| Adopt
a Homeless Pet
Petfinder is an on-line, searchable database of animals that
need homes. It is also a directory of over 9,000 animal shelters
and adoption organizations across the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Organizations maintain their own home pages and available
pet database.
Petfinder mission: to use Internet technology and the resources
it can generate to 1) increase public awareness of the availability
of high-quality adoptable pets and to 2) increase the overall
effectiveness of pet adoption programs across North America
to the extent that the euthanasia of adoptable pets is eliminated.
Petfinder is made up of animal-care professionals and regular
people volunteering for their local animal welfare organizations
all working together to maintain active and accurate homeless
pet lists. Most animal welfare volunteers have "real
jobs" by day. The success and the magnitude of this project
is largely due to their tireless efforts to make a difference.
Petfinder.com Gives Shelter Pets New Byte
TUCSON-Over 180,000 homeless pets in over 8,000 animal placement
organizations across the U.S. and Canada have their own homepages,
thanks to one of the most unifying initiatives to ever hit
animal welfare--Petfinder.com, the oldest and largest searchable
directory of adoptable pets on the Web.
From the comfort of their own homes, pet seekers enter their
search criteria, such as size, gender, breed and age, and
get back a list of adoptable pets ranked in proximity to the
searcher's Zip code. Updated continuously by the animal welfare
volunteers and staff themselves, the Web site gives potential
adopters a photograph, a description of the animal and contact
information.
Shelters and rescue group members also have their own home
pages on the site. Many of them attribute over 50% of their
adoptions to Petfinder.com. Some have reported that their
euthanasia rate dropped significantly within months of joining
Petfinder.com. They also report that Petfinder.com adoptions
are more successful, with fewer pets returned. This may be
because the adopter's choice is more informed.
"Many people find visiting shelters traumatic, especially
those who feel guilty when they can't take all the pets home,"
says Betsy Saul of Tucson, Arizona, who developed the site
with her husband, Jared, in 1995 as a New Year's Resolution
to help homeless pets. "Petfinder.com allows you to focus
your search from home, which makes finding your new best friend
much easier." The site went national in August 1998.
Petfinder.com, a labor of love for the Sauls, was the first
searchable directory for homeless pets.
During its third year, Petfinder.com drew interest from The
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(ASPCA), which was America's first animal welfare organization.
"We recognized the success that Petfinder.com was having
saving pets and knew we wanted to be a part of it," says
Dr. Larry Hawk, former President of the ASPCA. The ASPCA is
now actively involved in helping shelters join Petfinder.com,
as well as helping educate shelter personnel once they become
members.
Purina signed on as the Web site's premier sponsor. Purina
provides nutrition and pet care information for Petfinder.com's
online libraries and a breed selector to help visitors decide
what breeds are best for their family. Purina will also be
assisting in marketing efforts, helping to spread the word
about the thousands of pets that need a new home.
Other exclusive sponsors are BISSELL Homecare, Inc., a manufacturer
of home cleaning and floor care products, PETCO, a national
pet supply retailer that sponsors in-store adoptions and provides
coupon books for new adopters, Merial, maker of the number
one veterinary-recommended flea and tick preventative FRONTLINE®,
and heartworm preventative HEARTGARD®, and PetCare Inc.,
a pet insurance company.
If attention is what its sponsors want, attention is what
they'll get. Petfinder.com, whose founders are scientists
by training, not business people, is among the busiest sites
on the Internet. The Sauls attribute their site's success
not only to hard work, but also to the press. "We never
had to spend a dime on advertising," says Betsy Saul,
who admits it was a good thing since, at the time, they didn't
have any dimes to spare. "As soon as we launched and
the press first got a glimpse of the site, we've been in a
race to keep up with ourselves."
In 2000, Yahoo!, which named Petfinder.com a "cool site"
shortly after its launch, recognized the site for a second
time with a request for feeds for its new Yahoo! Pets site.
Also in early 2000, America On Line honored Petfinder.com
by prominently featuring it on its Pets channel. Both were
a pleasant surprise to the Petfinder.com team, which immediately
began working double-time to keep up with the surges in traffic.
In June of 2000, Petfinder.com was named one of the 300 best
websites by Forbes magazine, and in October, Petfinder.com
was named one of the top 100 sites by Family PC magazine.
The site has also been featured on Oprah, in the Industry
Standard, Mademoiselle and is frequently noted in major newspapers
such as The New York Times.
Petfinder.com is free to use. Animal shelters and rescue
groups can register to join Petfinder.com online and can start
entering pets the same day.
"The site is a virtual shelter," says Jared Saul.
"It is being able to sit down with your family and visit
hundreds of shelters, get to know the pets, and not have to
drive all around to do it. When someone finally does go to
meet a pet because of Petfinder.com, they are more likely
to be well suited for each other. What better use of the Web?"
"It's hard to imagine what we did before Petfinder.com.
Petfinder adoptions account for three out of every five dogs
we place. We placed 1,000 pets last year!" --Susan Ragland,
President, Animal Rescue Force, East Brunswick, NJ, Petfinder.com
member since 1996
If you would like to help, let them know! You can find them
at http://www.petfinder.com. Email: pets@petfinder.com.
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