The Petfinder.com Foundation's Sponsor-a-Pet Program:
Your Contribution Could Be a Life Saver
Do you feel that way as you browse the pet lists on Petfinder.com? You're not alone. It's the most common sentiment expressed by the thousands of visitors who email us. The good news is that most of them go on to find the pet of their dreams--that perfect companion--and to provide him or her a "forever home".
But what about the pets left behind--those equally deserving companions who for some reason just weren’t a good lifestyle match?
| “Our visitors have made it clear they want to help. We felt a responsibility to find a way to make it easy for them.” -- Betsy Saul Founder, Petfinder.com, and President, The Petfinder.com Foundation |
We've got good news for them, and you can help. Petfinder.com and the Petfinder.com Foundation are excited to offer a feature that allows you to sponsor a homeless pet that has touched your heart, but whom, for some reason, you can't adopt at this time.
It costs an average of $180 to provide care for a pet while s/he waits for a home. Because it costs less to euthanize pets than it does to care for them, under-funded shelters are often forced to make hard decisions affecting good pets. You can help change this.
You can start by clicking to sponsor a pet that melts your heart on Petfinder.com! Your contribution of just $10 may enable a pet to get cared for until a new loving family comes along. They all deserve this chance! (Not all animal welfare organizations are participating at this time. Look for the Sponsor-a-Pet icon on the Pet Notes pages.)
Contributions are collected and distributed to the animal shelters or rescue organizations by the Petfinder.com Foundation and are tax deductible as the law allows. The participating shelters or rescue groups are notified of the donations received and donor contact information (only if given permission by the donor), so they can monitor which pets are "sponsored" and acknowledge the donation as well. In the event that the pet is no longer available for adoption or receives numerous sponsorships, the animal adoption organization may apply the donations to ongoing needs for the other pets currently in its care.
If you have more time than money, please register in our volunteer database and post your availability to help your local animal adoption organization with fostering, calling, cleaning, or pet socializing. For more ideas on how to help, read Your Local Shelter Wants You! in our library.
If you represent a Petfinder.com shelter or rescue group member that is interested in participating in this special donation program, please contact outreach@petfinder.com to find out more about the application process and criteria for participation.
The Petfinder.com Foundation and Petfinder.com partnership is unique in that it supports the animal adoption organizations and the homeless pets at a local, direct level.
The Sponsor-a-Pet program is a great way to help one or more animals who deserve attention.
There are 704 shelters participating in this program -- and more are being added! Select a state below and follow the links to see their pet lists and this new feature in action. The participants are listed in alphabetical order (*participants in the pilot program).
Thank you for your sponsorship!
