The Best Pet Adoption Sites

Wednesday, September 18th

2024 Pet Adoption Site Reviews

PetFinder

• Many different kinds of animals from various shelters and rescue organizations
• "Perfect match" sorting feature to find the best pet for your lifestyle
• User-friendly interface for sorting and filtering pet options
• Each pet has a personalized FAQ page
• Option to sponsor pets you can't adopt
• Featured Pet Module Code Generator for featuring local shelter pets on your website
• Allows saving pets to a favorites list for later reference

PetFinder is a search engine for available pets. That means they provide a platform where you can browse through over 10,000 animals from different shelters and rescue organizations to find a pet that best fits your lifestyle. However, that also means you'll need to do your due diligence and research the organization or person who posted the listing of the pet you're looking at. PetFinder encourages you to have your new pet examined by a vet, too.

Sign up to use their "perfect match” sorting

We recommend you create a PetFinder account first, so that you can use the "perfect match” sort feature. You'll tell PetFinder the kind of animal you want to adopt, who you're adopting for (a single person or a family), and whether you've had pets before or have one now. If you're looking for a dog, they'll also ask you questions about what kind of yard you have or preferred activity level. That means only the pets who will do well in your home will be shown first, avoiding the heartbreak of discovering an adorable puppy that turns out to need half an acre of fenced yard to run off steam, lest she destroy your furniture.

Our favorite for sorting and filtering

To get started on your search, just click the "find a pet” button at the menu bar at the top of the screen, enter your city, state, or zip code, then choose the type of pet you're interested in. Your options are dogs, cats, or "other” - categorized as Rabbits; Small & Furry; Scales, Fins, & Other; Birds; Horses; and even Barnyard. You've got plenty of characteristics to sort and filter by, like breed, age, size, gender, and even how long the animal has been on PetFinder if you've got a soft spot for the underdogs. The "randomize” sort feature is fun, too.

Pet bios and personalized FAQs

On PetFinder, each pet has their own personalized FAQ page (including details about the shelter's adoption process, whether the pet is good with kids, and the soonest you can take them home). We noticed that some of these FAQs had not been filled out with these details by whoever listed the animal, and they were included instead in the "about” section on their main page.

Sponsor the ones you can't take home

If a pet's photo and backstory melt your heart but you can't care for them yourself, you can choose to sponsor that pet with a one-time donation. Take Breezy, for example, who was transported to Wisconsin from Tennessee with her five puppies due to a "bully breed ban." She was undergoing heartworm treatment and couldn't be adopted yet. You can also click the heart on a pet's profile listing to save them to your favorites list for later.

Feature your local shelter pets on your website

One thing we love about PetFinder is their Featured Pet Module Code Generator. If you own a local business, you can use this feature to post listings of shelter pets in your community who need a good home. Serving our community should extend to our furred, feathered, and scaled neighbors, after all!

Our favorite pet adoption site

Because PetFinder is just a search engine, not a lot can be said about its reputation. They don't have a Better Business Bureau listing, but they're recommended far and wide across the internet to prospective pet owners as a great place to start to find out who in your area needs a forever home. We're fans, too. PetFinder is our top-rated pet adoption website for its variety of pets, the customization capabilities of its search function, and especially the "perfect match” tool.

Adopt A Pet

• Supports over 15,000 animal welfare organizations
• Offers resources to help new pet owners
• Lists a variety of pets, not just dogs and cats
• User-friendly and intuitive website design
• Detailed pet profiles for informed adoption decisions
• Email alerts for new pet listings
• Rehome program for a compassionate solution to pet ownership difficulties

Adopt A Pet supports over 15,000 animal welfare organizations and provides free advertising for pets needing homes. As part of the Kinship group, they also offer resources to help you as a new pet owner. You can find articles on pet care, product reviews, and training, or locate local pet care professionals on their website.

All kinds of pets found here

Adopt A Pet lists more than just dogs and cats. You can shop for other pets here, too, like rabbits, birds, horses, small animals, reptiles/amphibians/fish, and farm-type animals. From the menu bar at the top of the page, you choose the type of animal you're looking for, or you can select "shelters/rescues” and enter your location, then filter by animal type on the results page. This page doesn't display individual pets, but rather shelters or rescues near you and the types of animals they care for. This might be useful if you already know you'd rather get your first impressions of prospective pets in person than browse for them online.

Website design is satisfying and intuitive

The profiles of individual pets are thoughtfully organized. They include all the info you'd need to make an informed decision about adoption, like whether a potential pet is good with kids or other pets, if their shots are up to date, and if they've been spayed or neutered. Adopt A Pet gives perhaps a little more information than some other sites, or at least provides the fields for that information - like breed, color, and size. When browsing, you can filter your results by things like coloring, health needs, how they get along with other people or animals in a household, and more. Some competitors allow filtering for dogs that don't require a fenced yard or a lot of activity, and we would have liked to see that functionality here.

Urgent cases aren't apparent

Unlike some sites that show you the dogs in imminent danger of euthanasia, Adopt A Pet doesn't make it obvious who is most in need of your help. Even when filtering by the "needs home fast” filter, we didn't get any results for a city where a competitor site showed us a full page of at-risk dogs. It could be that those shelters just haven't cross-posted to Adopt A Pet, or they didn't tag their dogs appropriately when they listed them, but if saving a life is as important to you as finding a good fit, you may want to use a different site.

Get notified first when matches are listed

Some pet adoption services let you sign up for email alerts when new pets are listed meeting your specifications. Adopt A Pet has this too, but unless you pay $10 a month, you won't get these notifications until 24 hours after paid members do. If you're in the market for a specific breed, this fee may be worth it to you. Plus, Adopt A Pet says it's going to a good cause: they say it helps them "save more pets”, although they don't go into more detail than that.

Rehome program is a humane solution to pet ownership difficulties

We really appreciate Adopt A Pet's Rehome program, which allows private pet owners to find a new home for their pets without having to take him or her to a shelter. That means their dog or cat (or horse, or bird) can go straight from their loving home to yours, saving valuable room for truly homeless animals and preventing heartache and worry for the previous owners, who many times are only giving up their pet as a last resort.

Educational articles

We like that Adopt A Pet has some articles walking you through pet adoption. You'll also be able to read articles about pet ownership that answer questions like, "How long will it take for my cat to get used to our new kitten?” "Should I adopt an older or a younger pet?” "What should I consider when choosing a vet?” Like all of the pet adoption websites in this review, you should know that Adopt A Pet only hosts listings of animals that are posted by shelters, rescues, and private owners, so they can't mediate for you if you have a miscommunication.

A top contender

Adopt A Pet is one of our favorite pet adoption sites because of their attention to detail in their layout and their Rehome program. We would recommend checking them out when starting your search for your new companion.

Chewy

• Search engine for adoptable cats and dogs
• "Chewy Gives Back" program supports animal shelters and rescue groups
• Provides videos of cats and dogs for a better understanding of their personality
• Allows filtering of pets by personality traits
• Detailed age categories for filtering
• One-stop-shop for all pet essentials like food, toys, and medications
• Easy-to-navigate website
• High-quality service with an "A+” rating from the Better Business Bureau

Chewy is dedicated to assisting animal shelters and rescue groups in finding permanent homes for every pet. Through their program, "Chewy Gives Back," they actively support these organizations to do even more. Chewy is recognized for their great service with an "A+” rating from the Better Business Bureau, although that will be less relevant to you if you're only using their adoptable pet search tool.

Watch a short video of a cat or dog

Chewy only lists cats and dogs for adoption from shelters and rescues in their network - meaning you'll be giving a forever home to a truly needy pet. Select which one (cat or dog) you're considering, then enter your zip code or city. The result page will show you the pet's name, age, gender, breed, location, and whether or not there's a video of them available. We loved the video feature - it was more useful than just a photo in giving us a feel for their personalities, and even how they interact with other animals or people.

Filter by personality trait

The filtering features on Chewy are unique. This is one of few sites we've found that lets you filter the pet by their personality traits - like happy, loving, friendly, tame, athletic, spunky, and more. You can also filter by age, which gets more granular here than some sites that only go as far as "puppy/kitten” "adult” and "senior” categories. On Chewy, adult dog categories are broken down to 1-5 years and 5-7 years. The adult cat categories follow suit. You can also filter by size, whether the animal is good with kids/other cats/other dogs, coat color, and more. Add pets to your favorites to come back to them later.

Read pet bios to find out how to take them home

The level of detail in each pet's bio will vary depending on how much information the shelter or owner chose to provide, but you can generally expect to find the shelter adoption fees, their contact information, the pet's story, and more photos and videos of them. If a shelter has special instructions for how to take a pet home, they'll include them here, too.

Get cat and dog essentials from Chewy

Chewy is a one-stop-shop for new pets. Chewy encourages you to use their website to shop for everything you could need for a new cat or dog, from food to toys to Rx medications. Shelters and rescues near you can also create wish lists with Chewy, and pet-lovers like you can purchase items on the list for their canine and feline residents.

Two paws up

Chewy's site is easy to navigate, and we appreciate their mission to help shelter cats and dogs (if you're looking for pets of the small-and-furry or feathered variety, though, you'll need to look elsewhere). We especially enjoyed the video feature for pets and the ability to filter by personality. The only additional thing we might like to see is a sorting feature for animals at risk of euthanasia. Overall, Chewy earns a good rating from us.

American Kennel Club

• Lists AKC registered puppies from breeders
• Provides detailed information about each breeder, including qualifications, awards, and "puppy perks"
• Breeders can earn badges indicating high standards and commitment to health and education
• Post-adoption perks include 30 days of free pet insurance, lifetime enrollment in a lost pet recovery service, and a helpful handbook for your new puppy
• Offers lifelong registration with the AKC, with access to a supportive community
• Especially useful for those specifically seeking a purebred dog

At the AKC Marketplace, you can find American Kennel Club (AKC) registered puppies from reliable and dedicated breeders. However, you won't be able to adopt adult dogs, shelter dogs, or other kinds of animals here.

Choose a breed to start

Type the name of or select the breed you're looking for in the indicated field, then choose gender, location, and how far you want your search to go (between 25 miles and nationwide). The first thing you'll see on the results page is an informational video by AKC about the breed you selected. You'll need to scroll past that to see the actual listings of puppy litters. Even if a breeder doesn't have puppies available at the moment, their listing will be included along with an expected date of availability for their next litter.

Reach out to breeders directly

Each breeder's page will include information on any qualifications or awards the breeder may have, information about the sire and dam, and info on which "puppy perks” apply (like if they've gotten their vaccinations, a microchip, checkup, deworming, and more). You can message the breeder directly from their listing.

High standards for AKC breeders indicated by badges

When you're looking at breeders, you might see certain badges in their listings. A "Breeder of Merit" badge means they've had at least 4 dogs earn titles and they're committed to health screenings and maintaining true breed qualities. A breeder with an "AKC Parent Club" badge is part of an AKC-licensed group. If you see an "AKC Champion Bloodline" badge, that means the puppy's parents or grandparents have won an AKC Championship title, which can help you guess what traits your puppy might have. Breeders with a "Breed with H.E.A.R.T." badge are knowledgeable and committed to health, education, and responsibility. They meet health testing standards and participate in continued education every year. Finally, a breeder with an "AKC Club Member" badge is a member of their breed's National Club, which means they're experts on their breed and can help you with choosing, caring for, and training your puppy.

Be sure to research breeders yourself

However, you still have to do your homework. Any breeder can place an ad for dogs on AKC Marketplace, and while profile badges can help you get an idea of which breeders are reputable and ethical, AKC does not guarantee that they are. Some things to look for to identify a responsible breeder:

• Both parents of a litter should have been health tested.
• There should be evidence for the dog's abilities and temperament (like through dog sports or breed-specific work).
• Their dogs should be proven to conform to the breed standard, like through shows - even if you don't necessarily want a "show dog”. Conformation to superficial traits gives a higher degree of predictability of the health of the dog.

During your research, it's a good idea to check the club website of the breed you're interested in, too.

Post-adoption perks through AKC

When you find and choose your puppy through the AKC Marketplace, you can register your new pet with the American Kennel Club. This lifelong registration opens up a world of resources only available to AKC members. By becoming part of the AKC family, you get benefits like 30 days of free pet insurance, lifetime enrollment in AKC Reunite (a lost pet recovery service), a month of access to a vet helpline, a helpful handbook for your new puppy, and an official AKC pedigree. With AKC, you'll be doing a lot more than just getting a new puppy; you'll be joining a supportive community.

Performs well in its niche

While we generally favor shelter/rescue pet adoption over buying, there may be times when you're specifically looking for a purebred dog. In such cases, the American Kennel Club Marketplace could be a good starting point. If you're looking for other kinds of pets, be sure to check out the rest of the pet adoption sites in our review.

Rescue Me

• Offers a wide range of animals for adoption, including dogs, cats, horses, and more
• Search results are presented by state, providing a broad overview of available pets
• Offers the ability to sign up for Rescue Alert notifications for new pet listings
• Prioritizes urgent situations, highlighting pets in high-kill shelters

Rescue Me is an animal welfare network with an interesting backstory. It was created by Jeff Gold, who also founded an early entertainment and chatroom website that was later acquired by Disney. On Rescue Me, you'll find a range of animals listed, including dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, farm animals, small mammals, reptiles, pet birds, wildlife, and wild birds. Just note that some of these categories might not have many animals listed.

Connects you with shelters and rescues

Rescue Me has a poor rating on the Better Business Bureau for not responding to a few customer complaints, but you don't need to worry about this. All of the complaints are from users who did not understand that Rescue Me acts as a referral service, and isn't liable for bad experiences users have with animals or the people who list them. As long as you do your research and communicate with the shelter or rescue, you'll be fine.

Results by state, not zip code

To get started, click on "View Animals for Adoption” and select the kind of animal you're looking for. If you're looking to adopt a dog, you can choose a specific breed, "just mutts”, or view all dogs. Then you'll see a map of the US showing how many animals matching your search are in that state. This may not be the most effective way to see which pets are near you. After all, maybe you live on the border of one or more other states, and you want to see animals within a 50 mile radius. Where other sites let you do this by having you enter your zip code and filter by radius, with Rescue Me, you'd have to wade through results for each state separately.

Sign up for Rescue Alert notifications

If there aren't any animals listed in your area, especially if you're looking for one of a specific breed, you can register to get Rescue Alert notifications when new listings are posted. If you're looking for a Pet Adoption Site to list your own pet, this feature will work wonderfully in your favor, too. On Rescue Me's "Success Stories” page, you can read testimonials from happy customers who, within hours of listing their dogs, had several applications come in, including difficult situations like 3 bonded Yorkies and an elderly dog with a broken hip. These testimonials are several years old, though, so it may be a good idea to post your listing on a few other sites as well.

Rescue Me prioritizes urgent situations

There aren't as many options to filter your search on Rescue Me. If you're looking at dogs, you can only sort them to see female, male, or urgent situations first - which means they're in a high kill shelter and may be euthanized if not adopted soon. We're glad to see that Rescue Me pushes these dogs to the top of the results. There were some really lovely dogs there who deserve a second chance. However, we wished that Rescue Me offered the filters that other websites include, like age, temperament, how well they do with other animal family members, and whether they're up to date on their vaccinations.

Limited filtering capabilities = lower rating

Rescue Me is the only pet adoption website in our review that makes it easy to tell which dogs are most in need of your help, and we commend them for that. They're also one of few that includes listings of other kinds of pets than cats and dogs. However, they're missing some key filtering and sorting capabilities that we think are necessary for finding the right companion for your family. While this information can be found on individual pet profiles, it's not very efficient to have to click on each one to find it. We'd recommend you try one of our higher rated websites first if you have specific criteria for a new pet.

Puppy Finder

• Adoption fees are listed up front
• Includes dogs from breeders and shelters
• Breed Selector tool to help match dogs to owners' lifestyles
• Allows for personal ads to find dogs meeting specific criteria
• Contact form built into the page for easy communication with pet owners and rescues
• Site is functional and straightforward to use
• Offers a paid Premium plan with additional features

As the name would imply, Puppy Finder is a search engine for adoptable dogs - adults as well as puppies. If you're looking for cats, birds, reptiles, or fish, you'll need to use a different website. While their listings are not technically limited to those in the US, you may have difficulty finding pets listed in other countries.

See how much the fee is up front

Puppy Finder's listings are organized a little differently from other sites: you can tell at a glance, without clicking on individual profiles, how much the adoption fee is. Like other sites, you'll also see the breed, name, age, gender, and location. To add a dog to your favorites, click the star on the upper left corner of their listing.

Breeder listings included

Unlike some of the other pet adoption websites in our review, Puppy Finder lists results from breeders, not just rescues and shelters. So, if you're looking for purebred dogs, you might have a better chance here - but expect to pay breeder prices. We also encourage you to do your own research into the breeder's practices to make sure they are ethical and the dogs are healthy, since Puppy Finder likely does not vet them.

Take a quiz to learn what dog fits your lifestyle

Not sure what breed you're looking for? Have a vague idea of what would fit your family's lifestyle? Try out Puppy Finder's Breed Selector tool. You'll choose the size of dog you'd prefer, how much time and energy you can commit, whether you want your dog to be a protector, and the climate you live in. You'll rate your answer on a scale of 1-10, but we found it hard to decide where to place our answers for some of the questions - like, "how extreme is your climate in the summer/winter”. That depends on what part of the world you're used to. (A Midwestern winter might not feel extreme to a Midwesterner, but would feel extreme to an Arizonan.) When we finished the quiz, we were given one match and several runners-up with explanations of why these breeds were matched with us.

Shelter and rescue listings included

If you're committed to adopting from rescues to make a difference in the life of a needy dog, navigate to the menu in the top right corner and choose "dogs for adoption” under the "Adopt & Rescue” heading. On Puppy Finder, you can email pet owners and rescues through the contact form built into the page.

Place personal ads and get contacted by owners

If you're looking for a specific breed or a specific breed available in your location, but you're not finding anything from search, you can post in Puppy Finder's wanted ads. On a free, Basic account, you can post an ad that stays up for 7 days, and you won't get notifications when new dogs are listed. With a paid Premium plan (starting at $4.99 a month), you'll get a few more perks, like ads that stay up for more than 30 days and new dog listing notifications. Puppy Finder will also verify your identity so sellers know you're serious.

Straightforward and functional pet adoption site

We found Puppy Finder more or less straightforward to use. While some of the design is a little cluttered, all the relevant information was there. We appreciate the adoption fee being listed up front. Whether you're looking for a purebred German Shepherd or a shelter mixed breed, you can find your future canine companion on Puppy Finder. We would give them a higher rating in this review if they included other kinds of pets, too.

Pet Place

• Offers a one-stop shop for pet adoption needs
• Provides reliable advice, trusted providers, and essential services
• Specializes in cat and dog adoption
• Allows users to favorite animals for later
• Features a "pet match survey" to help find the ideal pet
• Includes an adoption checklist for potential pet owners
• Provides an insurance comparison tool
• Partners with pet protection providers
• Offers a user-friendly interface for searching for pets

No matter where you're at in your journey as a pet parent, Pet Place is there for you. They understand that your pets keep you busy and happy, and that navigating through all the advice, opinions, and resources available can be overwhelming. That's why they've created a one-stop shop where you'll find reliable advice, trusted providers, and essential services (including adoption). They believe that every pet deserves good care from loving and committed owners, just like you.

Best for cats and dogs

Pet Place has three categories of pets you can search for adoption: dog, cat, other. If you're looking for birds, hamsters, guinea pigs, or lizards, you're not going to have an easy time on this website. They're all included in the "other" category and you can only expand your search radius to 100 miles. On other websites, though, you can see an overview of which states have which animals and how many they have. On Pet Place, you would need to test a bunch of different zip codes to bring up results.

May not have as many animals as competing sites

To get started on your search for a cat or dog, select a dog or cat breed (or leave that field blank to see all) and enter your zip code. Animal profiles on the result page will show their name, breed, and city. You can favorite animals for later. There weren't quite as many results for dogs in our area on Pet Place as we found with competitor sites using the same zip code. This is subjective, though - some pet adoption sites may be used more than others in different parts of the country.

Lengthy survey before you can contact shelters

Once you've found an animal you're interested in adopting, you may have to fill out a "pet match survey” before you can be put in contact with the shelter or owner. Questions include the age of your ideal pet, gender, and breed. If you don't have a breed preference, you can choose "any”, or scroll to the bottom of the list of breeds and select "mixed breed”. (If you're searching for a specific breed of cat, scroll all the way down - the list of cat breeds is populated with dog breeds, but the cats can be found at the end.) If you're looking for a dog, you'll also be asked how active you want your dog to be, how large or small, and questions about your allergies, the size of your yard, your history of pet ownership, and more. At the end of the survey, you can see all your answers and change them before submission. If you haven't already made an account, you'll be prompted to do so now.

To-do list for pet adoption built into pet listings

Pet Place has an Adoption Checklist handy for you as you browse potential pets, but it's a little generic. Make sure to read the bio of the pet you're interested in, too, because sometimes shelters will include information specific to their process there. The checklist also includes links to Pet Place's insurance comparison tool and their partnerships with pet protection providers.

Just okay

You might appreciate Pet Place, but it could use some improvements. It would be helpful if they added options to sort by dogs that urgently need help, like those in high-kill shelters. Also, the filtering options could be more extensive. Overall, while Pet Place is functional, it's pretty much an average pet adoption site.

Save A Rescue

• 70,000 listings of adoptable dogs and cats
• Provides standard filtering and sorting capabilities for easy pet search
• Displays detailed information about each pet including activity level, energy level, obedience, and social behavior
• Maintains a directory of pet services including emergency vet care, animal control, boarding kennels, pet transportation, and pet-friendly hotels
• Actively works towards their mission to end pet abandonment and dumping
• Strong belief that every pet's life matters
• Contact information readily available for each listed pet

Save a Rescue is a pet adoption platform with over 70,000 listings for adoptable dogs and cats, but they don't offer other pets like hamsters, parrots, lizards, or farm animals.

Standard filtering and sorting capabilities

To find pets and pet services in your area through Save A Rescue, you can enter your zip code into any of the following fields on their home page: "search for dogs”, "search for cats”, "discover all rescues/shelters”, and "browse all pet services”. The results page will display pet names, breeds, ages, and how many miles away they are. You can filter these results by distance, breed, age, sex, and size. On each listing, you can learn about the pet's required activity level, energy level, obedience, and how they do around strangers (if the owner or rescue has filled these fields out). The adoption fee is only sometimes listed. If there's a dog you're interested in, though, you'll be able to find the contact information on the page to reach out to the owner, shelter, or rescue directly.

911 hotline for pets in need of financial support

We really appreciate everything this site is doing for pet welfare, such as their "911-like" hotline and chat service for dogs and cats. They've handled over 25,000 calls and saved more than 7,000 pets across the nation. However, due to a high volume of calls, they've had to pause this service until they have enough funding to run it properly. So, if you're looking for a way to give back to pets, this is a service that could really use your support.

Directory of pet services

Although the 911 hotline didn't seem to be in service during the time of this review, we appreciated Save A Rescue's directory of pet services, including services like emergency vet care, animal control listings, boarding kennels, pet transportation, and pet-friendly hotels, among others.

Poor website functionality

We support Save A Rescue's mission to end abandonment and dumping and their belief that every pet's life matters. Unfortunately, it can't be overlooked that their website is one of the least navigable in this review. Pages take a while to load, and scrolling up and down (if you're using a touchpad) can also cause the page to move left and right. Save A Rescue is also in need of a proofreader - we noticed a few typos that rendered sentences nearly unintelligible.

Site too clunky to recommend highly

It's certainly possible that the perfect dog or cat for you has been listed on Save A Rescue, but the website functionality could be a test of your patience while searching for them. Fortunately, plenty of rescues and owners list their pets on more than one site, so we would recommend you look in one of these places first.

ASPCA

• Established in 1866, the ASPCA is the first animal welfare organization in North America
• Collaborates with and trains local rescues, shelters, and clinics instead of operating their own shelters
• Lists dogs, cats, and horses for adoption in select cities and states
• Offers basic filtering functions for pets, including by sex, age, and size
• Has an adoption center in NYC, along with mobile events and fostering opportunities

Everyone has heard of the ASPCA - if you've ever gotten out your wallet while tearing up to Sarah McLachlan singing "Angel” in the ASPCA's famous commercial, you won't forget them in a hurry. But did you know that they've been around since 1866? The ASPCA was the first animal welfare organization on the North American continent. They don't operate their own shelters, instead collaborating with and training local rescues, shelters, and clinics around the USA.

Dogs, cats, and horses in a few cities

The ASPCA lists dogs, cats, and horses for adoption. Unlike the others in our review, this site will not take you to a directory of pets in need of homes all around the country. Instead, their animals are organized by a short list of cities and states. So, if you don't live in or don't want to adopt from NYC, Los Angeles, North Carolina, or Ohio, the ASPCA's "Adopt” page won't get you very far. Their "Find Local Shelter Resources” page may have a few links that can help you figure out what your local shelters are, but you can do that with a quick Google search, too.

Basic filtering functions

If you are in one of those cities, and you would like to adopt through the shelters listed with the ASPCA, here's what you can expect. For cats and dogs, you can filter by sex, age, and size. When you click on a pet's profile, you'll be redirected to a partner site, where you'll see the pet's bio, adoption fee, and any other relevant info. You'll need to create an account on the partner site to reach out to the shelter.

Visit the adoption center in NYC

If you happen to live in New York City, you may be interested in visiting the ASPCA adoption center, catching one of their mobile events, or getting involved with fostering opportunities. You can read about all of these on the "NYC” page, found at the top menu bar.

Other ways to support the ASPCA

If you're not in any of the cities where adoption is available, you can still support the ASPCA's mission. You can make an impact by giving monthly donations, honoring someone special by making a gift in their name, or becoming an ASPCA Founder with a gift of $500 or more. They also accept donations of pet care products from their Wishlist.

Limitation to select cities lowers rating

Because the pet adoption services of the ASPCA are limited to a handful of cities, we can't rank them very highly in this review. If you're interested in adopting a pet and you live in one of these places, though, there's no reason not to go through the ASPCA.

PetSmart

• Pricing may vary, sometimes higher than direct shelter adoption
• Has facilitated over 10 million pet adoptions since 1994
• Offers adoption of a variety of animals including cats, dogs, reptiles, and small mammals
• Allows for in-person meetings with potential pets at in-store events, including their National Adoption Week
• Filters available for age, breed, color, distance, size, gender
• Includes detailed bios for pets that often contain information on special needs and activity levels

Since 1994, PetSmart has helped over 10 million pets find homes. Through their website, you can reach out to the shelter or rescue where the pet you're interested in resides, using the contact info on the pet's page.

Other pets besides cats and dogs... in theory

You can adopt animals other than cats and dogs through PetSmart, but getting there is a little convoluted, and you still might not find what you're looking for. First, you'll need to enter your zip code, then select dogs or cats. From here, you'll be redirected to the PetSmart Charities website where you can then broaden your search to include other kinds of animals. In the "reptiles” category, we found only two tortoises around the whole country. There were plenty of rats in "small and furry”. For some reason, guinea pigs were included under "farm animals”. (What's in a name, PetSmart? A lot! A pig by any other name is a whole ‘nother animal.) When we searched for birds, we found none at all.

More filters would be nice

You can refine your search by age, breed, color, distance, size, gender, but that leaves out important things like special needs and activity levels that some other websites include. Those things can typically be found in pet bios, though.

Text sizing is comically large or small

Browsing animals on PetSmart is not the most pleasant experience - there doesn't appear to be a way to add pets to your favorites to come back to later, and the sizing of text is odd. It's either way too large, so that you have to scroll down the page to see a pet's full name, or it's so small you have to zoom in.

In-person adoption events

Found a pet you think might be the one? You can meet potential pets at an in-store PetSmart event, like their three-times-yearly National Adoption Week. However, you should know that adoption fees through PetSmart might be a bit more than if you were to adopt directly from the shelter.

Browsing needs streamlining

While PetSmart's adoption website is full of heartwarming "tails” of dogs and cats they have rescued, it could use some enhancements to make pet browsing easier. Until these improvements are made, you might find it simpler to locate the perfect pet through one of the other sites in our review.