Results tagged “shelters” from Petfinder Blog

On Aug. 12, Petfinder and shelters and rescue groups across the country celebrated Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Day, a day we designated to give all those pets who are often overlooked a chance to shine.

Here are just a few ways adoption groups put their extra-special pets in the spotlight -- and found new homes for some of them as well:

Three New Jersey rescue groups, Friends of Homeless Animals in Hawthorne, Here Kitty Kitty! in Paterson and Angels of Animals in Clifton teamed up to do a joint ALAP Day adoption weekend at the PETCO in Clifton. Senior cat Izzy, who'd been waiting for her forever home for way too long, found that home thanks to ALAP Day!

Our friends at The Grey Muzzle Organization, which helps at-risk senior dogs by providing funding and resources to animal shelters, rescue groups, sanctuaries and other non-profits nationwide, added our senior-pet search widget to their Web site, GreyMuzzle.org.

Washington's Seattle Animal Shelter got the story of Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Day out to local media and bloggers. As a result, five "less adoptable" pets found new homes, including two Pit Bulls with special needs!

Editor's note: Greg Kincaid's first novel, A Dog Named Christmas, hit shelves on Tuesday. The book tells the story of a special young man who inspires his entire town to take in dogs from the local shelter.

Greg lives on a farm in East Kansas with his wife, Michale Ann. He and his family had always taken in stray dogs who "found them," but after writing the book, Greg was inspired to adopt from a shelter. He will be blogging here each week about his search (on Petfinder, of course!) for the perfect dog.

This fall, Christmas came early. On my wish list was launching my new book, A Dog Named Christmas, finding a good truck and, finally, settling on the perfect dog to go into it.  

In October, I finally found the right truck. It's a real  beauty -- a 1982 Ford  F-250 with only 80,000 miles. The search took me several months, but the book was worse: That was about nine years from start to finish. The effort that went into the truck and book were significant, but picking the right dog ... I had no idea! It was quite a journey, but I can't remember when I've had more fun.

To research A Dog Named Christmas, I had the privilege of visiting shelters and meeting some of the most amazing people -- many of whom have made it their life's task to care for creatures who want nothing more than a home, a place where they belong. Before I wrote this book, I had never been inside a shelter. In my mind, it would have been too painful. Like most of us, it was easier to pretend that the problem didn't exist and, even if it did, it wasn't really my problem. Frankly, like some of the characters in my book, I was carrying around a flawed perspective.

I learned something important in my visits.

I have been lucky enough to have the pleasure of visiting Tabby's Place in Ringoes, NJ, in person a few times. Therefore, I can attest to the sheer beauty of it -- both in aesthetics as well as its mission. Tabby's Place opened its doors in October 2003 and is able to care for almost 100 cats.

These aren't just any felines -- they are all senior or special-needs cats. Ranging in age from 1-19 years old and having special needs from FIV to cancer, the cats get the best possible care while being housed at Tabby's Place.

According to their Web site, they provide communal living environments for cats, with plenty of horizontal and vertical space for exercise and play as well as outdoor enclosures for cats to enjoy fresh air and sunlight.

In its new cover story, "21 Ways to Serve America," TIME magazine has one suggestion we're all for: fostering a pet!

The magazine notes that, with 1.2 million homes in foreclosure, pets, just like people, are being displaced in record numbers. What you can do:

Sign up to house and care for a pet until its owner finds a residence or the animal is adopted. Use Petfinder.com to find local groups like PetConnect Rescue, which places dogs and cats in foster care.
(Read the article.)

Many thanks to TIME for driving home an important message: Even if you can't adopt, fostering is one of the best things you can do to help homeless pets.

By fostering, you'll help keep pets out of shelters and, if the pet can't go back to her original owner, you'll make her more adoptable by sparing her the stress of living in a shelter and serving as her personal advocate to adopters.

You can sign up to foster through our volunteer database, or find a shelter or rescue group near you using Petfinder. Give them a call -- responsible fosters are always in demand!

South Texas residents, beware! Here comes Hurricane Ike. Currently a Category 2 Hurricane, Ike is predicted to make landfall on the U.S. mainland on Saturday, September 13, possibly as a Category 3 hurricane.

Texas Gulf coast residents are already being warned to prepare for disaster and plans have been put in place for evacuations and emergency shelters.

The Environmental News Service reports:

Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is making hurricane housing resources for communities available on the agency's website. The department will contact community action agencies in the projected path of the storm and advise them that they may be called upon to serve more people.

Texas Animal Health Commission is coordinating with its member agencies and encouraging residents to call 2-1-1 for the latest shelter information for pets and livestock.

The Emergency Management Council and State Operations Center are fully activated. The State Operations Center is closely monitoring Hurricane Ike, and holding twice daily conference calls with federal, state and local officials, private industry partners, volunteer organizations, and the National Weather Service.

Petfinder reminds residents in the storm's path of some of the important steps to take to prepare your pets for emergencies. Find disaster preparation tips after the jump.

I can't get over this adorable picture of Rex, a 9-year-old staffie up for adoption at Picasso Veterinary Fund in New York City. He looks just like my 8-year-old pit, Champ -- and I might steal the idea for this Harry Potter outfit when Halloween rolls around! (He just needs a little lightning bolt on his forehead.)

According to his bio, Rex is "very mushy, sensitive and shy." I love this line: "He loves to drink water out of the bathroom sink, but only when allowed to." What a good boy! To adopt Rex, contact Picasso Veterinary Fund at 917-449-2448.

I love this pic of Jade, a 9-month-old Rottweiler currently residing at the Manhattan branch of Animal Care & Control of New York City. The volunteer who took this photo noted that Jade, who lost her home when her owner died, is playful, loving, housetrained -- and relishes a great shiatsu massage.

Doesn't her face just say, "Ohhhhhhh yeah"? Happy Friday!

(PS -- Want to adopt Jade? Call the AC&C at 212-788-4000 and ask about dog #A775572 -- or stop by and check out ALL the adorable dogs there waiting for homes.)

If you watched Live with Regis and Kelly or read USA Today yesterday, you probably saw the story about the 44 lb. cat rescued by the Camden County Animal Shelter in New Jersey.

The cat, 2 lbs. shy of the world record, was dubbed Princess Chunk until it was learned he was a male named Powder, abandoned by his owner when she lost her home to foreclosure.

Shelter director Jennifer Anderch tells the New York Post, "The phones have been ringing off the hook. We've gotten about 800 phone calls already from people inquiring about [him]."

Cute story, and Powder will most likely go to a great home. But that's not all there is to it.

Linda C. Greenberg from Marblehead Animal Shelter in Marblehead, Mass., has written a book called No Fleas on Us about her years as adoption coordinator at the shelter and the many animals she and her colleagues have saved.

Petfinder even gets a mention! Linda tells us, "Petfinder is mentioned in chapter six, titled 'My Favorite Day,' in the segment subtitled 'A Huge Miracle.' The miracle was Petfinder. I can't tell you how positively it changed our shelter for the best."

Check out Linda's book -- and if you live in the Boston area, check out Marblehead's adoptable pets!

Outraged New Yorkers freed seven dogs who'd been left in a sweltering car on Monday; when the dogs' owner returned, she was issued a summons for animal cruelty and the dogs were taken to Animal Care & Control of NYC.

(WABC7 Eyewitness News has the full story, as well as video of the brawl that nearly erupted when the woman returned to her car to find angry neighbors walking and watering her dogs.)

It was unbearably hot on Monday, and it's quite likely the dogs would have died in the car had the neighbors not intervened. But I am not sure the ending to this story is entirely happy. 

One of the most important things a volunteer can do at a shelter is to photograph the pets and write their bios for Petfinder.

At high-intake shelters, a compelling bio and eye-catching photo can literally mean the difference between life and death for a homeless pet.

To that end, photographer Jamie Pflughoeft at Cowbelly Pet Photography in Seattle has posted some excellent tips on her blog. I'm including a sampling but you can read the entire post here.

(PS-This post includes Jamie's photos of Matahari, shown here, and Ebony (who is no longer listed on Petfinder), after the jump, photographed at the Seattle Animal Shelter.

1. Always photograph dogs outside if at all possible. Shoot in shade if it's bright and sunny. Allow them to explore their surroundings for several minutes before diving into your photography. Only start once they have sufficiently explored their immediate area. Keep in mind the disparity between outdoor time and kennel time for these animals. You can't blame them for wanting to explore!

This was made by one of the folks I do rescue transport with. This frame of mind is what keeps so many of us going. Have to warn you, it's a tear jerker, but I am so happy she did this.

I have a transport to do tomorrow and I couldn't be happier that I am involved. Well, I could be -- if no one needed to be pulled from these shelters. But for now, I am happy to help.

The New York Times today ran an article about a topic we've been hearing more and more about lately, both in the news and from our shelter members: the impact of economic hardship on pets.

(The photo at right, from the article, shows a couple from Georgia who lost their home and can't afford to keep two of their three dogs.)

The Times quotes our founder, Betsy:

"Obviously, it's a crisis for local shelters; I worry about what it means for our society," said Betsy Saul, a founder of Petfinder.com, a Web site that showcases animals for adoption at 11,000 sites in the United States.

Ms. Saul recently polled her member organizations to gauge the problem and found that half of her respondents had seen pets turned in because of home foreclosures in the last six months.

Read the rest of the article here.