science

Petfinder

Petfinder is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Petfinder rather than just read about it. In short: Petfinder operates the largest online pet adoption website serving all of North America. The company reports that it currently lists “more than 315,000 adoptable pets from nearly 14,000 animal shelters and rescue groups.” A commercial enterprise founded in 1996, it is now owned by Nestlé Purina PetCare Company and reports that it has facilitated more than 22 million pet adoptions as of 2013.

Key takeaways

Petfinder belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Petfinder to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Petfinder from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Petfinder operates the largest online pet adoption website serving all of North America. The company reports that it currently lists “more than 315,000 adoptable pets from nearly 14,000 animal shelters and rescue groups.” A commercial enterprise founded in 1996, it is now owned by Nestlé Purina PetCare Company and reports that it has facilitated more than 22 million pet adoptions as of 2013. Most of the pets listed on Petfinder are dogs and cats, but they list all types of animals available from shelters and rescue groups, from small fish, reptiles and birds to horses and livestock.

History Betsy Banks Saul and Jared Saul came up with the idea of Petfinder.org in early 1996, when Betsy was working for New Jersey's urban forestry program while completing her Master's thesis at Clemson University. In 2005, Petfinder launched a large database of pets rescued from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Major animal welfare agencies cooperated to assist in reuniting pets with their owners through the Animal Emergency Response Network (AERN). The database eventually had nearly 23,000 pets listed, 3,200 pets of which were eventually returned to their owners. The database also included nearly 26,000 requests for rescue from people who left animals behind and another 8,000 lost-animal notices. In 2006, Discovery Communications bought Petfinder for $35 million. Once acquired, Petfinder was part of Animal Planet Media Enterprises, but was later moved out of Animal Planet and into Discovery Communications' digital media group. Betsy Banks Saul was still involved with Petfinder as were many of Petfinder's original employees. Betsy Banks Saul and Jared Saul are also founding board members of the Petfinder Foundation. In 2013, Nestlé Purina PetCare Company announced the acquisition of Petfinder from Discovery Communications, noting it was Nestle's first major acquisition of a digital property. The company said it plans to add information on pet nutrition and welfare to the website. In December of 2025, Petfinder encountered many technical problems which caused widespread problems for shelters utilizing the service. These have not been fixed as of late December, 2025. https://www.fox26houston.com/news/technical-problems-petfinder-spark-widespread-concern-among-animal-shelters-rescues

Awards and accolades In 2008, Time magazine named it as one of the 50 Best Websites. Because of her impact on animal welfare, Betsy Banks Saul, Petfinder's co-founder, was named by Woman's Day magazine as one of 50 influential women who are changing the world. Its mobile site was launched in 2008 and received a People's Voice Webby award in 2014. Petfinder was featured in an iPhone commercial. In 2010, Time magazine named it one of the top 10 iPhone apps.

Petfinder Foundation In 2003, Petfinder started the Petfinder Foundation, a nonprofit that provides grants to other charities or organizations that help prevent the euthanasia of pets. The program is supported by private donors and corporate partners like Orvis and Volvo, among others.

See also DogsBlog.com—a similar program in the UK

References

External links Official website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Petfinder

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Petfinder claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Petfinder before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Petfinder ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Petfinder

In research: Petfinder appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Petfinder in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Petfinder is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American websites, Animal welfare, Organizations established in 1996, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Petfinder outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Petfinder in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Petfinder means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Petfinder out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Petfinder in simple terms?

Why does Petfinder matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Petfinder?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Petfinder.