Petfinder

RedHotDobe

aka RedHotBabe
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#1
www.petfinder.com

It's a very good website to find shelter dogs in your area by breed, gender, age, or size. The classifieds section is also a good place to check for dogs listed by state and. That's where I found my Duke.
 

Desteny

Save a life: Rescue
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#2
You are right, RedHotDobe. It's a VERY good sight. It has a great forum page, too...all the animal shelter's in my area post their dogs there.
 

scob89

DILLIGAF?
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#3
That is the site the shelter I go to uses to put their dogs for adoption on, and it is so easy to post them on there, you just e-mail them a picture and information about the dog and in two or three days its no the website.
 

Saje

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#4
I love that website but I don't like the forum at all. Everyone there is so agressive and against anything they varies from the general opinion. And even though what they argue about is usually good advice it's often so tedious to read through the threads where people are getting attacked for bad decisions (which they are trying to remedy) or whatever. Obviously, it's really annoyed me.
It's a good place for advice though. I don't hang around and chat anymore.
Saje
 

Saje

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#5
Sure, but if a little girl has three names that she likes for her new pup but can't decide and asks for help do people really need to drill her about where she got her puppy, why she didn't get it from a rescue, why her parents didn't drive her to another state to pick up one of the puppies on petfinder, why she isn't more responsible, was the breeder a responsible breeder...? She's just a young girl.

She just wants help with the name for the new pup that she loves a lot. Vote or don't vote. Leave the "educational" ranting to the threads that are looking for it.

You can't help people (and their animals) by offending them, closing their minds and making them leave. You can't MAKE people learn anything unless they want to. All you can do is provide them with information and hope that they get the most from it and make good, informed decisions.

There are plenty of parents who have learned that from their grown children. All you can do is advise and hope they will have an open-mind and listen.

I never said that rescue groups don't have a hard job. They have a very difficult job. The people on petfinder do not all work at rescues. People that I talk to at rescues tend to be kind, they understand that not everyone "gets" the issues of supply and demand and how that affects animals. They tend to gently educate and help people be the best owners they can be. I appreciate them a lot and I do my part to help our local shelter.

Petfinder is a great organization. It's great that it is across North America and that it has helped so many animals. The forum provides lots of good information and advice for interested people. I just find it to be too harsh at times and don't find it to be a fun forum to visit with other animal lovers.
 

Saje

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#6
If you truly want to educate you must learn how to be an educator. I come from a family of teachers and have taught myself. I know first hand what it is like to teach a difficult topic. I could lecture for hours or I could SHOW them. When people have a clear, step-by-step understanding they are more likely to remember and re-educate. It does get repetative, explaining the same thing over and over to each individual, but every time they "get it." It's really a great feeling.
 

Saje

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#7
My point above was exactly that. YOu can't make people learn anything they don't want to. You can treat them like crap if you want to but you won't get better results. If anything they'll probably just shut down to all advice and choose to do things their own way.

I'm not talking about pussy-footing around an issue. There is a middle ground. Some of the people at Petfinder are super nice and informative. Some of them are naive and not-educated about animal welfare. And some of them get on a soapbox and rant to hear themselves talk.

I know you're going to do what you want because that is your personality. My point was that people who go to the petfinder forums can get great advice there but they may also get chewed out for not being more supportive of rescues.
 

Saje

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#8
My point above was exactly that. YOu can't make people learn anything they don't want to. You can treat them like crap if you want to but you won't get better results. If anything they'll probably just shut down to all advice and choose to do things their own way.

I'm not talking about pussy-footing around an issue. There is a middle ground. I do not pussyfoot around. I am very direct and to-the-point but I am rarely insulting. I can't think of a time when someone has turned and walked away from me because they didn't want to hear what I have to say. My job is in communication and I'm very good at it.

Some of the people at Petfinder are super nice and informative. Some of them are naive and not-educated about animal welfare. And some of them get on a soapbox and rant to hear themselves talk.

I know you're going to do what you want because that is your personality. And I'm glad that there are people like you who are such activists.

My point was that people who go to the petfinder forums can get great advice there but they may also get chewed out for not being more supportive of rescues.
 

candy722

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#9
If you go to yahoo classifieds you can also find some doggies that people are giving away because they can't take care of it.
 
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#11
I have a story...

I lost my beloved yellow lab, Yogi, a year ago December to lymphoma. I wasn't wanting to get another dog right away -- of course there's no way to replace the loved one you lost. And I still had Eli, my golden. But Eli is no spring chicken and loves having a brother and was so lonely without a brother. So, I started doing some searching. Mind you, I'm in LAB RESCUE and everything. I started sprouting out to look into neighborhood lab rescue groups, too. Just to see who may be out there. That's when I found Petfinders and found out there was a yellow lab at my local humane society... no picture or anything. He had been in there for awhile and was picked up as a stray. Needless to say I called our Lab Rescue coordinator and told her about him. Said I would even foster him. She just said "oh, they never call us because they know a purebred will be placed". So, I didn't think anything about it. UNTIL, I noticed the next day he was no longer listed on the Petfinder site. And I was on the phone with yet another lab rescue group and happened to mention this yellow lab I saw on Petfinder at the humane society. The girl goes "oh my god, he's GOT to get out of there! He's been taken off the adoption floor because he's so stressed out!". Needless to say, that's my Hunter. I got him, I love him. He's a great dog. I was just going to foster, but he's my forever dog and he's in his forever home. So, my first acclimation to Petfinder.com was quite interesting! Talk about a window of opportunity that was opened up to me and Hunter by Him above!!!!
 

Saje

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#12
That's such a sweet story. :) They have so many great animals on petfinder. Some day I want a pot bellied pig! :) Really.
 
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#13
Saje said:
That's such a sweet story. :) They have so many great animals on petfinder. Some day I want a pot bellied pig! :) Really.
I got Hunter out of there on a Thursday night. The night before he was to be euthanized the next day =:-0

Pot Bellied pigs are great, I hear. Someone at work has one. It uses a cat litter box, eats anything you give it, and is sweet as can be! (at 40 pounds!!)
 

Saje

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#14
Only 40? I thought they were more. :) I hear you have to totally protect your house because they will eat anything that is loose. That may be a slight exageration. :)
 
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#15
Years ago I wanted a potbelly so badly, and finally found one. I will never believe she was a full blooded potbelly pig, she got as big as a farm pig. She was a hoot.
Molly would eat paper if left in her sight, after eatting some homework (once took it right out of a bookbag) the kids quickly learned to keep things out of her sight. She started with a literbox, then a bigger box, then 2 literboxes next to each other. Molly wouldnt go pooh in one, she did that outside. She'd stand by the door and complain to let us know she needed out. I decided to remove the literboxes and she would do both jobs outside.
Now Molly hated rain, snow, cold and heat. She would have to be pushed out the door when the weather wasnt to her liking. Because she was so big it would take me and my kids working together to push her out, she'd quickly do her job then run back in.
I learned they go in heat every 18 days for 3 days. This was 3 days of going around nosing us, nonstop. First time I was freaking out, couldnt figure out why she wouldnt leave me alone. I called my dad who had been a farmer to ask him why does she do this! I even asked the vet if she could get fixed, at that time he had never heard of anyone wanting to have a pig fixed, he wasnt sure.
She became very territorial. When company came she'd walk over, fuss and hit them with her nose, walk off and go lay down. As if to say this is my house dont forget it. I finally had to make a decision. She had outgrown our home and her nose could do alot of damage (I had lots of bruises). She didnt like company and with kids we always had a houseful. I went on a search to find her a good home, someone who could handle her odd ways.
I really enjoyed her and wish we had lived in the country with her. We still sit and giggle about Molly when we talk about her. We had some wonderful memories of her. She was a blast.
 

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