The Strays That Stayed

Oh I love reading everyone's stories! I hope you'll also post them in our Happy Tail database at Petfinder so we can read and re-read them!

Thank you all for such kind words. Petfinder is evidence of all of the good in the world just waiting to be ... well... unleashed... if given the opportunity. The proof is the hearts and minds of all the adopters, those determined to adopt, the foster parents, and the shelter workers and volunteers.

Anyone who helps make pets part of the family is my hero!

We have had two wonderful experiences of adopting shelter dogs through Petfinder.com and couldn't be happier. Just wanted to post a comment for Damsel in Distress. It is not Petfinder that says you must have a fenced yard or not be a renter. Actually, that is set by each shelter or rescue group. Each site that has animals up for adoption gives each of their rules and stipulations. We couldn't adopt a particular dog through an Illinois rescue group because we don't have a fenced yard. But we kept looking and checking each dog's adoption policies. We finally found our two dogs that we believe God was saving just for us! Maybe you can't adopt that one particular dog you were looking at but keep looking through the sites-you will find one that is supposed to be yours and won't require the fenced yard. 3-4 walks a day? Your dog's must be in heaven!!! Good luck and God bless you on your adventure to finding another furry friend!

PetFinder is a wonderful resource that has helped many people. What it is not is a rescue police force. It does not set policies for individual shelters; it does not set rules for adoption. Think of it like a shopping site. Would you stop using Google Product search if it told you the local shoe store had pumps you wanted - and when you got there the clerk was rude or the store had a cash only policy? No, you would still use the search engine and simply avoid the store you didn't like. With PetFinder you search shelters & rescues. Some will fit your needs, some will not.

Having said that - PetFinder is wonderful. They put me in contact with a resuce group in need of foster homes. We have a "foster" dog - she will never be officially adopted but has a forever home with us. We also adopted another dog from PetFinder as well as 2 baby bunnies.

My contacts with PetFinder have taught me a great deal about pet nutrition, helped the health & well being of my pets, helped with my mental stress when dealing with animals with "issues", and introduced me to a whole group of people I can relate to. Betsy is our hero - without her we would never have found our dogs, the bunnies, or met the woman who introduced us to out cat.

I know this is a site to be positive, so maybe my post will make positive changes at PetFinder. Because of personal experience with PetFinder I have to tell you how it's not as great as the article portrays it. I tried getting a dog from them and because I don't have a fenced-in yard I could not. I am at home 24/7 because of a disability. However I walk my dogs 3 to 4 times a day -- every day --without fail. I spent thousands of dollars on my last dog for chemo and advanced vet care in his last year of life.
I had a whole team for him: a traditional vet, an oncologist, a chemo team at an advanced pet hospital and a holistic vet.
I am the perfect pet owner.
I am with my furbabies all the time and my focus is on their health and well-being.
I am devoted completely to my furbabies.
PetFinder sounds good, but in reality it is a very flawed system, with too restrictive of rules like refusing a dog unless you have a fenced in yard and also you can't have a dog if you rent a house - EVEN when it is perfectly acceptable to have a dog in that house, where there have been other dogs.
I have rented for over 30 years and I shouldn't be denied a dog because of it.
Their policies are preventing MANY dogs from being adopted, which leads people to buy puppy mill dogs at pet stores, instead. It perpetuates the puppy mill incentive. If you have the money you can skip PetFinder's overly restrictive rules to get a pet, but they are puppy mill dogs.
I know from talking to people about this problem.
Another friend has had the same experience. PetFinder is preventing many dogs from getting adopted by their broad brush restrictions.
The bottom line is that people like me who have a steady income for life and who are home all the time and who follow Cesar Milan's advice to walk their dogs instead of just letting them out, are not being allowed to adopt dogs that would have a perfect home.
Also it was PetFinder who took away Ellen's dog that she had given to her assistant's daughter and made Ellen and the little girl cry on national TV.

Thank you from the bottomof my heart! I found our dog., Kelly, on petfinders. I fell in love with her little black and white puppy face at first sight. She has been our "little girl" for over six years. She has given us SO much joy! I call her "my little sunshine". I can't imagine life without her and thank God for such a blessing. Now, I can also thank you for creating petfinders!

I was thrilled when I saw this story in Guideposts. We found out about Petfinders last fall when we were looking for a puppy. I was able to search different breeds of dogs that my son was interested in but the dogs just looked like dogs. Then I did a search for a Cockapoo & up came the page of pictures & the first one just hit me. I went to the shelters webpage & saw a bigger picure & knew this was the dog for us. It was the spitting image of our old dog who died 14 years earlier. I just couldn't believe that there was a dog who looked just like her. Thank you for starting Petfinder.com. I will use it again if I am every looking for a pet.

Thank you so much for starting Petfinder. We adopted our angel "Scout" on April 1, 2009. Like you,we fell in love with his picture. We were not looking for a second dog but he has proved to be a gift from God!

I am one of the rescuers who show pets in need of homes on Petfinder. More than half my adoptions come from the Petfinder listing, and as some one who isn't all that great on the computer I must add that the site is so user-friendly that even I have no trouble with it!
If you're in New York City and want to see the cats currently available in my home-based shelter, just go to Petfinder, ask for cats and type in the zip code 11226. It's that simple!
I'm Barbara the Cat Lady.

Thank you so much for following through on your inspiration. You have saved countless numbers of animals over the years and we thank you. We went from mutts to AKC and now live with dogs we have rescued and they are all special in their own way. The latest -2- that we adopted and brought home were located through Petfinders in California. Thank you for not only creating Petfinds, making it user friendly and your continued commitment to helping needy animals.

Thank you so much for this article. I can't tell you how strange it is that I received it today. My husband and I lost our kitty, Roxy, in April at the ripe old age of 18 to kidney failure. We lost our other kitty, Simon, a year prior, also to kidney failure. We battled these kidney problems (CRF) for over 3 years and our hearts were just broken into pieces when we lost them. You see, we don't have children, so our cats are our kids. It's been over 3 months now that we have been petless and the urge to adopt has recently taken over me. My husband has been hesitant, but we recently fell in love with a little Siamese who had been abandoned at my vet's office. Long story made brief, we found out TODAY that she will be ready for adoption next week!!!! She will be ours! So when I saw this article just now, the tears were flowing, but I feel it's a sign from my furry angels in Heaven that they approve of this new addition to our family! THANK YOU!!!

Terri and Mark in Florida, along with the Angels Simon and Roxy

Petfinder is the most amazing organization there is! We have found animal rescue groups there, through which we have adopted two of our beautiful cats. I cannot begin to express my appreciation and admiration for this wonderful group. Thank you for caring about the animals!!!

PetFinder.com is the greatest site in the world. We have adopted one baby from there, and we are off to adopt another this weekend - she is a puppy mill survivor, we are driving about 500 miles to get her, and we absolutely can't wait. GOD BLESS YOU for this wonderful portal to heaven's angels in need. We can't thank you enough for making this site available to the world, we tell everyone to use it!

THANK YOU Betsy. We found our girl Ashlyn through Petfinder, from a rescue not far from here that we had never heard of. God bless! Keep up the great work!
http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=11377775
http://www.dogster.com/dogs/894550