Guest blogger Rachel McPherson is the founder and executive director of The Good Dog Foundation in New York City and author of the new book Every Dog Has a Gift.

In my new book, Every Dog Has a Gift, I share true stories of dogs who have made a tremendous difference to their human companions. The dogs in the book are diverse - some are purebred service dogs and others were found at shelters. Yet, as the stories show, every dog has so much to give. Here are just a few of their gifts:

• Dogs help us relax. They lower our blood pressure, decrease our anxiety, and distract us from trauma. In the story "Dog Medicine," members of The Good Dog Foundation were allowed on site to comfort survivors of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. The level of comfort and calm that these therapy dogs provided was amazing to witness.

Dr. Lauren Brickman writes a pet health and care column for Petside.com. Read all the Q&As she's shared with Petfinder here.

Q: I have recently heard that annual vaccinations in older cats may cause cancer. My cat is 11 years old and has always had her annual vaccinations. She is, and always has been, an indoor cat.

Since my two previous cats had to be put down due to massive cancer, I am considering not getting Emma's vaccination this year. Would this be irresponsible?

A: That's a great question! Since your cat is strictly indoor she should not need feline leukemia vaccines. As long as she has tested negative for leukemia, an indoor cat that has no contact with other cats is not considered at risk for contracting this virus. The same goes for the feline AIDS (FIV) vaccine although I do not recommend this vaccine even to outdoor cats.

The Humane Society of the United States' annual Genesis Awards honor entertainment and media that spotlight animal issues - and this year, a project close to Petfinder's heart was a winner.

Hallmark Hall of Fame's adaptation of the novel A Dog Named Christmas earned a Genesis award in the TV Film category. The book and movie have a strong pet-adoption message, and we've been involved from the start.

When the book was first published in 2008, author Greg Kincaid wrote a Petfinder blog and publisher Doubleday donated 200 copies to Petfinder's shelter members. Greg also invited Petfinder shelters to bring adoptable dogs to his book signings.

I am always looking for new ways to support animal welfare. That's why I was thrilled to find replyforall.com, which allows me to raise money for homeless pets by simply adding a signature to my outgoing e-mails. Even more important, it works!

Last year the Petfinder.com Foundation became one of replyforall's non-profit partners. From July to December 2009, 43% of users chose to support animal welfare in their signature, raising $650 for the Foundation.

Guest blogger Rachel McPherson is the founder and executive director of The Good Dog Foundation in New York City and author of the new book Every Dog Has a Gift.

People frequently ask me how their dog can become a therapy dog. There is a common misconception that therapy dogs need to be a certain breed, or raised to be therapy dogs from a very young age. On the contrary, therapy dogs come in all breeds and sizes!

A therapy dog can provide healing to his or her companion or family, as well as hundreds of other people in a therapeutic setting - whether a hospital, a school or a retirement home. The remarkable work of therapy dogs (as well as service dogs and household pets) inspired me to write Every Dog Has a Gift. Likewise, I hope that readers will be inspired by the amazing stories in this book to do some good work with their own companion dog!

If you're interested in getting your dog certified, here are some tips to get you started:

• Find a reputable therapy-dog organization. If you're located on the East coast, visit TheGoodDogFoundation.org. If not, find an animal-assisted therapy organization in your state that offers a training program. There are a number of organizations mentioned in the book, and many can be found online as well.
  

WomansDay.com recently asked Petfinder co-founder Betsy Saul for advice on adopting the perfect pet. We liked the resulting article so much, we're sharing a few of our favorite tips (read the original story here):

1. Get to know your shelter. "Check out the policies, fees and attitude of the place you're going to before you make a commitment -- because sometimes, it's almost like you're adopting the shelter, too," Betsy says.
   
   
2. Consider an older pet. "They've seen a lot, and when you spring them from a shelter, they love you because you're the person who got them out of there. And they're often already house-trained," says Betsy.

Dr. Lauren Brickman writes a pet health and care column for Petside.com. Read all the Q&As she's shared with Petfinder here.

Q: My dog and cat like to wrestle and bite each other. I know they are just playing, but is it safe or should I stop them?

A: It is okay to let your dog and cat play with one another, but it is important to make sure that their play does not get too aggressive.

Cats who have long claws can cause a lot of damage to your dog. Not only can long nails cut your dog's skin, but they can cause serious damage to his eyes. Scratches to the eye are considered emergencies and require immediate medical attention.

Dr. Lauren Brickman writes a pet health and care column for Petside.com. Read all the Q&As she's shared with Petfinder here.

Q: Why is my dog so afraid of thunder and how can I make him less scared?

A: Many dogs are afraid of thunder simply because they do not understand what it is. Dogs hear this loud noise and perceive it as something threatening.

Some dogs try to go under tables, in bathtubs, or in any other places that make them feel secure. It is ok to allow them to do this.

It is important, however, not to try to soothe your pet too much. Doing so can actually encourage his fear if he senses any insecurity in your voice.

People who rescue pets often say the pet rescued them in return. But sometimes that's literally true!

The Humane Society of the United States' Dogs of Valor awards honor heroic dogs who really did save humans' lives. (Read HSUS president Wayne Pacelle's blog post about the awards.)

Here are just a few of the finalists:

• Calamity Jane of Aledo, TX, charged a neighbor's yard and scared off armed robbers.


• Jackson of Rahway, NJ, alerted his owner that a 90-year-old neighbor was trapped under a fallen door.


• Prozac of Sanford, NC, not only saved a member of the family when they couldn't breathe, but awoke everyone two months later when the house was on fire.

So head over to the HSUS, read these amazing stories and place your vote for your favorite Dog of Valor. Then come back and find your own heroic canine among the 156,841 adoptable dogs on Petfinder.

Who will you vote for? Here's a hint at my vote -- we Janes have to stick together.

Our new FurKeeps section includes a link to The Shelter Pet Project's Pet Personals, a quiz that matches users with Petfinder pets who suit their lifestyle.

Just for fun, I took the quiz to see what everyone at Petfinder has been raving about. When asked whether I was interested in a dog or cat, I chose dog, entered my Zip code and then answered the questions about my life and what I was looking for in a pet.