Alisha Holland of Poi Dog Rescue, her affiliate in Hawai'i, air flight crews, and veterinarians are THE BEST!
Beans was found a puppy wandering in the streets with a life full of survival. With Poi Dog Rescue stepping in Beans has been given love, positive attention, & health care. There are faces we have never met who took Beans in and made a difference. We thank all of you for your commitment in making a difference. Beans is now an outgoing, funny, curious pup with a family that loves him back. He's truly home.
Compassionate and caring rescue. PDR provides excellent veterinary care and
ensures its dogs are placed in quality loving foster homes.
Sophie was rescued from a horrible existence in Maui. She and many other dogs were found in a burning home. They had little to no human contact prior to being rescued. Poi Dog Rescue stepped in and found a foster home for Sophie and other dogs rescued from the fires. Poi Dog Rescue does so much more than just place the dogs in new homes. They made sure Sophie was with the best foster family ever, after she didn’t do well in shelter. Then they matched us with Sophie with great consideration. She needs a lot of special care, socializing her and helping her trust humans. We were so impressed and so grateful for every person we met along the journey of adopting Sophie. Thank you Poi Dog Rescue!!! We love our Sophie!!
-Becky, Tim and Cha Cha Nadzam. Sophie completes our pack!
I will definitely foster again for Poi Dog Rescue . I have seen the care ,compassion they have for the animals.
I am so thankful our community has this amazing organization. This rescue is focused not only on placing dogs in homes, but making sure they are placed in the right home for their situation.
Here on the Island of Hawaii we cannot Thank Poi Dog Rescue enough for helping us, by accepting and taking in rescued dogs from the over population here then finding them good homes in Washington State. Thank you Sooo Much Poi Dog
We are a rescue on the Big Island of Hawaii and we work with Poi Dog Rescue. They are a great rescue organization that cares about the dogs and the homes they get adopted to. They deserve to be acknowledged because rescue isn't easy; however, it is rewarding.
Non profits organizations like Poi Dog Rescue are invaluable! Not only do they bring people and pets together, they keep our pet population down. I began as an adopter and became a foster.
They are amazing with a heart of gold. They work with rescues off island to help dogs find amazing homes.
As a foster with Aloha Ilio Rescue in Hawaii, Poi Dog Rescue has helped numerous fosters of mine that we have sent up to Washington. She looks for the best homes that fits the dogs and the families needs. One dog in particular had been adopted to a family in California. She stepped up to take that dog when the family realized they weren’t ready, and took Peggy to Washington. She did not give up on Peggy, and eventually found the perfect home.
An amazing non-profit rescue dedicated to rehoming dogs in homes that fit the lifestyle of the person with the correct dogs. Love them.
We had the best experience with Poi dog rescue. The staff was so supportive when we adopted our sweet pup. He was very well behaved and crawled right in our lap and melted our hearts. They had worked with him a bit and that helped in so many ways. Overall great experience! Thank you Poi dog rescue for saving these amazing dogs! We love our Kona!
Best experience I’ve ever had adopting both our dogs Willow and Zeus. Alisha is amazing and always has each dogs best interest at the forefront and always makes sure it’s a perfect fit. I recommend poi dog rescue to everyone I know looking to adopt. So much love for this non profit!!!
I have worked with Poi Dog Rescue as a foster parent. The effort, support, and communication that they have is unmatched. They care about where the dogs end up, they put their full effort into making sure a dog and it’s potential new family are a perfect fit. If anybody is looking to adopt a dog there isn’t a better place to begin your search with!
I was connected with my forever pup thru this rescue. My pup was born there. He was (is) 4 months when I got him and I have to say with the clinic and to those who foster for them, thank you for being there for him. He’s a puppy so we have all the energy but with all the love he received in the beginning really shows thru.
Here on the Big Island of Hawaii, we have a massive dog-overpopulation problem. As a passionate dog rescuer, I have struggled, along with others, to find homes for the thousands of dogs and puppies here who have been dumped, bred, abused. There just aren’t enough good homes here to adopt the tsunami of pets needing a loving family. I volunteer at Aloha Ilio Rescue, a group that is working so hard to save Hawaiian dogs and we have been so lucky to find Poi Dog Rescue!
This very small group, based out of Bellingham Washington, has become our partner in saving lives. A very organized and cost-effective system has been established to get many of our rescue dogs shipped to Poi Dogs on the US Mainland, where they have a much greater chance of finding good homes.
I am so grateful that Poi Dogs exists. We have been able to save so many more lives because of them!
Poi Dog is the greatest! My husband and I already had 2 very quirky dogs but we wanted to add a 3rd to our pack of weirdos. Alisha at Poi Dog knew of the existing dynamic and when the perfect fit came into her care she knew he was the one for us. We were able to go at a pace that was comfortable for all of the dogs and had a couple meetings on neutral ground before we took him home for a trial weekend. Well that trial weekend turned into forever before the first day ended and we are now coming up on one year! Bradley Cooper (formerly known as just Cooper) could not have been a better match. It was as if he was always part of the crew. (he's the cutie in the middle)
We had been looking for a third pup to add to our tiny pack, and wow did we get a winner! Bradley Cooper (formerly just Cooper, but a handsome boy like this…well yeah!) Poi Dog really does the work to learn these pups personalities so they knew he was the right dog for us. They take such good care of these dogs prior to them finding their forever homes as well!
We loved working with Alisha from Poi Rescue and her foster families! You can tell that each person involved truly cares about these dogs and helping them find their perfect home. Alisha made sure to get to know us, our situation, and what our capacity was for taking on a new family member. She made sure we understood all the commitments beforehand. Finally, after a successful meet up, we got the opportunity to adopt our two little love bugs- a brother and sister duo, Cliff and Summer!
We are forever grateful that Poi Rescue brought Cliff and Summer into our lives... we can't remember what it was like to NOT have these two at our side!
We love Poi Dog Rescue!! We applied for a puppy and were so excited that we were able to schedule a meeting right away. We were approved and Alisha gave my husband and I helpful guidance and TONS of supplies (puppy food, bed, toys, etc) to help get us started. It was comforting to see someone who truly cares about pups and makes sure they are sent to a good home. Professional, easy process, highly recommend. We are so lucky to have our girl Queen and can’t imagine life without her! Thank you Poi Dog Rescue for the best addition to our family.
In 2019 we found ourselves "dogless" after many years with two great GSD's. We knew we needed something different and discovered Poi Dog Rescue. In July 2019 we took home Cara, our first rescue from Alisha. The experience was great. In April 2021 we went back when Alisha lured us back to Poi Dog's site with a picture of Ruger. Once again Alisha made it too easy. Great communication leading up to his arrival at SeaTac and Alisha taking her time to run down to pick up two pups.
Once the pup was settled in we went to meet and "introduce" him to Cara. It was a little rocky at first but after several hours Ruger and Cara were inseparable. There is constant activity in the house...all most all of it good! They have two unique personalities and do great together or on their own. Thanks Alisha!
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I am so glad we found Poi Dog Rescue, it was an easy and quick process for adopting our Harry. It warms my heart to know that there are amazing people who care so much about all the sweet pups out there. We got a lot of great gifts and everything we needed for owning a dog. Thank you so much for making our dream come true with such an amazing addition to our family.
We are delighted with the experience of adopting a dog through PoiDog rescue. Alesha made the process smooth and efficient, kept us informed and reassured. Our sweet dog got excellent foster care and veterinary care before the adoption, and then when we all met we were given thorough records and a doggy swag bag full of fun and practical toys, treats, food, dishes and leash. I highly recommend PoiDog Rescue!
Poi Dog Rescue is the best! We found our perfect pup and had so much help and guidance from Alisha. An amazing rescue that works tirelessly to save dogs and find the best possible homes. ❤️
Poi Dog Rescue was wonderful to work with. Highly responsive and responsible. For our meet-and-greet, we met Lola first and then with our dog Zoey. Zoey was a little unsure, so Poi Dog suggested we trial Lola at home for a week or two. Once there, she fit in perfectly and we adopted her. That adjustment time was invaluable to make sure we were providing a happy and healthy home for her. Highly recommend Poi!
I've been fostering for Poi Dog Rescue for about a year. It's by far the best non-profit org that I've ever experienced. They go above and beyond for the dogs that they bring into their care and they don't shy away from the difficult cases. They really spend their time to ensure that each dog is matched with the right family and that the dog is healthy, which sometimes means taking the time, effort, and money to get them healthy. In addition, they communicate well with their volunteers and seek our input, which has not been the case at other non-profits that I volunteered for in the past. Overall they make it obvious how much they appreciate their volunteers and make the whole experience of fostering easy and enjoyable.
The pandemic hit, quarantine ensued, then my husband lost his job. As dog lovers, and owners of dogs in the past but not for many years, we decided this was the perfect time to adopt. We adopted a small Chihuahua mix from a shelter the next county over (Not Poi Dog Rescue). Otis was the name that was given to him, which we changed to Odin. He brought a lot of joy into our lives and road tripped with us, first on a camping trip to Arizona and back and later, another road trip to Yellowstone and back. Sadly, he developed an incurable condition in the late fall, and we lost him. We were devastated. We’d only had him a little over six months.
We were both so sad and heartbroken. We weren’t sure we could adopt again, we were so attached to little Odin, and losing him was SO hard!
Yet we consistently found ourselves looking online at pictures of little dogs! And thats when we stumbled upon Poi Dog Rescue. It was there my husband found a picture of Figgy. I remember I was on the phone, and he walked up to me and silently pointed to his phone at Figgy’s picture, smiling, mouthing the words “This one!” I smiled and nodded, and that afternoon submitted our application for Figgy.
Alicia from Poi Dog responded and we set up a date to go to foster mom Maria’s home to meet him.
Alicia and Maria of Poi Dog rescue were so friendly and accommodating with us. Very knowledgeable and helpful. Figgy was a little shy with us. He had just recently had major hip surgery. It had been discovered he had a cracked femur head when he was found in Yakima as a stray. Poi Dog had taken him in and arranged raising funds for his surgery.
We arranged for Figgy to be brought to our house to see how he would do. Alicia arrived with everything he needed; a doggy bed, harness, snacks, his favorite toys and more!
He was shy at first and very much took to me mostly which they had told us would probably happen. He later had a postop visit for his hip that we brought him to and he was healing well according to the vet.
In the meantime, Alicia had provided us with all of his medical records, his chip records, etc.
We had another road trip planned to Arizona in a few weeks and I mentioned this to Alicia. She was aware that with the heat down there and the possibility of mosquito bites, there could be more then normal worry about heartworm. She quickly was able to provide us with some heartworm medicine.
We were very grateful for this, as we had not realized the potential risk.
It has been over five months that we have had Figgy and we just love him! He brings so much joy to our lives! He sleeps with us, goes on road trips with us and camping trips too. I’m so thankful for Poi Dog rescue. If you are looking to adopt, they are excellent to work with!
First picture is of little Odin (not from Poi Dog Rescue), not long before he passed The rest are of Figgy!
So during Co-vid my wife and I decided to get another animal. A dog to be exact. After months of looking we found Poi Rescue. We added Max to our family. Max has been with us since 3-2021. The process of receiving Max was completed within a couple days of few phone calls and emails. Alisha with Poi Rescue met with us and Max. We were insured if things did not work out we were to just give a call. That was great news. However Max has found his home. Poi Rescue thank you for the addition to the Crawford household.
Poi Dog Rescue was amazing from start to finish with the adoption of our sweet Kona. I highly recommend adopting a dog through them.
We had a great experience with Poi Dog Rescue! We were unsure at first about deciding to adopt a second dog but saw a certain rescue and knew we had to go meet her. Poi Dog Rescue let us drive up there with our current dog for a meet and greet. They let us take as long as we wanted to watch and see how our dog reacted to the new puppy we were meeting. We immediately knew we wanted to adopt her. We are from Enumclaw but Poi Dog Rescue drove all the way to us to bring us our new family member the next week. They even took a little off the price since we were going to have to spay her in our care. Alisha stays in contact and was so great about checking in on us the first couple months of adopting to make sure things were going smoothly. I would highly recommend adopting through this agency! They truly care about their dogs and want them to go to the best homes possible. We couldn't be happier.
I have known Alisha Holland from Poi Dog Rescue since 2007, I Groom her Dogs.
She is very generous and down to earth person, and has a heart of gold for these
Animals. I Love how she goes above and beyond to place Dogs to the right homes
in the right conditions. She always makes sure when taking them to there forever
homes she always has the right Essentials to go with the Dog.
If you are looking to Adopt a Dog, Alisha is the one to go to.
Thank You Alisha for all the time and hard work you do for these Dogs.
With Love Robin's Clip-n-Dip
I love Poi Dog Rescue! Working with Alisha is super easy, she responds quickly, and makes the adoption process super smooth. I can't thank her enough for all her rescue efforts. When Covid-19 happened and she couldn't transport dogs from Hawaii, she collaborated with an Eastern WA shelter that needed support. We are now a two Poi Dog family, one we got August 2019 from Hawaii and now were adopting our new fur baby today that came from Yakima. We couldn't be more pleased with the level of care that Alisha provides these pups. Thank you!
Poi Dog Rescue helped connect us with our second dog, Murphy (originally Togo). We reached out to a lot of rescues online and Alisha from Poi Dog responded quickly, with pictures and info. Communication was super easy, and her care for the pups was evident in every interaction. We love our boy - he's been such a great addition to the family and we're grateful to Poi Dog Rescue for bringing us together!
I feel so fortunate to have adopted through Poi Dog Rescue. Alisha really went above and beyond to make sure Mordy (previously known as Legend) was in a good home. She checked in on him, if I had any questions she was quick to respond. She also gave me a lot of dog items when I adopted him (leash, collar, pee pads, toys, treats, and food). I highly recommend them to anyone looking to adopt.
Mordy is the love of my life and I owe it to Poi Dog Rescue.
We got our boy Dudley through Poi Dog Rescue and to this date it’s been the best decision we’ve ever made. Dudley brings so much joy to our lives and the whole experience was a breeze to get Dudley from Hawaii to Washington State safely via airplane through this rescue. I highly recommend for anyone searching for their future best friend!!
Poidog Rescue came to our rescue when we decided we wanted to adopt. Alisha Holland was great to work with and we found our sweet boy Bodie. She gets dogs from high kill shelters in Hawaii, fosters them in Bellingham, WA, at her wonderful facility and then finds them furever homes. We can’t thank her enough.
My experience with Poi Dog Rescue was wonderful. I was looking for a medium size dog and found one on Petfinder, which directed me to Poi Dog Rescue. I contacted Alisha and set a time for me to bring my family to meet him. We sat on a blanket in the yard and watched him play with the other dogs. We didn't feel rushed at all. After deciding to adopt Rigby (his new name) Alisha invited us to bring our other dog over to meet him before confirming the adoption. Again, Alisha was very accommodating and let them have some time to get to know each other a bit. When we adopted Rigby we were provided with all his paperwork w/shot history. He has become a great addition to our family and we love the fact that he came from the Big Island where they have an abundance of orphans.
Alisha saved my dog Bowser from Yakima Humane Society. He was there for 2 months so if she hadn't done that he might have been euthanized. Poi Dog Rescue saved my dog and gave him another chance at life. Now he is living happier than ever and I can say the same for myself with my new companion. Every step of the adoption process was smooth and easy and she even gave me a bunch of free stuff like a bed, food bowl, treats and food to get me started with owning a dog.
Poi Dog Rescue is an amazing nonprofit Organization. We adopted 2 sister puppies in February 2020 from Kona.
Alisha and staff care so much to help adopt these rescues to good homes. They set us up for success with suppling us with all the necessary items to bring them home that very day (bowls, leashes, treats, food.)
We adopted our doggo Tonks from Poi Dog Rescue. Alisha was incredibly helpful in connecting us with the perfect dog for our family, making sure the adjustment period went well, that we had the appropriate medical records for Tonks, and that we had time to see how she got along with our cat. Would absolutely recommend working with this rescue!
I adopted Melia 2 months ago from Poi Dog Rescue and they were absolutely fantastic. Melia had a bag ready to go with everything I could need: food, treats, toys, medication, a blanket, a long and short leash, and more. I felt comfortable and ready to take my new family member home. They also answered any questions I had after bringing her home. I would definitely adopt from them again!
We adopted a fantastic pup in April. Our experience was amazing and I cannot recommend this nonprofit enough. She brings the dogs into her personal home and connects with people to make sure it is the right place for both dog and human. We were actually denied for our first choice, but directed to a pup that was a better fit for our family and situation. Very happy and will look here first if we want to adopt another pup.
Alisha Holland of Poi Dog Rescue is one of my favorite people to collaborate with rescuing dogs. At the very heart of this is that she wholeheartedly cares about dogs. I would characterize her as generous, hard-working, intelligent, kind-hearted, positive and no-nonsense.
We first became acquainted when she was visiting Hawaii and wished to take a homeless puppy back to Washington with her to find her a home there. I was the Veterinarian at Hawaii Island Humane Society (HIHS) at the time and was also coordinating HIHS’s Mainland Transfer program. I am a huge stickler for Animal Welfare and very cautious about where our pets end up so I was initially wary of this stranger’s intentions.
The puppy (Abigail) was quickly adopted into an amazing home in Washington and Ms. Holland yearned to help more dogs of Hawaii find their forever homes on the mainland. I worked with her for a little over a year before I quit working at HIHS. In that time, HIHS transferred over 50 puppies and dogs to her foster based program.
On our island of Hawaii, there is a serious pet overpopulation problem and need to find homes in other communities. Help from partner organizations on the mainland is critical to reducing pet suffering. I am so grateful to have had the chance to work with Ms. Holland to help so many dogs find amazing forever homes. Her love for dogs pushes her to learn and strive to give the most exemplary care to every dog she brings into Poi Dog Rescue. Similarly, she puts substantial effort into finding each puppy and dog the home/family that matches the best. She does not abandon the adopter once the pet is placed but remains available to facilitate the transition even in situations where severe pre-existing health concerns become discovered.
We have established a close relationship because she constantly goes above and beyond to serve the dogs she rescues. She often still consults me on preventative health questions and treatment of infectious diseases not endemic to Washington. She works closely with her local Veterinarians but seeks to supplement their advice and recommendations because they may not have experience with some of the Veterinary issues seen in Hawaii or other rural parts of the mainland. I continue to work with her through rescue programs other than HIHS and look forward to being a part of what she does to help improve the lives of dogs from Hawaii and other areas.
Sincerely,
Kristina Kanani Henricks, PhD, DVM, MS
I follow Poi Dog on social media as an avid animal lover.. They work tirelessly in helping the huge burden that shelters on the big island Hawaii endure by flying the dogs to Washington volunteers who then Foster and find forever homes. What an operation! So impressed by all their work and love for these animals!
We got our sweet pup from Poi Dog Rescue, and they were honest, knowledgeable, forthcoming with information, and helpful with the entire process. Could not have been happier with the way they facilitated the adoption.
My first encounter with Poi Dog Rescue was on Facebook and Instagram. I saw a dog that I couldn't resist. Alesha was really responsive to my questions about his temperament and needs. She encouraged me to fill out an application and was quick to get back to me with further questions and an interview.
Baker, my little guy, is so sweet and kind. He was exceptionally cared for while in the foster of Poi Dog Rescue. They provided me with complete medical records, import records and a huge goodie bag to help us get started on our life together.
Though I hope for a long, long life with Baker, if I am ever looking to adopt a new pup, I wouldn't hesitate to work with Alesha and Poi Dog Rescue.
We went to POI thinking we'd be adopting bonded sisters. However, Cherish a very shy puppy who seemed a little scared came up to our little girl and put her head on her shoulder. It was love at first hug. She fits in to our home wonderfully. She loves to play with the other dogs ans snuggle with us. Mostly she likes long walks as long as you carry her
Made a long drive to Bellingham (from Cle Elum) however it was very much worth it. Our new dog Tink is great. She has been a welcome addition to our family-- though she likes to be mischievous on occasion. We are thrilled!
We had a really wonderful experience with Poi Dog Rescue. Not only did they help us find the perfect new addition to our family but Alisha was really great at following up with additional paperwork and getting questions answered. It's clear that this rescue is run with a lot of love and it's also apparent that they stay in touch with a lot of their adopters and really care about the families their dogs are placed with.
poidogrescue 10/18/2019
She looks so good! =}