Perfect Pet Match

March 29, 2012

March 23rd was National Puppy Day. How fun is that? Puppies are so cute and cuddly. I adopted an 11-month old puppy almost exactly 3 years ago. I drove to Illinois to meet her from a nationwide rescue group with foster homes all over the country. How did I find my perfect pet match almost 300 miles from my house? I used Petfinder. Links to Petfinder (and a few other pet adoption websites) can be found on the MCPL Online Resources page by following the path: Web Resources -> Recreation and Sports -> Pets. The website is so easy to browse adoptable pets of all kinds – cats, dogs, horses, guinea pigs…they even have iguanas! I spent hours poring over the bios and examining the photos of all the dogs available for adoption. It was easy to use the search and refine tools to narrow the thousands of available pets to just the few I was truly interested in adopting.

Additional information including print articles and videos offering advice for choosing the right breed for your personality and energy level are linked throughout the site. Videos with tips for after you adopt, including training tips and dog care, are featured. I also read many books from the library, including titles by Patricia B. McConnell, Ian Dunbar, Victoria Stilwell, Alexandra Horowitz, and Jennifer Arnold to name a few, to assist me in finding the right training techniques for my Little Miss Magic. We are learning about the joys and anguish of competition obedience. Yes, you can show your adopted "All American Dog" in AKC performance dog shows.

Thanks to Petfinder, I found a great dog for me. I still like to browse the listings and see if there’s another dog out there whose bio and photo tug at my heart. Check out Petfinder today whether you’re looking for a new friend or just want to read about some wonderful dogs. Check out the Happy Tails for just a few of the happy endings like Little Miss Magic brought to you by Petfinder.  

Pam V.
Electronic Resources Trainer