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We just love hearing stories of matches made on Adopt-a-Pet.com! This one comes from Julia, a woman with a heart big enough for two! “Dear Adopt-a-Pet.com, Thanks to your site, I saw Sophie’s photo on line last night and went to see her after work today and adopted her. She is the sweetest little thing. I am SO GLAD I found her. Thank you for posting her photo, I promise to make her very happy! If it had not been for your site I would have gone to the shelter totally unprepared and possible spent hours. The photos helped narrow my choices and made it easier. Sincerely, Julia”  …and then a few days later, we received a follow-up:

 

Dear Adopt-a-Pet.com,

Just wanted you to know I went and got another one that you had posted…Dixie. She’s a medium size black dog…she came with the name of Dixie and I am keeping it. They said she was at least 12. She is SO SWEET but she has some masses and will require surgery…just waiting for my vet to get back from vacation.

I got lucky with both my babies. Thanks again for having your site!

Sincerely, Julia

We so appreciate the exposure our partner sites give to pets for adoption, like Minnie on the Wet Nose Guide! “Well, hello there. I’m Minnie. Let me start off by saying, although I’m from Texas and I do have polite southern charm, I prefer to spend my time with adults. You see, I’ve never had much time alone with children, or even teenagers for that matter. Because of this, I get along famously with adults, and would prefer to spend my time in a forever home that was filled with other mature-aged individuals. After all, I’m of the “mature” age myself.” You can read the rest of Minnie’s story on the Wet Nose Guide here.

You know the yellow-covered books in the “For Dummies” serious that are how-to guides for just about everything? Well, Dog Photography has finally joined those illustrious (and well-illustrated) bookshelves! It’s an incredibly thorough guide with 18 chapters covering all the basics, advanced techniques, and (our favorite) even a chapter called “Pro-Bone-O: Morethan Ten Tips for Giving Back” that focuses on using dog photography to help shelter and rescue animals, and the particular challenges photographing shelter dogs pose.

I haven’t read all 300 pages yet, but after thumbing through and admiring all the beautiful color photos, being a shelter pet photographer, jumped right to Chapter 17. Although I don’t need some of the guidance they start off with, like identifying local shelters and rescues and understanding the differences, I really appreciate they’ve included that information for others who are just starting out wanting to help shelter dogs. Being experienced in photographing shelter dogs, I can definitely say their information and tips for “Making the Best of the Shelter Setting” and “Offering Your Help without Creating Extra Work for the Rescue” are spot-on. It is clear that the authors have not only professional photography experience, but experience (and great advice!) navigating being a photography volunteer at a shelter.

There are some other great tips in this section that aren’t related to photographing dogs in shelters too! Like “Donating a Portion of Your Session Fees as a Fundraiser”, “Donating Packages for Silent Auctions” and “Hosting Special Events as a Fundraiser” which are all great ideas!

I’m really looking forward to exploring the rest of this book, and also using it for a reference, like if I ever get the chance to set up a “studio-style” session at a shelter, I’ll know where to turn (Chapter 7). All-in-all this is a GREAT book for anyone that is interested in dog photography, shelter and rescue dog photography, or as a gift for someone in your life who is or might be.

We give it five out of five: paws up!
  

You can find Dog Photography for Dummies on Amazon.com for $16

While different breeds of cats are known for distinct personality as well as physical traits, one of the cool things that we love about cats is how personalities also seem to run in certain colors, especially within mixed breed cats. Cat enthusiasts can often predict much of a cat’s personality just with a glance at their coat coloring! Another interesting predictor given by coloring is if the cat is male or female. Just like it is very uncommon to have a red tabby female (although we are seeing more of them now, it used to be extremely rare), cats with Tortoiseshell coloring are almost always female.  Do you know why? It has to do with the fact that certain colors are actually carried on different parts of the chromosomes. We’re not scientists but our friends over at About.com’s Cats Guide do a great job of explaining all about the color, sex and chromosome link, as well as how Tortoiseshell cats share a unique personality most often described as “tortitude.”

You can read About.com’s article and see their beautiful fall gallery of  Tortoiseshell cats photos here.

Find beautiful Tortoiseshell cats and kittens for adoption near you by selecting “Tortoiseshell” from the color drop-down selector at http://www.adoptapet.com/cat-adoption

Photo: Brenna is a Tortie available for adoption in Chicago, IL. Visit her Adopt-a-Pet.com page for all her information and how to adopt her!

Our friends over at www.mypethealthguide.com are featuring another adorable adoptable from Adopt-a-Pet.com! Calling all Chicago-area Beagle lovers! We just got word that Jack, a purebred Beagle pup, needs a new home. Jack’s at least five years old, neutered, housetrained, and up-to-date on all shots. He’s a happy dog and his tail is always wagging despite a less-than-perfect past.

Jack hasn’t had much consistency in his life, ignored by his owners for years and finally taken to a shelter. Now Jack lives in doggie foster care, where he loves to go for walks and gets along very well with his canine brothers and sisters and humans of all ages.

If you’re looking to adopt a medium-size dog for a somewhat quiet, patient household, please consider teaching Jack about the finer things in life (e.g., a warm dog bed inside opposed to being chained to a doghouse in the backyard).

To read Jack’s full story, visit Adopt-a-Pet.com. He’s currently available for adoption at BREW Midwest, a Beagle rescue that consists of a network of volunteers and foster homes across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and western Pennsylvania.

 

Dog Training graphic created by Pet365, a UK stockist of designer dog collars from brands like Hamish McBeth.

Here is a great idea that an Adopt-a-Pet.com shelter partner shared with us! We liked it so much, we wanted to share it with you too. It’s an activity that can be fun for animal lovers of all ages to participate in making the promotional cards and handing them out in your local shopping centers. If you don’t already volunteer for a shelter or rescue that has black pets that need homes, you can run a search on Adopt-a-Pet.com, and then contact the shelters or rescues that have them listed, offering your free promotional help. We bet they’ll be thrilled! Here’s how Black Friday and a little creativity can help black shelter pets find homes:

“When we had a few black pets that needed a home around Thanksgiving we made up little cards that said ‘Black Friday’ with a really nice picture of the pet and a lot of the pet’s stats on the back like favorite toy, weight, age, breed, known tricks, nicknames, etc anything really that lets the potential adopter know about the animal.

We handed out the cards to shoppers who came out for all the deals for ‘Black Friday’ the day after Thanksgiving. It was a big hit! We had more adoptions that winter than in the 3 previous years!”  – Tracy Lee, Sheyenne Valley Friends of Animals, Lost and Found Coordinator

Thanks Tracy!

To make this super easy, we created a free Word document Black Friday Adopt A Pet flyer template you can download and edit with your shelter’s information:

Download: BLACK FRIDAY adopt a pet flyer (Word document)

Does your local shelter or rescue have a great idea for helping their pets get adopted? Email it to jennifer@cms.adoptapet.com for consideration as a future blog post here!

Note: The beautiful black cat in the photo above is Cleopatra, available for adoption in Southern California. See her video and find all about her on her Adopt-a-Pet.com page here: www.adoptapet.com/pet3883094.html

 

The dog-lovers over at the Wet Nose Guide are at it again, promoting adorable pets for adoption! Here’s their latest featured furry friend: “I’m Sid. I’m a 6-year-old Lhasa Apso Shih tzu mix. I came to a shelter with my friend, Sam, who recently left to join his forever home. I know I’ll find mine because I have a lot to offer. I’m neutered, house trained, up to date with shots, and I get along well with other animals – even cats! I do have a tough time with young children, but I think that’s because I like to be the center of attention – I mean, check out my hair! I wear it this way so everyone will notice me! As I take pride in my coat, I do require regular grooming appointments.

I very much enjoy walks (who doesn’t?) and glide along the street. That’s because you can’t see my legs too well with all this lustrous fur. Everyone tells me what a good boy I am when we go for walks, and I have to agree with them. I do prefer if people approach me slowly, though – no fast movers, please – so I can sniff you and determine where you’ve been. After I’m comfortable with you (it doesn’t take long), I’ll snuggle up to you with no problem at all.

To find out more about Sid visit his Adopt-A-Pet.com page!

The wonderful pet-loving folks over at PeoplePets.com are celebrating Adopt-a-Shelter Dog Month this month by introducing their readers to extraordinary canines who need homes throughout October, including Zelda from Adopt-a-Pet.com (update: Zelda was adopted!). Zelda is a sweet blue tick beagle who just wants to snuggle with someone who loves her! Eighteen months ago, Zelda was saved from doggie death row by the Midwest Beagle Rescue, Education & Welfare of Illinois. She’s been living with the same foster family ever since, and recently had a breakthrough with her anxiety around other dogs. Between 5 and 7 years old, Zelda is completely housetrained and walks great on a leash, but because of her confidence issues, Zelda wears her Thundershirt whenever she’s in public. It would be preferable for her to find a home without small children or other dogs.

“She’s a total cuddle bug, loves her people, she enjoys going for walks, she enjoys food,” says Clausen, Zelda’s foster mom. Zelda gets along with cats pretty well, as long as they don’t go near her food. “She does not like to share,” she says. The perfect owner for this pooch would be a semi-retired person or couple looking for a loyal friend. “Someone that just wants someone to curl up with this winter at the fireplace,” she says.

Read more about Zelda and how to adopt her on her Adopt-a-Pet.com page at http://www.adoptapet.com/pet3572932.html

Dog Development graphic created by Pet365 – a UK stockist of dog beds, collars and accessories.