START Animal Rescue

01/01/2025

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Look who we rescued - EVE! EVE is NO LONGER at the shelter and is fostering with a START board member! Photos/videos to come soon. THANOS & EVE were in a video together while they were doing some "dog testing" to see how friendly each dog was, and we fell in love with BOTH. We decided it would be an epic new years miracle to use our BIG-DOG donations to help these two out! (see prior posts for THANOS) Thank you all for helping to make this happen! More details to come! - Colleen at START

31/12/2024

Update! 💚🐾THANOS, our very precious cargo, was packed up by his temporary foster family (angels!) and left the shelter.
He started receiving his first in-home snuggles and seems to be soaking it all up. He loves other dogs and just seems so happy to not be terrified!
We will share his video’s soon as they take a bit longer to put together 😁
Stay tuned for that (the videos are amazing!) and for EVE, the senior GSD THANOS met in the shelter, who we also rescued. 😭 We love her too!

31/12/2024

💚Meet THANOS who officially left the shelter as of yesterday! 🎉

When we first saw this sweet, terrified boy at the shelter just a couple of days ago, we knew we couldn’t leave him behind. Despite his young age, THANOS has already faced unimaginable challenges. His deformities may be the result of being confined to a small cage for most of his life, meaning humans have failed him up until now. There was no way we could let that failure continue.

With help from the amazing Nadia in Stanislaus, THANOS was quickly placed into a temporary foster home—within hours of our commitment!

We are beyond excited to share updates with you soon. For the first time, THANOS is experiencing love, comfort, and care—things he has likely never known. He is a gentle, affectionate boy who craves human companionship and deserves every bit of happiness. 💖

To all of our amazing supporters who made this rescue possible—thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Your generous support, comments, shares, donations… ALL saved THANOS’ life, and we couldn’t be more grateful for you! 🙏

Together, we’re making a brighter future for dogs like THANOS. Thank you for being part of this life-changing rescue! ❤️

25/12/2024

🎄Happy Holidays from VICTOR, a sweet large-breed senior who we were able to rescue just in time 🐾🥹

VICTOR who will be up for adoption soon, story begins with hardship—he was abandoned in a yard with a Golden Retriever after his owners were evicted. But this gentle Boxer mix, despite being left behind, he is a sweetheart with everyone he meets. 🌟

VICTOR ended up at the Newman Shelter after being picked up by animal control, but thanks to START Rescue and the incredible support of a local nonprofit, he was able to get the FHO surgery he needed. 🐶💪

The surgery was fully funded, but VICTOR still needed a place to recover. With no one able to commit to fostering him, we are so lucky to have found a temporary foster home where he can rest, heal, and regain his strength! 🏠💚

Now, VICTOR is doing great! He’s recovering in a cozy foster/boarding home and is getting plenty of love. He’s made friends with everyone—including the resident cats! 🐾😻 He’s been adjusting to limited activity, but his range of motion exercises (including some fun bicycle riding circles!) are helping him bounce back stronger every day. 🚴‍♂️

At around 7 years old, VICTOR may be a little more mature, but his playful Boxer personality and sweet demeanor have captured the hearts of everyone he meets. ❤️ If you’re looking for a loyal, kind companion who’s ready to give you all the love, VICTOR might just be your perfect match.

Stay tuned for updates on his recovery, and thank you for following his journey! 🙏

24/12/2024

🎄💚ADOPT ME💚🎄 I’m sooo sweet and incredibly SNUGGLY! The SNUGGLIEST I’m told! My name is GEO and I’m looking for a home in the Portland, Oregon area- or beyond! I’m shy, loving, silly, playful and I love doggy playmates! To meet me please email [email protected] or to learn more about me, go to our bio link and click the animals up for adoption button! Thank you! HAPPY HOLIDAYS - Love GEO ❤️

21/12/2024

🎉WYATT is graduating from his training program this week, just in time for the holiday! Soon he gets to back to his foster-to-adopt home for another trial period, only this time he will be backed by his trainer, the phenomenal Maloree 🐾👏🏽💚 Saving big dogs is a lot of work, but always worth the effort!!
🎉Congratulations WYATT! 🎉 🎓

20/12/2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Charity Navigator has again rated us as a four star charity! Woohoo 🎉 knows the hard work we put into being a highly transparent, accountable, and effective organization!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️A four star rating also means that you can give with confidence knowing that we have been independently evaluated for effectively stewarding donations.

19/12/2024

💚An epic rescue journey begins!💚 You might remember SARGE, the Taft Shelter’s longest resident. We saved SARGE in memory of LOUIS. the dog we had committed to saving, who tragically died in the shelter as we were on our way to get him (🌈RIP LOUIS).
Well SARGE has had quite a dramatic rescue journey since then!
💚A couple in Massachusetts saw SARGE and just KNEW he was the one for them but little did they know, life would through them some serious curveballs along the way.
After working with START’s most amazing staff member, Kaja to plan a two legged journey all the way for CA to MA, the trip finally got started in Bakersfield, California, where SARGE had been staying with our AMAZING big dog foster mom, Diana.
Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, the woman who was going to be SARGE’s new mom was coming out of her routine cataract surgery when she and her husband, Steve received the terrible news that the surgery did not go as planned, and she was likely going to be blind.
In a panic (for good reason), they called to cancel the whole plan and when START received the sad news, the car was turned around. 😭It was a terrible day for everyone involved.
But then a miracle happened and SARGE’s future New Mom realized that while her sight was severely damaged, she was still able to see partially out of one eye ….and despite everything, she (and her husband Steve) still wanted…NEEDED, SARGE in their lives, no matter what it would take!
So Steve booked a flight, rented a car, and came to get SARGE and bring him home, 🏡 for real this time!!! Steve flew into LA, drove to SARGE’s foster home (yaay foster Diana!) and then SARGE and Steve hopped in the rental car a few minutes later, called us from Tractor Supply while buying supplies where SARGE was getting cookies from the checkout person, and Steve was so so so happy! He will be staying at Marriotts across the country since they allow dogs 🛌
💚SARGE IS HAPPY and LOVED and his dad, Steve says he is the “greatest dog of all time!” 💚
The above photos show the journey so far starting with the recent photos of Steve and SARGE, going all the way back to the day we picked him up!

16/12/2024

💚MUGSY (Up for Adoption in Portland, OR) went from being a feral, dumped, backyard breeder dog, to being saved from an L.A. shelter with his two siblings (in the nick of time), to living with a trainer for many many months, to finally being ready to go into a “non-trainer” foster home!
💚 He has come so far and last week he went with his foster dad to visit a retirement community where Dad works! He did amazingly well!

💚We are finding that with a lot of “feral” dogs, it can take about 6 months to one year to get them ready for adoption, and of course, the larger the dog the harder it is to find people who will take them on as fosters, but they are 100% savable! They also happen to be my personal favorite dogs to save 🥹

💚If you think you have what it takes to foster a super shy, or even a practically feral dog, please reach out to us at [email protected]

15/12/2024

These two sweethearts were dumped in Porterville California and picked up by a good Samaritan who worked with a Porterville volunteer (the amazing Shannon!) to save their lives! When Shannon reached out to us looking for additional help getting them to a safe place, we jumped right in. we know that finding a way to transport giant dogs like these can be very hard so we we’re determined to help 🥰

Last week we brought them it all the way up to Oregon, where they are staying in a Lucky Paws foster home, until they can find their forever homes 🏡🏡!

It takes a village and the “very special, large-breed-transport”, was paid for by our Giving Tuesday donation funds! Thank you to all involved for saving lives with us! YOU are amazing 🤩

11/12/2024

Your Giving Tuesday donations are already making a ✨BIG✨ difference! THANK YOU!

🚐🐶💚Happening Now! We rented a large van to accommodate a special group of BIG BIG BIG dogs ( a few of whom are pictured here!) and we are picking them all up tonight.

🐶🐶 Saved from shelters and fields where they were dumped, this group includes two very large St. Bernard’s, a paralyzed dog, a three legged dog, and just about every dog is over 55 lbs 💕

We also have a few very special large-breed dogs that we already picked up over the last couple of days, who we will be putting into training programs and START foster homes. We will introduce you to them soon! They’re AMAZING!

Thank you for making this possible,
XO - The START Rescue Team
STARTrescue.org

10/12/2024

🐾Mr. KITTLES is the cutest, most gorgeous little man ever. He was found on a college campus, where he had received his degree in Being-Cute.
His fur is like a cloud of silk so stunningly soft! He is quick to purr and he gets along with other cats and could probably do fine with a dog or two as well. He is in and his adoption fee includes vaccines and his neuter surgery too! Please contact [email protected] to apply to adopt. 🐈‍⬛

05/12/2024

Hello friends. There is a serious tsunami warning on the coast of Norther Cali. EMERGENCY EVACS HAPPENING NOW. Stay safe please.

The quake prompted the tsunami warning for all of the northern California coast, as far south as Davenport in Santa Cruz County.

05/12/2024

Big Dogs Are in Crisis—But You’re Making a Difference💚🐶

From all of us at START Rescue, thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who donated during our GivingTuesday matching campaign to save large-breed dogs. Because of your generosity, we met our goal! 🤗🎉🍾🙌🏼—and we couldn’t have done it without YOU ⬅️! Your compassion is giving these abandoned dogs the second chance they deserve.

The reality is heartbreaking: every day, thousands of big dogs are euthanized in shelters across the country at no fault of their own. This is the crisis we’re up against, and it’s why your support means everything to us—and to them.

Thanks to you, we’ve already started planning to save even more big dogs before the year is over. ➡️➡️If you missed the matching campaign, don’t worry—we’re working hard to organize another one for the holidays and we’re also looking for a large donation sponsor to help make this happen, so stay tuned for updates and wish us luck. If you know of a large donation sponsor who would offer a match, please email [email protected]

On behalf of the entire START Rescue team—and every big dog whose life you’ve helped save—thank you for believing in our mission. Together, we’re giving these beautiful souls a future full of love, hope, and happy tails. 🐕❤️

🐾🐶

03/12/2024

💚 It’s , the celebrated Global Day of Giving! Thanks to a generous donor who pledged $10,000 in matching funds, your gift to START will have DOUBLE the impact this week. Every dollar you donate will be matched (up to $10,000), meaning twice the support for rescue, transport, care, and adoption efforts for big dogs 🐶🐶.

For dogs like Reese (pictured above), your kindness means a second chance at life. Donate now and make your generosity go even further! 💚💚

‼️Big dogs are the most likely to die in shelters, and that’s why we’re dedicated to saving as many as we can. Your support helps us rescue and rehome these amazing large-breed dogs who cost more to rescue, are harder to find homes for, and who are the most neglected.
Donate now and make a meaningful difference for large-breed dogs.

Donations accepted at STARTrescue.org or at our donation portal at: givebutter.com/BIGTUESDAY

💚💚TOGETHER, we save lives. THANK YOU.

02/12/2024

💙 It's and DONATIONS are being MATCHED by a generous donor all week - STARTING NOW! ‼️This year, we’re raising critical funds to save LARGE-BREED DOGS—the most overlooked and over-euthanized dogs.

💚💚Donate now and double your impact. Link at: startrescueresale.org or at our donation portal at https://givebutter.com/BIGTUESDAY

GIVING TUESDAY BIG DOGS - DONATIONS MATCHED!

30/11/2024

🐶🎉SARGE got to help bake the Thanksgiving cookies - after taking a walk by the beach with his new foster mom and dad!
SARGE is having a wonderful time learning all kinds of new things while he waits to make his way to his furever home in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on 12/11 where he will become SARGE O’DONNELL!

His new dad had been looking for a new best friend for 5 years, and when he looked into SARGE’s eyes, he knew SARGE was the dog for him! They can’t wait to spend Christmas together! SARGE already has presents under the tree 🎄

30/11/2024

🧸💚BEAR is still looking for a home in the He is an easy boy with a lot of love to give and he also happens to be GORGEOUS!

➡️Contact [email protected]