Jessie is at Oklahoma City Animal Welfare Division.

When we spoke with shelter superintendent Catherine English today, she was operating on just three hours of sleep. As the agency tasked with being the lead local responder to the crisis, the division had called all its staff members to work around the clock.

“We have worked two days now at 24 hours [a day],” English told us.

As of this morning, the agency had already taken in 92 dogs, 13 cats and three horses. “We have a couple of officers down there going through rubble and patrolling the streets looking for strays,” English said.

All incoming animals are checked by a veterinarian and treated for injuries such as lacerations, shock and broken bones. Volunteer groomers were coming in that afternoon to wash the pets, which could reveal more injuries, English said: “We won’t know until we bathe them, whether or not the water runs red, whether they have fiberglass blown into them.”

Under normal circumstances, shelter staff try to achieve a 75 percent live-release rate, English said. They get close to their goal – recently they’ve hovered around a 63 percent live-release rate – because they provide medical interventions that save lives. They have a special Angel Fund set up to pay for expensive surgeries and procedures such as ultrasounds and X-rays, but English expects this crisis will quickly deplete that fund.

Notified of the Petfinder Foundation grant, English said, “That’s amazing! Thank you — I’m thrilled.” The funds, she said, would help ensure that only the most grievously injured pets are euthanized. “We are not going to lower the bar,” she said. “It’s our standard and we’re not going to lower our standard.” --Karen Hollish

The post We’re helping shelters save injured pets in Oklahoma appeared first on Petfinder.

Tucker might succumb to fear biting when approached suddenly by rowdy little kids.

Dogs bite for many reasons. For Tucker, it’s the fear factor. Those scary little girls frightened him. Some dogs have territorial issues, while others might not feel well. I understand this. I sometimes would like to bite someone’s head off when I don’t feel well.

Dogs also bite when they’re playing, and frankly, it’s not a good idea to play tug of war and wrestling games with your pup. What starts as a playful nip could turn into a serious bite, particularly when it involves a child or an elderly person with fragile skin. Even offering a dog a treat with your fingers can be a problem. My dad’s neighbor offered his beloved dog a piece of meat, and lost three fingers. He was a dentist, and his mistake cost him his career. Best to put the food down or use the flat of your hand.

Children are the most common victims of dog bites, followed by senior citizens, according to the American Veterinary Medicine Association (AVMA). Its website also has an excellent list of teaching points for children about dog safety, including not to approach unknown dogs, never to pet a dog without getting permission from the dog’s person and what to do if attacked. Go over them so you can share them with kids you know. You may learn something yourself that might ensure that your own or someone else’s dog doesn’t get into trouble over something that could have been prevented. It’s worth a few minutes of your time.

The post Dog Bite Prevention Week is now appeared first on Petfinder.

Izzy is an adoptable dog in north Texas near the devastation.

Then yesterday, a massive tornado destroyed whole neighborhoods near Oklahoma City. Our shelter outreach team worked to coordinate efforts with neighboring and national organizations to contact our members in the areas of Southern Oklahoma City and Moore, Oklahoma. In addition, the team began keeping a close eye on social media to see the on-the-ground needs.

Phones and electricity are unavailable in much of the affected areas so by working with others and using social media, our team will be better able to help. In addition, they are working with the Petfinder Foundation to better respond to needs and requests. If you are with a shelter or rescue group who needs help after these storms, please email us at pets@petfinder.com so that we can assist you.

There is much devastation and sorrow in Texas and Oklahoma, but the spirit of hope that we’ve seen from news reports and those already working to heal others and themselves amazes us. Jerry Shuttlesworth in Texas, according to CBS news, had lost his mobile home, but said it was a “miracle” that he had been reunited with his dog, Junior. Shuttlesworth had lost his dog in the storm. Friends shared the news about Junior on social media. Junior was found on Friday and taken to a shelter. A worker there called Shuttleworth who had his miracle. What he said to CBS news made my eyes tear up for this man who so clearly loves his dog, “He’s my baby. I don’t care about anything else.”

Another inspiring reunion was unexpectedly captured on film by CBS news in Oklahoma. I encourage you to watch the video, but suggest that you keep some tissues nearby. I love that the reporter and her assistant reach in to help the woman and her dog. I doubt I could have kept my composure nearly as well. Please consider reaching out to help however you can. Our outreach team will continue working to see what we can do. Pets are family and so many shelters now are already in need and yet working hard to help reunite more families.

The post After Texas and Oklahoma tornadoes, there are reunions and helpers appeared first on Petfinder.

Read Diablo’s story in Joyce’s words.

She had adopted Jazzy Kitty from Gastineau Humane Society in Juneau, so through Petfinder, she logged onto its website.  Her first experience with them had been so good, why not try again?

“There he was,” she says. “My pretty Diablo!”

This was another case of love at first sight, which we at Petfinder hear about all the time. “There was just something about him,” she says. “He captured my heart.”

Though skittish when she first brought him home, he has now come out of his shell to emerge as his true self. “Not a day goes by where we don’t amuse each other,” she says. And the hole left in her heart is gradually knitting over.

The post Happy Tail: Adopted cat helps mend a broken heart appeared first on Petfinder.

This adoptable Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd mix in Horn Lake, Mississippi represents two of the breeds mapped.

But what may be of more interest is that the scientists are now able to map and compare the human genome and the dog genome. Turns out we seem to have been evolving in parallel ways. No wonder we get along so well.

Analyzing the study, National Geographic Reporter Jane J. Lee tells us that the scientists did the research by comparing the genomes of three Asian street dogs, four gray wolves and three domesticated breeds: the Belgian Malinois, the German Shepherd and the Tibetan Mastiff. The genes that seem to have been changing most apparently in a parallel fashion were those that deal with diet and behavior and also diseases. Diseases we share include obesity, obsessive-compulsive disorder, epilepsy and some cancers, such as breast cancer, wrote one of the scientists. Seems as if the dogs might have gotten the short end of the stick here.

The authors of the study surmise that “As domestication is often associated with large increases in population density and crowded living conditions, these ‘unfavorable’ environments might be the selective pressure that drove the rewiring of both species,” Lee reports.

There’s more work to be done. There is still controversy over when and where domestication occurred. For more on what researchers are finding out about dogs, read People and Dogs: A Genetic Love Story by Virginia Hughes, keeping in mind, of course, that it’s a developing love story.

My own take on this is that I’m just glad dogs came in from the cold.

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Sit was Toby’s first trick.

Toby knows the commands for sit, high five, jump through a hoop and even bed. He learned those tricks because he was so food motivated he would follow treats and figure out what he needed to do to earn his tasty reward. Sit was his first “trick” and I started teaching it to him mainly because I was learning how to teach tricks to dogs at the shelter and wanted to see if I could teach the same trick to my cat.

After sit, we progressed to “high five” and even jumping through a hoop. Toby seems to enjoy learning the tricks and performing them. He’ll sometimes throw them out in hopes of getting a treat. Just the other day my boyfriend paused to pet Toby. My boyfriend was holding a glass of milk in his other hand and Toby began earnestly high fiving my boyfriend in hopes of getting a sip. He got a tarter-control treat instead.

Teaching Toby tricks has been a lot of fun and I don’t want to stop working with him. I think the next trick I’ll teach Toby is to come when he’s called. I think that the tips in Petfinder’s “Teaching Your Cat to Come When Called” video should help!

Tell us: What “dog” trick would you love to teach a cat?

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Read Carlin’s story in Steve’s words.

Bea was traveling with Steve and his wife, Sara, to Visalia, CA, from San Francisco when they spotted a stray Chihuahua hanging out at a gas station. It took Steve, Sara and Bea to nab him, but they managed. They cleaned him up as best they could, fed him some soft food because he had no teeth and took him to a dog park, but it was obvious that he was sick. They couldn’t take him home because their apartment had a one-dog limit. Instead, they headed to the nearest animal welfare organization to see what was going on with him.

There, they received the devastating news from the vet that he had advanced distemper. He was going to have to be euthanized. He only lasted a few hours after the family met him, but as Steve writes, the six-year-old dog’s life “ended with three things he’d never had before — love, protection, and the dignity of a name.” For Carlin’s full story, read Steve’s Facebook essay.

But there’s more.

“Our time with Carlin, and the subsequent outpouring of support, inspired us to work towards legislation to end puppy mills for good,” Steve writes. “The first step is a petition. Help us reach the goal of 25K signatures and don’t just save one dog — save a million. Sign our petition.”

The third part of the story came when the landlords read Steve’s heartfelt essay and loosened the restriction on number of pets allowed per apartment. The couple adopted Mitch Hedberg, a Chihuahua they named after the late comedian of the same name, from Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, UT. He reminded them of Carlin.

One little stray dog can have an impact. Carlin’s life – and his death — made a difference to one family and will continue to impact other lives. It’s a loving tribute.

The post How a stray Chihuahua made a lasting impact appeared first on Petfinder.

Read Jackson’s story in Judy’s words.

She looked on Petfinder and saw three purebred German Shepherd litter mates listed by 57 House All Breed Rescue in Burns, TN. A breeder who was unable to take care of them because of a family emergency had relinquished them to the rescue group. One pup in particular, Apache, caught Judy’s eye, so she applied to adopt him.

After her references were approved and she signed a contract, she had only to wait until her new little guy arrived on a transport from Tennessee. She picked him up in Parsippany, NJ.

“There, I was handed over a six-pound dark little ball of fluff, who cried all the way home to Long Island,” she says.

That didn’t seem like an auspicious beginning, but he and her older German Shepherd bonded quickly, and he settled in. Judy re-named him Action Jackson because he was full of energy.

“The cats were not overly thrilled,” Judy says, “but once they taught him that it was not okay to be too rambunctious, they accepted him into the family pack.”

In the past, Judy has been a Shepherd breeder and exhibitor. “I have had Shepherds for my entire adult life and have yet to meet a better addition to my family [than Jackson],” she says. “It’s interesting that the Tennessee rescue group he came from has never had another purebred Shepherd puppy; Jackson’s littermates were also adopted very quickly. It seems to have been fate that I encountered Jackson’s story on the Petfinder website.”

Fate often seems to play a hand in finding the perfect pet, making a match seem all the more perfect.

The post Happy Tail: Shepherd pup fits in (almost) seamlessly appeared first on Petfinder.

Nancy is just one of the many pets you can help!

The Petfinder Outreach Team is small but mighty in our support of the more than 13,600 animal shelters and rescue groups posting their adoptable pets on Petfinder. In addition to providing member organizations with the tool to post their pets on the most popular pet website that is Petfinder, our outreach team provides a wide-range of services for members.

To help better showcase these services, and make them quick and easy for members to find, the members’ side of Petfinder, Petfinder Pro, just underwent a makeover.  Petfinder Pro provides professional resources to help members increase their adoptions, resources and knowledge.  Our newly redesigned site better showcases this content, including free upcoming and pre-recorded webinars, tips to take better photos of adoptable pets, a calendar of professional development events on and offline and more.

We’ll be connecting with our members in new ways too, including a blog with posts by Petfinder, experts in the animal welfare and sheltering field and Petfinder members themselves. Our members can now join us on our professional social media sites. Our outreach team will be connecting with members directly through these new channels and we will be encouraging members to connect with each other as well to share new ideas and stories from their organizations.

Visitors and potential adopters looking at pets on Petfinder will see the results of these collaborative efforts in the form of better pet photos while searching and a great adoption experience when you bring your new best friend home. Most organizations are always in need of new volunteers to walk dogs, entertain cats, take photos or help keep their Petfinder pet list up to date. Check out some of our favorite ways to help shelters and rescues. Maybe we’ll post photos of adoptable pets you’ve helped!

The post Petfinder is helping shelters and rescues more than ever before! appeared first on Petfinder.

Here I am with the floaty thing a while later. I’m still intrigued.

I know I don’t always give the female staff member enough credit. She’s pretty dense most of the time but sometimes I see a glimmer of intelligence and proof that she does, actually, pay attention. This morning I got BREAKFAST without even trying!

It was early. I hadn’t even started my wake up maneuvers yet.  I was in the kitchen investigating a strange floaty thing with what seemed to be a face. I chewed on its tail for a bit but that didn’t taste too great so I tried to bat at it a bit but it moved around.

Finally I just meowed at it. Actually, I yeowled at it to see what it would do. It wasn’t doing much so I kept yeowling and yeowling.

Lost in the intensity of the moment, I barely heard the female staff come into the kitchen. “Romeo! What are you doing?” she said, laughing. I stopped yeowling and looked at her. “Wha?”

And then, you know what? She served BREAKFAST! Incredible. I am amazed at her ability to sense something was happening in the kitchen, intuitively understand I was ready for BREAKFAST and then act on it.

Humans never cease to amaze me.

Want more Romeo wake up tactics? Visit my blog for all kinds of ways cats wake up their people!

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