Petfinder Blog

We're thrilled to announce that Animal Planet's It's Me or the Dog is nominated for the 2010 People's Choice awards in the Favorite Animal Show category.

Victoria Stilwell, a true dog lover and pet adoption advocate, has a proud history with Petfinder, donating her time for our Victoria Stillwell contests. Victoria worked with the two winning Petfinder dogs to help them find forever homes. (Read about the winners Lab mix Logan and shy Pit Bull, Liza Bean.)

Rex, a German Shepherd, Labrador and Bassett Hound mix, never knew anything but shelter life. His mother was dropped off at a Tennessee facility two days before Rex came into the world.

Quickly transferred to another shelter, Rex was put on a transport for New Hampshire in an effort to get him to a part of the country where shelters weren't so overcrowded.

Eventually he came into the care of the Salem Animal Rescue League in Salem, NH, where his photo and description were put on Petfinder then jettisoned far and wide.

A year and a half earlier, the Walsh family dog, Bootsie, was killed in an accident. The whole family was devastated but Jamie, now seven, had a particularly rough time.

"She spent many nights crying for her beloved Bootsie," says Jamie's father Michael Walsh. "My wife and I really had a hard time deciding whether or not we should get another dog and possibly put her through something like that again."

According to Discovery News, the stray dogs of Pompeii are about to get a second chance.

On Monday, Pompeii's Emergency Commissioner, Marcello Fiori, announced a campaign to microchip, collar and tag each of the more than 50 dogs that frequent the ruins to find them permanent, loving homes.

"Stray dogs have given Pompeii a bad image, but things are going to change. From now on, dogs will have their own identity and dignity and will be taken care of," Fiori told reporters at the press conference.

Volunteers from three of Italy's leading animal charities have offered assistance with the campaign.

More from Discovery News after the jump.

Titan, a Great Dane, was recently named the World's Tallest Dog by Guinness Word Records and appeared on the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. He is also special for another reason.

The Baltimore Examiner reports that Titan's mom found the blind, deaf and epileptic rescue dog on Petfinder when he was just three months old -- and already weighed 55 pounds.

'Tis the season ... of Christmas re-runs. But there's a new movie I bet will be on your seasonal favorite list from now on -- and a brand new Petfinder program to go with it.

The show is Hallmark Hall of Fame's presentation of A Dog Named Christmas.

Based on a great little book by author and Petfinder blogger, Greg Kincaid, the story follows a developmentally challenged young man who fosters a dog from his local shelter during the holidays and he gets the whole community involved. It's a feel-
good story with a great message.

The idea inspired Petfinder to start the Foster a Lonely Pet for the Holidays program, and we hope you will invite a shelter pet into your home for this special time of year.

We love stories of lost pets reunited with their families -- often as a result of a wisely placed microchip.

But Discovery News has a truly miraculous lost-pet story, about an Australian explosive-detection dog named Sabi who vanished during a September 2008 gunfight in Afghanistan.

Fourteen months after Sabi's disappearance, a U.S. soldier found her at an isolated patrol base. The retriever was returned to her Australian caretakers in time for a visit (and some pets) from Aussie Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. (Read the full story here.)

Speaking of pets and the military, you can help men and women serving in the armed forces by fostering their pets while they're stationed abroad. Learn more after the jump.

MarthaStuart.com blog The Bride's Guide is asking readers: "Do you intend to honeymoon with your pet? If so, where are you going and how do you plan to get there?"

Blogger Jennifer Miranda even gives Petfinder a nice shout-out, writing:

To me, someone who was never allowed to have a significant pet besides a few goldfish and a newt, that [idea] is just bizarre.

But pet travel is becoming more and more popular in recent years, so much so that Petfinder.com even created a list of the five pet-friendliest airlines.

What about you -- would you take your pet on your honeymoon? Take our poll after the jump.

Remember when we ran a cat-room-makeover contest in honor of Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month? The winner, Central Minnesota Animal Care & Control, received $1,300 worth of gorgeous cat furniture from The Refined Feline for their new colony-housing cat room.

Well the makeover is complete, and what a difference! According to the St. Cloud Times, shelter staffers designed the cat room to look like a living room, painting the walls tan and adding a viewing window, a faux fish tank and artwork on the walls.

The Refined Feline contributed two litter-box holders designed to resemble end tables, two cat shelves and three cat towers.

Shelter owner Lisa Tenter tells the paper: "[The cats] love it. They're laying around, stretched out, letting me scratch their bellies. They would never do that in a cage."

The new room's impact is more than cosmetic. Says Tenter: "The cats will be less stressed in here. Less-stressed cats mean healthier cats." (Read the full article here.)

November is Adopt-A-Senior-Pet Month, and we'll let people who've done just that explain why seasoned companions are so special.

Read on for five senior-pet Happy Tails -- and if you can't adopt your own senior pet, you can help them find homes by adding our adoptable senior pet search widget (shown here) to your Web site.

Bunny
"We drove 800 miles to get her. It was love at first site. She happily hopped in the car and headed back to Alabama with us, where she immediately made herself at home and has stolen all of our hearts. She has filled much of the void left by my old pal Bud, and filled our home with the love of a senior dog. We tell her every day that she hit the Basset Hound lottery, but actually it was us who won."
>> Read Bunny's full Happy Tail.

Don't miss tonight's premier of Animal Planet's new series, Pit Bulls and Parolees, about Petfinder member Villalobos Rescue Center. The show follows Villalobos' founder, Tia Maria Torres, and her staff of ex-cons as they rescue, rehabilitate and find new families for homeless Pit Bulls.

"[T]he 'bad boys' of society meet the so-called 'bad boys' of the canine community, and boom! Just like that -- they create magic together," Torres says on the show's Web site. "They bring out a side of each other that's sweet, warm and unbelievably touching." Tune in Fridays at 10pm E/P on Animal Planet.