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If you don't have a Dogster account yet, you can register in about 60 seconds. Registering allows you to use all our free features while allowing us to create a safer, more meaningful environment for the community as a whole.
Registering is fast, free and lets you create your dog page(s), find adoptable dogs, save your favorites, connect to your Pup Pals and more.
Because Dogster thinks the world of rescuers, this is a special place for to discuss shelters, rescue organizations, rescue strategies, issues, solutions, etc. and how we can all help in this critical endeavor. If you are interested in fostering for one of these great organizations or on your own, here's the place to seek friendly advice. We also welcome shelters and rescue organizations to post here about dogs looking for foster homes but we recommend that you put your location in the topic of your thread so those close by can find you!
Help us Make the Best Adoption/Rescue Site on the Web
Being able to search for a dog's age would be great. A lot of people are set on puppies, some are set on giving senior dogs a lot of love, and others just want a nice adult.
This sounds very promising!
Oooh, and how about a checkmark for dogs already housebroken? I don't know how much you want to model off of Petfinder or not, but they have checkboxes for "home without: small children, other dogs, other cats" which I think would also be very nice to have on the pages (so that it's easy to see instead of having to read through an entire bio) and in the search features.
Petfinder works well because it has specific search options...only thing I don't like is, not enough pictures are allowed. I do like the feature on Petfinder.com that will allow an interested party to inquire about the animal and that email is directly sent to our email
Just advertise the website heavily! People use petfinder so much because they know about it!!
I like to lurk in the SRF forum, and I've seen several pups complain that people don't spend enough time researching the breeds, and that this contributes to surrendering dogs to shelters.
How about a side bar with links to information about dog breeds? You could have the classic encyclopedia stuff, maybe with some pro's and con's written up from personal examples of Dogster dogs, and with links back to the new forum for specific breeds. This way, if Average Joe sees that a dog is half lab, half chow chow, he can look up both breeds right there to kind of get an idea of what traits he might have with this dog.
Great idea! Thanks for everything you do for Dogster!
Wow, great idea. We rely heavily on petfinder and I have only recently begun posting fosters here. I am not very computer savy and my pages are nothing to write home about.
I like the idea of being able to check breed resources right there. I also like that a greater number of pictures can be posted on Dogster, along with diaries.
My biggest problem with Dogster is what to do with pet pages that the adoptive owners don't want. I've kept one dog up, but it literally hurt me when I deleted a page the owners didn't want.
How can I keep all those dogs listed without looking like a crazy dog lady?
Ted, in the short time I've been on Dogster I've found it to be a neverending source of information and support! Good job!
Great plan!!
What I don't like about the adoptable strolls is that often dogs are not really up for adoption. Some people seem to mix up that they adopted the dog, many pages are way too old for that dog to still be available.
I think it is very important to only show dogs really needing a new home, otherwise it gets frustrating.
Having good search options for any website is really important to me, and I think for many other potential adopters/buyers. I like to be able to have photos available (VERY/most important), and like to be able to search by age, gender, breed, size, *location*, rehoming/adoption/purchase fee, etc. Also being able to choose an exact age from a list (ie: less than 6mo, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, older than 7 instead of choosing: baby, young, adult, senior, which can leave a lot of room for guessing on both the lister and the searcher's part). Also choosing by state, or a certain number of miles within your state help as well...
Hmm, if I think of anything else that is useful when searching for pets I'll post again. I just know limited search options, no photos, no obvious location, and no rehoming fees really make it hard/aggrivating!
I think it would be helpful to include a section of information that would provide tips, what to do’s, where to go, do's and don'ts, pros and cons, and general educational, articles, or information concerning rescue and adoption. Some other thoughts for inclusion as follows….
1. A database for transport availability.
2. “Successes” page where people could post and share their accomplishments and stories in rescue and adoption efforts.
3. A “auction” option could be established for fund raising for a particular recipient based on member suggestion which could be chosen by Dogster at random or by member input. Donations of various types could be offered by members for auction. Dogster could offer awards or incentives to donate for specific causes.
5. Calendar of special events
6. Rescue links.
7. State, federal, and specific country laws/regulations
8. What about a article of the week or month award.
Not sure if anyone has said this or not but it would be really helpful to list if a dog is available to be adopted outside of its local area. I know some will and some won't. When I was looking for a dog, before I found Kitai, I found a special needs Japanese Chin with a cleft palate in LA I was interested in. The rescue said if I drove down (5 hours each way) and she liked me they would let me adopt her. In the end her Foster Mom decided to keep her but I think that information would be really helpful considering all of the threads here about how many shelters just don't have small dogs so people who would have adopted turn to breeders or pet shops instead.
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This sounds very promising!
