Victorian foster-based dog rescue
Every dog deserves the chance to start over.
We're a 100% volunteer-run foster network rescuing dogs from Victorian pounds and giving them somewhere safe to land while they wait for a forever home of their own.
- dogs saved a year
- 1,500+
- dogs a day into our care
- 5
- volunteer-run
- 100%
dogs saved a year
dogs a day into our care
volunteer-run
How you can help
Three ways to give a dog a fresh start
Adopt
Meet dogs currently in foster care and ready for their forever home.
Meet the dogs →Foster & volunteer
Open your home, drive a transport run, or lend an admin hand. Foster carers are our #1 need.
See how to help →Donate
Every dollar goes to vet work, food, transport and fresh starts. Donations are tax-deductible.
Donate →Our mission
Why we exist
Starting Over Dog Rescue was founded on a simple belief: every dog deserves a second chance, not a countdown clock.
Victorian pounds euthanise adoptable dogs simply because there isn't enough space to hold them, so we step in, often with only hours to spare, saving over 1,500 dogs a year and placing them into loving foster homes across Victoria instead of kennels.
We're entirely volunteer-run. We cover every dollar of food, vet care and training our foster carers need, and through our Last Litter Program we work to break the cycle of unplanned litters at the source.
Every dog we save gets what our name promises: a real starting over.
Why foster, not shelter
Why foster care?
Because dogs belong in homes, not kennels.
Starting Over Dog Rescue is a foster-based dog rescue in Victoria. Our dogs live with volunteer foster carers while we get to know them and find the right home for them.
Our carers provide a safe place, patience and everyday care. We cover food and veterinary expenses, and you'll have a coordinator supporting you along the way.
Your fresh start fund keeps dogs out of the pound.
We're 100% volunteer-run, so every dollar donated goes straight to vet work, food, transport and fresh starts for dogs like these. Donations are tax-deductible.