PetFinder Review

Wednesday, July 16th

2025 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.