North Star Rescue is a small companion animal rescue that rescues Bunnies, Chinchillas, Guinea Pigs, Rats, Hamsters and Mice from shelters around the Bay Area and beyond in California. We are based in Santa Rosa, CA, about an hour north of San  Francisco.

We offer a variety of small animals for adoption to the public, as well as a variety of services including education, events, small animal boarding and a referral placement service for those people who cannot keep their own small animals in California. You will find a variety of information here at our website, including species specific care sections, articles on animal welfare, as well as a variety of fun features for our visitors. 

Remember, Make Adoption Your First Option!

Adoption Fair Saturday, February 6th in Sonoma!

Come see us for a small animal adoption event on Saturday, February 6th at the Sonoma Pet Center in Sonoma! We will be showing adoptable animals from 12:00 to 4:00. We will have adoptable bunnies, chinchillas, guinea pigs, rats, hamsters and mice!

For more information, please visit Our Upcoming Events

Oh Baby! Lots of Baby Rats & Mice!

North Star Rescue has recently taken in lots of baby rats and mice, and with several potentially pregnant females of each species, we're expecting more babies along the way! There are many rat babies, both male and female, currently available for adoption at Andy's Pet Shop in San Jose. We are expecting two more litters of rats and two litters of mice to be weaned and old enough to go up for adoption around Valentine's Day. If you are interested in adopting a baby rat, please visit some of the great adoptables available from our rescue at Andy's Pet Shop, or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information on the babies that are still growing up in our foster program.

There are also many young adults from this rescue that are getting in a little bit of time to be socialized before they go up for adoption. The adults are curious and very interested in visiting with people, but are still getting used to being caught and held. If you are interested in fostering a young adult rat to help them get more acclimated to people, or you are interested in adopting a shy young adult with a lot of promise, please contact us!

We would like to send out a special thanks to Joe & Wendy's Reptile Rescue in Vallejo, who originally had a huge number of rats and mice left at their rescue by someone who thought they would become reptile food. Joe & Wendy wanted to give all of these little guys a shot at being adopted and have been working to adopt out rats and find rescues who have space to take the remaining rodents, and are currently fostering 18 remaining young adults while we seek foster space or placement for them.