PetfinderReviews of petfinder.com

I think Petfinder is a scam! I tried to contact the shelter where the cat I was interested in was but no answer after numerous tries! I then tried to have Petfinder let me know if the cat was still available two times! The first time they wanted me to pay $1 and the second time they wanted $5 for them to inquire if the cat was still available, which I didn't pay either one of the charges. Needless to say, I am going to try to find a legitimate shelter to adopt from!

I sent an inquiry and an application about a sweet little canine that I feel would've been a perfect fit, considering that I have a 3 bedroom house with a fenced back yard, with no children or other pets. Imagine my heartbreak when after waiting with no response, just by looking at her picture I learned she was adopted out the next day. I was at work and cried.

I have been trying to adopt through Petfinder for 2 YEARS! Every dog I've ever applied for was "already" adopted and unavailable. One rescue was even messaging with me for a week, and then nothing. Then, another rescue texted me about a dog I applied for. They sent me a picture of a dog I never applied for. I asked about the dog I wanted and guess what?! Already adopted! TWO YEARS OF THIS. Unacceptable and giving true rescues a bad name. Petfinder needs to vet these places. Shame on you for being part of the problem instead of the solution.

### SCAMMED!! I used Petfinder in the past to see if there were any dogs in my area that I could adopt, but all the pets were usually located thousands of miles away. In mid-January, I received an email about animals being transferred to my area from the LA fires, and they needed emergency adopters. All the pets listed had an adoption fee of $450 to $500 each, and I had to be screened to ensure I was a good match for the dog. On a fixed income, I found this a bit steep. Since I'm only allowed one pet where I live, I carefully scrolled through each pet suitable to my situation. I applied to a subcontractor through Petfinder (supposedly a neighborhood shelter called PNW Pittie Project) handling the LA fires animals in my area. I filled out the questionnaire application on January 22nd, 2025, with an application fee of $25, which I paid by credit card. A week passed without any word on the pet I applied for. I contacted them again through email and I received a reply that they didn't receive my application nor payment. I sent copies of all my paperwork on January 29th, 2025. I waited another week for animals desperate for homes, but to no avail. I sent an email to Petfinder themselves, asking if I qualified and if the pet was still available (or if they gave the pet to someone else more worthy). It's now February 8th, and I still haven't received a single word. All I was looking for was some kind of explanation like, "We're sorry, but you were not a match," or "The pet you were asking for is no longer available due to some emergency." Truthfully, I'm just glad I wasn't asked to pay the adoption fee first. According to the website, I had to meet the pet to ensure I was a good match before paying the adoption fee. Since I received an email from Trustpilot about another website to review, I checked Petfinder's reviews and read all the scams. Hence, I am adding my two cents as well. Is Purina really their sponsor? It would be shameful if they are, but I'm not investing any more time to find out. I'll just copy my review and use it for Purina.

Absolutely terrible scammed me for my information and gave me nothing but ad for pet food

They should rename it PET SCAM. What's even the point of this site? Certainly not to help animals get adopted. I'm convinced the majority of posted animals are scams. If you look long enough, you start to see same animals, posted by different rescues and the animals have different name, but after reading, you find that even though ad says 5 miles away, in reality at bottom of ad, they are in Texas or Florida. Waste of time, don't be a sucker.

After a week, I got absolutely ZERO inquiries about my dog via PetFinder. From my experience, this site must be a ghost town! I consistently got the most responses from CraigsList (I eventually found an adopter via CL). In second place was NextDoor. I understand that it can be nearly impossible to give away a dog, and you want to advertise everywhere you can. But, to start, I would save your $10, and just try NextDoor and CraigsList and renew your ad every 5 days or so. Hopefully, CL doesn't ban you from reposting too often. You might have to replace all of your photos, rewrite the wording of your listing, use a new email, and new phone number (or none) in order to get your listing back on CraigsList if they ban you.

Put in multiple applications for a puppy. My children wanted a dog for Xmas. To all of them being denied. For reasons of us not being homeowners, which is A LIE. WE DO OWN OUR HOME!! Trying to teach my children about doing the right thing by adopting. Only to be treated like garage when asked why you are being denied. I’ll go BUY A DOG!!!