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We are proud to announce that our Google Maps now covers Detroit! Our Google Maps make it easy to realize how many shelters and rescues work in the greater Detroit area. Click on the pins and find out what shelters and rescues operate in that area. Then follow the links to see the pets available. It’s easy to use and easy to share.

Detroit Dog & Puppies Rescues & Shelters

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<iframe width="500" height="500" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="http://www.adoptapet.com/postal-code/48126/dog/map-of-nearby-shelters"></iframe>Find <a href="http://www.adoptapet.com/s/dogs-and-puppies-for-sale-in-detroit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit Dogs & Puppies</a>

Detroit Cat & Kitten Rescues & Shelters

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<iframe width="500" height="500" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="http://www.adoptapet.com/postal-code/48126/cat/map-of-nearby-shelters"></iframe>Find <a href="http://www.adoptapet.com/s/cats-and-kittens-for-sale-in-detroit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit Cats & Kittens</a>

We love hearing from happy adopters who have used Adopt-a-Pet.com to find their new best friend! Here’s an email we received with a great photo from Kathy: “Dear Adopt-a-Pet.com, My family and I would like to thank Adopt-a-pet.com for helping us to meet our new kitten.  The Sandy Hook School tragedy was devastating to us, as our daughter was a student at the school.  One way that our family has found comfort – especially our daughter – has been through the therapy pets.  One of the dog owners suggested we try your site.  So many adorable animals!!!!  I thought it was a tough decision trying to pick a pet but my daughter spotted “Douglas Furbanks” immediately and had to have him.  He is a beautiful Maine Coon kitten and is everything you said about him.  He’s entertaining, funny, playful and most importantly he is full of love and cuddles.  Everyone loves him, even our other cat! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Kathy & family.”

Did you know that fostering a pet could lead to a tax deduction for you?  This is just another great reason to become a foster! Many of the expenses related to your good deed could be deducted from your 2012 federal taxes. Thanks to Jan Elizabeth Van Dusen and her landmark case, things like pet supplies and pet food, veterinary services, and even cleaning supplies can qualify as expenses for fostering dogs and cats. So if you’re volunteering with an approved organization, one that is classified as a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and if you’re opening your heart and home for them, please remember that it could help you during tax-time. It’s best to keep receipts and records just in case, and it may also be useful to know that if you spend more than $250, you’ll need a letter from the organization you’re working with proving your volunteer status.

Dogs and cats really can be the best of friends! But sometimes when you bring a new cat into your home, even if your dogs already live peacefully with cats, the new cat is so exciting and… she runs when they play chase her, how fun! Well, fun from the dog’s point of view, but certainly not for the new scared cat. Why do cat-friendly dogs suddenly give chase to a new cat? There are many reasons, but more important than understanding the why, is understanding the how! How you can stop the chasing, and help the new cat adjust and fit happily into your home. Below are some tips I’ve used myself, as I have cared for dogs that would, if given the chance, chase new cats. Cats that were shy or scared of them were especially appealing! I’ve had other adopters and fosters tell me these tips really helped too. These are not a substitute for working with a professional pet trainer or behaviorist, but you can safely try these tips – while you keep your dog leashed or crated, and are working with a trainer –  to see if they can help you too.

I wrote the tips below for a shy cat named “Twist.” She was adopted by a family with both big and small dogs. The dogs were living with other cats without a problem, but wanted to chase Twist.

*** Note:  These tips are for AFTER your dogs have been properly introduced to the new cat. Read our 6 steps for cat to dog introduction here. Any dog, even if they are only “play” chasing, should be leashed or crated when the cat is out, until they no longer chase. Even play chase can turn deadly in a second, and a cat can blind a dog with one good swat. Also, please separate pets when you’re not home. Sadly we know of cats who were killed by dogs even years after living together, when something unexpected triggered a chase.

• Create a Safe Room or Safe Zone for Twist, where the dogs can’t go at all, but where she can get in/out of and see the dogs. Big enough for her food dishes, bed, and a litter box, so she can eat, sleep and take care of business. Perhaps use a baby gate to make one room just for her, or use tall dog playpen gates in one room, with cat trees on both sides so she can get in and out but the dogs can’t. 
• Set up “highways” – literally, high paths that only Twist can take so she feels safe moving around. Wall mounted shelves with non-slip mats attached securely or work great for this, and/or using existing furniture (shelving, desks, counters) with the paths marked and kept clear by the non-slip pads.
• A cat-only escape route in every room including hallways, so Twist can get into a safe space to escape if she’s frightened. The places and routes can be a tall cat tree, tall table or bookshelf with a chair next to it, or a closet door wedged open with doorstops on both sides of the door just wide enough for her to enter.
• If she’s most scared of the big dogs, pull furniture away from the walls so she can slip behind. She’ll know the big dogs can’t chase her there.
• Crate the dogs and feed her near by.
• When humans are in the same room supervising, tether (tying) the dogs to something immobile, like a heavy couch, and bring Twist into the room – either in a crate or by playing with her, to let her spend time in the same room with the dogs to get used to them.
• Water spray bottles in every room. Calmly give one or two sprays in dog’s direction as soon as they even think about chasing the cat. Only works if dog’s don’t like the spray.
• Time outs for dogs right after they lunge or try to chase. (Not an angry punishment, just a disappointed shunning.)
• Immediate verbal praise for dogs that ignore or sit and don’t move as cat passes, reinforce with treat reward. (Use verbal cue “leave it” and reward if they do.)
• Practice dog’s obedience commands (sit, stay, etc) with rewards in same area as cat.
• Avoid feeling or expressing anger when dogs are near cat. Anger is a high-energy emotion. If you yell or otherwise get angry, you are actually “joining in” and adding to the high-energy adrenaline of the chase.
• You can use a noise deterrent if that interrupts the dog’s chase intent. Such as a firm verbal “Leave it!” or shaking a can of pennies. Not as a punishment, just an an interruption. 

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By pet chemistry, we don’t mean the science that deals with the composition and properties of substances and various elementary forms of matter! When we’re talking about match making you and your home with a new pet, the kind of chemistry we’re talking about is “the interaction of one personality with another” and some of the “sympathetic understanding” type of chemistry. Figuring out how your personality interacts with a potential new pet, and how that pet’s personality will mesh with the other pets and people in your home, can sometimes feel like scientific experiment with all its complexities! There are some elemental guidelines you can use to help you make the most of your meet and greets with potential adoptees. These can help you be more likely to pick the pet that makes those little hearts and cherubs dance happily around your heads for the rest of your lives.

Personality vs Looks

We assume you’ve decided how much looks, or more technically physical characteristics, are important to you. If you have your heart set on a silver tabby, a little fluffy dog, or a big muscular brindle dog, that will narrow down the pets you choose from – but it doesn’t eliminate the importance of personality chemistry.

Personality Elements

Chemistry is made up of elements! There are personality “tests” for pets created by animal behaviorists, just like there are for people. But for a regular person, not a professional trainer or shelter staff, there are some simpler ways to assess an animal you’re meeting.  Keep in mind that pets in a shelter setting (cages or kennels) can and often do act very differently than pets in a home. If you have very strict personality requirements, like say you have a home with small children or multiple pets, and don’t feel confident in your ability to train or work with a pet that might not be an ideal fit, selecting an adult pet that has been in a foster home environment is one great way to get a more solid idea of how that pet will likely do in your home.

Ask staff or volunteers for more information. In a shelter/kennel setting, the more time you spend with the pet, the better your ability to assess their personality elements. Ask shelter staff or volunteers if they can provide you with more information. Shelter pets at an adoption fair or off-site adoption event are often with their handlers for many hours – those handlers can often offer you valuable insight!

1. Element #1: Energy Level
   Do you run 6 miles a day and want a running partner? Want a cat that wants to play with you and toys for hours and hours? Or are you looking for a couch potato pet… or somewhere in between? Energy level is one of the most important “matchmaking” elements. If you have older pets, saddling them with a baby or young, likely energetic pet may well make them grumpy, not more youthful. Match you and your household’s energy level to the new pet’s.
2. Element #2: Independence
   So many adopters are drawn to the pets who are up at the front of their cage, rubbing on the bars begging for your attention. Take the pet out and spend time with them. Do they explore the yard or room, or are they like velcro to your leg or lap? What kind of pet do you (and your pets) want? Velcro, independent, or in between?
3. Element #3: “Je ne sais quoi”
   This is the elusive element that so many adopters yearn for, the “je ne sais quoi” or “I don’t know what” but its something attraction that some pets inspire when we meet them. This is what people often think of when they think of “chemistry” with a pet. There doesn’t seem to be any scientific way to measure this element! Listen to your internal emotions, the feelings that you get when spending time with a particular pet. The human subconscious can often read clues that our conscious mind misses. Sometimes it leads us astray, so you have to decide when to listen! I worked as an adoptions counselor in a large animal shelter for 10 years, and saw the “je ne sais quoi” happen time and time again. It might be the first pet the person met, or the 10th.

There should be no rush when you are looking for chemistry with your future pet. Take your time in picking a pet to adopt, so that you’ll be willing to work through the inevitable bumps as the pet gets adjusted to you and your home (and vice versa!) and you’ll be happy with each other for the rest of the pet’s life.

Many cats have only bad associations with that horrible plastic and metal torture device humans call a cat carrier. “You capture me, put me in a noisy moving terrifying car, then we end up at the vet! And you want me to go back in there?” Trying to get an unwilling cat into a cat carrier sometimes feels like you need to be a reverse houdini, or perhaps wear full body armor. While owned cats, if they’re lucky, may only have to get into a carrier once a year for their annual vet checkup, fostered cats very often have to endure the carrier and car trip torture once a week! Of course, it’s worth it for them to find a home. But amazingly even once-a-year cats can have a surprisingly good memory when the cat carrier comes out of storage – hey, where did the cat go? Telling him it’s for his own good won’t likely convince him (see illustrative photo above, of our foster cat George). So what can you do to get a carrier-phobic cat safely and as happily as possible into a cat carrier? Below is our technique after getting dozens of kittens and cats into carriers. These are not reconditioning or training tips, like leaving the carrier out, feeding your cat in the carrier, etc, which though effective, take time. These are how to get a cat into a carrier quickly, reducing the anxiety and potential injury for both humans and felines.

Our “burrito cat-into-carrier”  technique is meant for friendly, uninjured cats.

1.  Ideally 24+ hours before you need to get the cat into the carrier, casually put the carrier in your bathroom. Do this while your cat is distracted by something, say eating, or someone playing with him, or when he’s sleeping.
2. Position the carrier so the door is open & facing the ceiling. So for hard plastic carriers or crates, that would be standing on its end. This will let you take advantage of gravity and with plastic carriers, their slippery plastic sides. 
3. Locate a lightweight bath towel that is big enough to wrap around your cat and contain all his legs/paws/claws, but not so big that wrapped around you cat you can’t get him through the carrier door. Put it in the bathroom too.
4. Get the cat into the bathroom with you and the carrier. Depending on your cat, you may be able to pick him up and carry him in, or lure him in with food or a toy. Quickly close the door.
5. Gently but confidently (as possible!), wrap the cat in it like a burrito in the towel with only their head sticking out. You may not get this right the first time! You need to wrap and hold the towel securely enough so the cat doesn’t escape, but obviously not so tight that you are hurting them or inhibiting their breathing. 
6. Putting the tail end in first (so the cat doesn’t see he’s being put into the carrier), lower the burrito cat into the carrier, and swiftly shut the door. Do NOT worry about unwrapping the towel, they will unwrap themselves.

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We’re doing our happy dance over here as it’s time for another wonderful adopter sharing the story of how Adopt-a-Pet.com helped them find a pet to adopt! We’d love to hear from you too, please send your adopted pet’s photo to info@cms.adoptapet.com and tell us how Adopt-a-Pet.com find the pet you adopted! And now, I’ll turn the blog over to Mary C, who writes: “Dear Laurie, I decided to Rescue as opposed to buying. I wanted an older dog that didn’t need to be housebroken, liked cats and was small. Sex was not a consideration. My last dog passed almost 2 years ago and I really missed him. Attached is a photo of the best dog we could have adopted. It was love at first sight when we meet. I brought along a pink ruffled coat for her and they had no problem putting it on here. We bonded immediately and she will not let me out of her sight. She was exactly as described in the item…friendly, likes cats, and VERY housebroken. Taryn did let me know what her diet was and that she was accustomed to sleeping in a crate.

Vet visit went well except there was no record of her having the series of 3 distemper shots. That was not a problem. Our vet did feel she was closer to 3 years old based on the tartar on her teeth. Whom ever fostered her did a wonderful job. I do wonder where her puppies are and if they look like her.

She loves to play catch, chase squirrels, ride in the car, go shopping either walking at PetCo or riding in the cart at Lowe’s (I was asked by 3 different people what aisle in the store they could find one as cute as her), cuddle with one of our ragdoll cats and would rather be sleeping on my lap. She does pick up all her toys during the day and return them to the basket, of course, she takes them all out during the day. I do have to work on her going outdoors without me; probably fears that she won’t get back to me.

As I am typing this to you she is asleep in a bed under my desk near my feet. She’ll stay in the bed as long as I’m in the room. When I leave she follows right at my heels.

I’m so glad I found Day Before the Rainbow on your Adopt-a-Pet.com website. Smooch is wonderful and we are very happy we found each other.

Sincerely,
Mary C”

We are so happy that we were able to help Mary find her perfect pet. Stories like hers are so inspiring to future adopters! Did you like this article? Click an icon below to share it on Facebook, Twitter, and more!

The thought of losing your dog is of course not a fun thing to consider, but the digital age has brought us more tools to help in the event it does happen. One of the sites we applaud to help with reuniting you with a lost dog is FidoFinder.com.  FidoFinder.com has reunited hundreds of lost dogs and their owners, and their website has countless success stories of pets being brought back to their rightful owner. They also have a sister site called TabbyTracker.com for lost cats. The website has over 9,000 followers on Facebook, and as of Feb 4, 2013 there are 267,319 dogs registered with Fido Finder.com. Here are some of the ways you can utilize FidoFinder.com in order to be proactive, and reactive if your dog is lost, or you find a lost dog in your area.

• Sign-up for Neighborhood Watch – Neighborhood Watch allows you to be notified any time a lost or found dog is posted in your area.
• Register your dog before he gets lost. This gives people in your area a way to contact you if your dog ever gets lost.
• Fido Finder also has relationships with many shelters so that they are notified if your dogs is lost.
• Check out many of the helpful articles on their website that will help you prepare and successfully find your lost dog.

Adopt-a-Pet.com’s partnership with PeoplePets.com is helping to raise awareness about pet adoption! Each month a new lucky fur-kid is featured on their website, and this month it’s Miss Amanda Jones! Amanda is an 8 year-old, beautiful, one-eyed Pit Bull mix in Los Angeles who is looking for her happy forever home. Although her past included some hardships, Amanda loves to dress up, go on walks, and ride in the car! She’s a fabulous pup who would make someone a very happy pet parent. Saved from a hoarding situation by Downtown Dog Rescue, Amanda has no problem getting around even though she is missing an eye. Lori Weise, owner of the rescue group says, “She climbs two flights of stairs every day up to my office like a cat!”  She’s a healthy and happy dog who’d make a lovely companion for apartment dwellers as well as home owners.

Thankfully, she is safe now but she’s not yet whole – what she still needs is that one friend in the world to make her family. Could it be you? For more information on Miss Amanda Jones, visit her Adopt-a-Pet.com profile!

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Shelter pets are going to get a lot of love at the Great American Pooch Smooch & Kitty Kiss even in St. Louis this year on February 10th! What a great way to show how many lovable pets are in animal shelters. Adopt-a-Pet.com is hosting the event in conjunction with Stray Rescue of St. Louis and Five Acres Animal Shelter. Celebrity athletes David Backes and Barret Jackman of the St. Louis Blues, their wives Kelly Backes and Jenny Jackman, Mayor Francis Slay, and other notables, along with Adopt-a-Pet.com representatives, will be making sure every single adoptable pet in two shelters is kissed in a marathon display of interspecies affection.

Not in St. Louis? You can join the online Great American Pooch Smooch & Kitty Kiss no matter where you are! You can read about the February 10th through 14th social media event here.

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