PetFinderReviews 353

I think I've put in close to 25 inquiries and applications since January 1st. I've had 5 responses. 2 telling me they don't adopt out of state and 3 telling me the dog has been adopted. Most of these listing are not kept current and you end up spinning your wheels for a dog that is not available. Also, there are no rules that listers must follow in regards to responding. Disappointing and frustrating web site. Will look elsewhere and so should you.

You go to the site, put in your zip code and it shows you dogs or cats available in your area from local shelters. It's just a go between for people shopping around and the shelter. People giving it a bad rating are basing it on their experience with the individual seller/shelter. That's your job to check out who's selling the pet, not petfinder. They are just connecting you to the seller/shelter. We've been looking for a companion for my boyfriends father and it led us right to all the shelters in our area. Once we found a pet we thought he'd like, I contacted the shelter directly. Most shelters operate one an email system because they'd otherwise be answering the phone all day with inquires instead of taking care of the animals. They are often short staffed. If you send an email you may have to wait a few days for someone to respond. They get A LOT of people requesting info on pets. Sorry, but that's just how the shelter systems work. If you had a bad experience with the shelter, give them a bad review, not petfinder... they already did their job.

Because I worked through PetFinder to adopt a pet, I assumed that I was dealing with a foster parent. I now believe that I was dealing with a scam artist. I think this lady's neighbor was relocating and didn't want to take the dog. So scam lady said that she'd take it, and told her family, "watch me get someone to pay me $100 for this mutt".

They let me drive 50 miles to meet them, then told me that I wouldn't be able to take the dog home yet (without giving me a reason as to why). I asked them why they didn't text me to tell me that. No valid answer. More importantly, the dog was billed as a Yorkie but looked nothing like the pictures provided.

Why is there not a "contact us" tab on the PetFinder website? If they are not vetting these ads, why is there not a disclaimer on their site stating so?

I was involved in rescue for years and can say with certainty that the overwhelming majority of organizations on Petfinder are nothing more than scams to solicit donations or individuals who hoard animals and use the listings as "proof" of "rescue" to claim a non-profit status for the tax breaks. With very few exceptions, the only reputable rescues on there are humane societies.

About 17 years ago, we contacted a rescue about a white German Shepherd, speaking to them in detail on the phone. We were led to believe it was all a matter of meeting the dog, then never heard back. Contacted them several times, with no word, until finally they told us the foster home decided to keep the dog. We were devastated, but, unfortunately, did go back to Petfinder over the years. EVERY SINGLE TIME, regardless of which "private rescue" we contacted, it was the same game. Either no response at all, and the dog would remain on the site for months, if not years on end, or we were given the runaround. I thought it might be different for cats, but now that we are looking for a kitten, it's the same old song and dance.

Honestly, Craigslist actually IS more reputable. I have worked with rescuers on there, transporting or fostering dogs, and know many people in my area who actually do rescue and rehome on their own dime placing dogs and cats through them. Just... stay away from Petfinder. It's the Ponzi scheme of the animal world.

This is a dangerous site just like Craigslist for animals it's not for the safety or return of animals it's for sadists animals toturers and it gives them all the info they need address description phone number there is no security check it's popular oh no trash dump next door because the abusers can say oh I'm so sorry Fido is lost I'll help you and the butt nuggets who think they are so powerful oh no next door happily give out all info without a blink needs to be shut down

Twice have I applied for a dog. The first time I went through the application process & waited a week before they told me another family was chosen. He was removed from petfinder so I believed it. So I kept browsing on petfinder for more dogs & week later that same dog was available again, so I applied again & never got a response. After that I applied for another dog, got an email with the application, here we are a week later & I still have heard nothing from the first or the second dog. If I wasnt chosen the least they could do is give me a heads up!

My dog ran away. The very next day, she was up for adoption at a local shelter, but they claimed that she was already adopted, and they posted her as adopted on petfinder. But I found out after that, that they actually sent her to a high kill shelter, who promptly killed her. I told petfinder about this, and they don't give a s**. If that happened to my dog, it can happen to anyone. And the original shelter who had her killed? They DEMANDED that I pay them $50, which I refused of course! Adopt from your local private citizens or from a reputable shelter, but seriously steer clear of petfinder!

I recently purchased a dog on perfinder from the shelter known as " Gone to the Dogs" for a dog named Alex. My experience with the seller was absolutely horrible. Everything she posted on the website was a complete lie. Alex was no where near the age Strother put on the website and he also came with A LOT of medical needs that were not know at the time of adoption. When informing the shelter owner strother she was very standoffish and was also trying to get me to keep the dog when I financially could not afford it. Had I'd known of the medical needs Alex would have needed prior to meeting him I would have never adopted him just to return him. My experience with strother and " Gone to the Dogs" was absolutely horrible and I would never recommend anyone to her. I also find it very odd that on petfinder Alex was listed as being sheltered by "Gone to the Dogs" rescue but was then informed by strother that he was being kept at the Charles city pound.The website on "Gone to the Dogs" mentioned that all dogs are healthy heart worm negative and fixed. Upon meeting and adopting Alex none of those things were true. Again had I'd know prior to meeting Alex if I would have been informed of the CORRECT information he would not have been adopted. It's very hard to say no to a dog meeting him and wanting him to be out of a shelter so badly. After returning Alex strother then when online and decided it would be a good idea to kind of bash me for returning him. Strother did mention she runs a no kill shelter and also mentioned she has funds that would help Alex. If she has funds why would she get him taken care of properly? When on petfinder please make sure you find out all info about the animal you want to adopted before meeting them so you won't have a horrible experience like I did.

So if your told a certain animal is available and to fill out an application in good faith not taking into consideration that there maybe as many as 20-50 other people interested in the same animal spending the same $15.00 non-refundable application fee makes for a pretty good profit on there side just to advertise the animal and keep the applications coming. This is just my opinion but the chances of getting the animal you want are slim at best. I believe if you don't get the animal you applied for or one you agree on you should get your money back since I believe they are using this cost to fund there operation so why not keep the application flowing.

I tried getting my foster kittens on their website to get them to forever homes. They make you jump through hoops just to qualify to get on their website. We found these kittens on the roadside in near death condition. We paid for their vet care out of pocket, and got them nursed to perfect health after several hundred dollars of vet care.

We hoped to get them adopted, but Petfinder insists on letterhead vet reference letters which our vet doesn't have. Our Google adoption application form just wouldn't suffice for Petfinder. They add layers of onerous requirements that make it impossible to work with them.

Obviously they aren't in the business of finding forever homes. They're just another lousy "non-profit " that doesn't function to help foster pets. I'll stand in front of Petsmart instead.

Very bad service. I set up an appointment on Wednesday to see the dog Leon. The contact person told me to meet her there on Sunday between 11-3. I came but she was not there. The pet store I was to meet her at said that she comes on Saturdays. Her text to me definitely stated Sunday. I can't believe what she did and that she doesn't even know who LEON is or if he had been adopted by someone else. I looked for a dog for 2 months on there site before I picked Leon.
Also, this contact person takes too long to respond. Don't use them if you happen to fall in love with one of their pets. You may never get to see them, let alone adopt them.

I volunteer with a dog rescue that wanted to list available dogs on Petfinder. Petfinder would not accept our rescue because we were quite candid in saying that puppies born locally in NJ are adopted before bring spayed/neutered with the contractual obligation to spay/neuter along with details about the NJ Low Cost Spay/Neuter Program. The dozen or so vets we use do not condone pediatric spay/neuter. Petfinder said they would find us vets that would and unless we used them, we were not eligible to use Petfinder.

PetFinder is a website that presents all the different pet rescue organizations and animal shelters in one searchable database with filter functionality and standardized webpages. Dallas alone pops up with 81 different pet rescue organizations so pulling them together in a standardized format seems a huge service. The problem is not with Petfinder rather with the member organizations. I got a bad feeling that started after several attempts to inquire any additional information as simple as if a certain dog was considered dog friendly or like, an estimation of how long the animal had been a foster pet. I rarely ever receive a reply when requesting more info, maybe 2 out of fifteen. Normally I'd just find the pet adopted out the next day. Maybe that's a good thing and all the stray pets are finding homes. There is something strange going on with the rescue groups. I'm thinking it involves money and a lack of real human altruism for saving animals in pursuit of it.
My manager is a veterinarian married to another veterinarian and both have decades of experience with many species. They thought an adopted shelter pet was the way to go but were turned down for a Labrador they were inquiring about because on their application they stated they have a pool. Yeah, a pool behind their mansion on 40 acres with a barn. How many pets miss out on a really wonderful life because of these nut-jobs running the rescues?