Thursday Meme - Petfinder.com!

It's Thursday - and time for.........the Thursday Meme!

We've chosen to review one of our absolute favorite sites - Petfinder.com! Gracie and I were both found on Petfinder.com. Can you imagine....if they didn't exist, I may not be living with my Mum.

About Petfinder.com

Petfinder is an an online and searchable database of animals throughout the country that are in need of homes. The site has a directory of nearly 10,000 animal shelters and rescue organizations that have home pages on the site to showcase their available pets.

You can search for just the right pet to be your new best friend! And find local rescue, charity and adoption events in your area. They also have a classified section for everything pet, and a great library of information to help you take better care of your pet.

How Mum Found Me

Back in 2004, I was found, along with my four brothers and sisters and my birth Mom by the Southside Animal Shelter. They took me in, fed me and got me needed health care. I stayed there in a pen with my birth family until my new Mum found me.

One day Mum told me she woke up and said to herself 'I want a dog!' She had been working from home for several years and thought it was a good time to get a dog to do things with. She knew about Petfinder, so she went to the website in August of 2004 and started looking around.

Her friends told her that it would be a good idea to get a puppy, since she already had two cats. And it would be an easier transition for the cats and the pup if the pup was younger.

She logged into Petfinder every day, entered baby and her location, and up popped photos and descriptions of all the pups that were available in the area. Mum logged in every day for about three weeks. Then on September 2nd, 2004, Mum was doing her regular search and up popped a photo of me and my brother! Wow, she said!

See that's us! I'm on the left. They had named us Ben and Jerry!

Mum called the Southside Animal Shelter to see if we were still available and we were! So she zoomed right down to the southside of town and asked to see us. First they handed Mum my brother. He was an all black dog and they are much more difficult to get adopted because of their stigma. But he wiggled a whole lot in Mum's arms. So she asked to see me! Well I settled right into Mum's arms, and I have stayed there - or at least really close by - ever since.

We've been in contact with Petfinder and the Southside Animal Shelter many times over the years. As a matter of fact, one day last February the nice folks at Petfinder called Mum and asked if I wanted to be one of their Happy Tails! You bet! They interviewed us - you can read more about it here! Then, just recently, a donation was made to the Southside Animal Shelter on our behalf and the nice folks there featured us in their newsletter. We are a Happy Tail, for sure!

How Mum found Gracie

In the Spring of 2006 - I had been competing in agility for about 4 months and Mum's business started to get busy. I was bored out of my gourd! So Mum thought it would be a good idea to get me a playmate.

Since the family pass time is agility, she thought it important to get another dog that would like and want to do agility. So what did she do? Yep, she got on Petfinder.com. At the same time she talked with Border Collie rescue organizations. Then on March 2nd, she found a little BC pup on Petfinder that was down in Seymour. (See that's Gracie in her Petfinder photo!)

So she lined it up that we could meet this pup, take it back to the training center for her to take a look at the equipment and see if there was interest. Well, turned out that pup was very interested in the equipment - so much so, she pooped and peed all over it!!! BOL!!!! And the best part is that she took all my testiness.

So we called the vet's office where she was staying after being rescued form a hoarder situation and told them - we're taking her and thanks for taking such good care of her till we found her!!! We named her Gracie - partly because she 'graced' the agility ring, and partly for Gracie Williams the composer.

We're grateful for Petfinder

We are very grateful that Petfinder.com exists to help folks find their new best friends. They work very hard to help pets in need. And when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans they worked day and night for months to help those pets be reunited with their families.

And Joan Banks with Petfinder has recently written a book - a compilation of Happy Tails - a sampling of the thousands of sad, happy, inspirational, heartwarming, and rewarding stories of pets who have found new homes through Petfinder.

Thanks Petfinder - for helping me find my forever home!!!!

Petfinder.com Presents: Second Chances: Inspiring Stories of Dog Adoption