The information provided here is offered as a resource only. PetGuardian does
not specifically endorse or recommend these organizations or businesses.
Reasons for needing to find a home for a pet vary. If you encounter a stray dog
or cat that needs a home, there is an excellent article by The Humane Society
of the United States (HSUS), “What To Do When You Find a Stray Dog or Cat”.
The article provides guidelines on what to expect and how to proceed.
If the pet is your own, please consider all your options before searching for
another home for your pet. If the pet has a behavior problem, please consult with
your veterinarian to determine if it is a treatable medical condition, or investing
in some obedience training for your pet may be worth your while. Numerous on-line
resources offer animal behavior assistance. (please see below for a list of resources).
If your landlord doesn’t allow pets or your residence
is not conducive to healthy pet living many resources are available that can help
you locate a pet-friendly living environment. If a family member’s health is at issue, HSUS recommends
checking with a physician to see if the pet necessarily needs to be relocated;
the HSUS website has suggestions about creating an allergy-free zone for families
("Allergies to Pets").
If the ultimate decision is that your pet needs a new home, there are many more
options today than there were many years ago. If your pet is a pure breed, many
pure breed rescue groups will keep (or foster) adoptable animals until they can
be placed in permanent homes. Any of several pet rescue resources can assist you
in relocating your pet. Some may operate in partnership with an animal shelter. Carefully check out a
rescue group before you enlist its help.
Kyler Laird's Animal Rescue Resources - Over 2000 listings
for animal rescue for dogs, cats, birds, horses and other animals. The listing
is by breed, rescue organization or shelter organization (including global locations).
Probably the most extensive resource on the Internet though somewhat overwhelming
due to the abundance of information (for example, California has over 100 listings
for shelters).http://www.ecn.purdue.edu/%7Elaird/animal_rescue/
Directory of California pet adoption resources. You can locate
a rescue group for any kind of pet by location (for dogs, there is also a breed
selector). Provides contact names in some cases.
http://www.rescuers.com/
NetPets is a general resource for dogs, cats, birds, horses
and fish. Select by breed or location. http://www.netpets.com
Lost and Found PetWork.com has a link to Internet sites that
post listings of lost and found animals.
http://www.petwork.com/petwork_lost_and_found.html
Pure Breed Dogs- Rescue Groups
AKC website http://www.akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm
City of Dogs website http://www.cstone.net/%7Ejgr9a/city/cd_links11.html
Cat Rescue Groups - Mixed and Pure Breed Groups
Feline Rescue Network website http://www.felinerescue.net/
Bird Groups - Rescue, Adoption and Sanctuary
http://www.birdadoption.org/groups.htm
Horse Groups - Rescue and Sanctuary
http://horsewelfare.8k.com/rescues.html
http://www.horseweb.com
No-Kill Shelters
If you opt to go with a shelter organization, some of the above mentioned links
have shelter locations as well. To look for specific shelters that have a No-Kill
policy, the Humane Community of America has a listing of the No-Kill shelters
around the United States.
http://www.saveourstrays.com/no-kill.htm
World-Wide Shelters
Hugs for Homeless Pets has a listing of shelters around the world as well as
a lost and found database.
http://www.h4ha.org/shelters/
Guidelines for Finding A Home for Your Pet
Choosing the selection above delivers two great articles that are comprehensive
in providing advice on how to find a new home for a pet.
Humane Society of the United States - "Guidelines for
Finding a Responsible Home for a Pet"
http://www.hsus.org/ace/11799
Best Friends Sanctuary - "How to Find Homes for Pets:
A 12-page manual with examples"
http://www.bestfriends.org/nmhp/printresources/pdf/howtofindhomesforpets.pdf
Internet Advertising
The above articles suggest different ways of “advertising,” such
as word-of-mouth via family, friends and co-workers, flyers at local pet stores
and veterinary offices, newspapers and, of course, the Internet. Both articles
strongly advocate adoption fees to avoid “bunchers” - people who
sell animals to research labs. The following is a list of Internet sites for
listing pet adoptions.
Pets911.com is a public service working with over 9000
shelters and rescue groups. In addition to helping with locating lost
pets, they also work to save and rescue animals (including adoption,
spay/neuter, licensing, emergency hospitals). They can be reached at
http://www.pets911.com or toll-free hotline 1-888-PETS-911.
Petfinder.com works with over 6,000 US shelters. They allow
you to post an ad free for 14 days under the titles "Lost or Found Pets,"
"Adoptable Pets" or "Pets Wanted".
http://www.petfinder.com
Craigslist.com offers free classifieds for Northern California
and beyond, similar to newspaper listings.
http://www.craigslist.org/pet/
Adoption site for Dogs and Cats with Diabetes. To list the
pet, you must have a veterinary diagnosis of the condition.
http://www.petdiabetes.org/adoption.htm
Adoption site for Dogs, but some cats are listed.
http://www.thepoop.com/
AmericaStrays.com is a free service dedicated to helping owners
reunite with their lost pets, and to finding homeless—or rescued and unwanted—animals
a warm and comfortable place to live.
http://www.americastrays.com
Pet Site for listing of sales and adoptions
http://www.nextdaypets.com/
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