Charlie Brown and Snoopy Want to Help You Find the Friendship of a Lifetime!

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Few things in life are as beautiful as true friendship. And few friendships have touched the hearts the way the one between Charlie Brown and his best pal Snoopy has. What better way to celebrate that bond than by holding the weekend’s largest national adoption event and inviting great pet adopters like you to meet awesome pets who are waiting to find love?

Saturday March 5th and Sunday March 6th, adoptable pets from all over the country will be gathering at Petco and Unleashed by Petco stores for a massive and monumental Peanuts-themed adoption event, brought to you by the Petco Foundation and Adopt-a-Pet.com.

Search now for a participating event near you and find the friendship of a lifetime!

It’s Time for Adopt-a-Pet.com’s 4th Annual Great American Pooch Smooch and Kitty Kiss!

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It’s that time of year again! Get ready because this Valentine’s Day pet lovers all over the globe are invited to share their #PoochSmooch and #KittyKiss photos to encourage pet adoption. YOU know your adopted pet is awesome. WE know your adopted pet is awesome. Now it’s time for EVERYONE to know!

Here’s how you can participate:

  1. Grab your best furry friend and start snapping those heartwarming selfies together. Let’s be realistic. Our phones are basically filled with these photos already. Now is the purr-fect time to get ready to share ‘em.
  2. On Sunday, February 14th – Valentine’s Day – log on to your favorite social media sites and start sharing those sweet pics with one of the campaign hash tags – #PoochSmooch or #KittyKiss. Share ‘em everywhere: Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and on Adopt-a-Pet.com’s Facebook page. We’ll be sharing your photos from social media pages so it’s not only a great way to promote pet adoption, but you and your pet might be seen by millions of animal lovers!

Adopt-a-Pet.com Responds to Misleading Claims Made by For-Profit Pet Website

North America’s Largest Non-Profit Pet Search Engine Affirms Its Position as Second Most Trafficked Pet Search Site in the U.S.

Los Angeles, CA (December 11, 2015) – Adopt-a-Pet.com, responding to erroneous claims that it had been surpassed as the number two pet search website in the U.S., is releasing information to “set the record straight” according to Adopt-a-Pet.com President and Co-Founder, David Meyer.

 

“Just as we have been for many years, we remain the number two pet search website as measured by a variety of industry standard metrics” said Meyer.  “September and October 2015 reports from comScore place Adopt-a-Pet.com as number two in site visits,” states Meyer.

 

This response from Adopt-a-Pet.com follows a media push from a for-profit pet website claiming to now hold the number two position. Meyer is speaking out to challenge the metrics and ethics used by the site in question, pointing out that month-over-month visitor performance, time on site, pages per visit and bounce rate are far more indicative of site rankings than a limited period of increased, low quality visits.

 

“The average time visitors spend on Adopt-a-Pet.com, the number of pet searches they run, the number of pets they see and inquire about at animal shelters, and – most importantly – the number of pets animal shelters and rescues say we help adopt out far eclipse the nearest trailing pet search websites. These are the measures that truly count for a pet search website, as they are a reflection of user engagement and the meaningful impact our non-profit has in helping good people connect with great pets.”

 

Adopt-a-Pet.com works closely with over 16,000 animal welfare organizations across the United States and Canada and features upwards of 225,000 adoptable pets at any given time.  According to Google Analytics:

  • The site had 3.6M+ site visitors in October 2015 and 3.5M+ in September 2015.
  • Engaged users spend an average of almost 8 minutes on site, per session.
  • Individual pet profile pages are viewed 12.6M times per month.

 

Adopt-a-Pet.com is directly responsible for many pets finding loving homes. The charitable organization rates far beyond its nearest trailing pet search website as reported by comScore, Compete.com and

Similarweb.com not only in site traffic, but in length of stay and number of people who see the site and don’t immediately leave.

 

Says Meyer, “The claims of new pet search websites in business to attract advertisers can be confusing – especially when the claims are based upon a short-term boost in what appears to be bogus users who immediately leave the site upon landing.”

 

About Adopt-a-Pet.com

Adopt-a-Pet.com is North America’s largest non-profit pet adoption website helping over 16,000 animal shelters, humane societies, SPCAs, pet rescue groups, and pet adoption agencies advertise their purebred and mixed breed pets for free to millions of adopters. Adopt-a-Pet.com also provides valuable information on the human/companion animal relationship to help keep pets healthy and successfully living in their loving homes.

 

Book Giveaway! Win a Free Copy of The Total Dog Manual From Adopt-a-Pet.com

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Whether you’re an experienced dog owner or a first time adopter, Adopt-a-Pet.com’s Total Dog Manual has everything you need to know (and more!) to start you and your new friend off on the right paw – and now you can score your copy for free! We’re giving away a copy for each of the next 30 days. That’s right, 30 lucky dog lovers will score their free copy of the Total Dog Manual filled with expert tips, advice, and knowledge from the pet specialists at Adopt-a-Pet.com.

Inside the Total Dog Manual, you’ll find:

  • Basics like finding and choosing the right dog for your family and lifestyle.
  • Tips to better understand your dog’s behavior and the non-verbal messages he’s hinting at.
  • Tricks to master common behavioral challenges new dog owners face.
  • Secrets to keeping your new dog in peak physical health

…and so much more!

Ready to win your free copy? All you have to do is add your contact information below and you’ll be entered to win. If you’re selected as one of the winners, we’ll email you!

ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED.

Official Rules:

The Adopt-a-Pet.com “Total Dog Manual Book Giveaway” Sweepstakes

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.  A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING.

PROMOTION DESCRIPTION:  The Adopt-a-Pet.com “Total Dog Manual Book Giveaway” Sweepstakes (the “Sweepstakes”) begins on or about November 15th, 2015, at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on December 15th, 2015 (the “Promotion Period”). At the end of the Promotion Period, thirty (30) Grand Prize winners will be selected from all eligible entries received during the Promotion Period, as more fully set forth below.  By participating in the Sweepstakes, each entrant unconditionally accepts and agrees to comply with and abide by these Official Rules and the decisions of Humane America Animal Foundation, d/b/a Adopt-a-Pet.com, 310 N. Indian Hill Blvd., Claremont, California 91711, (“Sponsor”), which shall be final and binding in all respects.

ELIGIBILITY:  The Sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States, the District of Columbia who are at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entry.  Officers, directors and employees of Sponsor and its parents, subsidiaries, licensors, affiliates, distributors, retailers, sales representatives, advertising and promotion agencies (all such entities and individuals referred to collectively herein as the “Promotion Entities”), and the immediate family members and/or those residing in the same household of each are ineligible to enter the Sweepstakes or win a prize.

HOW TO ENTER:  During the Promotion Period, complete the email opt-in form on www.adoptapet.com.  Once you have completed the form, you will receive one (1) entry into the Sweepstakes.  Limit one (1) entry per person.  Any personal information collected by Sponsor in connection with the Sweepstakes will be used such information in accordance with its online privacy policy, located at http://www.adoptapet.com/public/privacy_policy. Proof of submission is not considered proof of delivery to or receipt of such entry.

WINNER SELECTION: At the end of the Promotion Period, thirty (30) Grand Prize winners will be randomly selected in a drawing from all eligible entries received throughout the Promotion Period.  The potential winners will be notified by telephone and/or mail and/or email using the contact information provided at the time of entry.  Sponsor shall have no liability for any winner notification that is lost, intercepted or not received by the potential winner for any reason.  If any potential winner does not respond within the time required by Sponsor, or if the winner notification is returned as unclaimed or undeliverable to any potential winner, such potential winner will forfeit his or her prize and an alternate winner may be selected.

PUBLICITY RELEASE:  By participating in the Sweepstakes, in addition to any other grants which may be granted in any other agreement entered into between Sponsor and any entrant in or winner of the Sweepstakes, each entrant irrevocably grants the Promotion Entities and their respective successors, assigns and licensees, the right to use such entrant’s name, likeness, biographical information and Submission, and any individual(s) participating therein, in any and all media for any purpose, including without limitation, advertising and promotional purposes as well as in, on or in connection with the Website or the Sweepstakes or other promotions, and hereby release the Promotion Entities from any liability with respect thereto.

PRIZES Thirty (30) Grand Prizes are available. Grand Prize consists of one (1) copy of The Total Dog Manual book.

GENERAL PRIZE CONDITIONS:  No cash alternative or prize substitutions will be allowed, except Sponsor reserves the right to substitute prize(s) or opportunities or comparable out-of-pocket cost value if any prize or opportunity listed is unavailable, in whole or in part, for any reason.  The Prize winners shall be solely responsible for all federal, state and/or local taxes, and the reporting consequences thereof, and for any other fees or costs associated with the Prize.

GENERAL LIABILITY RELEASE/FORCE MAJEURE: Entrants agree that the Promotion Entities (a) shall not be responsible or liable for any losses, damages or injuries of any kind (including death) resulting from participation in the Sweepstakes or any Sweepstakes-related activity, or from entrants’ acceptance, receipt, possession and/or use or misuse of the prize(s), and (b) have not made any warranty, representation or guarantee express or implied, in fact or in law, with respect to the prize(s), including, without limitation, to such prize’s quality or fitness for a particular purpose. Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any damage to an entrant’s computer system which is occasioned by accessing the survey or participating in the Sweepstakes.  Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual who is found to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Sweepstakes or the survey, to be acting in violation of these Official Rules, or to be acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with the intent to disrupt or undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes, or to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person, and Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages and other remedies from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law.  These Official Rules cannot be modified or amended in any way except in a written document issued in accordance with the law by a duly authorized representative of Sponsor.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these Official Rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision.  In the event that any provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable or illegal, these rules shall otherwise remain in effect and shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or illegal provision were not contained herein.

GOVERNING LAW/JURISDICTION:  ALL ISSUES AND QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE CONSTRUCTION, VALIDITY, INTERPRETATION AND ENFORCEABILITY OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES OR THE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF ENTRANTS OR SPONSOR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SWEEPSTAKES SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INTERNAL LAWS OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA WITHOUT GIVING EFFECT TO ANY CHOICE OF LAW OF CONFLICT OF LAW RULES OR PROVISIONS THAT WOULD CAUSE THE APPLICATION OF ANY OTHER STATE’S LAWS.

WINNERS LIST/OFFICIAL RULES:  To obtain a copy of any legally-required winners list, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to 310 N. Indian Hill Blvd., Claremont, California 91711.  All such requests must be received within six (6) weeks following the end of the Promotion Period.

 

Catching up with Coldwell Banker on The Homes for Dogs Project

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If you follow our blog, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram then you’ve surely been hearing the great news that the Homes For Dogs Project, a collaboration between Coldwell Banker Real Estate and Adopt-a-Pet.com to find homes for 20,000 shelter dogs in 2015, was a massive success after only 8 months. Thanks to the hard work of animal shelters and rescues and local Coldwell Banker agents, thousands upon thousands of deserving pets found their loving forever homes! We recently caught up with Sean Blankenship, CMO of Coldwell Banker, to get his take on this awesome program.

Adopt-a-Pet.com: What inspired Coldwell Banker’s choice to focus on helping homeless pets get adopted?

Sean Blankenship (SB): We were planning our 2015 ad campaign at the time, which focuses on the joy our dogs bring to the home when we walk through the door. After discovering that half of the dogs in the commercial were adopted, the “Homes for Dogs Project” was born.  We knew we could connect at a local level and make a difference.

Adopt-a-Pet.com: How does it feel to reach your company’s goal of 20,000 adoptions in 2015 after only 8 months?

SB: How amazing is that? To say we were proud would be an understatement. Abbie Moore joined us on stage at our annual conference, the Generation Blue Experience in Chicago, and the crowd went wild! Abbie even brought out an adoptable puppy named Hazel, from the rescue group Found Chicago.  We owe so much thanks to Adopt-a-Pet.com for their collaboration in this campaign – not only for helping us find homes for 20,000 adoptable dogs so quickly, but also for presenting us with the Companion Animal Champion Award in recognition of our commitment to helping homeless pets. So many of our 88,000 sales associates were dedicated to making this happen, so it feels great to recognize them.

Adopt-a-Pet.com: Why do you think every homeowner should have a pet?

SB: Pets bring so much joy to families and homes across the country, and they’ve really become deeply connected to the idea of “home.” There’s nothing quite like coming home after a long day, opening the door and being greeted by your dog – often much of what makes that place a home is our dogs. A pet might not make sense for every single homeowner, but for many, getting one can help you love your home even more than you already do.

Adopt-a-Pet.com: What’s next for Coldwell Banker?

SB: Just because we reached 20,000 adoptions doesn’t mean the “Homes for Dogs Project” is over! Our network is inspired, committed and passionate about finding homes for shelter pets. Hopefully this is just the start of great things to come!

For more info on the Homes For Dogs Project, please visit https://www.coldwellbanker.com/dogs

Adopting a New Pet? Find a Match for Your Child

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Introducing a pet when you have children can seem daunting, but rest assured that the pet friendly experts at your local rescue center will guide you every step of the way. Meanwhile, here’s some basic, tried-and-true advice to help you to ensure that the dog you bring home will blend.

Train your children Yes, we all know the importance of training your dog (it’s one of the most vital things you can do to make your relationship a success), but it’s equally important to teach your children how to interact with dogs in a safe manner. Before you bring any dog home, make sure your kids know how to approach a new dog: extend a hand, palm down, and allow the dog to approach and sniff. If the dog gives your child the “okay” signal (wagging tail, kissing, no signs of aggression, fear, or nervousness), your child should pet the dog on his side rather than reaching over his head. There’s plenty more on this subject later in the book, but the golden rule is quite simply to teach your kids to treat their dog with the respect and gentleness she deserves.

Choose an adult dog Puppies are great, but they’re not ideal for very young children. They mouth tiny hands with pin-sharp teeth, they jump, and they’re also easily injured. Also, contrary to popular belief, you can’t always tell what personality traits your puppy will develop. When you adopt an adult dog, what you see is what you get. It’s much easier to tell if an adult dog is already great with kids than it is to guess if a puppy will grow up to be.

Adopt from a rescue center Many rescue organizations keep their pets with foster families who have a chance to observe their dogs around children and other animals, so rescuers have a pretty clear picture of their pets’ personalities.

Be responsible If you’re adopting a pet for your kids, understand that the responsibility is yours. Kids, by their nature, often tire of things that were once new and exciting, including pets. You will most likely end up being the one who provides most of the pet’s care.

This article is an excerpt from Adopt-a-Pet.com’s book, The Total Dog Manual. For more great tips on all things dog, pre-order the book now on Amazon!

Ready. Set. Shop to Save Shelter Pets!

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Now, when you shop online at your favorite stores, a donation is made to Adopt-a-Pet.com to help shelter pets get adopted. All you need to do to participate is download the Adopt-a-Pet.com Browser Button or shop through our special shopping portal. There is no extra cost to you and you get to feel good that you’re helping homeless animals every time you make a purchase.

Watch the easy, step-by-step video and get more info on the button here.

Happy Beginnings: Pru

Pru We LOVE a good adoption story, especially when Adopt-a-Pet.com helps to make that bond happen! Today, we hear from Ana who found her little Pru (formerly Sprinkles) with the help of our service. Ana writes:

“My husband and I recently got married in March and moved out to Santa Monica, CA for his job. I made one request upon the move to California – to get a puppy. The deal was made and as soon as I found a dog friendly apartment in Santa Monica, I went on Adopt-a-Pet.com where I found Sprinkles’ profile. I fell in love with her immediately and called the contact number. Tina from Little Pampered Paws Rescue answered the phone. Tina relayed the unfortunate news that someone else had claimed her. I was disappointed but continued searching. I couldn’t get Sprinkles out of my head, but luckily I got phone call two days later with great news! I picked up the phone and it was Tina calling to tell me that the other family decided they weren’t ready for a puppy and that she was all ours if we wanted her – I replied “Of course we do!” We met her that same day. As soon as I held her, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind if we would take her home – she was perfect. She came home with us that same day and we named her Pru after the Prudential Tower where my husband and I first met. Pru now lives with my husband and I in Santa Monica two blocks away from the beach and it’s true what they say: a dog makes a house a home. We are so elated that we found Pru and grateful that we were able to rescue her.”

We’d love to hear your Happy Beginnings story too! Send your pet adoption story to info@cms.adoptapet.com with a photo or two, and tell us how Adopt-a-Pet.com helped you with your adoption. Thank you for adopting a pet and saving a life!

If you do THIS, HomeAdvisor Donates to Adopt-a-Pet.com!

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Have you guys seen the commercial on TV for HomeAdvisor? You know, the one with the doorbell at the end that drives your doggies crazy?

It seems our friends at HomeAdvisor are #InTheDogHouse after disturbing the peace for some VIPs (Very Important Pooches) like yours. But, they want to take the bite out of the bark by raising money for shelter pets and Adopt-a-Pet.com. Join the campaign and HomeAdvisor will donate $1 on your behalf. They’ll even double the donation if you also share a pic of your pet in social media with the #InTheDogHouse hashtag!

Go now and help us receive the maximum donation of $15,000!

How to Create Magic Using Adopt-a-Pet.com

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Finding a pet using Adopt-a-Pet.com seems like magic, but the real magic is our technology that unites good people with great pets! Check out Adopt-a-Pet.com’s latest video, where we show off some magic tricks and surprise some pet lovers by introducing them to their new best friend.

Want to create a little magic of your own? You can make a donation, feature adoptable pets in social media, add Adopt-a-Pet.com to your own website, and share this video with your friends and family and encourage them to do the same.

For more info, visit Adopt-a-Pet.com/Magic!