Seventeen years, plus a few odd months, my husband and I were looking for a Jack Russell terrier to…read moreadopt. Unbeknownst to me, he had been communicating with Star-Mar rescue in Wooster and showed me a photo of the most ungainly JRT I'd ever seen. The dog had the coloring of the breed but longer legs than any JRT I'd ever seen with crazed look in his eyes. We went to visit Martha, (the Mar in Star-Mar) and met this incredibly heroic woman and a houseful of white and brown barkers. Bosco, originally Bobby, was as wild as his eyes suggested. Martha had the battle scars to prove it with a knee she had destroyed chasing him. This is his story, as best as I can recall more than 17 years later: The year-old dog was a marked man in the Youngstown pound and slated for death when Martha discovered him and whisked him to safety in the nick of time. At their first encounter, he threw up in her car. Not an auspicious beginning. The rescue had him several weeks, a longer stay than normal. It seemed he was an undisciplined thug. Initially, he was being fostered at a farm with horses. Once again, the dog faced certain death due to his penchant for the chase-of the horses. (Those of you who love the breed are chuckling: "A JRT chaser, imagine that.") Bosco was relocated to Martha's during which time she vainly tried to make him acceptable to civilized society. As I recall, she said he had lost two or three e-collars during his nightly hunting trips over her acreage. After what I remember as three hopeful placements, the dog was deemed hopeless by just about everyone but Martha. Then she got an email from a retired guy in Fairlawn who showed an interest in the mongrel. Woah, I'm sure she thought. A possible match? She was reluctant to pursue the possible adoption due to the fact the guy was over 50. Who wouldn't be? Hubby convinced his doubly doubting wife to go meet this animal. During the meet and greet, the wife, hereafter referred to as I, remained unconvinced-knowing full well this dog would be the biggest challenge we'd ever had in a dog. But since it has always been my style to make my loved ones' wishes come true, I reluctantly agreed to take him home. In the car on the way back to Fairlawn, Bosco threw up in my lap. That was the moment I knew this dog needed and deserved a forever home more than any animal I'd ever met. It took several training classes and he has never lost his desire to chase anything that moves. He gets anxious and he still paces as if he's on the end of a chain. He still walks a minimum of two miles a day, usually in his favorite park with his pack, five miniature schnauzers and his best friend Milly, a seven pound fluff ball. The activity is proven life extender for both of them. As Martha says, "Motion is lotion." As we promised on the adoption papers, we have kept our end of the bargain. Our secret to his longevity? Long walks, the absolute best food I can afford (check with dog food advisor) annual trips to the vet, NO PESTICIDES on this paws and probably good Youngstown genes. But Bosco, at 17, has had no major illnesses (one kidney infection) totally deaf and just a tad under weight, still embraces life with a fervor matched by only a few people. He is my . Thanks, Martha.

We just adopted a dog through Star-Mar Rescue and had a wonderful experience. The process was…read morethrorough, but quick. They helped us make sure we picked the right dog for our family, while also making sure we were the right family for the dog. After visits to their house and ours, we brought Hannah home last weekend. I would recommend Star-Mar Rescue to anyone looking to add a new furry family member. They are doing great work!

Unfortunately for the animals seeking a home, this rescue wants you to complete an application for…read moreapproval prior to meeting a dog. We found a dog we wanted to meet and were told to complete an application unless we.were to go to a sponsored meet and greet, which there was one scheduled the next day, only be told the dog we inquired about doesn't do well around other dogs in that environment. Then why post that dog "gets along well with other dogs.." The post should clearly say " doesn't do well in highly stimulative environment" in order to attract the right adopter. Maybe that explains why they can't understand why the dog hasn't been adopted after 3 years.

Thank you, PAWS, for giving us our new best friend! It was a bit of a process but all worth it…read more Here's the deal, Yelp world... this is a volunteer organization. These people donate their time and homes to these dogs. They're nice people with a great background in animals. This means though that they're doing this on their own time. So, yes, communication can be tricky sometimes. It took us a few weeks to get our pup. But once we got the ball rolling, they were very helpful and moved to get us our dog as quickly as possible. To start, you fill out an application online. Once approved, you can do a home visit. After the home visit, you decide whether it's a fit. Then, you just have to make sure the pup is neutered/spayed and up to date on vaccinations. They do all this for you, which is great! The fee is $250 which I think is very reasonable. They give you all the paperwork then and a full report on your dog to ensure success. Overall, so glad we found our dog through PAWS!

These folks are doing a great job trying to aide in the care and placement of animals in Ottawa…read morecounty. Low adoption fees

How can I give anything less than 5 stars to the rescue that likely saved our pup's life and then…read morewent on to introduce us to her? Two years ago, we decided to expand our family and since our cat hates all other felines...a pup it was. Our search began at petfinder.com which is how we found both our dog and Ladybugz K9 rescue. The family run rescue was very helpful, making sure to provide us with directions since their location seems to trick GPS. They work to get rescues from Amish puppy mills and from what I can tell, they do a fantastic job socializing the animals. In fact, when we walked into the area where the pups were, ours was excited to see us and standing on her two hind legs waving. Some of the other puppies were timid and it was explained that they had just been brought to the rescue the day before and they give them about 24 hours to get used to their surroundings and then they begin "hug therapy." In the two years since, we have been able to enjoy a happy, healthy, loveable dog...what could be better!

As an avid animal shelter volunteer and rescue mom - I was a little skeptical about adopting online…read morewithout actually meeting the people and seeing the dog and its living conditions. For years I refused to adopt a dog because i knew how much work went into them. Its just like having children. Long story short the time came to adopt a pup and I couldn't be happier! Roxie (rescue name Fiona) has been a blessing in my life. She just turned 3 in May and I can't imagine what life would be like without her. This rescue gave me a healthy active loving little girl on the fourth of July 2010 and to this day my little firecracker pup is spoiled rotten! I was told she was a pomeranian maltese - and it turned out she is pomeranian papillon which makes her even more fun!Thank you so much Ladybug K9 Rescue! I couldn't be happier

Horrible experience with the woman who owns this rescue. She did not fully disclose the physical…read moreproblems with the dog. She did not disclose that he was very aggressive. After 24 hours with the dog, we decided to return him. His alpha demeanor scared my daughter, and the dog scratched and bit the whole time. Nowhere in the contract did it say should we keep our $200 "donation." This woman was thoroughly unprofessional and, unpleasant and a liar. Buyer beware. She is very nice up front, but nasty if you have issues with the dogs.

Fantastic Rescue! Such compassionate volunteers!read more

I have taken many homeless animals to Wyandot County Humane Society for the last 30 years. Since I…read morelive in Columbus, it is a good 1.25 hour drive to Upper Sandusky. WCHS has always accepted the animals I've taken to them. In the early 90's, I even made several trips up there after 11PM when I was working full-time and taking classes at Ohio State. Linda herself would come out when I got there around midnight and take the animals in. The shelters in Columbus, Ohio, including Columbus Humane and Cat Welfare, always told me that they are full or had such restricted hours for intakes that a person who works cannot get in to surrender animals. Columbus Humane's current intake system requiring one to schedule an appointment for the animals to be observed and then take them home with you again for 14 days, then bring them back in to surrender will result in lots of people just leaving the animals to suffer on the streets. Over the last 30 years, I've taken 3 dogs and several cats to WCHS, including 2 of my own cats. I know that all of the dogs and 2 of the cats found great homes. I don't know the outcome with all of the cats. However I trusted, and still trust, that Linda, Dave, and their staff did their best to find a great, forever home for each animal. I actually got to visit the new home of my Grandpa's dog, after my Grandpa passed away. The new owners had wanted me to have their phone number and invited me to come and visit Bo (dog's name) anytime. I saw for myself that Bo was being treated fantastic and felt relaxed and loved in his new home. I am extremely grateful to Linda and Dave for the help they gave me with 2 of my own cats, Bob and Beamer, and my Mom's cat of 9 years, Angel. I had something bad happen to me in the late 90's, after I'd had Bob for 11 years. I could no longer take care of Bob. Since Linda knew I'd had Bob for 11 years, she at first took Bob into her and Dave's own house. That made me feel so good and took away my worries of Bob living in a cage. However, Bob had a huge dislike of all other male cats. Not surprising that Bob was extremely unhappy living in the main part of their house with lots of other male cats. So Linda made their basement, with a couch, chair, big rug, and windows, Bob's home. Staff members went downstairs every day to give Bob attention. Eventually, Linda found a female kitten who Bob got along with to live in the basement with him. Linda did an excellent job of making Bob feel at home. I am also grateful to Linda and Dave for helping with another cat of mine, Beamer. In the neighborhood I lived in, I noticed a cat always sitting outside on a porch in front of an open door with a full-view storm door. The cat was friendly, and I started talking to him and petting him when I went out to walk. I met the lady who lived in the house. She said she had been feeding the cat, Beamer, outside for 2 years. However she said she will never let him in. She said it's because he was FIV+. She had 3 cats of her own inside and she didn't want them to get FIV. Beamer sat there every day and looked through the door at the 3 cats living inside. I decided to take Beamer into the house I was renting. He was very happy to have a home, however his FIV symptoms worsened. After 10 months of having him, he started getting sores all over that wouldn't heal. He was in a lot of pain and couldn't handle being touched. Since FIV is a wasting disease, I asked Linda and Dave if they would humanely euthanize Beamer. I and Beamer are so grateful that they were willing. I am also giving a Thank You to Linda for being so patient with me 4 years ago when I couldn't decide what to do about my Mom's cat, Angel, when my Mom had to go into a Memory Care Center. I had volunteered to take my Mom's cat into my apartment. I found that my Mom's cat had some severe physical problems which I hadn't observed and which my Mom hadn't communicated, likely due to her Dementia followed by Alzheimer's. Angel had problems with her veins collapsing and poor circulation, which caused her to stumble. Shortly after I took Angel in, she started vomiting about 20 times a day in my apartment. I called Linda to see if she had any remedies for the above problems. Boiled rice and chicken diet hadn't helped. Linda said that they were willing to humanely euthanize Angel - if I wanted. I couldn't make up my mind about euthanasia because I wanted my Mom to be able to say that's what she wanted. However, at that time my Mom couldn't even remember she'd had a cat. Four months later Angel had to be euthanized by a veterinarian in Columbus. I have read some reviews on Yelp and Google which have said some horrific and very upsetting things about the conditions some animals are living in at WCHS. I was extremely upset about the review saying that many cats were living in 1 cage with no food + water and were fighting. Due to the wonderful help WCHS has given the animals I took to them, I am saying I don't believe it.

I surrendered an Amish horse two yrs ago to this rescue. He was a very kind horse, excellent…read moreground and pasture manners. He was turned out with a herd of 4 mini horses and 2 sheep He needed more rides on him than we could do. He was a buggy horse. I have video of him being ridden, by me, and in turn out, with minis. I checked on him and was told he was euthanized because his behavior was dangerous and a safety issue to employees and volunteers This sure doesn't sound like the horse we knew. He was in his 20's and no Amish would keep a horse that long that was "dangerous" I made a big mistake by trusting this horse to a "rescue" that takes in every horse. We thought he'd make someone a nice trail horse. If he was going to be put down, for a reason that doesn't make sense to all that knew him, I am sorry I didn't spare him from that dirt pasture, freezing temps, no grass, so called, "rescue." I should have kept him at home, fat and happy on grass and euthanized here. I figured it was too good to be turn and it was. I would never send any horse here. Just do your research I agree, they would be inundated to take in every horse. I failed my Gabe and am so sorry I gave him such an end. I have to wonder if he was sent to slaughter...I don't think they microchip the horses that are not leased out. It would be cost prohibitive to do that. So I got closure for Gabe but still doubt the generic description of the reason.. that he was dangerous and a safety concern. I have video of this kind horse if any one is interested. If I could give them zero stars I would. Please be careful

I do not recommend using this group. I left a message with Connie asking for a call back after 48…read morehours; still waiting. A friend contacted them and they lied to her. Don't waste your time with a group that is not honest and up-front and leaves you hanging.