Animal Care League is a nonprofit, no-kill animal shelter and adoption center located in Oak Park. We serve as the stray holding facility for Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park, Northlake, Elmwood Park, North Riverside, Melrose Park, and River Grove, giving animals found in those areas a safe place to go and be cared for until they are reunited with their families or put through our adoption program.
Animal Care League has been rooted in the community since 1973, when concerned citizens began taking in the stray cats from around the neighborhood. Nearly 50 years later and we are still committed to providing a safe haven to local animals in need. Read our full story here.
Where do our animals come from? The chart below illustrates, in brief, how animals get to our shelter, what happens when they get here, and where they end up!
New to our Program & Ready to Help an Animal In Need?
Last year, in 2023, a total of 568 animals got to spend time in foster care!
We currently have hundreds of active fosters helping drive our mission forward!
You are already an integral part of our community! Whether you are a weekend foster, fostering to adopt, or general foster you are making a huge difference in the lives of our animals :)
After your first foster you are invited to take part in volunteering activities! If you are interested we will get you onboard through a streamlined onboarding process, safety training, and role specific training if necessary.
You will immediately have the opportunity to sign up to help at ACL events, or sign up for our training for roles like our dog walking program, cat enrichment, adoption counselor team, Communications & admin team, 2nd Chance Thrift shop, and more!
Click Here :)
Active foster? Become part of our virtual network of like minded foster parents to share updates on your foster animal, ask questions, stay up to date on ACL developments, and more!
Remy Gajewski
Foster Program Manger
Email: foster@animalcareleague.org
Office hours: Sunday-Thursday
Office number: (708) 848-8155 ext. 124