Have you ever been to www.petfinder.com?

Question

or adopted a rescue dog? What were your experiences?

Answer 1

I've been to petfinder many times. I think it is a great site. Heck, you can find anything from dogs to gerbils on petfinder. I've owned and fostered many rescue dogs. Two of my current four dogs are rescued. I've found rescuing and owning rescue dogs to be very rewarding. It's nice to know you've saved a life and made people happy, too.

Answer 2

Yes, not only have I been to the website, but our rescue lists on the site, and I have adopted two dogs from rescues on Petfinder!

I have had nothing but positive experiences with the site. I get to see both "sides" of the site: being on the rescue chair and also as an adopter. Everyone I gave dealt with have been wonderful and are truly there to help the animals there. These people are passionate about finding these animals the perfect homes and I believe they go above and beyond.

I met the woman who started Petfinder last year (she recently sold the site to Animal Planet), she is such a genuine person. She worked hard to ensure the site was exactly what she invisioned.

The average Joe cannot become a member of Petfinder and try to sell their dogs. There is a whole process and plenty of paperwork if a shelter/rescue would like to list their animals in need of a home on Petfinder.

Petfinder is responsible for placing millions of animals that would otherwise go unnoticied and were facing the possibility of euthansia. The beautiful thing is practically everyone now has access to the internet. I believe people are much more apt to browse the shelters/rescues online then to actually go to a shelter in person. Also, many rescues (like the one I work with) do not have an actual location. Our dogs needing adoption are spread out in foster homes. Petfinder gives us the opportunity to display all our dogs in one place.

Good luck with your Petfinder adventure :) My two dogs are the best two decisions I have ever made. I am grateful to Petfinder!

Answer 3

I have been to www.petfinder.com many times and driven many miles to rescue animals that they have.

I've also rescued a good number of animals at the shelter and from abusive homes.

My experiences were always good ones. I have not rescued a dog (since I am more of a dog person, although I have taken in three cats over the last 20 years)....I have not rescued a dog that couldn't or wasn't willing to be trained.

Right now I have a pitbull terrier, pom mix, german shepard/lab mix, a very noisy shelty (lol) and a miniature schnauzer. All of them rescue dogs. All of them abused severely, yet they all get along wonderfully! ((I did have to teach my pitbull to stop herding them all though....but it didn't take long))

As far as I'm concerned, www.petfinder.com is a wonderful site. They screen the potential 'parents' of their animals and do not charge an arm and a leg for the animals...but a small fee to ensure that a person is serious, the animal is well cared for as well as the rest of the animals still in shelters are cared for.

Answer 4

I have indeed has shelter/rescue dogs in my home. The first was an older, smaller dog who was sweet as ever and he spent 4 happy years in my home before he went on to the Rainbow Bridge.

The second was a pup we adopted a couple summers ago. After having him for 5 weeks, he began to show dominance over my 2 young children. Now, this was nothing that could not have been properly addressed, but I didn't know then what I do now about dog behavior. So I didn't feel I was qualified at that time to handle this dog. In general, he was totally fine with small children, just ours were probably viewed as "littermates" and something to establish dominance over. We sent him back to the rescue, and let them know that he would fair better in a home where the children were a little bit older and able to participate in his training, which helps establish a leadership role. My kids were just too young for this. But we sent him back completely housebroken, crate trained and in the beginning phase of basic obedience training. Eventually, this sweet dog was placed in a proper home with older children and does fine these days.

I think the big thing here is that whatever dog you are considering, it is good to research breeds if you do by chance know which ones a dog might be mixed with. Keep in mind that sometimes, you can bring a dog home, like we did, and he might just not be as good a match as you hoped for. This is not often the case, as many rescues are really good about matching rescues to homes, but it can happen.

Sadly, someone above had a bad experience and appears to now lump all rescue and shelter dogs together. The sad thing here is that her cases are rare and tho they can happen, they don't happen that much.

I am 100% supportive of rescuing dogs and I would encourage you to consider this route.

Answer 5

I volunteer for a Doberman rescue that has a site on petfinder. Almost all of our dogs are adopted out thanks to that site.
And 2 of my 3 dogs were adopted off of there. Both have been great experiences. The dog in my avatar is a petfinder alum and has been a wonderful dog. He is sweet and loving and gentle as can be; he may very well be the perfect dog.

Kit Kat - You have obviously had a bad experience, but they are rare. I have worked in rescue for 10 years and we have only had 1 bad experience where the dog had been mistreated but the adopter knew this going into it and was willing to take the chance. We have never been dishonest about any of our dogs. Most rescues are wonderful and would never adopt out an unstable dog. You are generalizing and lumping all shelter/rescue dogs into an unfair category that is quite simply the minority. Most rescue dogs are there due to no fault of their own and end up never causing any trouble at all.

Answer 6

Petfinder is responsible for literally saving the lives of millions of animals. That site makes it possible for a shelter or rescue to advertise their dogs for FREE to the masses without having to have any internet experience whatsoever.

It's a brilliant tool and I think the people that run that site are wonderful for all the good they do!

As for adopting a rescue dog - yes, I have 5 dogs and 3 of my 5 are rescues. I also volunteer with an organization that posts on Petfinder.

As for those who have bad experiences with shelters, it's sad and I'm sorry it happens. I can only hope that they would reconsider posting something that would bash ALL rescues and shelters and cost the lives of innocent animals because of bad experiences. Most organizations work hard to avoid what happened to them.

Answer 7

I love Petfinder! It is the best site to find a rescue dog to adopt. Many of the posts have lots of info on the dogs, so you can find just what you are looking for. I have adopted two dogs from this site, and they are two of the best dogs I have ever had. One was a Katrina dog, and one was a purebred Blue Heeler.
My two foster dogs are listed on this site-our rescue group gets alot of adopters from here, so this is probably the best site for saving lives in the country!

Edit: Kitkat-I would love to know exactly how many experiences you have had with Petfinder becasue I find your claims so very hard to believe-show us some real facts if you want to bash a site that saves thousands of lives every year. And being afraid of rescue and shelter dogs is your issue!

Answer 8

All of my dogs are rescues and I personally wouldn't have anything else.

I have found that it is important not to let your heart rule your head too much (we do try!) and realistically decide what you are able to provide for a dog 1st. in order for it to work.

You may feel sorry for the whirling dervish collie who is going insane in kennels but if you don't like long walks and cant provide the mental stimulus he needs don't get him!

If you aren't a very experienced dog handler / trainer don't go for the dog with difficult behaviour "issues"

etc. etc. etc.

Getting a rescue dog is like getting a dog from anywhere else, find out as much as you can about the dog in question, breed, temperament, background, the type of home he needs and only take him on if you are sure you can provide for them.

Answer 9

I go to their website often and have adopted a dog featured on the site from a local shelter. He is a dream, he was 2 yrs old then, now 3 yrs old, housebroken, obed trained, chew proofed, and has recieved his TT from the AmericanTemperament Test Society and is w/o a doubt the perfect dog. He is a choc field bred Lab whose owners neutered him, apparently trained him well but never went to the shelter to claim him. All 6 of my current dogs are rescues including my Dobe whose sire is a multi BiS, International Ch. and whose owners paid ALOT of $$ for but chose not to keep him after he was 10 mos old.

Answer 10

Petfinders is a great collection of rescue organizations.Some are great and some are not,a reflection on the organization,not petfinders.
It is also a good site to post lost and found dogs.
I did rescue a dog off of petfinders and list my stray fosters on it.