Internet Pet Adoptions: Love at First Sight

One of the questions I'm always asked is how to you get your pets adopted? Since we are an all-volunteer organization without a physical shelter, we rely on our website to promote our pets. We also list them on other pet websites such as Petfinder.com and similar sites. A good 90% of our adoptions come from these websites.

Can someone really just see a picture and have to have that pet? Yes they can. We've had adopters fly from Maine, Boston and Kentucky to get our pets and many drive up from Florida, down from North Georgia or over from South Carolina. We do not ship them, so adopters are told up front that they must come meet with us and the pet in person to complete the adoption. It's hard to believe that someone would go through all that for a simple picture they saw online, but it's what we count on. I had a reminder of that today.

Last week, we sent out our monthly newsletter in which we always feature a pet. We've decided to feature special needs pets and call it "Help Me Heal," where we provide the photo and information about the pet's special needs and a call for donations. Today, I received the following email from Cathi Denham, owner of At Home Pet Sitters and a yearly sponsor for Coastal Pet Rescue:

"I never really got how someone could look at a dogs picture and fall in
love enough to adopt him or her. Then I saw Herbie's picture and since I can't
adopt him, I can help him to become healthy. Hopefully the bio and link in
my newsletter will get enough donations to cover all of his treatment."

Help from people like Cathi is what we need the most. In Herbie's case, his medical care, when it is all said and done, should be about $800. So while he waits for an adopter to pick him, it's people like Cathi that will ensure he gets the medical care he needs to be around for a lifetime of love.

So take a minute to browse our adoptable pets. You may just find yourself falling in love at first sight.