Inspired by the book and movie, Petfinder is working with its network of 13,000 shelters and rescue groups across North America to give families the opportunity to welcome an adoptable pet into their home for the holiday season, ideally from Christmas Eve until New Year’s Day.

Interested foster-parents-to-be can visit Petfinder.com to find the participating shelters near you. Not only will you be providing homeless animals with a loving home during the holidays, but you’ll also be giving shelter volunteers and staff a well-deserved break!

Airing Sunday, November 29 on CBS, A Dog Named Christmas tells the tale of a developmentally challenged young man with a penchant for caring for animals in need, who sets out to convince his family — and their whole rural community — to participate in a local shelter’s inaugural “Adopt a Dog for Christmas Program.”

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Foster a Pet for the Holidays

The Howl-O-Ween Photo Contest is searching for the best costumes in three categories: 1) Do It Yourself, 2) Celebrity Look-a-Likes and 3) Pets & Kids.

Photos can be submitted to petfinder.com/halloween until October 31, and the winner will receive a Bissell SpotBot Pet Compact Deep Cleaner and cleaning formula. (Check out my review of it here!)

You can check out the entries that have already been submitted here, and Petfinder has even provided a few tips to get your creativity flowing~

~ Raining Cats and Dogs: Dress your pet in a little yellow rain jacket and attach a few small stuffed animals to an umbrella with safety pins or a hot glue gun and carry it around in case of a puppy downpour.

~ Fashion Police: Add a twist to the popular police costume by filling your belt with make-up and beauty tools. Outfit your pooch in a tacky sweater as the fashion police offender.

~ Gardener and Chia Pet: Simply drape a light piece of astro-turf on your pet’s back, and put on your gardening boots, hat and gloves.

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Halloween Pets Photo Contest

PetFinder took an informal survey, asking shelters what factors make it hard to get an animal adopted out. Topping the list at 30% is elderly pets, followed by pets with medical conditions, pets that are victims of breed prejudice (think pit bull or black cats), shy pets and pets that need to be an only pet.

So, you can see why a special day just for these animals would be needed — people usually go into a shelter looking for the cutest dog or cat they can find (especially if they’ve got their kids in tow!). But what about the older cat, or the dog with a medical condition? Though taking on a pet with special needs isn’t for everyone, if you’ve got the time and patience it can really be rewarding!

Having adopted two older pets — our cat Kricket and our dog Honey — I’ll attest to the fact that older pets make great pets! We can’t imagine not having them and after having had kittens and puppies, I’ll say that having an older, “mellow” animal around can be a nice change, and they really are just as much fun.

Have you adopted an older cat or dog or a pet with special needs?

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Adopt A Less Adoptable Pet Day is August 12

One of my favorite sites, Petfinder.com, recently ran a survey and discovered that 84% of animal adoption organizations are reporting pet surrenders because of the economic downturn, foreclosures and/or job losses.

Overcrowding is becoming even more of a problem, with 37% of shelters and rescue groups reporting that the number of people willing to foster (or temporarily care for) an animal has decreased due to the economy. As a result, many of these shelters and rescues are forced to turn away animals, or even euthanize them.

If you find you’ve got some extra time, why not find a local shelter to volunteer at? Petfinder has a comprehensive listing of more than 12,000 shelters nationwide that could use a hand. Volunteers can:

~ Foster homeless pets until they are adopted
~ Volunteer for simple activities such as dog-walking, clean-up, bathing
~ Sponsor a pet in need
~ Donate to the Petfinder.com Foundation
~ And of course – adopt!

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

National Volunteer Week

Petfinder has released their yearly list of the ten most popular names for both dogs and cats, as well as the ten most unusual pet names!

Top 10 Most Popular Dog Names

1. Buddy
2. Max
3. Daisy
4. Jack
5. Lucy
6. Molly
7. Charlie
8. Sadie
9. Jake
10. Lucky

Top 10 Most Popular Cat Names

1. Lucy
2. Molly
3. Oreo
4. Kittens
5. Smokey
6. Princess
7. Shadow
8. Tigger
9. Angel
10. Missy

Top 10 Most Unusual Names

1. Woe Izmee
2. Gwyneth Poultry (a duck)
3. SoSueMe
4. 54cent Swee’T
5. Iamaredneckwoman
6. Angry Chef Soup
7. Ms. Cornflake Especially
8. Bon Jo Flea
9. McLovin
10. Joe the Plumber

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Top Ten Cat and Dog Names of 2008

I cannot concentrate with that picture in front of me. Is that not one of the cutest puppies you’ve ever seen?

Anyway, that comes from PetFinder.com, who has a lot of really cute pictures of some of their members’ pets posted, as well as a lot of really cute pet dress-up ideas for Halloween — most of them you don’t even need to spend money on. For example:

1. Beauty School Drop Out: Dig under your vanity for your old-school rollers and shower cap, and go to town. If you have an extra calm cat or dog, paint their nails for a special effect. You may already have a “Miss Priss” pet, and now she’ll live up to her name.

2. Leader of the Geek Squad: Do you still have your father’s old, thick glasses? Throw on a plaid bow tie, and your nerdy pet will be the life of the party. (I recommend popping the lenses out of the glasses first!)

3. Sun-Bathing Beach Bum: You may not be able to fit into that itty bitty yellow, polka dot bikini, but your puppy will! Toss on a floppy hat if she’ll wear it, and use a straw beach bag for trick-or-treating. This cute costume will definitely earn some candy.

4. John Lennon, Ringo and the Gang: If you don’t have a brown toupé in your dresser drawer, this funny outfit would be worth a few dollars. For multiple pets, what better group costume is there than the Beatles? Parade them around and they’re sure to get some groupies.

5. Fido, the Friendly Ghost: Who says the ghost costume is overdone? It’s the perfect last-minute outfit for your pet. Just a couple of holes in an old pillow case, and your pooch will be the spookiest, but friendliest, pet on the block.

Are you going to dress up your pet(s) for Halloween?

[images used with permission from petfinder.com]

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You also have lots of chances to win great Blogtoberfest prizes! Today, October 8, your chances (and prizes) are hiding at the following blogs: Blog Fabulous; Hankering for Yarn; Junk Creation; Marriage Actually; My Crime Space; Play Library; She Knows Parties; Supernannyrules; The Food Bowl; Unplugged Living.

Post from: Blisstree

Purrfect Pet Halloween Costume Ideas

You can now search the enormous database of adoptable pets from your Blackberry, iPhone or any other wireless device while you’re waiting in line, sitting at a stoplight, or just don’t feel like firing up the computer.

You can even use the new features to send profiles to friends and family.

To access the site from your handheld device, go to m.petfinder.com. You can search the over 250,000+ pets using zip code, pet type, age, gender and size.

[image used with permission from petfinder.com]

Post from: Blisstree

PetFinder Goes Mobile