Not that long ago, animal shelters were skeptical that anyone would want to adopt an older pet. Today, senior pets are celebrated year-round, especially in November, Adopt a Senior Pet Month. At Maddie’s Fund®, the last thing we’d want is for anyone to feel left out of this hottest of hot trends, so we’d like… Learn More

How likely is it that a senior pet can adapt to ending up in a shelter, being pulled by a rescue group, placed into one or more foster homes, and finally adopted — with a few stops at adoption events long the way? Almost guaranteed, says Sherri Franklin, who’s definitely in a position to know.… Learn More

Blind, diabetic, lethargic, and sporting a hairless body and adrenal tumor. Sound like an easy dog to find a home for? Add in her senior status, and the prospects could daunt the most dedicated shelter, rescue group or adopter. Fortunately for Roo, a whole lot of dauntless people came together to create an Adopt a… Learn More

When animal shelters and rescue groups talk about “promoting” pets available for adoption, or adopting “two for the price of one,” does that choice of language reduce pets to the level of a commodity? At a daylong workshop presented by Maddie’s Fund® at Animal Care Expo several years ago, Bonney Brown, then Director of the… Learn More

Will people adopt a one-eyed hard luck pet? And what kind of adoption group places a Siberian Husky who’s already been returned by one adopter… into a new home in an apartment? The answers are “You bet!” to the first, and “We did!” to the second. In celebration of Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, here… Learn More

The phrase “customer service” doesn’t always roll off the tongue of people in animal adoption circles. The people we interact with are adopters, not customers, and the pets in our care aren’t a product or service, but living beings. Right? Of course that’s true. But it doesn’t mean we can’t serve pets better, and save… Learn More

Have you ever shared a pet who needed a home on social media, or asked someone else to? Ever wonder what ended up happening with the pet you were trying to help? Few things keep us going like knowing we’re making a difference for animals, so in celebration of Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, Maddie’s… Learn More

Animal organizations have done a pretty good job of destigmatizing FIV-positive cats, and adopters have begun welcoming them into their families in larger numbers than could have been imagined 20 years ago. But cats who test positive for feline leukemia (FeLV) don’t fare as well in the hands of adoption groups. Is it time to… Learn More

Is your shelter or rescue group’s “urgent pets” page on Facebook doing more harm than good? That’s what Don Jennings wondered when he took over as Executive Director of San Antonio Pets Alive! (SAPA!), and saw the chaotic, often disruptive nature of the comments on the organization’s “SAPA Urgents and Adoptables” page. “SAPA! was formed… Learn More