful that it will find a safe and loving new one.
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June 2025 by Sherri Walker
We had an amazing experience! Amber guided us through every step of the adoption process with such kindness and care. Our daughter had lots of questions, and Amber answered each one with incredible patience and warmth, making the experience even more special for our family. She made sure we felt confident and supported the entire way.
Even after we brought our new puppy home, Amber followed up to check in, which meant so much to us. We’re absolutely thrilled with the newest addition to our family!
A heartfelt thank you to Amber and the entire staff—we highly recommend them to anyone looking to adopt!
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June 2025 by Matthew Kaisaris
I just adopted a kitten from WPRS and Amber was a fantastic help! She guided us through the adoption process easily, she was great at recommending what products we would need to bring the little guy home, and was very friendly and professional throughout the entire process. 5/5 stars, would recommend!!
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May 2025 by Kali Wasilewski
Very positive experience this week while adopting a kitten. Amber was very helpful with any questions I had. She was knowledgable and clear in her answers, plus she was all around a joy to talk to! On adoption day, Amber and Emma got me set up, helped me choose some cute toys, and made the whole adoption process a fun and stress free experience! I'm very grateful for the experience they provided and highly recommend!
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May 2025 by Marilyn M
My old boy passed away several months ago and I felt I was finally ready for a new puppy. I love all the social media posts from Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter and a few pictures had drawn me in. Sidney and Katelyn listened to all of my stories about my old dog and what I was looking for in a new puppy and helped me pick the perfect puppy for me and my family. They were wonderful.
When I made a final decision and went down to the shelter to fill out the paperwork, Amber was amazing. She answered all of my questions, even answering things I hadn't thought of yet. She went through all the paperwork with me and made sure I understood and let me know they were always there if I had any other questions. She helped make the experience stress-free and exciting.
You can tell how much they love these animals. I know my boy was well cared for and loved. I'm looking forward to this new adventure with my new fury, 4 legged son and I'm looking forward to sharing his progress with Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter. Thank you for all you do.
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May 2025 by Veronica David
Amber was fantastic, from the moment my partner and I walked in to meet our little Rigatoni and all throughout the adoption process she was efficient, kind, helpful and answered all of my questions.
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May 2024 by Robert Petty
Awesome little pet jointAdd to it the Awesome fish tank outside the store
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May 2024 by Jolene Beaugrand
Nice and clean, taking care of all the animals
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May 2024 by lola W.
Spent several days thinking of adopting Memphis. Decided she was a very special puppy. She and the cats act like they've been together for ever. Fortunate to have all well behaved pets.
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May 2024 by Gary
Staff are very caring. Animals are treated well!
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May 2024 by Aaron Kostuik;
Amazing people here, just being there you can see how well these animals are cared for. I will admit I don't like visiting because I want to take home all the babies lol.
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May 2024 by Zoey Towler
We adopted our boy about a month ago today. Prior to going to the shelter, we reviewed their website that states all dogs come with a clean bill of health which unfortunately for us was not the case. After reading some other reviews, it seems that we are not the only one that has had such experience with this shelter.Long story short: Our dog is blind in one eye. After review with a specialist, in easy terms, the retina is detached and the pup has been blind since birth. In addition to this, he has a cataract in the eye that will progressively get worse over time. It's hard to say what the end result of this will be as he will be monitored for the foreseeable future. We are hoping for the best outcome possible.We noticed after a couple of days that something was abnormal with his eye, so for a shelter to “miss” this seems more like the case that they do not want to incur any more fees under their watch. My partner even mentioned "is it possible he can't see out of his eye?!" as when we were putting down treats for him he was having a really hard time seeing / finding them. We got him to our vet as soon they had availability, although we didn't think too much into it because we received a "clean bill of health" showing that the eyes were checked "normal".Our vet knew pretty quickly that the eye was showing many abnormalities and sent us to a specialist right away.I needed some insight as to what happened and how this could be missed, so I called Winnipeg pet rescue to speak to someone in charge. When I received a call back, the lady was rude, dismissive and pointed the blame to their vet. She offered no further support, concerns for the dog we had just adopted, or apolgy as to what could have happened here. She seemed very disinterested and kept trying to end the conversation."We are not vets here, you can call them for more information. He is thoroughly checked from our vet, and he looks normal to us so we didn't feel the need to send him back for an additional checkup."You really want to put trust in a place like this and feel like they are doing their due diligence, which clearly is not the case.We did call their vet for more information and they were more than helpful. They explained they see these dogs ONCE on their initial intake, and are never seen again. It's up to the shelter to bring them in if they notice anything abnormal. They sign off on their health at the time they are dropped off. So to state they all have a clean bill of health at the time of adoption feels very dishonest to me, especially given the process that we are now going through with our new family member.This pup is now part of our family and we will move through the process of giving him the best shot at life possible, however, it would have been good to know at the time of adoption that this guy is going to be on a long health journey for the foreseeable future.I highly suggest if you are adopting from here to do your due diligence, and take your pet for a checkup very shortly after adoption to ensure they do indeed have a clean bill of health as this place cannot be trusted unfortunately.Please know and understand we have adopted from a different rescue organization in the city, who are very thorough, transparent, and I feel like they really do care for the dogs health and well being. Our experience with them was nothing but positive, unfortunately we cannot say the same for Winnipeg pet rescue.
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May 2024 by J Winter
Great atmosphere and very caring staff
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March 2024 by Danelle Hueging
I adopted my cat Willow from the shelter, and I appreciate how they took such good care of her till I brought her home! A wonderful place that keeps the care of the animals front of mind ?
