The Best Sites to Adopt a Dog Online

Every day a dog in your area gets abandoned, and those who are lucky end up in rescue shelters. Thanks to the internet, these shelters can now post the profiles of these pets online in the hope someone can provide them with a new home.

Pet adoption websites offer a chance to potential owners to fulfill their dreams of owning a pet and giving a permanent home to an animal that needs it. If you’re interested in adopting a dog online, here is a list of the top 5 places you can do that.

Petfinder

If you want to rescue a dog from one of the 11,000 shelters across North America, Petfinder is the right place for you. It’s one of the oldest online pet adoption websites in the world, with a rich 20-year old history.

Animal shelters will post the profile of a dog that’s up for adoption. The profile will include a few pictures of the dog and all the essential information. This includes the dog’s medical history, characteristics, training, preferences or dislikes (e.g. cats), and in most cases, a lengthy description.

The website’s interface is user-friendly and easy to navigate. To adopt a pet, you first need to make an account. Then, use the website’s efficient search system to find the perfect dog. Sort by size, age, gender, and breed. You can also tick an option to show only dogs that are around your area.

Once you find a perfect furry friend, you can contact the shelter and make an appointment to meet the dog in person. If you’d like a different pet, this website also lists cats, rabbits, birds, horses, and other animals. Petfinder is definitely in the top bracket of pet adoption websites.

DogTime

DogTime is a website that focuses mostly on dogs. It’s an adoption website but offers much more. You can find legal and health advice and various articles about dog care and trends. There’s even a special section that recommends names for your dog.

A special section of the website provides you with all the necessary information if you’re adopting for the first time. You can even take a quiz to see which breed is for you, or a quiz to check if you’re even ready for a dog. Once you find an ideal companion, you can read a detailed description of their breed on the website.

The adoption process works similarly to other pet adoption websites. Type in a breed, your ZIP code, and let the website list all the available dog’s profiles. When you click on a dog’s profile, the website will take you to Petfinder’s search page. From here you can see all the details about a certain dog and contact the shelter directly.

Adopt a Pet

Adopt a Pet is another popular pet adoption website with a huge chain of rescues and shelters. You can find pets from over 17,000 different shelters across North America.

The website is pretty straightforward. You log in, click the ‘Find a Pet’ button, and you can choose between various pets. If you’re looking to adopt a dog, first you got to enter your ZIP code. This will allow the website to list all the doggie profiles that are available in shelters near you.

If you don’t mind traveling a long time for that special one, you can set a distance of over 400km and even a nationwide search. However, you’ll need to select a special breed if you’re looking to search the whole country.

Adopt a Pet also offers a great Rehome program. If for some unfortunate reason you have to temporarily (or permanently) part with your fluffy buddy, the website can arrange a safe and loving home for them.

DogsBlog

Although it’s not as big as some other websites on this list, DogsBlog shows genuine care for all the pooches. It has a notable history that started in 2007. Since then, it has provided a new home for more than 50 thousand dogs.

The people behind the website feel that you shouldn’t be limited by geography when finding a perfect companion.  However, if you want to provide a home to a dog near your area, DogsBlog has a section where you can browse dogs by a shelter. Simply find a shelter near you and the website will list all the dogs that are currently there.

There’s a nice section on the website called ‘Overlooked dogs.’ It lists all the dogs that are having a hard time finding a place to live. So, if you want to provide a second chance to someone who really needs it, this is your opportunity.

Best Friends Animal Society

The Best Friends Animal Society was founded more than three decades ago to prevent the killing of unadoptable animals. Today it provides a new opportunity to over a thousand animals. There are always more than 200 dogs in the society’s shelter that need a new caring owner.

Navigating through their website is simple and you can sort the dogs by breed, age, size, sex, and even color. Unlike large pet adoption websites, all the dogs are located in the society’s shelter in Kanab, Utah.

However, you don’t have to come and adopt a pet in person. If you’re from the US or Canada, the society will provide transportation of the pet to your front door. There are a few smaller centers around North America, such as those in New York or Atlanta, so you may look at those places if you want to meet your potential new best friend in person.

There Are Other Ways to Help

If you are willing to help but are currently unable to adopt a dog, you can help in various other ways. You may look for a pet rescue shelter near you and help animals by volunteering.

On the other hand, if you are on restricted time, you can always donate to websites that then transfer all the money to the shelters they are connected to.

Some websites even offer a ‘sponsorship program,’ where you can choose a pet from a shelter and provide money for its care and food even if you don’t have time and space to nurture it.

Have you ever adopted a pet online? Are there any other useful sites that you would recommend? Share your pet adoption tips and experiences with us in the comments below.