Petfinder Blog

It's always a privilege to meet with Petfinder shelters and adoption groups to learn about their work. When the Hedgehog Welfare Society invited Petfinder to the Eastern States Hedgehog Show near Albany, NY, I happily whistled my dog Molly into the navigator's seat of my truck and drove up to the beautiful Schoharie Valley to learn about our prickliest pets.

My introduction to hedgehogs came the first night in the relaxation meditation session for hedgehogs and their humans, led by author Dawn Wrobel. Yes, I got to meditate with hedgehogs!

However, when I walked in, there was not a hedgehog to be seen. Everyone was already seated in a circle, and each human participant had a brightly colored cloth bag on their lap. Now and then a bag would give a twitch or a lurch, and I realized these little sacks were the warm, dark and comfortable mode of transportation for well-loved hedgehogs on the go.

Big black dogs. FIV+ cats. Senior pets. Special needs pets. To help these and other often-overlooked pets find homes, Petfinder has named August 12 Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Day.

Visit our special section to download search widgets for senior and special-needs pets that you can post on your own Web site to help these pets find homes.

In preparation for Adopt-A-Less- Adoptable-Pet Day, we surveyed our shelter and rescue group members to find out which pets were the hardest to place. The results:

30% said senior/older pets
15% - pets with medical problems
13% - victims of breed prejudice
10% - shy pets
10% - those who need to be the only pet

But plenty of less-adoptable pets DO get adopted -- just check out our Happy Tails database for hundreds of examples (such
as Cow, the blind, deaf, hypothyroid and incontinent Dalmatian; Daisy Lou, the senior dog who is her adoptive mom's "baby girl"; and Cooper, the FIV+ cat).

Have you adopted a "less adoptable" pet? Tell us here!

We're celebrating Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat Month by partnering with LOLcats site Icanhascheezburger.com to bring adoptable cats to a whole new audience.

If you check out any adoptable cat on Petfinder, you will see a button under his or her photo that says ADD TO ICANHASCHEEZBURGER.COM.

When you click, you have the chance to write a creative LOL-worthy caption. You know the pictures ... the ones that when you look at them, you can't help but put words in the cat's mouth?! Well, here's your chance.

Once you submit a captioned adoptable kitteh (that is LOL-speak for cat!), she will go into the gallery and Icanhascheezburger visitors will vote on their favorites.

The top vote-getters make it to the home page with a link back to the cat's Petfinder profile. It's fun -- and it will also, we hope, get more people to check out the adorable, adoptable cats on Petfinder.

Here's another update from Elizabeth Lujambio, founder of Marley's Pit Stop in Los Angeles, on Liza Bean, the shy pit bull she's fostering whose debilitating fearfulness was the subject of a phone consultation Elizabeth won with It's Me or the Dog star Victoria Stilwell.

(Read Elizabeth's first post-consultation update here.)

Week #2

With Victoria Stilwell whispering advice in our ears and the support all of the Petfinder members, Liza Bean and I embarked on week two of Liza's training.

Basic training agenda included reinforcement of the "sit" command and learning the "down" and "stay" commands. We also introduced a new person to the training: a tried and true Marley's Pit Stop volunteer and foster failure (he kept three foster dogs!), Dave.

Initially, I began the teaching of basic commands. Liza B. always had her "sit" mastered -- although, because she has such a long body, it takes her a bit to get there! Next, we began the "down" command, using treats and the leash from her already-familiar "sit."

We found out that while Liza can do a "down" nicely, she prefers to do so on grass, not on hard surfaces! Who's training who here?! We are practicing the mechanics on grass and can get her to a low crouch on cement. Hopefully, this week she will be able to do a proper "down" regardless of surface.
 

A few weeks ago we invited Petfinder rescue group members to nominate their behaviorally-challenged dogs for a chance at a complimentary phone consultation with It's Me or the Dog star and renowned dog trainer Victoria Stilwell.

Painfully shy pit bull Liza Bean at Marley's Pit Stop Rescue in Los Angeles earned the most votes from Petfinder visitors (meet the runners up here).

Victoria called Liza Bean's foster mom, Elizabeth Lujambio, and although she'd only committed to a 20-minute consultation, she spoke with Elizabeth for 45 minutes. "It was amazing!" Elizabeth tells us.

Victoria told Elizabeth that Liza Bean needed to do some independence training. Elizabeth realized she needed to "take a step back and stop thinking of her as my little dog -- and start giving Liza Bean some tools to build her confidence."

After the jump, Elizabeth's description of her consultation with Victoria and Liza Bean's progress.

A major cable network that happens to be very Petfinder- and pet-adoption-friendly is filming a series about cat breeds, and for an episode about the Selkirk Rex breed, they're looking for someone interested in adopting one of these exotic felines.

The producers are in touch with two rescue groups in particular about a pair of purebred Selkirks with star potential. If you're interested in adopting either of these cutie pies, contact their respective adoption organizations.

If you're the right fit for one of these great
cats, not only will you have a chance to be on TV, but you'll add a wonderful companion to your life.

According to our Cat Breed Directory, Selkirk Rexes are fun-loving, mellow and people-oriented. They're known for their distinctive soft, curly coat, which can be either long or short.

There are currently 15 Selkirk Rexes or Selkirk mixes available for adoption on Petfinder. Learn more about the breed.

Congratulations to Liza Bean, the painfully shy pit bull rescued by Marley's Pit Stop in Los Angeles. After getting the most votes from Petfinder visitors, Liza Bean will receive a complimentary phone consultation from It's Me or the Dog star and renowned dog trainer Victoria Stilwell -- as will the family who adopts Liza Bean.

(Meet the runners-up, whose caretakers will receive copies of Petfinder's Adopted Dog Bible.)

Marley's Pit Stop founder (and Liza Bean's foster mom) Elizabeth Lujambio was overcome with emotion when she learned that Liza Bean had garnered the most votes, telling us, "I am so grateful to Petfinder and to Victoria Stilwell for this opportunity to help Liza Bean."

One of the ways Petfinder helps our members get their pets out there is by working with organizers of the dozens of public pet expos that take place around the country. We arrange to have a Petfinder booth at an expo, and one of our shelter or rescue-group members mans it on our behalf to spread the word about Petfinder and their own organization.

The folks at Tower Show Productions, a major organizer of pet expos, has been a great partner with us in this. At its recent Twin Cities Pet Expo in Minneapolis, the St. Paul-based Resource for Iguana Care and Adoption (RICA) manned the Petfinder booth.

RICA president Kathy Claugherty sent us this report after the expo:

The Pet Expo was a tremendous success for RICA. We opted not to bring an iguana because of the temperature issue, but it just so happens I have a life-sized plush iguana toy and I brought that instead. We also had a folder with pictures and bios of our adoptables along with our brochure and other materials. The plush toy was a big hit! It enabled me to show how big they get in a non-threatening way.

Okay, I'm a little late to blogging about this, but our own VP of shelter outreach, Kim Saunders, continued her media blitz promoting the Petfinder.com Adopted Dog Bible with an appearance on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet (watch the video).

This was one of my favorite media spots because Kim was able to not only promote responsible pet adoption, but also to show
off some wonderful dogs whom the average adopter might not think to seek out:

• Rocky, a 10-year-old pit bull at NYC's Picasso Veterinary Fund
  
• Deke, a blind, senior shepherd mix, also at Picasso Veterinary Fund
• Higgins, a St. Bernard-mix puppy who was hit by a car and is being cared for and given veterinary cary by Companion Critters in Clark, NJ
• Valentina, a young beagle the Humane Society of NY (okay, she's the type of dog EVERYONE seems to be looking for -- but it's always good to let people know they CAN find a purebred dog at a shelter)
  

We're thrilled to announce that Victoria Stilwell, internationally renowned dog trainer and star of the Animal Planet hit It's Me or the Dog, has offered to help one lucky Petfinder pup get adopted.

We've invited Petfinder shelter and rescue group members to send us a description of one of their adoptable dogs who has a behavior issue that could benefit from Victoria's advice.

We'll select finalists, and visitors will be able to vote for their favorite on Petfinder.com from March 4-22. The dog with the most votes will be announced on Petfinder.com beginning March 25.

The winning dog will get a complimentary telephone consultation with Victoria -- and best of all, when the dog is adopted, his or her new family will also have the chance to speak with Victoria to assist with the pup's transition into the new home.

We will detail the advice and progress here on the Petfinder blog so that more people and pets will benefit from Victoria's positive, reward-based training advice. We're huge fans of Victoria, a longtime pet-rescue advocate, and are delighted that she's lending her expertise to one of our adoptable pets. May the best (worst?) dog win!