Petfinder Blog

The Petfinder blog is taking a little hiatus to play with our new toys and take pictures of our pets in their new sweaters.

Happy New Year to everyone and we'll see you on Jan. 5!

In a recent blog post, Humane Society of the United States president and CEO Wayne Pacelle writes that he has a special place in his heart for people who adopt senior pets. As the parent of several longevity-blessed pets, I couldn't agree more!

Pacelle posts a letter from blogger Mary Lattanzio about seeing an adoptable three-legged Boston terrier online. Granny Annie was estimated to be about 5 years old. Mary decided to foster her, and went to meet her at her local Florida shelter.

And there she was. Much older than five. Maybe 500. She was scarred on her flanks. Her forehead looks like it was cleaved at one time.

She trailed a long cyst sack that swung when she walked. It was heavy. She is missing a front leg. She hobbles; has lumps, bumps and warts all over. She is gray-faced. ...

Vice president-elect Joe Biden made news (and caused a lot of controversy) when he bought a German shepherd puppy from a breeder recently.

But this weekend he said on This Week With George Stephanopoulous that he plans to get another dog -- and this one will come from a shelter.

Biden told Stephanopoulos that he was partial to German shepherds, but that he had always had two "big dogs" as companions for each other.

"I've had German shepherds since I was a kid, and I've actually trained them and shown them in the past," Biden said in the interview. "So I wanted a German shepherd, and we're going to get a pound dog, which my wife wants, that is hopefully a golden" retriever (Philly.com).

Of course, since Mrs. Biden wants a golden retriever, I happen to know of a great little Web site called Petfinder where she can search rescued pets by breed, location and more! There are currently 2,600 golden retrievers and golden mixes available for adoption on Petfinder.

The Bidens can also work with one of our 63 golden retriever breed rescues, such as Golden Retriever Rescue of Southern Maryland in Valley Lee, MD (if they want to look near their home in the capital), or Golden Retriever Adoption Placement and Education in Springfield, PA (if they want to stay closer to their home state of Delaware).

My suggestion? A female dog (since their shepherd puppy is a male) who is young enough to show the puppy the ropes when it comes to housetraining and "indoor behavior," but young enough to romp and play with him to his heart's content. Whatever dog the Bidens adopt, I wish them all the best with their growing family!

In the mood for some positive thoughts? (Who isn't these days?) Then check out our Thanksgiving Happy Tail contest. We asked readers to submit stories about how their pets changed their lives. We picked our favorites, and now you can vote for yours through Dec. 19. The winner gets a BISSELL Pet Clean-Up package. You can vote once a day, every day. Spread the word (and some holiday cheer!). Cast your vote here.

Finalist #1 - Carbon
from Sharon Legrand of Silverdale, WA

I've just moved to the U.S. from India. I'm a Navy wife, and three months after my arrival, my husband was due to be deployed. I was miserable and homesick. I didn't know anyone, and I was terrified of being alone in a new country without my husband.

I visited the Kitsap Humane Society, where I met Carbon. He wasn't young, and was a stray, but I loved him. I brought him home, and my life just turned around. My husband left soon after.

Carbon has made sure that I'm never lonely. He loves me and hugs me and does all those things that just makes my life complete. If it wasn't for him, I probably would have just turned around and gone home to India. He is the first wonderful thing that has happened to me in the U.S., and I love him for it.

Carbon was adopted from Kitsap Humane Society in Silverdale, WA.

Finalist #2 - Luke
from Sarah Matthews of Houston, TX

My daughter was diagnosed as being bi-polar five years ago. She hadn't smiled in a long time. Her peers made fun of her because she was socially immature when compared to other girls her age.

I promised her a long time ago that when we bought a house, we would get a pet. That finally happened. We went to the shelter right before one of her doctor's appointments and visited with a few dogs. We left to make our decision and when we returned that evening, our choices had been adopted.

I talked her into looking at the dogs again. She saw Luke, and she wanted to visit with him. We took him outside and they chased each other around. She laughed more than I could ever remember, and ever since, they have been chasing each other around our backyard with her laughing and giggling the whole time.

Luke was adopted from the Houston SPCA in Texas.

Finalist #3 - Mochaccino and Dakota
from Kimberly Mockler of Port Washington, NY

Mochaccino and Dakota are my rescue dogs. They both know American Sign Language (Dakota also knows touch signals since she is deaf and blind).

Mocha and Dakota both passed their CGCs and participate in agility, fly-ball and little rally. They have also won several Halloween costume contests.

Mocha is also a Delta therapy dog and will be working with the deaf and deaf/blind population.

Since Dakota is a special needs dog, she has inspired me to help out with rescuing other deaf and deaf/blind double merle dogs. She is an inspiration -- she can do anything except hear and see!

Rescue dogs are the BEST and Mocha and Dakota have just helped to make my life so much better and so much more FUN! :)

Mocchaccino and Dakota were adopted from Wing and A Prayer Dog Rescue And Referral Inc., in Binghamton, NY.

Finalist #4 - Carmyne
from Lonnie Gerbracht of La Center, WA

Carmyne, a little Chihuahua, belongs to my disabled daughter. He is the best thing that has happened for her. We found out that he can tell when she is about to have a seizure migraine, and he tells her to take her medication and go to bed. He also helps her overcome her social phobia. And he has had NO training for this!

Not only has he helped her emotionally, but he has exactly the same hair color that she does! When he curls up on her shoulder you can't tell the difference between her hair and his! He is as attached to her as she is to him, and he means the world to her! Thank you Second Chance Companions! You made it possible for my daughter to live on her own in spite of her disability!

Carmyne was adopted from Second Chance Companions in Battle Ground, WA.

Finalist #5 - Casey
from Jennifer Clouse of Springfield, IL

I have been recently diagnosed with bi-polar 1 mixed disorder. It's been months since being diagnosed, and I still have a hard time with my life.

I adopted Casey after being in the hospital in January. He came with medical problems, like problems with his eyes and Lyme disease, but every day we are glad that we adopted him.

He knows when I have my bad days because he will not leave my side. He is 70 pounds, but he will jump on my lap so that I can hug him until I stop crying. Even on my better days I can count on him being right next to me, looking into my eyes as if to say, "I will always be here for you."

Adopted from Menominee Animal Shelter Inc. in Menominee, MI.

Congratulations to Jacci Moss, director of Friends of Felines Rescue Center and Earth Angels Low Cost Spay/Neuter Clinic in Defiance, OH. She was just named Animal Planet's Cat Hero of the Year!

According to the Toledo Blade, Moss opened Friends of Felines in 1999 with 11 cats. Today the no-cage facility houses up to 100 cats at a time. They come from Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana, many of them formerly abused or abandoned.

Vice president-elect Joe Biden bought a puppy from a Pennsylvania breeder of German shepherds yesterday. According to Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander:

[H]e's familiar with the breed and its personality. He's excited to bring it home when it gets a little older and has promised that his grandchildren can name it after the New Year. (DelawareOnline.com)

This is clearly disappointing news to all of us who've dedicated our lives to getting homeless pets out of shelters.

Now I'm not against buying dogs *in theory* -- everyone in animal welfare wishes we lived in a world where there were no animal shelters because every pet was in a loving home for its entire life. There would be no unwanted litters, no pets being abandoned because their owners wouldn't or couldn't care for them. In that world, you'd HAVE to buy a dog.

But that's just not the world we live in.

In the *real* world, there are at this moment more than 7,670 adoptable German shepherds and German shepherd mixes and more than 8,700 adoptable shepherd mixes waiting for their forever homes on Petfinder.

Biden loves purebred sheps, you say? And he for some reason needed to get a dog in Pennsylvania? Well he would have been in luck, had he checked Petfinder: We've got two Shepherd-specific rescue groups in the state: Save a Shepherd Rescue Alliance in Hatfield and German Shepherd Rescue of Southeastern PA in Philadelphia.

Biden wants a puppy, you argue? Well a quick search on Petfinder turns up plenty of adorable baby sheps, including Donder (right), at a rescue in Coatesville, PA, a mere 25 miles from Biden's breeder.

Let's hope that the famously gaffe-prone Biden realizes his mistake and adopts a shelter pooch to keep his new puppy company. And let's hope that Obama does a better job choosing his own family pet.

A lot of attention has been paid recently to the story of the hero dog in Chile who risked his life to pull an injured dog off of a busy highway. After the above video aired on TV last week and quickly became a YouTube phenomenon, Chilean officials said they got 15 calls from people offering to adopt the pup (the injured dog, sadly, died). But because the incident happened in March, police and highway workers have given up on finding the hero dog.

As is so often the case, people are rightly moved to want to help an animal whose news-making story tugs at the heartstrings, but there are many, many others who need our help just as badly who don't have the benefit of the media spotlight. And while the dog in the video displayed courage and selflessness, anyone who knows dogs knows that each one is a hero in his or her own way -- even if they just heroically lick our faces when we're feeling down.

If you're interested in helping street dogs in developing countries, you can support the Humane Society International's Street Animal Welfare campaign, which works to promote a humane philosophy of animal control in nations around the world. (Here's a story about its recent spay-neuter program in Patagonia, Chile.)

Another great organization if the International Fund for Animal Welfare, whose Community-Led Animal Welfare program provides veterinary services, including spaying and neutering, to pet owners in some of the world's poorest communities.

What's on my dog's holiday wish list? This awesome "Bully" tank from Muttropolis.com. It would look quite, ahem, fetching, on my pit bull, Champ (he's a boy, but he can wear pink because he's secure like that).

And Santa/Hannukah Harry can feel good knowing that the gift benefits a great cause: Through Dec. 31, Muttropolis is donating 2% of proceeds from sales made using a special coupon code to the Petfinder.com Foundation.

Get the Muttropolis coupon here and you'll also get 10% off your next order.

Another great thing about our friends at Muttropolis? They're committed to promoting pet adoption and often host adoption events at their stores in Tucson, AZ, and La Jolla, Newport Beach and Solana Beach, CA. (Here's a list of stores with links to their calendars of upcoming events.)

The Petfinder.com Foundation gives more than 90% of donated funds directly to shelters to help them prepare for disasters or feed, house and vaccinate the pets in their care. (Find out more about the Foundation's programs.)

Happy shopping!  

Want to send your favorite person a smile for the holidays? Check out our new, free holiday e-cards -- featuring pictures of Petfinder visitors' pets in their holiday best.

While we only had room for three e-cards, the truth is, we loved ALL the ugly-pet-sweater photos you sent in (you can view all the photos here).

Thanks to everyone who submitted a photo -- we're glad to see that your adopted pets are keeping toasty in their loving homes this season! Help spread the word about pet adoption and send a Petfinder e-card today!

Previous entries:

Check out these adorable ugly-pet-sweater photos!

Send us your ugly pet-sweater pic, be on a Petfinder e-card!

I encourage everyone I know to foster -- even if they're dead set on adopting.

Not only does fostering provide an invaluable service to rescue groups and the shelters who depend on them (not to mention the pets themselves), it's a great way to learn about your own needs as a pet owner. (You can't know if you've got what it takes to walk a young puppy at 1, 3 and 6 a.m. until you've done it!)

But I've heard a lot of excuses -- er, reasons -- why people can't or don't want to foster. So I was delighted to get the article below in a newsletter from the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society, which answers just about every possible excuse. (It was written by Liz Pease, the shelter's director of operations.)

With shelters overflowing and many people needing temporary care for their pets while they find new housing or weather a crisis, fostering is even more important these days. So print out this list and give it to everyone you know who thinks they just "can't" foster.

"I DON'T HAVE THE SPACE" -- I used to think this too. Then a cat came along that really, really needed me ... and I made the space! All it takes is a small spare bedroom or office, a bathroom, or even a corner where you can set up a playpen cage, which you can borrow from us! While we do need foster cats to stay separate from your own cats, it doesn't take much space to do that. And remember, whatever space you have at home is probably more than the kitty has here at the shelter now! [Editor's note: This is also what I tell people who think they can't adopt a big dog because they live in an apartment--Emily]

"I MIGHT GET ATTACHED" -- OK, yes, you might. But no matter how difficult it is to bring your kitty back to the shelter, just knowing that you're helping to save a life should ease any short-term pain. When you take in a foster cat, it gives us room to help other cats that might otherwise be brought to shelters that euthanize for time and space. It also lets us learn more about a cat's personality than we ever could in a shelter environment, which, in turn, makes the cat much easier to adopt out. Yes, some cats are harder to bring back than others, but be strong! You can do it! (And yes, I've kept one foster cat, but not the 60 that followed that first one!)