Adopt-a-Pet.com

Adopt-a-Pet.com
Type of businessWeb service
Available inEnglish
Founded2000
CEOJeannine Taaffe
ServicesAdoption for pets

Adopt a Pet is an adoption web service that advocates pet adoption, gathering information from over 15,000 pet shelters in the U.S. and Canada, with a searchable data base.[1][2] The web site promotes spaying and neutering of pets and pet adoption through conventional and social media presence, public service announcements, and interactions with local governments. Since 2015, Adopt a Pet has been offering its visitors manuals for pets.[3]

History

Adopt a Pet was founded in 2000 by David Meyer, Steve Abbey, Luke Montgomery, Amy Luwis, and Doug McKee as 1-800-Save-a-Pet.com. Initially, 1-800-Save-a-Pet.com was a program designed to end the overpopulation of companion animals in shelters in Los Angeles, California. The program was based on one-year research.[4][5]

1-800-Save-a-Pet.com participated in a pet rescue effort in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.[6][7]

In September 2008, the company changed its name to Adopt a Pet, In October 2008, Adopt a Pet partnered with Care2 to launch America's Favorite Animal Shelter contest. The winning shelters were awarded a total of $20,000 on December 4, 2008.[8][9] The contest took place again in 2009.[10][11]

In January 2009, Adopt a Pet launched a national ADOPT campaign accompanied by a poster created by Shepard Fairey using a photo by Clay Myers to raise awareness about adoption at the time President Obama was looking for a dog for his family.[12] This poster was on the cover of the Spring 2009 issue of Dog's Life Magazine and was fashioned after Fairey's Obama Hope poster.[13]

In April 2009, Adopt a Pet expanded its search to include, in addition to cats and dogs, rabbits, birds, and small animals (such as hamsters and guinea pigs), farm-type animals, horses, amphibians, reptiles, and fish. In May of the same year, it launched a social media campaign, "Social Petworking", introducing the capability to attach a photo to an email or to a Facebook page.[14]

In June 2010, Adopt a Pet paid tribute to Rue McClanahan, who was known as an actress and a supporter of pet adoption.[15]

In 2011, White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle and his wife Jamie partnered with Adopt a Pet to create a public service billboard campaign to promote pet adoption.[16]

In 2021, Adopt a Pet was acquired by Kinship, a subsidiary of Mars, Inc. [17]

Executives

  • Jeannine Taaffe, CEO[18]

References

  1. ^ "Adopt-a-Pet.com Encourages Department of Homeland Security to Consider Recruiting Shelter Dogs for Sniffer Duty, Offers Help". PRWeb. July 2010. Archived from the original on July 26, 2010. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
  2. ^ Kirkwood, Kyra (Spring 2009). "ADOPTION IS THE NEW BLACK The Evolution of the Adoption Movement". Dog's Life Magazine (7). Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  3. ^ "Book Giveaway! Win a Free Copy of The Total Dog Manual From Adopt-a-Pet.com". Adopt-a-Pet.com Blog. 2015-11-14. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
  4. ^ Doug McKee. An Analysis of the City of Los Angeles Pet Population and Attitudes Towards Pet Adoption and Spay/Neuter (PDF).
  5. ^ Waters, Jennifer (March 27, 2008). "Foreclosing on Fido. Financially overwhelmed owners abandon homes, with pets still inside". The Wall Street Journal. Market Watch. Retrieved November 5, 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  6. ^ "More homes needed for Katrina animals". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. February 5, 2006.
  7. ^ Esparza, Araceli (September 9, 2005). "Rescued animals look for owners". Whittier Daily News.
  8. ^ Royster, Aaron (November 5, 2008). "HALT voted as top Arizona shelter". The Daily Miner. Archived from the original on September 19, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  9. ^ "Independent Animal Rescue Wins Care2 America's Favorite Animal Shelter Contest". WebWire. December 4, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  10. ^ "Low cost spay/neuter clinic likely in 2010". The Newnan Times-Herald. November 24, 2009. Archived from the original on November 26, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  11. ^ "McKamey Calls On Community Votes In Efforts To Win $10K From Care2". TheChattanoogan.com. November 9, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  12. ^ Smith-Miles, Charmaine (April 10, 2009). "Art for animals: Fairey creates poster for Adopt-a-Pet.com". IndependentMail.com. Retrieved October 25, 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  13. ^ "Front Cover". Dog's Life Magazine (7). Spring 2009. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  14. ^ "Adopt-a-Pet.com Launches Social Petworking Campaign". Pet Product News. May 29, 2009. Archived from the original on June 7, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  15. ^ "Adopt-a-Pet.com Pays Tribute to Friend and Supporter Rue McClanahan". PRWeb. June 3, 2010. Retrieved March 12, 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  16. ^ "White Sox Pitcher Mark Buehrle Has A Message For Arizona: Adopt A Shelter Pet". The Street. 2011-03-14. Retrieved November 5, 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  17. ^ "Gen-Z, Millennial Parents Opps: Adopt-a-Pet acquired by Kinship, increases spend (Score 18)". www.winmo.com.
  18. ^ "Charity Navigator - Rating for Humane America Animal Foundation". www.charitynavigator.org.