Why rescue from a shelter instead of buying from a pet store? For one, there’s the problem of pet over-population. In addition, pet store animals – in particular, dogs – often come from animal mills where they are raised under poor and unhealthy conditions.
If you don’t have any animal shelters nearby, or if you can’t find the pet that you want, you can broaden your search by using online animal rescue sites dedicated to helping you find an adoption-ready animal. Here are some of the better ones out there.
Petfinder
Petfinder is one of the best resources for finding pets that are in need of homes. The website operates on a database that contains over 13,000 different animal shelters and pet adoption organizations all throughout North America – yes, that means Petfinder doesn’t only search the United States, but also Canada and Mexico.
The search database isn’t limited to dogs and cats, but also horses, birds, reptiles, small furries, and even barnyard animals. Their listings are updated on a daily basis, so you’ll never run into an outdated post.
Adopt A Pet
Adopt a Pet is an American non-profit organization run by a small group of people who simply love pets. Starting from humble beginnings in 2004, they’ve grown in size and popularity over the past seven years, earning sponsorships from big name brands like Purina and Bayer. They’ve even earned endorsements from celebrities like Drew Barrymore and Kelsey Grammer.
This animal rescue site has thousands of homeless pets in their databases, all looking for a new owner and a new home. Though most of their listings are dogs and cats, they do list other less popular animals like rabbits, birds, and horses.
Animal Adoption Center
If you live in or near the state of Wyoming, the online adoption search hosted by the Animal Adoption Center might be the thing for you.
The Animal Adoption Center’s mission is to find safe, permanent homes for their homeless animals. Because of this, their adoption procedure is more than a simple on-the-spot transaction. They require you to pass an application process and not everyone qualifies.
However, this website will only be useful if you’re looking for a dog or a cat as they do not host adoption services for other animal types. Furthermore, you will need to pay an adoption fee for their animals.
Best Friends Animal Society
Even though the Best Friends Animal Society operates out of Utah, their services are available to anyone living in the United States or Canada. However, if you are unable to pick up the animal at one of their locations, you will need to pay a fee so they can fly it out to you.
The Best Friends Animal Society website holds hundreds of animals waiting to be adopted, from dogs to cats to horses to parrots – even pigs! You will be required to walk through an application process, and each animal type has its own unique application. Fortunately, the website guides you through the process.
Also, you will need to pay an adoption fee that scales depending on the type of animal.
Rescue Dogs Europe
For all of you European readers who are looking to adopt a pet in need of rescue, you can check out Rescue Dogs Europe. Unfortunately, when compared to the American sites and organizations, Rescue Dogs Europe does not have near as much popularity or widespread usage.
The website can be viewed in English, German, and Spanish. Many of the listed dogs are from Spain, though a growing number of them are from Holland and Belgium.
In order to adopt a dog here, you will need to agree to the site’s adoption agreement and go through an application process. There is an adoption fee, and once that fee is paid, the dog will be flown out – you will need to pick up the dog yourself.
Conclusion
Right now, the online animal rescue and adoption phenomenon is mostly an American thing. There are thousands of pets ready to be adopted all throughout North America, and these websites make it easy for you no matter where you live. Europe is slowly catching up, as well.
If you can’t find a local animal shelter or if none of the local animals fit your criteria, we encourage you to use these animal rescue sites and rescue a pet that you will love and adore. You will find a pet, the pet will find a home, and everyone involved will be happier for it.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
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