Every Year in Australia over 180,000 healthy and rehomeable dogs and cats are killed in Australian Pounds.

Every day, an average of five dogs come into Starting Over Dog Rescue’s care from Victorian council pounds.

We’re a registered Victorian animal welfare charity, not-for-profit and volunteer-run community foster care network, working across Victoria to give those dogs somewhere safe to land.

Our dogs live in foster homes while we get to know them, organise their vet work and carefully match them with the home that fits them best.

Whether you’re here to adopt your next best mate, open your home as a foster carer, volunteer behind the scenes or support our work with a donation, you’re helping another dog start over.

Welcome to Starting Over Dog Rescue.

Foster
a rescue dog

Fostering is all about giving a dog somewhere safe to land while they wait for their forever home.

At Starting Over Dog Rescue, we believe every dog deserves the chance to start over. We don’t discriminate based on age, size, breed or medical needs. If a dog needs our help and we have a foster home available, we’ll do everything we can to give them that opportunity.

Our foster carers welcome dogs rescued from Victorian council pounds into their homes, helping them settle into family life while we get to know their personality, complete any veterinary treatment they need and find the home that’s the right fit.

As a foster carer, you’ll provide love, patience and a safe place for a dog to start over. We’ll provide the food, veterinary care, ongoing support and a coordinator to guide you every step of the way.

We couldn’t do what we do without our foster carers. Quite simply, every dog we save starts with someone like you opening their home to a dog in need.

Apply Now

Adopt
a rescue dog

Adopting a rescue dog is about so much more than bringing home a new best mate.

When you adopt from Starting Over Dog Rescue, you’re giving a dog the chance to start over while also making room for us to save the next one.

Every dog adopted means another empty foster home, another space in our rescue and another life we can save from a Victorian council pound.

Whether you’re looking for an adventure buddy, a couch companion or a loyal best friend, our goal is always the same… finding the right match for both you and the dog.

It’s one of the most rewarding decisions you’ll ever make, and together we’ll help another dog start over.

Apply Now

Donate
and support us

Every donation helps another dog start over.

Starting Over Dog Rescue receives no government funding. As a volunteer-run, not-for-profit charity, we rely entirely on the generosity of our supporters to keep saying “yes” to dogs in need.

Your donation helps provide veterinary care, food, transport, medication and everything our dogs need while they’re in foster care, giving them the best possible start before finding their forever home.

Quite simply, we couldn’t do what we do without people like you.

Thank you for helping us give more dogs the chance to start over.

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Volunteers
we welcome you

It takes an incredible team of volunteers to help hundreds of dogs start over each year, and we’d love you to be part of it.

Whether you can transport dogs, help with fundraising, assist behind the scenes or have a skill you think could benefit the rescue, we’d love to hear from you. Every volunteer plays an important role in helping us save more dogs.

Right now, we’re especially looking for transport volunteers.

Every week, dogs need lifts from Victorian council pounds to foster homes, veterinary clinics and other places they’ll need to be on their journey to finding a forever home. Without transport volunteers, many of those dogs simply can’t get to safety.

Whether you can help once a month or once a week, every trip makes a difference.

We couldn’t do what we do without our volunteers. Every dog that starts over with us is only here because someone gave their time to help.

Volunteers Apply Here