Now you can have the cachet of telling friends and neighbors you got your new kitten or puppy through the Internet, plus the high of doing a good deed.
A 4-month old Web site, petconnection.itgo.com, is providing a low-cost adoption service that connects pets needing homes and the caring people willing to provide them. The site is already getting up to 200 visits a week.
For a $10 donation, you can post that litter of adorable kittens you found in the garden shed; the listing runs until they all find good homes. Your phone number, but no name, is listed, and you can charge an adoption fee at your discretion.
If you are looking for a pet, but don’t have access to the Internet, you can get up to three references to listings by calling 877-NEEDPET (877-633-3738). The fee for this telephone reference is $49 for a dog, and $20 for a cat or kitten. (Birds, hamsters, even horses are listed.)
The Pet Connection concept was put together by two Southern Illinois women, Marie Smeets and Tammy Davis, nicknamed “The Pet Angels.” The Web site is the latest in their efforts to keep homeless pets out of research labs and from spending time in shelters where they may end up being euthanized. Pet Connection currently covers Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky and New York, but the goal is to go nationwide.