Westbrook Nonprofits and Charities

As a member of the teaching faculty,it has been a rewarding experience to work in this theater company, because the level of programs offered ,range from beginner to professional working classes.The students have so many opportunities open to them, from taking part in staged readings to auditoning for productions, and so much more.It is wonderful to be a part of such a team so dedicated to making the arts accessible and affordable to the community.

I have donated to the ARLGP for many years as a big supporter of animal rescue. In June 2017 we went in to adopt a dog after recently losing one to a long health battle. We said we were looking for a young, healthy dog to add to our family. While I know you can never guarantee a pets health, we have been shocked by what has occurred. First, we were told she would need to return in a week to have a couple teeth pulled. I requested that they run blood work prior to anesthesia (I would pay for it) and was told they did not have the capability to do that, which is not true. They have a new state of the art clinic donated to them. I informed them I would take her to my vet for a full work up in advance and ultimately paid for the full procedure at my vet as their incompetence became very clear..... <br> <br>The worst part is that when we got our new dog home we took her for a walk and immediately noticed her favoring and limping. Long story short, our vet immediately noticed she had severe luxating patellas (her right knee was dislocated). Multiple vets have all said there is no way a vet would not detect this issue on simple, manual examination. We immediately notified the ARLGP and were told "once you adopt her it is not our issue and if you don't want to deal with it you can return her." Of course we are not going to return her! However, many families in this situation would have had no choice and that is said because they would otherwise providing a loving home. <br> <br>My ask of the ARLGP was if that we needed surgical intervention could they help with the expense (no diagnostics, just the surgery split 50/50). Repeated attempts and we have been told to return her..... And what, they are not going to have to pay the full expense to fix her? They even refused to refund her adoption fee to help offset expenses. <br> <br>Our dog is now recovering from her first knee repair and then will have to return for her second. Ultimately, I am grateful we can afford the $3500 to make her a happy, healthy 8 month old puppy, but the ARLGP should be ashamed of their lack of compassion for these animals well being.