IN THIS ISSUE Note from Our Founder Happy Tail Treats, Tips & Tidbits Sponsor Spotlight Shop Foundation News

Note from Our Founder Dear Friends, The world is magical during the holidays, and for me, pets are part of that magic. Their gift of unconditional love is wonderful, but for years, giving pets as gifts was controversial. There are ways to do it right. One option is to give a Pet Promise Certificate. Let your loved one feel the magic of finding that special someone. Make sure the pet comes from a shelter or rescue, not a puppy mill or pet store. Let's get all the homeless pets Home for the Holidays. Be healthy, Betsy Co-founder Petfinder.com Read Betsy's scandalous confession of her vision of the perfect Christmas.

Happy Tail: Santa's Helper From Bertha H. of Plainfield, CT: I adopted Zeus when he was eight months old. He was a scared, large and powerful pup that was in need of a lot of love and basic training. I injured my back eight months later and found that with Zeus and my cane I didn't lose my balance and fall. I spoke with a puppy trainer, and she suggested that Zeus take the Canine Good Citizen test. Zeus earned the right to be called "Service Dog" and have full access to all places. Shopping use to be a painful annoyance, but with Zeus at my side, life became a lot more fun. ... continued Zeus was adopted from Mansfield Animal Control in Connecticut.

Read more Happy Tails Do You Have a Happy Tail? Send us your Petfinder pet's happy ending story. It will be entered in our monthly Happy 'Tail' drawing, and you may win a Man's Best Friend Fun Pack and a baseball cap from our friends at The Animal Rescue Site.

Treats, Tips & Tidbits NOT JUST ANOTHER PAIR OF SLIPPERS If your gift list is looking like last year's, try something fresh. Give a gift to your local shelter or adoption group in honor of your friend or loved one. (Find a group near you.) And if you'd like to help homeless pets on a national level, donate to the Petfinder.com Foundation in honor of someone you care about. Give to the Petfinder.com Foundation by Dec. 17 and your loved one will receive an acknowledgement letter via mail before Christmas Day.

HERE'S WHAT YOU SAID Last month we asked: During the colder winter months, do you and your pet have any special outdoor or indoor activities you do together? Are there any special pet products you use to combat the cold? You told us walking and hiking are #1 for dogs. Jennifer Z. and her cat do more birdwatching in the winter. As for special products: David from New York says his Pit Bull, Champ (pictured), loves his handsome red jacket and booties when it's cold. And Kathy from Connecticut recommends Musher's Secret, a wax application to help protect a dog's feet from snow and ice—which protects from salt and chemicals, too. Thanks so much for responding to our survey. TELL US Was your pet in your wedding? (Or will he be?) Send us your pics and tell us your story. We'll report on your responses in January.

NO HUMBUGS HERE We have our own Christmas Carol cast on Petfinder—and Dickens, too—and they all need homes for the holidays. DICKENS Mount Carroll, IL MARLEY Northbrook, IL TINY TIM Corpus Christi, TX SCROOGE Iron Station, NC CATS 101 Animal Planet is focusing on felines in this follow up to Dogs 101. Premieres Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. ET. Learn more.

This hooded fleece jacket features a Petfinder logo that lets you spread the word about pet adoption. With each Petfinder.com Hooded Fleece Jacket purchased, The Animal Rescue Site will fund 28.0 bowls of food for animals living in sanctuaries and shelters.

Sponsor Spotlight DOGPILE With Dogpile.com, you search the Web and together we'll rescue pets! Dogpile® is on a mission to help pets in need. Now when you search with Dogpile.com, a portion of the revenue generated will be donated to help pets. The goal is to raise $1 million by the end of 2009. PETCO Get your pet's picture taken with Santa! On Dec. 6 and 13, bring your pet to PETCO for a photo with Santa. Five dollars from each photo purchase benefits homeless pets. IAMS Iams sponsors adoptable-pet videos Thanks to Iams, rescue groups can post videos of their adoptable pets on Petfinder — helping visitors get to know the pets better and helping more pets get adopted.

Foundation News LAST CHANCE! HELP YOUR LOCAL SHELTER WIN $$$ Voting for the Animal Rescue Site $100,000 Shelter + Challenge ends Dec. 14, with winning rescue groups getting grants from $1,000 to $25,000. Cast your vote now! MUTTROPOLIS HELPS PETS WHEN YOU SHOP Through Dec. 31, when you use a special coupon code to shop at pet boutique Muttropolis, 2% of sales will go to the Petfinder.com Foundation. You'll also get 10% off your first order. Get the code here.

The Petfinder.com Foundation is a public charity created to assist Petfinder shelters and rescue groups through problem solving, fundraising, and relief in times of stress or disaster. Petfinder provides a searchable database of animals that need homes from over 11,500 animal shelters and adoption agencies across the USA, Canada and Mexico, free ads for lost, found, adoptable and wanted pets, pet-related message boards, a library of pet information, and pet-related content for kids. Since its inception, Petfinder has helped find homes for more than 12 million pets. Privacy Policy Petfinder is part of: Discovery Communications, LLC. One Discovery Place Silver Spring, MD 20910 © 2008 Discovery Communications, LLC.