Petfinder Blog

This year, four U.S. shelters were able to enlist licensed dog trainers to train their dogs to impress potential adopters, thanks to Train to Adopt grants from The Petfinder.com Foundation and support from The Animal Rescue Site.

Train to Adopt provides shelter dogs with training to increase their chances of being adopted -- and so far, many of the "students" are getting adopted! Meet North Carolina Train to Adopt dogs in this video.

Help us Train Even More Shelter Dogs!
Now, with your help, we can win $50,000 to expand this great program and train even more shelter dogs!

Throughout July, you can vote once a day for the Petfinder.com Foundation's idea, "Train Shelter Dogs and Provide a Better Quality of Life," in the Pepsi Refresh Project.

With $50,000, we can provide training to shelter dogs that will not only teach them impressive tricks, it will provide them with mental stimulation while they await their forever homes. Please vote today!

BISSELL Homecare, Inc., has launched an online fundraising campaign to help homeless pets. And you can help!

For each new person who clicks to "like" BISSELL's Facebook page, the company will donate 50 cents to The Petfinder.com Foundation toward a goal of donating $50,000 in 2011.

If you're already a BISSELL fan and want to help, share this short video with your friends and family and encourage them to participate! It will only take a minute of your time, and it will go a long way to help homeless pets.



BISSELL is a longtime sponsor of Petfinder.com, and we at the Petfinder.com Foundation are so excited to have their support in 2011. Help BISSELL support the Petfinder.com Foundation and aid shelters, rescue groups and homeless pets across America. Visit BISSELL's Facebook page today and start spreading the word!

BISSELL Homecare, Inc recently joined the Petfinder.com Foundation and crew in Kentucky for the Rescue U trip to the Rowan County Animal Shelter and the Menifee County Animal Shelter.

Emily Valentine, a BISSELL senior account representative, worked with the Rescue U students and volunteers to build new raised dog beds and meet with 15 area shelter and rescue groups for our education day. This educational seminar focused on issues affecting adoption and gave local shelters and rescue groups a chance to ask questions and brainstorm new ways to help homeless pets.

BISSELL also raffled off several products from its pet product line and invited all attendees to participate in its Partners for Pets program, which supports qualifying animal shelters and rescue groups in the United States.

This trip was made possible by support from our sponsors BISSELL Homecare and The Animal Rescue Site. The Animal Rescue Site has been a longtime supporter of the Petfinder.com Foundation and previously sponsored our January trip to South Carolina. See a video of this trip.

As a result of the Kentucky trip, 65 dogs were transported from overpopulated shelters to shelters and rescue groups in the Northeast, where they are now awaiting their forever homes!

Support Rescue U and the Petfinder.com Foundation:

To show your support for homeless pets and to support programs like Rescue U, text 4PETS and your email address to 20222 to donate $10 to the Petfinder.com Foundation, or visit Petfinder.com Foundation.

In 2010, the Petfinder.com Foundation awarded over $4.2 million worth of grants to over 1,500 shelters and rescue groups to help homeless pets.

This Father's Day, make a donation to the Petfinder.com Foundation in honor and celebration of your dad, grandpa, brother or husband and support our efforts to help thousands of homeless pets this year. Donate $25 or more and we will send your loved one a special Petfinder.com Foundation baseball cap!*

Give a Gift of Celebration

Honor that special man in you're life this Father's Day with a "Gift of Celebration" and help dogs like Dunstan (pictured). You're gift can make a difference in the life of a homeless pet! And you can feel good knowing that 95% of your dollar goes to programs that help homeless pets.

*Donate $25+ by June 13 to ensure delivery by Father's Day.

I spent four days at Rowan County Animal Shelter in Morehead, KY, on the Petfinder.com Foundation Rescue U trip last week.

When I arrived, it was clear that the shelter was in need of repair. I am amazed at how the students got to work, diligently fixing the roof, painting and cleaning the kennels, making dog beds and much more. The students' dedication is impressive.

The dogs happily watched as the students worked around them, getting occasional pets and hugs along the way. One student fell in love with a puppy and will be taking her home.

I fell in love with a skinny, sweet Beagle who bravely let me pick ticks off his ears. Eventually, he ate out of my hands and his tail started to wag slowly. He was picked up off the street with another dog whose parents claimed him over the weekend.

As for my "Hound," Rescue U is transporting him to a foster home with the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation in Arlington, VA, until he finds his forever home -- which I can promise you he fully deserves and will thrive in. (Check out this video of him and his buddy at the shelter.)


Stay tuned; soon we'll show you the results of the shelter renovation!

This trip was made possible by BISSELL, Inc. and The Animal Rescue Site.

To show your support for homeless pets, text 4PETS and your email address to 20222 to donate $10 to the Petfinder.com Foundation, or visit Petfinder.com Foundation.

Nora was a bait dog used for dog fighting. She came into a Chester, S.C., shelter all ripped up, just skin and bones. Chester County Animal Control staff nursed her back to health. See a video of Nora in January.

Thanks to the Petfinder.com Foundation and The Animal Rescue Site's sponsorship of a Rescue University Trip, Nora (now named Luna) has found her forever home!

Read more about the Rescue U. trip and check out video blog posts by volunteers.

The Petfinder.com Foundation helps thousands of homeless pets like Nora every year. You can help! Send a special gift this year for Mother's Day: Give a gift of love to homeless pets. Honor your mom, grandma, sister, wife or friend by supporting the Petfinder.com Foundation. Make a donation of $25 or more and we will send her a special letter notifying her of your donation. (Donations must be received by May 2 to ensure delivery by Mother's Day.)

BISSELL, a longtime advocate of pet adoption and Petfinder, will continue to support the pet community in 2011 through a series of grants worth a total of $50,000 to the Petfinder.com Foundation.

"We are so pleased to continue BISSELL's long history of supporting pet causes by joining forces with the Petfinder.com Foundation this year," said Rich Sorota, senior vice president and general manager of global marketing and sales for BISSELL. "As a company, we are passionate about supporting the pet community, and this expansion of our
10-year relationship with Petfinder.com will allow us to educate even more Americans about one of the major barriers to adoption: cleaning up after pets."

BISSELL's research shows that almost two in five Americans -- 38% of those surveyed -- would add a pet to their home if cleaning up after him or her were an easy job.

This Valentine's Day, HomeAgain, the company that provides the best chance for your lost pet to come back home to you through its microchip registration and pet recovery system, is supporting the Petfinder.com Foundation in its effort to help homeless animals.

HomeAgain will donate $0.25 to the Petfinder.com Foundation through Valentine's Day for every user who chooses a HomeAgain Heart from the PetRescuers fan page. You can choose among four themed hearts.

It only takes a minute to help donate $0.25 and promote a service that reunites lost pets with their loved ones.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Is your special someone a pet lover? Be creative this Valentine's Day by donating to the Petfinder.com Foundation in his or her honor.

Your loved one will receive a special letter notifying him or her of your donation -- just click "make this a gift" at checkout. (Donations must be received by Feb. 8 to ensure delivery of the letter by Valentine's Day.)

Your donation will help spread the love to pets who will spend the holiday waiting for their own special someone to bring them home.

The Petfinder.com Foundation helps thousands of homeless pets every year. In 2010 we vaccinated 117,485 dogs against bordetella (kennel cough), helped to spay or neuter 2,450 animals and provided 277,777 cats access to Hide, Perch & Go Boxes.

Your donation will help us continue to keep animals healthy and adoptable in 2011.

Donate in honor of someone special today.

Santa made a visit to five shelters this holiday season, thanks to Blue Sky Beverage Company, maker of all-natural sodas and energy drinks.

These Petfinder.com members each received $1,000 grants from Blue Sky and the Petfinder.com Foundation:

• Seattle Animal Shelter
  
• Marley's Pit Stop Rescue, L.A.
  
• Southeast Area Animal Control Authority, Downey, CA
  
• City of Fort Worth Chuck Silcox Animal Care and Control Division
  
• Town Lake Animal Center, Austin, TX
  

Find out how you can help Blue Sky give even more money to shelters after the jump.