Petfinder Blog

Happy Halloween from Petfinder!

We love seeing Petfinder alumni doing great things. And what's greater than helping other adoptable pets find homes by making a fun video? So kudos to these two naughty Petfinder alumni for doing just that, but no more chocolate, ok guys?

Thank you to Petfinder Facebook fan Gloria Paints Dogs for bringing this fun video to our attention. (For more information about the video visit the Busy Bee Dogs YouTube page.)

Do you know of a video or project that features Petfinder alumni? Tell us!

Melissa McDaniel is a Philadelphia-based animal portrait photographer and founder of the Photo Book Projects. Her book, Deaf Dogs, includes portraits of more than 75 deaf dogs from around the country and is available for purchase at her Web site.

Melissa is giving away a signed copy of her Deaf Dogs book to one lucky Petfinder blog reader. Come back Monday to enter for a chance to win!

Photographing shelter dogs for Petfinder is a great way to volunteer: Good photos can help pets get adopted faster and can also attract more potential adopters to the shelter.

Here are some tips on helping shelter dogs shine in their photo sessions.

1. Don't use a flash. The flash on your camera is what's causing your dogs' eyes to glow blue or white. Instead, photograph your dog outside or in a room with a large window and lots of natural light. Make sure the source of the light (the sun or a window) is behind you and is shining on your subject.


2. Be aware of the background. You want the viewer to focus on the dog, so before you photograph him, look around. Is the background full of clutter (chairs, desks, boxes, cars in the parking lot)? If it is, move your dog to a location where the background is less busy, such as in the grass in front of green bushes, or in front of a solid-colored wall. Brightly colored doors or walls make nice backdrops since they can add great color to your image.

Thanks to everyone who guessed Haley's heritage last week. Most of you agreed that Haley must be some mix of Husky or German Shepherd, Yellow Lab and American Staffordshire Terrier.

The Canine Heritage Breed Test is back and the verdict is quite a surprise.

Find out Haley's results after the jump!

It's official: We're kicking off our new What's That Mutt? feature today, and I'm thrilled it's with a dog so close to my heart.

Haley is a 38-lb., 3-year-old bundle of love whom I often take on long walks and romp in the park and play tug-of-war with. Her dad, Eric, is my longtime friend and has had Haley since she was a puppy.

Haley's parents are mixed-breed dogs who live with a friend of Eric's. "Haley's mom is small, 30-35 lbs., with German Shepherd coloring and blue Husky eyes. My friend thinks she's so small because she might have Border Collie in her. Haley's dad is pretty big, more than 80lbs., and looks like a Yellow Lab/Pit Bull mix," Eric says.

Don't miss the adorable puppy picture of Haley after the jump!

UPDATE: Entries for the What's That Mutt feature are now closed. Please stay tuned to the Petfinder blog for more great features and giveaways to come!

Do people stop you on the street to ask what kind of dog you have? Are even pet professionals puzzled by your pooch?

We want you!

Our generous partner, Canine Heritage Breed Test, has donated a number of tests to the Petfinder blog, and we will soon resume our popular "What's That Mutt?" features.

Even better: one lucky reader's dog will be selected to receive a free Canine Heritage Breed Test and get featured on the Petfinder blog.

Find out how to enter your dog after the jump.

People's pets dressed up in holiday garb always makes me laugh. So this year I put some antlers on my dog and snapped his picture.

But making my friends chuckle isn't my only good deed this season, thanks to a little help from the new Petfinder.com Foundation Photo Store.

This year you can personalize holiday gifts while helping homeless pets at the same time.

The Petfinder.com Foundation's Photo Store offers pet lovers top quality digital photofinishing, personalized photo gifts, customized special occasion cards and more.

Best of all, a large portion of the proceeds goes straight to the Petfinder.com Foundation to help even more homeless pets this holiday season!

Check it out, make your own personal holiday gifts, and include your mutt's mugshot -- your friends and family are sure to love them.

You can bet that this year both Luckie and Scarlett, my adopted dogs, will be doing a lot more then just smiling for my family and friends -- they will be giving back to homeless pets with help from the Petfinder.com Foundation Photo Store!

Have you ever wondered what it would look like if dogs ruled the world? What if they selected their forever families at shelters?

Members of the band You Scream I Scream teamed up with Petfinder member shelter the MSPCA Adoption Center -- Nantucket in Nantucket, MA, to find out ... with hilarious results.

We're celebrating Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat Month by partnering with LOLcats site Icanhascheezburger.com to bring adoptable cats to a whole new audience.

If you check out any adoptable cat on Petfinder, you will see a button under his or her photo that says ADD TO ICANHASCHEEZBURGER.COM.

When you click, you have the chance to write a creative LOL-worthy caption. You know the pictures ... the ones that when you look at them, you can't help but put words in the cat's mouth?! Well, here's your chance.

Once you submit a captioned adoptable kitteh (that is LOL-speak for cat!), she will go into the gallery and Icanhascheezburger visitors will vote on their favorites.

The top vote-getters make it to the home page with a link back to the cat's Petfinder profile. It's fun -- and it will also, we hope, get more people to check out the adorable, adoptable cats on Petfinder.

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!

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.

My dog Champ didn't actually participate in my wedding, but we did put a little plastic toy pit bull that looked just like him on our cake with the bride and groom figurine.

But we want to know: Was your dog (or other pet) in your wedding? Or are you planning a wedding and planning to include your pet? Send your story and pics to me at "blog (at) petfinder.com" -- or post them in the comments here. (Here's how to post a photo in the comments.)

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!

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!

Last week we asked you to send us your ugly pet sweater pics. The results were even cuter than we could have expected! Here are some samples.

Lori Renner writes: "Thank goodness Kasey doesn't fit in this anymore!" (We think Kasey looks adorable!)












Angela M. Shatzer of Carolina Poodle Rescue in Spartanburg, SC, writes: "Here is one of our Chinese Crested dogs at our shelter. She's so sweet. One of our kennel workers call her 'Hot Momma.' She loves to hug her leg all day long."







Megan Goetz writes: "Mrs. Murphy is ready for the holidays! Cheers!"











Amanda Tredway writes: "This is Landon, a Yorkie mix. He is currently up for adoption through PPAWSS, Promoting Pet Adoptions and Welfare in Sulphur Springs (Texas). Thanks, I hope you enjoy!"


See even more adorable pups in ugly sweaters after the jump!

As the holidays approach, you may remember the decorative, ornate holiday sweaters that were so popular in the '80s and '90s. Some of you might even pull yours out as Thanksgiving rolls around -- hey, what better way to get into the festive mood?

However, all of us in the pet-loving community know the only thing better than a not-so-fashionable holiday sweater is an ugly pet sweater. So send us yours!

Whether it belongs to you or your pet, post it here in the comments section (here's how) or e-mail it to us at blog (at) petfinder.com by Nov. 23 to share a couple of laughs.

And here's the best part: One ugly pet sweater will be made into a holiday e-card!

Thought you might enjoy this pic of "Cerberus" from last year's Tompkins Square Park Halloween Dog Parade. Everyone have a safe and fun night!

(Photo by Aaron Edwards)

A while back I posted some photos of cool animal-rescue tattoos and asked you to send in yours. Well here are the results!

Kelly writes:

"I saw the pictures of people's rescue tattoos and definitely thought my friend Lisa from Athens, GA, should be added to the list. She is extremely dedicated to animal welfare and takes her rescue efforts very seriously -- especially the spay and neuter part, as the photo shows! Thanks for letting me share and remember to always SPAY and NEUTER!"



From Kay:

"Here's my contribution. It's my dog's actual pawprint. I took an ink pad and got his pawprint. I had the guy tattoo everything that came out on the piece of paper, even where his fur had smudged the ink.

"The pawprint is of my 11-year-old dog, Simba. I've had him since I was 10 years old. He's the whole reason I got into rescue and I love dogs so much. He's taught me so much and he'll forever be a part of me, not only on my skin, but in my heart. Now I share my heart with three other rescued dogs and it's all thanks to him."

More pics after the jump!

My friend Sandi has made her dedication to pit bulls and animal rescue permanent -- check out this pic of her new tattoo.

Sandi has devoted her life to animal welfare: She works at NYC's Bideawee shelter and, like me, volunteers at Animal Care & Control of NYC (she also runs a MySpace page for AC&C pets) -- and now she's got the ink to prove it.

Seems like there's a link between caring about animals and getting inked -- maybe because one you've realized how much homeless pets need your help, you're changed for life anyway (check out the guys from NYC's Rescue Ink and Atlanta pit bull rescuer Brandon Bond for a few examples).

A rescue-themed tattoo by Dogs Deserve Better founder Tammy Grimes is after the jump.

Got a great animal tattoo? Send it to me at "blog (at) petfinder.com" and I'll post it here!