Hello and Happy Spring,

I’m turning 38 this month. I tell you this not so you’ll send me birthday presents, but because I have an important message relating to the gift I’m giving myself.

When my husband and I started Petfinder.com, Jared was still in medical school and I was finishing graduate school. Petfinder was our “hobby” in the beginning but quickly consumed our lives and the lives of those around us. Consequently, we’ve often neglected personal tasks. Just ask Jared’s barber.

But party hats and licking cake batter off the spoon brings self-reflection and more than ever I’m aware of the train of my existence barreling down the tracks of mortality. There is an important task I can’t afford to put off any longer: planning for our pets so that if something happens to us, someone will take care of them.
 
The planning process begins with finding trusted friends or family that will initially care for our pets and then find permanent homes for them if they cannot keep them. (For our pet family—two dogs, a feral cat, five horses, three goats, a sheep, and three Guinea hens—it will need to be a very good friend indeed.) Then we’ll set up a pet trust and amend our will so there will be no question of our intentions. I’ll use a trust attorney but I know folks who have done this on their own.

It will give me great peace of mind to get this taken care of, and I urge you to join me in making this a personal goal for Spring--even if it isn’t your birthday.

Wearing my party hat all month, I remain


Betsy Saul
Founder and President, Petfinder.com

P.S. Here is a link to information on setting up a pet trust. While you are amending your will to provide for your pets, consider leaving a little something for your local shelter or adoption group. Contact the Petfinder.com Foundation for more information.

Adopt-a-Rescued-Guinea-Pig Celebration!

If you visited our Web site in March, then you know that March is Adopt-a-Rescued-Guinea-Pig Month. Petfinder celebrates all things guinea pig all year long. Ready to let one of these critters squeak his or her way into your heart and home? You can find the perfect piggy among the 1,000+ guinea pigs in need of homes on Petfinder.com.

“I highly recommend adopting rescued guinea pigs. They are amazing pets.”

This little piggy has a happy ending to his story, but it got off to a rocky start. Simon's first owner was a backyard breeder who kept him with dozens of other guinea pigs where he had to fight for food and space. They were turned over to a man who sold the babies to a pet store and kept the adults in aquariums. Eventually, he relinquished them to Amiable Animals, a guinea pig rescue in Salem, New York. They listed them on Petfinder.com.

Bailey Vasileff of Norwich, Connecticut, saw the little fellow's picture and adopted him. Simon, who has been neutered, "is now a happy and healthy boy who enjoys life and his girls," Bailey says. "I have adopted six pigs through Petfinder, and they are the joys of my life." Several of her guinea pigs came from The Critter Connection in Durham, Connecticut.

"I highly recommend adopting rescued guinea pigs. They are amazing pets," she adds.

Enter to Win!
We love to hear about heartwarming pet adoptions. Send us your story. Each month we’ll choose one lucky family to receive a six-month supply of FRONTLINE ® Plus or FRONTLINE Top Spot ® from our sponsor, Merial!

The Fanny Pack that Feeds!

When you need less than a backpack, more than a wallet, and don’t want a purse, this durable nylon fanny pack is the perfect fit with two zippered compartments for your outing must-haves: keys, cash, camera, phone, map, diapers — you name it!

Plus, when you buy a Petfinder.com Fanny Pack, your $10.95 purchase ALSO funds 14 bowls of food for shelter animals through our partner The Animal Rescue Site.