Starfish Animal Rescue, based in Geneva, travels to southeast Kentucky every other weekend to collect dogs and cats that would otherwise be dumped or put down.

Starfish founder Margie Swift said she and volunteers made extra trips because of the extreme cold, after receiving photos of dogs and cats that froze to death.

“A lot of animals live outdoors out there,” Swift said. “They have limited spay/neuter services there, and the animals get dumped. Shelters across the country are full, and these people have no recourse. ... This is why we did this transport – to lessen the numbers of deaths that could be prevented. ... We were three vehicles and a storm we were trying to outrun.”

But then it was the rescue that needed rescuing.

At about 4:30 a.m. Jan. 25, the organization’s large Sprinter van crashed on Interstate 65 in Lafayette, Indiana, with 60 dogs and three cats in crates.

“It went down an embankment, across four lanes of traffic and ended up in a field,” Swift said. The Sprinter landed on its right passenger side.

She suspects it was a safety feature built into the vehicle, where the brakes lock up, and the driver overcorrected.

The lucky part here is that none of the animals or the driver was hurt.

The bad part – other than the trauma of the crash and the zero-degree weather – is that the nonprofit’s largest transport van was totaled.

Starfish Rescue now has a GoFundMe and is aiming to raise $70,000 to replace the transport van and 25 plastic crates that broke.

This type of vehicle is the workhorse of rescue transport, Swift said, so it is necessary to replace it.

The heartwarming part is the local response of the Humane Society for Greater Lafayette, which collected all the animals and cared for them until the next transports could come get them.

The dramatic part was the hunt for Bob, an escaped brindle hound mix, and Simon the cat.

It was a group effort involving the Chief Animal Control Officer Sarah Goans for Lafayette police, animal control officers Aaron Gravely and Ashley Craig and Jessica Smith from Lost and Found Pets of Greater Lafayette.

They trapped Bob and found Simon in the van.

The director for the Humane Society for Greater Lafayette, Josh Klumpe, said they are a nonprofit, but they contract with three local government agencies that each also has their own animal control department.

“Lafayette Animal Control was called out to the scene,” Klumpe said. “They called us and said, ‘We got a van full of animals.’”

A tow truck brought the van on a wrecker right to the Humane Society facility at about 5:20 a.m. with all the animals accounted for – including Bob and Simon.

“At that point, my medical staff and kennel lead got to work and started unloading all these animals and getting them into our nice warm facility,” Klumpe said. “Since their crates were broken, we provided as many as we could give up and got them blankets.”

Two other Starfish vans came later that day and picked them all up.

“Starfish was great to work with. They never left us out in the cold – so to speak – as their communication was great,” Klumpe said. “Their staff was fantastic, as far as tragedy goes.”

With the last transport of 60 dogs and three cats, Starfish has rescued 330 dogs and cats from four counties in Kentucky so far this year, Swift said.

Starfish has been receiving grants from the Banfield Foundation since 2023 to assist in providing low-cost spaying and neutering services, Swift said.

Banfield Foundation’s “It’s Hip to Snip” project targets underserved communities, like counties in southeastern Kentucky, seeking to reduce pet overpopulation. Through the program, it costs $15 to neuter a cat and $20 for a dog, Swift said, and includes all their vaccinations.

“That makes it affordable for most people,” Swift said. “And there’s some vouchering if people still can’t afford it.”

Here’s how to help:

• Starfish Rescue, located at 204 Dearborn Court, Suite 101 in Geneva, can accept donations of plastic travel crates – not wire ones – to replace the ones that broke in the crash.

• The GoFundMe for $70,000 to replace the Sprinter Van is online at gofundme.com. It will likely be less than that once insurance follows up on the claim.

• Banfield Foundation Community Care Grants support low-cost spay/neuter and other vet services for nonprofits and shelters through its website, banfieldfoundation.org.

• Humane Society for Greater Lafayette also accepts donations online at humanesociety4greaterlafayette.org.