Author: Katya

Adopt-a-Pet.com is working with PEOPLEPets.com to bring adoptable pets more attention. Check out this post on about Chappie, age 4, who was rescued from by staffers at the Heartland Animal Shelter in Northbrook, Ill. “He has the most beautiful big brown eyes… you can’t help but fall in love with him,” volunteer Lou Basten tells PEOPLEPets.com.”He is very mellow and easygoing.”

The gentle boy loves cuddling up in blankets and beds, and particularly enjoys tummy rubs. “Look out though,” Basten says, “you are sure to get a lot of kisses while petting him!” Chappie is housetrained, neutered and up-to-date on his shots. You can see Chappie’s Adopt-a-Pet.com listing with more photos and info here too.

This week Mamapedia.com asked Adopt-a-Pet.com to shed some light on what pet adoption can teach children. Adopting from a local animal shelter or rescue organization helps teach kids about personal responsibility, community service, and their ability to make an impact as they make choices in life. Those are just a few of the powerful character-shaping lessons that come with adopting a pet! There is no limit to the great lessons that you can teach and learn when you opt to adopt; the process of saving a life benefits all involved.  Here is the story of Betsy and John who contemplated adopting a pet.

Today Adopt-a-Pet.com was featured on PEOPLEpets! We took the opportunity to highlight the life of Emily who is listed on our website in search of a home. Emily was found running alone in an Ohio cornfield, presumably left by her previous owners. Taken to the local Wilmington Area Humane Society, the possible whippet-Mountain Cur mix soon became a staff favorite. “Emily is.. Finish reading at PEOPLEPets.com

Got a high energy dog? Need help adopting out a Dalmatian or Pointer? Channel that spirit and liveliness into a fun, bonding game by teaching your dog to jump through a hula hoop! First, hold up the hula hoop with the bottom rim on the ground. Hold a piece of high-value treat through the hoop, and if your dog pokes his nose, face or body through, reward him with the treat. If he goes around the hula hoop, no treat is given. He will begin to see that moving towards or poking through the hula hoop gets him some yummy food! Encourage any interaction with the hoop by praising your pup.

Once he is putting even a little bit of his body through, lure him completely through the hoop. Practice this a few times, always making it a fun, positive experience for your dog, and begin to pair the activity with a command, such as “jump”. (Even though at this stage, the hoop is still resting on the ground, and your dog is just walking through it.) Keep practicing and luring your dog through the hoop, saying “jump” and then you’re ready for the next step: toss the treat through the hoop and ask your pooch to “jump”! Throw a party of praise for him when he does it right, and go over that drill many times. If he does not jump through the hoop, take a step back and practice luring him through again.

Once your dog jumps through on command, which takes time and practice, you will gradually be able to start moving the bottom rim of hoop up off the ground higher and higher, and even adding other hula hoops to teach him to jump through so he can jump several hula hoops at a time! Jumping through hoops is not only a great party trick, it’s also a terrific way to direct your dog’s energy into an agility game, while bonding throughout the activity. For very high energy dogs, letting them expel their vigor in an appropriate way helps curb bad habits from forming due to excess energy.

PeoplePets.com is working with Adopt-a-Pet.com to raise awareness of pet adoption. Here is this week’s post: For every pet living with a happy family, there is an animal in a shelter waiting to find a loving home. So today, in honor of Adopt-A-Cat Month, we’d like you to meet Wobbles, a determined 1-year-old cat we met through Adopt-a-Pet.com. When Wobbles was rescued, the pretty kitty had an injury to her back leg that caused it to fuse in a straight position.

According to Theresa Bachu of the For Animals rescue, Wobbles can’t bend her leg, but that doesn’t stop her from running, jumping and exploring like any normal cat… continue reading on peoplepets.com

Here is a snippet of Adopt-a-Pet.com’ post on Mamapedia.com by our very own Katya Friedman. Asha is the kind of person who always wanted to help every animal she saw. Traveling to India a lot as a young girl to see extended family, she saw many discarded street dogs and cats, and she would beg her parents to take each one home.

Now, as a mom herself, Asha’s passion to help homeless pets is still alive. But with two toddlers and two rescue dogs she found on Adopt-a-Pet.com, this supermom’s time is fully occupied and she has had to learn to find other ways to give back. Asha visited her local shelter and found out they have a wish list of supplies that helps them save pets’ lives and keep them comfortable. So she began a…read more here at Mamapedia.com