Petfinder Blog

Discovery News reports that a new study traces the origins of small dogs back to the Middle East of 12,000 years ago. (Read the original story.)

According to the study, which appears in the journal BMC Biology, a version of the gene responsible for a dog's small size probably resulted from the domestication of the Middle Eastern gray wolf, which is smaller than other wolves.

The DNA studies, combined with the archaeological record, then suggest that at least 12,000 years ago, the first domesticated small dogs entered the world, with humans playing a major role in the process.

"(There) could have been a mutation arising early in the history of dogs," said [study lead author Melissa] Gray, "which was maintained by breeding and artificial selection by humans, or could have been an adaptive trait that developed during domestication as a means to coexist with humans."

Also interesting: Archaeological evidence has found dog remains close to the size of Great Danes in Belgium, Germany and Western Russia dating to 13,000-31,000 years ago -- meaning big dogs came before small dogs.

I'm so excited to see the new Tim Burton-helmed Alice in Wonderland -- and even more so after reading that shelter bunnies played a role in filming!

According to a press release from Walt Disney Pictures:

Tim Burton wanted the animal characters in Wonderland to appear real rather than cartoony. So before creating the White Rabbit, animators spent a day at a rabbit shelter for abandoned rabbits, observing the animals and shooting photo reference footage to ensure they captured the nuances of rabbits chewing and wriggling their noses.

There are more than 5,000 bunnies for adoption on Petfinder. Could one of them be "late, late, for a very important date" with you?

Discovery News reports that a four-year-old Great Dane has been named the world's tallest dog (see the original story).

Standing at 7 feet and 3 inches from nose to tail and weighing in at 245 pounds, this gargantuan dog is not just your average Great Dane. It's the "Greatest" Dane.

Guinness World Records announced today that "Giant George," a blue Great Dane from Tucson, Ariz., is the new Guinness World Record holder of the Tallest Dog title.

George is three-quarters of an inch taller than the previous record holder, a Great Dane named Titan whose adoptive mom found him on Petfinder.

Want to adopt your own gentle giant? Check out the 1,100 adoptable Great Danes and Dane mixes posted on Petfinder!

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.

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.)

Rabies isn't really something we think about here in the U.S. -- at least not when it comes to our pets, since rabies vaccination is so standard.

But according to the Alliance for Rabies Control, it's still a major problem worldwide, killing more than 55,000 people a year, mostly in Asia and Africa.

So the organization is holding its second annual World Rabies Day on Sept. 28. Vaccinating animals against rabies in developing countries will not only prevent human suffering, it may well improve the treatment of animals -- especially stray dogs -- in those countries by raising awareness of their health needs and the relationship between animals' well-being and humans'.

To learn more, visit the World Rabies Day Web site.

Last month we ran our second Victoria Stilwell contest, in which rescue groups nominated dogs in their care who could benefit from a phone consultation with the It's Me or the Dog star.

Visitors voted on our five finalists, and Logan, a Hound-Lab mix at New York's Buffalo Humane, won. (Meet Logan and the other finalists here.)

We'll be following Logan's progress here on the blog, as we did with our previous winner, Pit Bull Liza Bean.

Here's the first update from Logan's foster mom, Carol Tutzauer, in which she tells us about Logan's great escape the night before she learned of his big win:

I was steeling myself for the likelihood that wonderful Logan would not win the Petfinder/Victoria Stilwell contest. After all, his profile appeared as the last entry, not a good position for getting votes, having to cursor down the screen to find him. "Too bad," I thought. "Logan would benefit so much."

My husband and I, educators at the State University of New York at Buffalo, had just survived the first few days of the semester. Exhausted and tired from dealing with the throng of students, we arrived home to our farmhouse, gathered up all eight dogs (our four and the four fosters), stoked up the propane heater in the pole barn and sat down with the dog gang and a nice cold beer.

As you may have heard, convicted dogfighter Michael Vick has signed a two-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Vick served 23 months in federal prison on charges of conspiracy and running a dogfighting operation. Announcing the deal, Eagles coach Andy Reid told reporters: "I'm a believer that as long as people go through the right process, they deserve a second chance."

While the dogs killed by Vick's dogfighting associates and Vick himself, as several commenters have pointed out will never get their own second chance, many of the Pit Bulls rescued from Bad Newz Kennels have. For some of their stories, check out
the incredible work done by BAD RAP in Oakland, CA.

But they're not the only Pits in need. There are at this moment 11,751 Pit Bull Terriers and 3,851 American Staffordshire Terriers available for adoption on Petfinder.

How can you help?
 

• Adopt a Pit Bull. I am a proud rescued-Pit parent, as are my mother, several coworkers and many of my neighbors. They are devoted, affectionate and joy-inducing pets with as great a range in personality as any other breed. As with dogs of any breed, not every Pit is perfect for every family. Read more about things to think about if you're thinking of adopting a Pit Bull after the jump.
• Volunteer with Pit Bulls. At many city shelters, Pits and Pit mixes make up the overwhelming majority of the canine residents, and because Pits have been bred to bond closely with humans, the isolation of shelter life is particularly hard for them. You can visit the shelter to help exercise and socialize the dogs; open your home to a foster dog; photograph and write bios for local adoptable dogs' Petfinder profiles; start a bedding drive at your office to collect old blankets and towels to donate ... the possibilities are endless. For more ideas, read our article on volunteering or visit BAD RAP's How You Can Help page.
• Educate others about Pit Bulls. Once you've fallen in love with a Pit (and to know one is to love one), you'll start to notice how many offhand Pit-Bull stereotypes people throw around in everyday conversation (and I'm not just talking about Sarah Palin). Learn the facts about Pits and you'll be able to shoot down the myths (no, they do not have locking jaws). Some great resources include Petfinder's book The Adopted Dog Bible (you'll find an excerpt, Pit Bulls: The Myths, the Legends, the Reality, after the jump), as well as BAD RAP's Monster Myths page, Pit Bull Rescue Central's breed info page and Animal Farm Foundation's Fear vs. Fact document. (All three sites are excellent, and I'd encourage you to click around on them.)

A Pit Bull's best friend is the responsible dog owner who allows the well-socialized, happy Pit to be an ambassador for the breed. Unlike Michael Vick, Pit Bulls don't need a multi-million-dollar contract. A loving home, a warm dog bed and plenty of pets are the second chance they need -- and deserve.

Ever wondered who's behind Petfinder and how Petfinder came to be? Check out this article in Guideposts magazine by our founder, Betsy Saul, in which she tells the story of Petfinder's beginnings.

All of us who work here have heard the story many times, but I remember before I got this job, Petfinder and its origins were a huge mystery to me.

Here's my favorite passage:

In those early days, my biggest struggle was hearing heartbreaking stories about abused or abandoned animals. The pup who was left tied to a lamp post in a thunderstorm. The dog who almost ran into traffic trying to escape some mean kids throwing rocks at him. ...

Then a few months into our project, something changed. Somehow my perspective shifted. I started to see the hopeful side of those sad stories, like the woman who chased off the mean kids and coaxed the dog into her car, or the vet who stayed after hours to patch up a street cat who'd been injured, or the family who adopted an abused dog and lovingly taught her to trust again.

Read the full story here.

After 15 weeks and more than 4 million votes cast, our friends at The Animal Rescue Site have wrapped up their second $100,000 Shelter+ Challenge.

The grand prize of $20,000 went to Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, UT. Says Best Friends interim CEO Gregory Castle:

This is truly a wonderful gift for us
here at Best Friends. We are very grateful to our loyal supporters and to The Animal Rescue Site and Petfinder.com. This $20,000 prize will go far to benefit all the animals at the sanctuary as well as support our ongoing outreach to work towards a time when there are No More Homeless Pets.