Wednesday, August 22, 2001
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Wednesday, August 22, 2001 |
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Local shelter joins Petfinder.com effort The Fayette County Humane Society has joined ten other area animal shelters and rescue groups, along with 51 others in the state, as members of Petfinder.com, the oldest and largest virtual animal shelter on the Internet. Nationwide the Web site has approximately 2,000 members and features descriptions and pictures of over 40,000 pets waiting to be adopted. Members keep their lists of pets updated regularly. Other new members include Carroll County Humane Society, Carrollton; Alaskan Malamute Rescue of Georgia, Douglasville; Henry County Animal Shelter, McDonough; Casey's Angels Boxer Rescue, Madison; Oconee Regional Humane Society, Eatonton; Humane Society of Forsyth County, Cumming; Dog House/CCDR, Gwinnett; Buffy's Halfway House for Wayward Canines, Griffin; Pup and Cat Co. Humane Society, Winder, and Athens Area Humane Society, Athens. To search for a specific kind and breed of animal, potential adopters can logon to www.petfinder.com and enter their search criteria. A list comes back ranked in proximity to the visitor's Zip code. Contact is then made directly with the shelter or rescue group where the animal is housed. The service is free to both potential adopters and to shelters and rescue groups. Many shelters report that more than 50 percent of their adoptions now come through Petfinder.com. Potential adopters see what's available in local shelters from the comfort of their own homes, or they can search for just the kind of pet they want. Bonnie Zahm of Lawrenceville found her two snowshoe cats, Danta and Clyde, on Petfinder.com. They were at Another Chance Cat Rescue in Atlanta. "I am very happy that I found Petfinder.com because we now have two wonderful pets to share our home with," she says. Debbie Turner of Orlando drove to Atlanta to adopt her schnauzer, Jasper, from SE Georgia Schnauzer Rescue. "Without Petfinder.com," she wrote, "Jasper would be gone forever, and I would still be searching. I doubt you have any idea as to the happiness you are bringing to us." "We estimate that we facilitated hundreds of thousands of adoptions last year," says Kim Saunders, Director of Shelter Outreach at Petfinder.com. But there's much more to be done. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), a Petfinder.com partner, reports that 8-12 million animals are relinquished to shelters each year. "The numbers are staggering," Saunders says. "Petfinder.com, the ASPCA and the Ralston Purina Company, a Petfinder sponsor, are dedicated to making a difference for these homeless pets with the Petfinder.com Web site." Petfinder.com has been recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of the Best 300 sites on the Web, and Family PC named it as one of the top 100 family sites. Other groups wishing to join may do so on the Web site or by contacting Saunders at 908-810-1976. The Fayette County Humane Society can be reached at 770-486-6076.
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