Last week we asked our Facebook community, "Have you ever considered becoming a trained pet disaster response volunteer?" An overwhelming majority said yes, but didn't know how to sign up. As promised, here's how:

1. First, download the Humane Society of the United States's requirements for National Disaster Animal Response Team (NDART) volunteers. This lists the courses and training required to become an NDART volunteer responder.

Hello! My name is Alison and I am the new summer intern for Petfinder.com. On Friday, June 18, I volunteered with the Petfinder shelter outreach staff at Noah's Ark Animal Welfare Association in Ledgewood, NJ, for "Discover Your Impact Day," a day of volunteerism initiated by Petfinder's parent company, Discovery Communications. The Petfinder team volunteered to help repaint the shelter walls at Noah's Ark.

I walked into Noah's Ark to find the Petfinder team in a small room with eight cages. They were priming the walls and the ceilings of the cat cages. This was my first time meeting the outreach team, and I was automatically greeted with smiling faces and a warm welcome. Within 10 minutes, I was painting in a cage alongside them. We then took a break for lunch and I was able to talk with my new friends.

The Petfinder.com Foundation is committed to working with shelters and rescue groups across the country to help save the lives of homeless pets. Part of this mission is to provide assistance with spay/neuter grants.

Recently, the Petfinder.com Foundation and The Animal Rescue Site awarded New Jersey's Camden County Animal Shelter a $24,000 grant to help with spaying and neutering their adoptable pets.

CCAS handles more than 6,000 pets a year
in one of the poorest communities in the country. Niki Dawson, CCAS's executive director and president of the Animal Welfare Federation of New Jersey, has overcome tremendous obstacles to provide low-cost spay/neuter surgeries for pets belonging to low- or no-income people in her community.

Guest blogger Jill Hammond is the loving mom of Pepper. A few weeks ago she blogged about testing Pepper with the donated Canine Heritage Breed Test with us. Today she shares the results!

How exciting it was when I received Pepper's DNA results in the mail! I couldn't wait to open it to find out what my dog is really all about.

There were no primary breeds listed so I know that Pepper did not come from a purebred parent.

The secondary-breed category stated that she has Keeshond in her (as many of you guessed). This was not a surprise to me. She has the same coloring as a Keeshond and the very thick, fluffy coat that you see all poofed out on a Keeshond.

Here at the Petfinder.com Foundation we just awarded two disaster grants to help two rescues rebuild and recover from natural disasters.

One grant went to the Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley in Howes Cave, NY, which recently suffered major wind damage to its roof. Subsequent rains caused flooding damage inside the shelter, and staffers are still using buckets to catch the water. The water is causing ongoing damage to the building as well as harming the pets who are still living inside. The shelter does not have insurance that will cover this damage.

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: Can I cut my cat's nails with a set of human nail clippers?

A: While it is not dangerous to use a human nail cutter it may cause the nails to split. This can make your job more difficult and may be painful for your cat.

All pet stores carry pet nail clippers. Investing in a good pair can save you a lot of time and money down the road. Be sure to purchase some styptic powder to cauterize the nail in case it is cut too short.

Last Chance Highway follows Mississippi dog rescuer Shelly Bookwalter from Double Dog Rescue South as she gives unwanted dogs across the South a second chance at survival.

We watch Shelly as she pulls dogs out of shelters and off hillsides (literally), vets them and places them in foster homes, posts their profiles on Petfinder and finally, when she's interviewed and approved potential adopters, works with pet transporter Kyle Peterson to have them driven north to their new homes.

In tomorrow's premiere, Shelly spots a Pit Bull mom with a litter of five puppies out near a roadway. She confronts the owner, who is hesitant to part with the neglected dogs.

Our Adoption Options series takes us on exciting trips all around the country, but the conference scheduled on June 6 in Toledo, OH, had a little more "excitement" than we bargained for!

After on-and-off bad weather leading up to day of the event, the brunt of the storms hit during the night of June 5 and lasted well into the morning. Surviving a night of tornado watches and sirens, our crew of speakers rose early Sunday morning to head to the park. The news reported hundreds of downed trees in the exact location where Adoption Options was scheduled to be held, Oak Openings Preserve.

It's the last week of the Whisker Awards! Thousands of people have already voted, but the winner in each category is still anyone's guess. So vote for your favorite adoptable cats today -- then come back every day this week to vote again.

Adoption groups with the winning cats will each receive 20 Hide, Perch & Go boxes
 courtesy of the
 Petfinder.com Foundation 
and a five-tier cat tower
 donated by Kuranda.

Here are the current leaders in each category -- but they're changing by the minute!

On Thursday, May 27, Animal Lifeline's staff and volunteers left West Virginia to head back to Pennsylvania. But their work will have an impact for a long time to come. Just look at this great video about the trip to see how much this small group accomplished.