What if you got old and nobody wanted you? That's the question posed by Judith Flatley, who adopted eight-year-old Queenie, a Pekingese whose previous parent had a stroke and could no longer care for her. The woman turned her five dogs over to Adopt-Aluv Small Breed Rescue in Mentor, OH, before going into an assisted-living facility.

Judith had already adopted one dog from Adopt-Aluv through Petfinder, and when the five dogs arrived, the rescue person called Judith to see if she could take on another. "I hesitated," Judith says, "because our other adopted Peke was such an Alpha that I wasn't sure it would work out. Now I'm sorry I hesitated even long enough to discuss it with my husband. Queenie is the sweetest dog imaginable."

See Gizmo the Soldier Dog and other pups at work here.

June 26 is Take Your Dog to Work Day, and Petfinder is proud to be the 2009 official adoption partner of the event, which is organized by Pet Sitters International.

To find out how you can participate, including tips for success and how to win over your boss to the idea, visit TakeYourDog.com.

We asked Petfinder visitors if they bring their pets to work. Here are just a few of the responses:

My husband works for the US Army. And while he is not supposed to bring him to work by Army standards, he brings our youngest dog to work with him, and my husband's boss brings his cats to work!

I work at Archdale Animal Clinic in Archdale, NC. We have a very laid-back boss. Pretty much everyone that I work with brings their dog to work with them daily. It's like the dogs have a job too. They all run loose in the back and get along, except for the occasional grumble over treats. The clients know them all by name and love seeing them. Personally I don't know what it would be like to not have Riley with me at work. I have never been in another vet clinic like ours, but for us it works.--Byrd

Since I work at an animal shelter, YES! We are allowed to bring our pets to work. For us, having our pets around really reminds us why we do what we do. Most of us have former shelter dogs, so it reinforces that happy endings do happen! It's a great morale boost when you're dealing with so much sadness. Even if it's a co-worker's dog, feeling that paw on your leg or that wet nose on your arm brings us back to why we started working there in the first place.--Melissa Tata, Program Administrator, Animal Protective Foundation, Scotia, NY

Want to learn more about Petfinder and all the ways we help our shelter and rescue group members get their pets adopted? Check out our 2008 Annual Report.

Some highlights:

• Petfinder accounts for 65% of U.S. and Canadian adoptions.
• For about a quarter of our 12,500+ shelter/rescue group members, Petfinder is responsible for 80-100% of ALL their adoptions.
• Petfinder sends adoptable-pet listings to over 275 popular Web sites such as AOL, Petco.com, Walmart.com, Oodle and MySpace, reaching millions of potential adopters every year.
• Petfinder Mobile takes adoptable pets on the road - via cell phones, BlackBerrys and iPhones.
• The Petfinder.com Foundation awarded more than $1,000,000 in cash and products to our members in disaster-relief grants and power-generator awards.
• Petfinder pets data will power the adoptable-pet search on the web site for the Ad Council's first-ever animal welfare-oriented campaign in partnership with the Humane Society of the United States and Maddie's Fund.

Download the PDF of the report here and let us know what you think!

I want to thank everyone for their comments and guesses as to the breed of my dog, Alan.

Many of you were on the right track: According the the Canine Heritage breed identification, there were no clear primary breeds (neither parent was a purebred) but they did identify Greyhound as a secondary breed.

Now here's a head scratcher -- the only other breed they identified "in the mix" was English Coonhound!

Clearly he is a true mutt, and it goes to show what gorgeous and fantastic pets mixed breeds are. I tend to agree with some of of you who considered Great Dane, Rottweiler and/or Doberman in there somewhere.

I particularly like the idea of him being a "Great Bordobie" as someone suggested ("the ears of a border collie, body of a dobie and his head just screams great dane"). Perhaps more like a Great Greyeiler? I'm not sure about the rest ... but he is definitely great!

 
How much do I loooove this TODAY Show segment featuring makeovers of adoptable dogs from New York City's Animal Care & Control? It features Martha Stewart walking a pit bull -- when did you ever think you'd see that?

It's also a great plug for pit bulls, senior pets and shelter dogs in general. And major props to TODAY's Jill Rappaport, who shows off her handsome (and so well-behaved) rescued pit, Petey. Read more about the segment here.

While some of the 12,500+ shelters and rescue groups that list their adoptable pets with us will only adopt locally, not all of them have that policy, and we often get Happy Tails from people who traveled huge distances to adopt the perfect pet they found on Petfinder.

But this story about British couple Rose and Chris Rasmussen takes the cake. The pair spotted Sparky on Petfinder and fell in love, despite the fact that they live in suburban London and Sparky was at the Clare County Animal Shelter in Harrison, Michigan.

(Read the full story at Central Michigan's TheMorningSun.com.)

With help from Clare County Animal Control Director Dave Gendregske, who completed piles of paperwork and made
sure Sparky was microchipped, vaccinated, quarantined and vetted, the Rasmussens were finally able to travel to Harrison to collect their new family member.

Just in time for summer vacation, we've named the top five pet-friendliest airlines of 2009 (bookmark our story and find more pet-travel tips here). Check out our list and then share your own experiences traveling with your pet in our comments section.

1. Continental - Safety First

Continental is proud of its PetSafe program, which has a 24-hour Live Animal Desk (1-800-575-3335) that tracks the pets from origin to destination. It's pricier than other programs, but it's climate-controlled, allows roomy carriers and has designated cargo staff. Travelers using PetSafe can even earn miles. The airline also allows small cats, dogs, pet rabbits and household birds to be carried in the cabin on most domestic flights for $125 each way.

Pets allowed in cabin: Small dogs, cats, rabbits and birds
Pets allowed as checked baggage: No
Pets allowed in cargo: Yes, all pets that are checked travel in climate-controlled cargo, not as checked baggage

2. JetBlue Airways - Full-Service Pet Love

JetBlue really embraced pet-toting travelers when it launched JetPaws last summer. For no additional cost, JetBlue provides a pet carrier bag tag, two TrueBlue points each way, a welcome e-mail and a free pet-travel guide. However, like other airlines, JetBlue has hiked its in-cabin pet charge: one-way fees range from $75 to $100.

Pets allowed in cabin: Small cats and dogs
Pets allowed as checked baggage: No
Pets allowed in cargo: No

Last month, we asked Petfinder visitors like you to take a survey about their experiences adopting, or trying to adopt, from a shelter or rescue group. A whopping 2,667 people responded.

Read the results here and find out what they said about customer service at adoption organizations. Among the questions we asked:

• How was your experience overall?
  
• Have you ever contacted an adoption group and received NO REPLY?
  
• What would make you consider going to a breeder or pet store?

We also asked for write-in answers to questions such as, "Do you have advice for shelters/rescues?" Some examples of the answers we got include:

• "Responsiveness is extremely important for families looking for a pet. I find a lot of rescues either don't respond or are not responsive enough, especially if the only way to contact them is via e-mail."
• "[Have] patience with prospective families as they interact and ask questions regarding their possible new pet. I took a LONG time to decide if my new pet would be 'the one' and the staff were amazingly patient and understanding of my need to make sure this fit would last forever."
• "Don't treat potential adopters like we are the enemy!"
• "As much as I can appreciate their criteria (fenced yard, etc) some things are over the top. I had a rescue turn me down once because I worked and I am single. They wanted someone who stayed home. Are they kidding?"
  

I previously posted about my dog Alan, whom I adopted almost a year ago. As he has acclimated to family life, one thing has become clear: He's a real character, with a personality as unique as his good looks.

Whenever someone meets him, the conversation inevitably turns to speculation about what breeds he is a mix of.

I have postulated that there must be a strong Rottweiler/Doberman component, since from the back end his coloration and physique are very close to those breeds. Then again, I may be reacting to the fact that somewhere along the line someone (sadly) felt compelled to crop his tail.

From the front, things are less clear. It seems like some of his unusual traits might lend a clue -- for example, he is deaf, extremely fast, has huge paws and long, awkward legs.

Many congratulations to brilliant comic-strip artist (and tireless pet-adoption advocate) Patrick McDonnell, the creator of Mutts, for adopting a new dog -- whom he found on Petfinder, no less!

In his May newsletter, McDonnell writes:

On Saturday, March 13, Amelie joined the McDonnell clan. At 1.5 years old she is full of life, love, and energy. We don't know too much about her background, but she was surrendered to Animal Care and Control in NYC, spayed, and then brought into Posh Pets Rescue in Manhattan. After placing her in a foster home, Posh Pets put her profile up on Petfinder. A few days later she was on her way to her forever family.