Petfinder.com Marks Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month, with A Look Back At Pet Adoption Over The Years

Silver Spring, MD (October 1, 2009) – As October marks Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month, Petfinder.com looks back on how much the perception of pet adoption has changed over the years – largely thanks to the thousands of members who joined its network.

Betsy Saul, the co-founder of Petfinder.com, can remember more than a decade ago when shelters were tucked away in undesirable areas, rarely seen by the community. As a result, far too many homeless animals were euthanized. In 1996, she and her husband made a New Year’s Resolution to end euthanasia among adoptable pets and launched Petfinder.com with 13 shelters in the New Jersey area. Because many of the groups did not have access to the Internet at that time, the Sauls manually entered the data themselves.

Now, Petfinder.com is not only the largest national online database of adoptable pets, but it is also the No. 1 pet-related site according to Hitwise. With a network of more than 13,000 shelters and rescue groups, Petfinder brings adoptable pets into homes and offices throughout North America. In fact, it has helped facilitate more than 13 million adoptions.

“It’s amazing how far the animal welfare industry has come since those days when shelters and rescue groups received little to no visibility. Now 5.2 million visitors come to Petfinder each month to search for their new family member,” said Betsy Saul, the co-founder of Petfinder.com. “Not only do we have an entire month dedicated to encouraging adoption of homeless dogs, but awareness about this issue has also continued to gain momentum as celebrities and public figures, such as President Obama and Oprah Winfrey, support adoption.”

Relevant to Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month, Petfinder.com also released its first book in January titled “The Adopted Dog Bible,” which is an all-inclusive guide to choosing, training and caring for shelter and rescue dogs. Most recently, Petfinder.com pets are powering the Web Site for the Ad Council’s first ever national campaign on pet adoption.

For more information or to arrange an interview with the co-founder of Petfinder.com, Betsy Saul, please contact Katy Layton at 917-595-3057 or klayton@cooperkatz.com