At the request of a friend, I sent this organization a check for a donation. Having heard nothing from them to acknowledge the gift, I sent them an email for an update which was ignored. I'd caution anyone to consider donating to Starfish. read more

After losing a beloved 18 yr old furbaby, I knew I found the perfect kitty who was outgoing and loved dogs and people. Oreo started out in life with food sensitivities - Starfish gave this cutie top notch vet care and continued with wonderful foster care. I feel blessed to have this spunky silly baby in our household! Thank you Starfish for your wonderful rescue efforts and care to these precious fur babies! read more

Starfish Animal Rescue - Pet Adoption Near Me

My parents were looking to add a special addition to their family as it has been years they owned a dog. I found a beautiful and very sweet Carin Terrier mix for their home on Starfish Animal Rescue in Plainfield's website through Petfinder.com. Their application was specific as they understandably want to ensure their dogs and cats find a forever home. However the process went smoothly including the house check at my parent's home. You can tell the woman Laurie that brought the Carin Terrier really cared for the pets and to make sure they are only placed in good homes. Starfish has a large selection of adorable dogs and cats to choose from. Thanks to Starfish Animal Rescue my parents have found an amazing and grateful dog to call their own instead of using a breeder! I'm glad my parents went this route as that would be the only choice for me too in the future. Donating is also very important too which helps care for these deserving pets. read more

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This organization cares so much! With the onslaught of dogs an cats needing help starfish has stepped up without compromising their care or adoption process. Thus is a great place to donate to as support is badly needed! We are happy to have a starfish adoption in our family and look forward to more when ready! read more

This was my first time getting a pet on my own and I couldn't of asked for a better adoption agency and foster family. I had pondered the idea for a while and found my now dog, Butter, on adoptapet.com. I then went directly to the Starfish website and filled out the application. Someone responded to me same day, even though their website said it can take longer and told me they would pass along the information to the foster family. I asked if I could meet Butter that weekend and the foster family was a young couple and couldn't of been nicer. They took time Sunday evening to allow me to meet Butter. After that, the foster family let me know that they received additional applications, but wanted to be fair and see if I wanted her, since I was first. Talk about class-act. Ultimately, I wanted her but had a family emergency out of state and couldn't pick her up for a week and the foster family agreed to watch her for me for a week, so I didn't have to board her. Absolutely amazing experience. I recommend Starfish every opportunity I get. I love my dog to pieces and am thankful every day for organizations like this. read more

Starfish Animal Rescue - My precious little Butter. Thanks for rescuing her, Starfish, so I was able to adopt her. - Pet Adoption Near Me

I was looking for the perfect furry friend for my dog, I looked and looked and found what I hoped would be a good match. I filled out an application to adopt the dog. I was approved and was told I would hear from the foster family. It took awhile to hear from them, but I finally did and I was told all about the dog I was interested in. I was over the moon and couldn't wait to set up a time to meet the little guy and to see if my boy would have a new best friend. I requested a Saturday afternoon visit... I waited to hear back from the foster family, checking my email constantly, then Saturday morning I finally hear back. The foster family had decided to keep him themselves. Although Im grateful he has a forever home, I feel they should have honored my application. If the two dogs didn't fit, at that point they could decide to keep him. I was in the middle of the process and feel that should have been honored. I will not be adopting from them in fear the same scenario will happen again. read more

We are not happy with this organization and it's adoption process. We jumped thru all of the hoops to try to get an appointment to meet a puppy and see if she would be a good fit for our home. But that did not happen. We were strung along and told that we couldn't meet the puppy because the foster mother tried to contact us (one time) and said we didn't return her message. We were not contacted by this person by phone, email, text or letter. And now they have gone on to another applicant. My husband and I are very angry with this. We have been so excited about meeting this little puppy to only have this happen. Beware when working with this organization. read more

This rescue organization has been one of the best rescues I've ever known. They are very, very accommodating and they rescue from shelters that are over crowded and every other week we rescue hundreds of cats and dogs. I cannot fathom the work they put into this rescue and the heart and soul they go through . They make sure to always put dogs and cats in the correct appropriate home by all costs. The most thorough loving rescue I've ever worked with. This rescue does it for love and compassion and that's that. read more

I have fostered for this rescue and cannot say enough about them. Starfish has a wonderful process in place to ensure dogs are matched with the right families and all dogs are microchipped, and spayed. My friend will be adopting a pup from Starfish this Saturday and the entire process was easy from beginning to end. Thank you Starfish Animal Rescue! Highly recommend! ADOPT DON'T SHOP! read more

Want to adopt a dog? Work with a rescue organization that cares enough to put effort into matching your family with the right dog. Expect them to be honest with you about the dogs that they list. Starfish Animal Rescue did NOT! Our experience with them was full of dishonesty and disrespect! We were misled, lied to, heartbroken and forgotten. Starfish's adoption process: Find an animal online, complete and submit adoption application, if it is approved as a good match, a home visit and a meeting with the pet is scheduled, then adoption is finalized. Seems straightforward, but this is misleading. We submitted our application to adopt Stanley, and they quickly approved it and had Stanley's foster-mom schedule a time for us to meet Stanley. A few days later we met him and all fell in love! My 6yr old daughter timid around most dogs even loved Stanley! We wanted to adopt him! However, they require a home visit. We were trying to act fast, thinking this was a first-come-first-served type situation. So we contacted the foster that afternoon to schedule our home visit. She didn't reply until late the next day, then she blew off our appointment the day after. We finally had our home visit three days after meeting Stanley. And when the foster finally arrived with Stanley that day, she brought HER OWN DOG along too, which frightened my daughter! Despite that, the visit was a success! We couldn't wait to adopt him! That evening I learned that the foster planned another visit for Stanley with a different family! Why is Stanley meeting other families if we have already been approved to adopt him and want to proceed? My girls had both fallen in love with Stanley and couldn't wait for him to live with us! Two days later we learned they got TWO applications at the same time, so the foster set up visits with both families, and "she will make a decision of which would be a better fit for Stanley. She will get a hold of you soon." We're competing with another family, and the foster will choose the winner. This is NOT the process listed on the Starfish website. We NEVER would have put our children in the position of falling in love with him and then setting them up for heartbreak had we known this would be the game! Then we learned they actually got MULTIPLE applications at the same time and they're all scheduling home visits. So actually, we're competing with multiple families, and the foster is analyzing every single detail. We watched online as new dogs were listed then adopted quickly. At least three of those dogs potentially could have been compatible with our family, but we did not apply for any of them because we wanted Stanley. SIX DAYS after our home visit, Stanley's listing online suddenly said "adoption pending". EIGHT DAYS after our home visit, I emailed asking for an update. The reply: "We found a home that does not have children for Stanley to be adopted into. Stanley nips fairly hard when he gets excited. A serious issue in a family with children." Here's our response to that load of crap: 1) How could they approve us to adopt a dog, then allow us to spend time with that dog and fall in love with him, let our kids become attached to him and excited to adopt him, and then change their minds later? I really don't understand why they think this is okay. There wasn't even an apology! 2) The foster had been caring for Stanley for a month before we met him. How was this "nippy" behavior suddenly new information? Why was this not mentioned until after we were approved as a good match? And why didn't she ask us about our opinions on this before or during our first meeting? Stanley NEVER was nippy or showed any signs of aggression whatsoever. He's only 1 1/2, so of course he's going to use his teeth to express himself. If this was truly a concern, we certainly would have seen it in Stanley ourselves. 3) When was the decision actually made about Stanley's adoption? Seems like it happened days before we were told. When was anyone planning to tell us? Were we supposed to just continue waiting patiently? 4) Why would they ever think it's a good idea to have several families each have home visits with the same dog, each fall in love with that dog, and then just wait for the foster to choose a family? We never would have wanted to even meet Stanley if we were aware of their hideous system! No other effort has been made whatsoever by anyone from Starfish to match our family with another dog. Zero correspondence has come from Starfish on the subject at all. We were disrespected, misled, lied to, and heartbroken! I am furious about our entire experience with Starfish! Avoid working with them to find your next pet! They see no problems with breaking your kids' hearts and making them cry! If I could give them a rating of zero stars, I would! read more

We adopted a wonderful puppy from Sharon who was fostering him and his litter mates at the time. Thanks to Sharon, our little guy Rudy came to us in great physical condition and awesome disposition. Sharon demonstrated that she truly loves animals, as well as a strong commitment to the tenants and guidelines of Starfish. In this way, she has prevented many animals from abuse, neglect and surrender. She is direct and tough when u interview with her, and a true softy on the inside. You should expect questions and directness, as well as requests for home visits and we embraced this process. read more

Wonderful, caring organization. The foster mom walked us through the process step by step. She is truly an amazing woman, we are grateful for the care she gave our baby girl. She made sure we had everything we needed prior to leaving spending time to talk about training, medical needs, likes and dislikes. She checked in after the first storm to see how Claddagh was doing. It is wonderful to have this connection. They don't just drop the dog and run they stay connected!! Claddagh nestled into our hearts quickly. Her brother was adopted by our daughter so they are able to see each other quite often!! Thank you Starfish for the work you do!! read more

I have worked for rescue organizations before and typically the guidelines are straight forward on their website. I adopted my last dog from their area which is about 3 hours from where I live. I looked through all requirements on their web page I could find to make sure there wasn't a home visit requirement before I spent 30 minutes filling out their application and getting excited about the potential of adding a new pup to our family. Finally a day later I received an email stating we were out of their range due to a home visit requirement. For an organization supposedly helping animals they sure don't make it easy for visitors to their site. read more

After having submitting the application form, we got a home visit, only to know now that the shelter will require fence yard now to every future adopters. so now you know fence yard or no dog or was it appplied just for us....let me think maybe. read more

My family and I contacted them before submitting our application about the dog we were interested in. Everything was fine and dandy, we sent in an application and I notified them immediately. Kim, a worker, emailed back saying that our vet didn't have us on record, which they did. I asked her how we could prove that he was vaccinated and she replied, "I'm not really sure how you can get me the information. Those are the things I need to verify that your current dog is up-to-date with vaccinations, heartworm testing, and heartworm prevention." something she had already told me in the previous email. She was extremely rude and I was simply trying to adopt a dog. My family ended up taking our dog back to the vet the very next day to prove that he was up to date with vaccines. I told her and sent her the information afterwards and she then said that the dog was already being looked at...this happened in a span of 2 days. I asked if we could also see the dog, and she said that she would tell us if he wasn't adopted. I asked if she could notify us either way so we aren't left waiting...no response. 3 days later I ask if the dog is still available...which he was because I saw him on petfinder. Again, no response in 3 days. I don't know if it is just Kim, but we did NOT have a good experience with them at all. We were simply trying to adopt a dog for our family and they made us jump through hoops, spoke extremely rudely to us, and did not hold our spot or notify us at all when the dog was already getting adopted/looked at. We wasted money for the vet and a lot of time. VERY disappointed. read more

My husband & I had a terrible experience with Starfish Animal Rescue. We completed a very in-depth application & were invited to meet the dog at a Vet's Office in Naperville. We were allowed to visit with her & take her out for a walk. The foster (a Vet) indicated they would like to keep her longer to spay her & remove stitches from jaw surgery (hit by car); we were also invited to come back & visit again while she was going thru the recovery process. We fell in love with her & said we wanted to adopt her; I also sent an e-mail to confirm our adoption intentions. Over the next several days we received more e-mails about the dog having another fracture, concerns about the height of our 4-6 foot fence, us living on a busy street (they already had all the information including our address & the height of our fence on the original application form), so why were we even invited to meet the dog in the first place? Finally the foster indicated that she felt it was best for the dog, to look at other applicants, but that we should contact Starfish so they could find another dog for us because we would be wonderful adopters. I also noticed on-line several days later, that the adoption fee for the dog was lowered by $100. It was a very strange & dis-heartening experience; we were misled & would never look for another pet with this organization. Look elsewhere for your next pet! read more

I adopted a dog about a year ago from Starfish animal rescue. While overall a positive experience, there were a few frustrations. The adoption process goes as follows: 1) Find a dog/cat you are interested in on their website. 2) Fill out adoption application. The application will either be approved or denied. If approved, it will be sent to the foster family. Note that more than one approved application may be forwarded to the foster. 3) From there, the foster will call you to set up a "meet and greet." For us, we went to the fosters house and got to ask questions and meet the dog for a brief period. After this, you can decide if you would like to move forward with the adoption or decide the dog is not a good fit. 4) If you want to move forward, the foster or another volunteer with the rescue will need to come do a home check. 5) Once the home check is done, you can fill out the adoption paperwork, write a check, and the dog is yours. I truly believe your overall experience with Starfish will depend on who the foster is, as they have all of the power here. You have to work around their schedule and ultimately, they will decide if they feel the dog is a good fit. This can be hard as different fosters will have different opinions and different ways of determining who would be a good fit. Our foster called and was very pleasant. We set up the meet and greet for the next day, and drove to her house. Everything went very well there, and we fell in love with the dog. The foster said the dog still had to be spayed before we could officially adopt, but she had an appointment for the surgery the following week. In the meantime, she would come do the home check. I followed up with the foster the following week to see how the dogs surgery to get spayed went, but was told she had to push the appointment back as she didn't have time to take the dog to the vet. Days would go by, and I wouldn't hear anything. I felt annoying, but I kept following up with the foster to see the status of the surgery/home check/adoption. I was getting antsy, and excited to have my new dog, but nervous that the foster would change her mind and want to keep the dog or find a different family who she thought was a better fit. Finally after a few weeks, the dog had her surgery and was ready for adoption. She came to do the home check and left the dog with us from there. The dog still had stitches in her belly from the surgery, and we agreed to take her to get the stitches removed the following week. It's nice that this rescue places dogs in foster homes instead of a cage at a shelter, but your experience can either go great or terrible depending on the foster. We were fortunate enough to have a foster who thought we were a good fit with the dog. In fact, I still keep in touch with her. Starfish has saved so many lives and do great work. We love our dog we adopted through this rescue. read more

My husband and I had a PERFECT experience with Starfish Animal Rescue! The entire process couldn't have been more straightforward and pleasant. Here's how it went: We found 2 adorable puppies on the Starfish website and submitted our application in hopes to meet both of them. Starfish e-mailed me the very next day to say that they would be contacting our apartment complex to see if dogs were allowed. Once they did that, they sent us another e-mail saying that our application was approved and passed it along to the puppies' foster mom. The next day, the foster mom contacted us to confirm that she reviewed our application and set up a meeting time. She brought the puppies to our apartment later that same week. Unfortunately, we couldn't take both of the pups because they couldn't be adopted out together, so we chose which one we wanted. We went a few days later to the foster mom's house to pick him up. We gave her the money for the adoption fee, signed some papers, talked about his shots/vet appointments, and that was it! We took him home that night and named him Mowgli :-) I see that some people have commented on how the foster family could make or break this adoption process for anyone looking to adopt. This may be true, but the foster mom we dealt with was absolutely amazing. She was extremely helpful to us and took extraordinary care of her foster pups. Mowgli had received all the age-appropriate shots and treatments before we got him. We took him to his first vet appointment recently, and our vet said that he was in perfect health. The vet was very impressed with Mowgli's papers from Starfish, and commended the agency for taking such good care of him. There is a lot to be said for an agency who rescues animals from high kill shelters and finds loving foster homes full of loving people to take care of them until they can find their "forever-home." We tell everyone who asks about how pleased we were with Starfish's adoption process and Mowgli's foster family! And here's the best part... My sister-in-law decided to adopt Mowgli's brother!! She had an equally successful experience with the adoption process, and now they will be together forever :-) I wish I could give Starfish more than 5 stars!! Keep up the good work. read more

Had a great experience while adopting our lovable buddy, Captain. The foster family was very accommodating and the process really seems to have the pets best interest in mind for he long haul. I would absolutely recommend! read more

Great rescue to foster and adopt from. All are caring volunteers who dedicate their lives to saving dogs and finding forever homes for them. I have fostered, adopted and volunteered for Starfish and in all aspects have had a great experience. read more

We adopted a puppy from starfish and had a wonderful experience. You have to be a true animal lover to appreciate the generosity and love these volunteers put into saving these animals. They are all volunteering their free time outside of their famines and jobs to save these pets and find them a loving home. They will work with you to get it just right and be sure you and the animal are a good fit for each other. Can not give enough kudos to these people. We love our puppy and continue to try to help out the organization when possible. Highly recommend adopting from starfish! read more

We adopted our dog from Starfish Animal Rescue. Starfish is very unprofessional and unorganized. They do not do things in a timely manner; however, they expect that you drop everything to meet with them when they want. Very dissatisfied with Starfish Animal Rescue. Would NOT recommend adopting through them. read more

What an amazing rescue to work with! We adopted our second dog from them and they asked very appropriate questions about my family and current pets. After they called our vet and did a home check things went so smoothly! They helped me find the perfect fit for our family. We love our little rescue girl! Would and have highly recommended Starfish to other families looking to adopt. Such dedicated fosters that truly care where and who adopts their animals. read more

Our experience with Starfish Animal Rescue was very unsatisfactory. We attempted to adopt a dog who was grossly misrepresented to our family despite two meet & greets (adopter BEWARE - this poor animal, Livia, continues to be misrepresented as house trained on the Starfish website). During the three days the dog was in our home, it became apparent we were poorly matched with this animal and, in the best interest of the animal, decided we had to return it to Starfish. This was a heartbreaking decision for our family; I have grown up with shelter dogs in my family my whole life and this was the first time EVER that I had to return a dog. My husband, son, and I are still grieving the loss of our most recent pet, Newton, whom we adopted from Naperville Humane Society in 2001 and had to euthanize in October, 2013 (by the way, we had an EXCELLENT experience with them). We are no strangers to the amount of patience it takes when taking an abandoned dog into your home and felt horrible knowing that this dog was a poor match and had to be returned. There's no phone number to call for support or with questions. The owner can only be reached by text or email. She takes several days to respond to email, and only answered my husband's numerous texts after he threatened to put a stop payment on the check. She then used profanity in her correspondence with him. What a miserable experience! If you want to work with someone who is untruthful about their animals' attributes, has NO SKILL in placing animals, uses profanity in their DELAYED correspondence, and makes false accusations and assumptions of the adopters - then work with Starfish Animal Rescue. When we returned this poor animal, we happily donated approximately $200 worth of pet food and supplies. Needless to say, we will probably never see our adoption fee of $300 again despite the owner's lack of knowledge and truthfulness in placing this animal. She made absolutely NO effort to work with us in finding a better match; that wasn't even presented as an option. I was under the impression that pet adoption was a two-way street. Our family paid dearly for her incompetence, lack of integrity, and dishonesty; apparently we are 100% at fault for this miserable experience. How can you sincerely encourage people to "adopt; don't shop" when you treat them like this? Avoid the heartbreak and assault to your pocketbook by adopting from a reputable shelter that is sincerely interested in finding "forever homes" for their animals and not just taking your money. I wish I had read the previous review before trying to work with Starfish. read more

We adopted our 2 year old Shih Tzu through Starfish in June 2014, and we couldn't be happier with the whole process. The foster family and Starfish were great to work with, and we love our dog! read more

Starfish does wonderful things, and we are absolutely thrilled with the dog we adopted from them whom we've had for close to a year now. He's the sweetest thing in the world and I know he wouldn't have been saved if it wasn't for Starfish. All that said, I had to remove one star, only because we found out after bringing our baby home that he had worms. I have to wonder why he wasn't on a monthly dewormer like all dogs should be while he was in foster care. Starfish did pay for that treatment though after they were informed. read more

I think the most important thing to remember about most rescue organizations is that they are completely VOLUNTEER run. Most of the people running this rescue have full time jobs, families to care for, and their own pets to manage, in addition to selecting & transporting hundreds of dogs a year from a high kill shelter in KY to IL, finding and screening fosters for them, getting meds and supplies and the dogs ready for the fosters, communicating with fosters for medical and other issues, and ultimately, paying the bills- all on adoption fees. I have fostered for Starfish numerous times, and while I can say that sometimes communication can be a bit frustrating, I remind myself of the things I've listed above. Fosters are also unpaid volunteers, doing what they can to help these poor dogs. I know I've had to deny people based on certain criteria in their home (kids, no fence, etc..)- but in doing so, I have EVERYONE'S best interest at heart- my foster dog, and the potential adopters. Every foster is a different person and will treat the process in a slightly different manner. To trash this rescue as a whole, with the work, time, and money they've spent in their off time to save hundreds of dogs, because of an off experience with a particular foster or person, is a shame. In the end, this rescue exists to save animals lives. Patience is key. Be patient with the process, with the people, and ultimately with your new pet. read more

We adopted our second dog from Starfish Animal Rescue last year and couldn't be happier. He is the best little guy who brings so much joy and love to our family! I researched rescue groups and loved everything that Starfish was about. They are trying to make a difference with high kill shelters and educate people about spay and neutering. They have a great group of people who volunteer for them and really care about all the animals they rescue. I have seen them at many adoption events and getting the chance to talk with the fosters of all these pups is always so rewarding because you can tell how much they care about their foster pups and want nothing but the best for them. We still talk with our little boys foster mom and can't thank her enough for all that she did for him! If you want a great rescue to work with I would recommend Starfish! I have several friends who have since adopted from them as well.... read more

After I lost my dog I was looking to adopt another dog. A friend of mine recommended Starfish Animal Rescue. They were very helpful in helping me find a dog that fit my needs. The foster parent was great to work with. I now have adopted my 3rd dog from them. It's been a very positive experience for me. read more

We adapted from starfish rescue in July of 2014. We rescued a 5 month old collie terrier mix. Later found out she also has greyhound in her. We had a few minor health issues in the beginning. We had a positive experience with the agency and foster Mom. I would highly recommend this organization. read more

We adopted our dog Sophie from Starfish Animal Rescue back in January. We just love her more then words can say. I'm very impressed with how serious everyone is that is involved with adopting these animals out. They truly want the animals to go to good homes. If you are looking to add a fur baby to your family, look no further Starfish is a great rescue!! We will definitely adopt from them again. We LOVE our Sophie Girl!!!!! read more

We had a horrible experience with this rescue organization. We were so excited to adopt a 2nd dog, and contacted Starfish to start the process. We were optimistic that the rescue actually had the dog's best interest in mind, and would be honest about the needs of the dog and match. After our initial meet and greet we raised some concerns about temperament but were convinced it was a good match. We adopted the puppy, only to discover our initial concerns were more than valid, and this puppy wasn't a good fit for a family with another dog, or small children. We were devastated, but Starfish was cold and unsympathetic. There are no phone numbers, no way to contact anyone other than via email, and they have a very slow response time. We lost our adoption fee, never had the option to be matched with another dog, and were left horribly frustrated and discouraged. This is NOT an organization that is honest and respectable. read more

I am a single girl and finally was ready to adopt a dog to have a companion. After being rejected by other adoption agencies, my friend who adopted through Starfish recommended the place and I sent in my application for a dog right away. Thankfully they accepted my application and responded back rather quickly. The dog I first applied for was pending adoption so they recommended I check out another one. I scheduled my visit with my now dog Harley with the foster mom for that week. She was very helpful, let me ask all my questions and spend some quality time getting to know and make sure I was a great match with her. Being this was a huge purchase I wanted my parents to meet Harley to approve of my decision and make sure they liked her as much as I did, the foster mom let me come back a 2nd time with my parents. I then called after my 2nd visit to say I was ready to purchase Harley and we set up a good day for the process. The foster mom was so helpful and even watched my dog when I went on vacation a few months after. Harley had so much of her shots, micro chip and other things taken care of that it was a great transition. I could not be happier with my dog and everything Starfish did during the process and all they took care of. My life has changed for the better now having a pet and I have Starfish to thank for that! read more