Starfish Animal Rescue Plainfield, Illinois

Starfish is an awesome rescue

Picked up my first rescue foster

Starfish is an AMAZING animal rescue! The team is one of the most devoted, loving and responsible shelter people I have ever met. They truly care about their adoptable pets! If you are looking for your next best friend- definitely adopt from them. A+ organization!

Awesome organization for a great cause. Highly attentive staff with a dedicated network of volunteers. Strongly recommended if you are considering adopting.

I would not believe half these reviews here because most of them are from Volunteers from the rescue, if you all knew what goes on in regards to fostering one of there animals, first of all they do not tell you anything in regards to being a foster, they assume you know what is expected and second of all the only thing they provide for you is a bag of food and the rest is expected of you, they could care less about the animals just the amount of money they have coming in. Be careful when adopting frrom them because they could be sick because the vets office and the staff at Starfish do very little commication.

Not very personable and they are pretty passive aggressive.

This organization is thorough, caring and very responsive. I have two Starfish pups, and I could not be happier

We picked up two dogs to foster and hopefully adopt. They were very helpful and I'm glad orgs like this exist.

I want to echo and validate a lot of the frustrations being posted here, as I had a very similar experience. I was told within 12 hours of filling out an application that the dog we were interested in already had an adopter lined up. A couple of days later, I received a call from the foster to set up a meeting with us. We were a bit confused, but adoptions fall through so we were excited. My husband and I went to meet him in the suburbs, and bonded. We were really excited, they came to the city where we own a condo and visited the dog park. We had a home visit set up and I signed the contract, but was then notified that Starfish had an issue with me living in the city. I understand that not all adoptions work out and it's not his foster's fault at all, but I didn't necessarily appreciate how the animal rescue itself handled it. I was very up front and clear about where we live and part of me feels like the rescue immediately shut the option down. If you're in a situation where you have children or even adults in your home who get very attached to dogs in these moments, I would keep those expectations in the front of your mind while dealing with this agency or better yet going through another agency.

I have fostered puppies from Starfish and they really care about the animals in their care.

I adopted my dog from Starfish, and it was a great experience. I found them to be responsive and they answered all of my questions. I ended up adopting the most beautiful little dog and we just love her. I would absolutely adopt with Starfish again-they do great work

We adopted our adorable puppy Zoey (formerly Ashton) from Starfish. From the moment we filled out our application to the first meeting with Zoey and her foster at our home it was a most professional and enjoyable experience. After we made our decision to adopt our foster kept in touch with us until Zoey was ready for adoption. From emails and pictures to vet appointments we were kept informed about our little Zoey. I can’t say enough about Starfish: and in particular Deb Marie our foster who took such good care of Zoey. We will be forever grateful. Starfish is the best. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them and I would certainly adopt from them again

This rescue is outstanding. Their knowledge and love for the animals in there care and everywhere is awesome. All of the staff-volunteers at this rescue I have dealt with are friendly and know how or who to contact about a question or concern I've had. A+++ 5 star rescue.

We love Starfish Rescue!! We had a very positive experience with Everyone we dealt with! Excellent communication and caring. We fostered to adopt our sweet Boxer Bailey in April 2021. She was heartworm positive when she arrived in Illinois and we were the lucky ones to be able to care for her. We had a few trips to the vet in North Aurora, Randall Orchard Crossing. Dr. McCarthy and her staff were wonderful. Our Bailey was declared free of heartworm in September. We adopted Bailey sometime in July but all visits were still covered by Starfish. Laura V. was exceptional to work with as were all the people we encountered in the Starfish Organization. We are very grateful for the opportunity to foster and then adopt our Bailey!

I cannot say enough good things about Starfish Animal Rescue! We put an application in for a dog and within a day or two I received an email from the foster Mom asking to do a meet and greet. The whole process was easy and Abby is the perfect fit for our family. She was up to date on all of her shots and I was given all her necessary paperwork. I would definitely adopt from them again!

Please remember the people you deal with at Starfish are all unpaid VOLUNTEERS, most with full time jobs. If you get a short answer or don’t get an answer quickly it’s probably because they’re working at that job or busy working with 1 or 2 or 3 foster dogs or cats. They take them into their homes out of the goodness of their hearts because they can’t fathom the alternative (euthanasia). There are also restrictions adhered to ensure these beautiful animals are adopted into safe, loving homes. They do their best to get their fosters vetted, healthy, and matched with the best adoptive parents.

Adopted my beautiful Kaya from Starfish 3 years ago. She has been by my side for the past few very difficult years! Best pup EVER. Wonderful adoption experience. Highly recommend Starfish and Silke and Wayne!

We adopted our sweet Winnie from Starfish in December of 2020. The foster family was quick to respond, accommodating to us when scheduling an appointment to meet our girl and ultimately brought her to us with all her paperwork, medicine, etc. Her post-adoption veterinary appointment and spay surgery were covered by Starfish (included in our adoption fee) and ensured our pup was healthy. We are so thankful for Starfish and its legion of foster families that brought our Winnie to us and bring joy to countless families.

I could not have asked for a better rescue to work with. We adopted our sweet boy, Mack (was Gabriel), almost 2 years ago now. The process was super smooth and quick. I love how they are foster home based and receive the love and care they need before they are adopted. I am still in contact with our foster mom who had our pup and always will be! She was amazing and even helped my parents adopt a pup less then 10 months ago. Plus, she was local and only 5 minutes down the road from them. Again, cannot imagine our lives without our pup. Thank you Starfish!

We adopted our pup Harvey from Starfish a few years ago and could not be happier with both the experience and our dog!! First, the staff are amazing people. Everyone who “works” here is a volunteer that dedicates countless hours of their personal time to save these animals. When I see negative reviews that response times are slow or they tried to adopt an animal from Starfish and couldn’t, I don’t think those people understand how hard these volunteers work or how many applications they have to shift through, on top of finding fosters for all the animals they save (they do not have a shelter). They work tirelessly to make sure each animal is placed in the right home. Second, and most importantly, our dog Harvey is amazing and we are so thankful to Starfish for giving us our best friend!! I’d recommend this rescue to anyone who wants to be paired with the best dog or cat for them and work with people who are truly passionate about saving animals.

I adopted my dog from Starfish in 2018 and the process was smooth and wonderful. We filled out paperwork for the dog we were interested in, quickly heard back and were put in touch with his foster family. We visited the foster family and met our dog, then continued with the paperwork to adopt. He was loved and well cared for by the rescue and his foster family! We had no issues with Starfish and are so grateful for our dog (Bentley/Bandit) now known as Denali. Starfish was very professional and organized with sending all of his paperwork and helping pay to get him neutered when he was old enough for the surgery. We would recommend this animal rescue to anyone!

Submitted my application and within minutes (no way my application was even read all the way through that fast) I got their response “[name of pet] has a potential adopter.” That’s it, no greeting no additional info. So I responded “okay, can you suggest other dogs that match my application submission?” And no response lol Update: their response to this comment is unfortunate. They lack accountability and deflect their lack of communication and follow through onto the reviewer. Maybe pay people to work to solve your issue with exhausted volunteers who have too much work on their hands to have basic email courtesy and/or follow up on potential adopters…which is important for an animal rescue I would think.

I have had the privilege of fostering puppies for Starfish Animal Rescue, as well as adopting our beautiful Zola (previously Gypsy). Everyone involved is caring, responsive, helpful, and all around amazing. As a foster parent, and as an adopter I was so grateful for the support and patience shown to me. Thank you for my sweet Zola.

This is one of the best animal rescue organizations that I have ever worked with. They deeply care about all animals and endlessly strive to match these precious animals with perfect forever homes. Lots of these animals would lose their lives if not for Starfish. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!!!

I have fostered for Starfish Animal Rescue for over three years and I foster-failed on this little cutie (pictured). Starfish is a partner to a few shelters in southeast Kentucky. In addition to finding loving homes for the unwanted dogs and cats that cannot be placed locally, Starfish assists the shelters and other organizations in conducting spay and neuter clinics and other health programs for the dog and cat population in the region. I have found Starfish to be extremely well organized and to ALWAYS have the best interests of the dogs and cats in their care as the first priority. Applicants have to understand that if they apply for an animal whose listing on Petfinder.com includes criteria their application indicates they do not meet, then they won't be approved for that dog or cat. It is only because Starfish wants to find these pets a forever home. Picking applicants that can't meet the animals' needs is not setting them up for success. Like others have mentioned, Starfish is staffed by volunteers with full-time jobs AND the biggest hearts for these animals. With the pandemic came a surge in interest in adopting animals (yay!) and Starfish volunteers worked all hours of the day to be as responsive as they could to applicants. I am so proud to foster for Starfish, they really are a top-notch organization!

I have adopted all my pups and cats from starfish!!! I have also been a foster mom in the past so I know both sides of the adoption process. As a foster mom I have had to turn down some adopters but in the end you want the best for the animals and to make sure it’s the right fit. Starfish always makes sure it’s a right fit for everyone involved!! They love these animals and do everything they need to do to make sure your getting a happy healthy animal. They have made so many positive changes with the shelters they rescue from along with the community and education on spay and neuter. All my future fur babies will be adopted from starfish!!!

Starfish was nothing short of wonderful. Within a week of applying, we had an interview and could meet the dogs. Our puppy had a happy foster home experience with Silke, Wayne, and her litter mates and she was so excited to meet us! We could not be happier with Starfish for taking care of our best friend before she met us and became a part of our family.

We adopted our little Barley though Starfish. We worked with some amazingly caring and passionate people. We are so happy with how smoothly everything went in this crazy time to adopt a pet during the pandemic.

Awesome experience! Best rescue in the area!

We have adopted two dogs from Starfish animal rescue! Our latest dog was part of the superhero pack! Silke Cook and Wayne Viehweg were the greatest fosters we could have ever hoped for. Our puppy was socialized, cared for, and loved like she was their own! Not to mention they got to play with a pig while on the farm! We have loved every moment working with Starfish!