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I browse Petfinder and I did find and adopt our most recent rescue on that site. So, I'm not much help on providing suggestions, but I will say: If you have not gotten someone really good to do your photos, that might be something to look into. Some rescues just have way better photos, that give you a much better idea of what the dog looks like, and even capture their personality more intriguingly. I know that helped catch my eye for our cutie.
If you want a rescue, the first place to start is your local shelter. Then check with shelters a bit further out in your area. You get to meet the dog and see how he reacts to you and the shelter staff will have at least some idea about the dog's temperament.
I would look on Craigslist. That's not the place I would use to rehome a pet, but there are good dogs on there that people are trying to find homes for before they dump the dog at the pound. You can get the dog before it is traumatized by a trip to the humane society. Just be careful about scams. See the dog before you hand over any money, and that is not the place to try to buy a purebred puppy. The best offerings are dogs that have passed the adorable puppy stage but are not old enough to be past the destructive stage. Many people get fed up and dump the dog at about 12 months of age and you can get lucky and find a healthy, pretty, mentally stable young dog who is just about ready to settle down and will turn into a good dog with some training and structure. (don't expect any good manners from a youngster who is being dumped. If he had good manners, he would not have lost his home)
Another possibility is to put the word out to friends and family. They might know of a dog who is looking for a home.
If you have a favorite purebred, then go to the AKC website and find the contact information for the parent club for that breed. Their parent club will have someone in charge of rescue for their breed. Probably you will get a puppy mill dog but it will resemble a purebred and it will have been in a foster home for evaluation. The high end purebreds go back to the breeder if they have to be re-homed, but even those breeder's dogs, the person in rescue might know where they are, so there is a chance of getting a well bred dog as a re-home..
Here's what the OP is asking (from the cross-post linked above):
*****************
"I volunteer with a rescue. Some of our pets are getting few - or no - applications. They're shared all over Facebook, on the rescue's website, and they're on Petfinder. I want to help them become more visible to potential adopters. Where are some of YOUR favorite websites to find adoptable pets?"
Here's what the OP is asking (from the cross-post linked above):
*****************
"I volunteer with a rescue. Some of our pets are getting few - or no - applications. They're shared all over Facebook, on the rescue's website, and they're on Petfinder. I want to help them become more visible to potential adopters. Where are some of YOUR favorite websites to find adoptable pets?"
After losing my two senior dogs, I needed a companion for my year old shepherd. I started with Petfinder, then narrowed it down to local rescues and visited their websites. After filling out an online application for a puppy at a local shelter, they called, inviting me to come look at their dogs.
When I heard from a friend, that a shepherd pup was being rehomed, I ended up going that route. Keeping in touch with purebred rescues and breeders is a good way to find a breed that you like.
Sometimes posting a particular pet’s sad story is a good way to generate interest.
If you want a rescue, the first place to start is your local shelter. Then check with shelters a bit further out in your area. You get to meet the dog and see how he reacts to you and the shelter staff will have at least some idea about the dog's temperament.
I would look on Craigslist. That's not the place I would use to rehome a pet, but there are good dogs on there that people are trying to find homes for before they dump the dog at the pound. You can get the dog before it is traumatized by a trip to the humane society. Just be careful about scams. See the dog before you hand over any money, and that is not the place to try to buy a purebred puppy. The best offerings are dogs that have passed the adorable puppy stage but are not old enough to be past the destructive stage. Many people get fed up and dump the dog at about 12 months of age and you can get lucky and find a healthy, pretty, mentally stable young dog who is just about ready to settle down and will turn into a good dog with some training and structure. (don't expect any good manners from a youngster who is being dumped. If he had good manners, he would not have lost his home)
Another possibility is to put the word out to friends and family. They might know of a dog who is looking for a home.
If you have a favorite purebred, then go to the AKC website and find the contact information for the parent club for that breed. Their parent club will have someone in charge of rescue for their breed. Probably you will get a puppy mill dog but it will resemble a purebred and it will have been in a foster home for evaluation. The high end purebreds go back to the breeder if they have to be re-homed, but even those breeder's dogs, the person in rescue might know where they are, so there is a chance of getting a well bred dog as a re-home..
Did you read my post? I volunteer with a local rescue and I'm looking for ways to promote our dogs.
After losing my two senior dogs, I needed a companion for my year old shepherd. I started with Petfinder, then narrowed it down to local rescues and visited their websites. After filling out an online application for a puppy at a local shelter, they called, inviting me to come look at their dogs.
When I heard from a friend, that a shepherd pup was being rehomed, I ended up going that route. Keeping in touch with purebred rescues and breeders is a good way to find a breed that you like.
Sometimes posting a particular pet’s sad story is a good way to generate interest.
My foster dog has a very sad story... that's how I got roped into fostering her lol.
Did you read my post? I volunteer with a local rescue and I'm looking for ways to promote our dogs.
Yes, I read your post. You asked what are my favorite websites to look for a pet and I answered you. That is where I would look for a pet if I wanted a rescue dog or cat. I would not go to a website that advertises nationwide. I live in Idaho, I don't want a dog that is in South Carolina that I can't even meet before I take him. Concentrate on local contacts.
If you want to know how to promote the dogs, ask how to increase their chances of getting adopted, don't ask for people's favorite websites.
If you want your rescue dogs to be the most adoptable, find a volunteer to bathe and groom and get another volunteer to do some obedience training on the dog. A dog who is clean and neatly trimmed has a much better chance of getting a second look, and if he will walk nicely on a leash, sit, down, stay, come when he is called, and maybe do some sort of cute trick, then he is going to be the one selected. Amateur pet owners prefer a dog that is well behaved and friendly over one that acts like a gaffed marlin when on a leash and jumps and claws at them.
My local shelter has a nice website on line and nice volunteers and they have a very good record of finding homes. They interact with the community so that local people feel good about them and good about going there to get a pet.
Nearby, in a large city, there is a very good privately run rescue and they advertise their available animals on the local Craigslist. They have a very good reputation and I know that they screen carefully. I would hope that anyone local looking for a pet would know that they are legitimate. That same rescue also gets the local news station to occasionally give them some air time. They might be doing a charity dog walk or something similar and the local station will cover it.
Most important is to make your screening and adoption process friendly. Make potential homes feel welcome and make sure that you are doing the screening to protect the pet, not to try to catch them being a criminal. I hear almost endless complaints about how difficult the rescues are and how insulting, and how they don't really want to find homes for the pets. You have to screen, but you can do the screening so it doesn't feel like a criminal investigation.
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