Pet Adoption

Welcome to our pet adoption mini website. Here you will find information about how you can obtain a pet through pet adoption. Here you will also find a list of resources you can use when seeking the right pet, the most current news about pet adoption, and a chat room about pet adoption and related topics.

Here we also provide an online pet store which consists of a wide selection of pet supplies and books for the pet owner. So if you are thinking about adopting a pet, we invite you to browse our pet store and compare pricing to what you find in your local pet store. We believe that our pricing, even with shipping costs, is overall cheaper than what you find at your local pet store.

Our primary interest is to increase the awareness of the need for pet adoption. If you adopt a dog or cat from your local rescue organization, or shelter, you will be saving that animals life. In the United States, the Humane Society estimates that 3-4 million dogs and cats are euthanized per year due to lack of home. For this reason, if you desire to have a dog or a cat for a pet, you should adopt it, and not buy it from a puppy mill, or even a pet store.

The Internet provides the means by which you can adopt a dog or cat. The most popular websites for pet adoption are as follows:

• Petfinder.com

  Petfinder.com is one of the best tools online if you are seeking to adopt a pet. At last count, Petfinder.com had 256,021
  adoptable pets, from 10,864 adoption groups, in it’s data base.

• 1-800-Save-A-Pet.com

  1-800-Save-A-Pet.com is a non-profit pet adoption charity that helps shelters, humane societies, SPCA’s, and pet rescue groups advertise their homeless pets to adopters for free.

• Pets911

  Pets911 provides information about the adoption, fostering, lost and found, volunteer, shelter/clinic, and health and training of a pet. They also have a searchable database of adoptable pets. PETS 911 consists of not only a Web site, but they also provide a toll-free number, (1-888-PETS-911) that allows everyone to access their important information.

• Next Day Pets

  Next Day Pets has a searchable database of adoptable pets. They are also a source for pet supplies.

• Best Friend Pet Adoption

  Best Friend Pet Adoption (BFPA) is a no-kill animal rescue organization based in central North Carolina. BFPA has no building, office, or shelter. they are an all-foster network committed to helping dogs and cats in need of homes.

Those listed pet adoption organizations above provide a searchable national database for pets that can be adopted. The only pet adoption organization above which provides a more localized search, is BFPA.

Many people wonder why there are so many adoptable pets, and where they come from. One of the biggest misconceptions that potential adopters have is this. Many potential pet owners think that adoptable pets were unruly, non-trainable, and even aggressive animals, and they think that this is why the previous owner wants to get rid of the pet.

This is one of the biggest myths in the arena of pet adoption. Most pets that are up for adoption are not unruly, are trainable, and are not excessively aggressive, and most of the adult pets are already house trained.

One of the biggest advantages to adopting an adult pet, such as an adult dog, is that in most cases the dog is already house trained. This alone is a strong enough reason to adopt a dog. Although puppies are cute, in a short time they will grow into an adult dog, and you still need to properly house train that puppy. For busy people who do not have the patients or the energy to house train a puppy, the only alternative if you want a dog as a pet is to adopt one.

The most important reason to adopt a dog is that you are saving that dog from eventual euthanasia. Even the no-kill policy shelters that exist across the country have limited space, and even though they may not kill any dog or cat that is currently residing within the shelter, when they become crowded, they can not take any more pets, and those pets that do not get into the shelter may eventually be euthanized.

Many organizations across the United States, such as the one mentioned above on our list (BFPA), do not have a physical building, but what exists is a network of foster owners who are willing to take care of the pet until a permanent and suitable owner can be found. These also exist for certain specific popular breeds, and can be found in your local area simply by doing a Google query.

So where do adoptable dogs and cats come from? The following is the most common sources for adoptable cats and dogs.

Pet Adoption - How Adoptable Pets Become Available

• Owner passes away:
  The owner passes away and the immediate family, or friends are unable to care for the pet.
• Change of living situation:
  For example, a person may need to move and the new landlord does not allow for pets, and/or the new roommate does not want pets. A change in financial situation where the owner can no longer afford to care for the pet would also fall within this category.
• Change of mind after purchasing or adopting a pet:
  Many times people buy a pet without to much forethought, and they come to the realization that taking care of a pet takes up to much of their time. They realize that having a pet was not what they expected.
• Pet can not be found:
  Many time pets simply get lost and the owner can not find the pet.
• Change in owners health:
  Owner’s health can change which results in the owner not being able to take care of the pet. An example of this would be where the owner develops a pet allergy.
• Owner change of priorities:
  A pet may reside with a couple and the couple splits up, and neither of them want to care for the pet. Or a couple has a new baby, and they feel that they will not have the time to care for the pet.
• Owner for no apparent reason decides to abandon the pet:
  Some times for no apparent reason, irresponsible owners who do not want to bother with taking a pet to a shelter, will simply leave the pet when at a far distance from home.
• Pet is confiscated from an abusing owner:
  Sometimes abuse will be seen and reported and the pet will be confiscated.
• A pet may become to expensive to treat if it has an illness:
  A owner may not want a pet any more because the pet developed an expensive illness. Remember that an illness will be handled by the shelter that provides adoptable pets, and only those adoptable pets which are determined to be healthy and fit will be put up for adoption.

So as you can see, adoptable pets can come from many sources. Many times pets are returned back to the shelter after being adopted, for various reasons, and this is what the animal shelters are trying to avoid. This is why there is a certain degree of scrutiny that takes place during the application process. The animal shelter wants to be sure that you are suitable for the adoptable pet and that in the future you will not be returning it.

Another interesting phenomenon has been going on recently in the adoptable pet arena. For various reasons, the type of dog which is the hardest to find a home is the big black dog. This is called the “Big Black Dog Syndrome”. In the United States, people have developed negative connotations about big black dogs. Big black dogs are the hardest to adopt, even if the dog is friendly, well trained, and in perfect health. It is also known among store owners that black puppies do not sell as well as light colored puppies.

Why is it that people do not want big black dogs? There may be a few reasons as to why this is so. Big black dogs do not photograph well. A black dog is not the same as a black BMW. Also, black dogs are usually portrayed negatively on TV and the movies. In the movies, black is associated with evil, like Darth Fader in Star Wars. The point is, a big black dog may be the perfect pet for you. The disposition of the dog is more important then the color.

Pet Adoption - Dog and Cat Search Engines

Search on 2.398.533 dog and cat pages from all over the world!
Place the name of the breed you are interested in and click search for more information on that breed.

Search Engine for Doglinks

Search Engine for Catlinks

Find an Animal Shelter in the US for Pet Adoption

Pet Adoption - Conclusion

Here we have provided you with some information that may be used prior to the adoption of a dog or cat. To adopt a dog or cat means you are taking on a responsibility, which should not be taken lightly. The Internet is the best source when seeking a dog or cat for pet adoption. Use the websites listed above, be prepared to give your pet some time, such as a daily walk or room to run if required of the breed, provide periodic grooming as needed, adequate feeding, and in general treat the dog or cat the same way you would want the dog or cat to treat you. If you take full responsibility for the health and well being of the pet you want to adopt, your pet will most likely give back to you many years of enjoyment. Because 3-4 million dogs and cats are euthanized per year, pet adoption is the preferred method for obtaining a pet.