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THE POWER OF PETFINDERANNUAL REPORT 2009

Betsy Saul Co-Founder

Message froM BetsyLilly’s smile is new. She had nothing to smile about during her first four years, living in a small wire cage at a puppy mill. When she was rescued by one of our member shelters, she had heartworms, was dirty and matted, had infected ears and was covered with ticks and fleas. The shelter gave her medical care, nurtured her and posted her story on Petfinder. She was adopted and now has a loving home with two young human siblings with whom to play.

Over 15 million pets like Lilly have found homes through the magic of Petfinder since we created the site in 1996. Little did we imagine then that 15 years later more than 5 million people would be visiting our Web site every month. Just when we thought we couldn’t be surprised again, in blew social media. This year, Facebook and Twitter have sent our reach into the stratosphere. We now have 4,000+ Twitter followers and 50,000 FB fans Our new iPhone app has been downloaded by more than 440,000 people since its launch on Feb. 17, 2010. All this really addresses our mission of finding homes for adoptable pets, but a problem still confronted us: How to keep those pets in homes. So we’re proud to announce that this year we’ve introduced a new program, FurKeeps, to staunch the flow of animals into shelters.

We continue to be #1 among pet Web sites. We rank #24 in the “lifestyle” category and #241 of all the billions of sites online.

None of this would be possible without a committed staff, a network of selfless animal welfare groups and socially-responsible sponsors for whom we’re always grateful. Together, we are giving homeless pets a voice heard ‘round the world and are trimming the numbers of pets euthanized because they don’t have homes.

Thank you to all of our friends,

Betsy Saul, Co-Founder Petfinder.com

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Contents

A Year of Successes ........................................................2Delivering the Adopters ..................................................................3

Educational Opportunities .............................................................4

Contests and Giveaways .................................................................5

Media Placements .............................................................................6

Social Media’s Impact .......................................................................7

Cross-Promotions ............................................................................7

Partnerships .......................................................................................8

Tools for Success ........................................................................... 10

Petfinder.com Foundation ..........................................12

A Wealth of Resources ...............................................16More Petfinder Perks .................................................................... 17

Looking Forward ..........................................................18Where Do We Go from Here? .................................................. 19

For Members .................................................................................. 20

For the Public ................................................................................. 20

A Year of Successes

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And, wow, is it working! In 2009, we helped over 13,000 shelter and rescue organizations that make up the Petfinder family adopt out more than 2 million dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, birds, turtles, horses, pigs and more.

Delivering the aDoptersAt Petfinder, every one of our programs, partnerships and promotions is designed with one objective in mind: to help each and every animal brought to our member groups find his or her ideal furr-ever home.

petfinder Drives traffic

In 1996, Petfinder.com’s first full year online, we were getting a few thousand visitors a month. Today, that number is nearly 5 million. Every month each of these visitors spends an average of 23 minutes on the Web site and views an average of 42 pages.

But, of course, it’s not just about the numbers. Our goal is to attract the RIGHT people – potential adopters looking for their next addition to their families and pet parents who want relevant and reliable information to help them give their pets the best possible lives.

That’s why, in addition to being the #1 site on the Web in the Pets and Animals category, we’re thrilled to be climbing in the broader Lifestyle category, where we’re now #24. And of ALL the sites on the Web, we come in #241! This is a positive sign that more adopters are coming back to Petfinder for training and other resources. Petfinder is the place to go for all things pet!

In 2009, Petfinder was directly responsible for facilitating the adoption of more than 2 million pets. For about a quarter of our shelter/rescue group members, Petfinder is responsible for 80-100% of ALL their adoptions.

Putting us in the top 1% of sites on the Web.

42pages

andview

visitors

23mins.

stay an average of

source: google analytics

eDuCational opportunitiesPetfinder is committed to helping our members be successful in their placement efforts. In 2009, we continued to offer several training and development opportunities to share best practices in animal care, marketing, fundraising and client relations.

Conferences

Our Outreach team meets with over 7,500 Petfinder member staff and volunteers at 30 state, regional and national animal welfare conferences per year. We also provide almost $60,000 in direct financial sponsorship support for these events. Last year, our staff shared its expertise by presenting workshops on a wide range of topics, from “Marketing Your Pets to Increase Adoptions” to “Managing Wildlife and Feral Cat Issues.”

adoption options

Petfinder’s Adoption Options is the largest national hands-on animal welfare training program in the country. We invite nationally renowned speakers to discuss some of the newest and most innovative ideas in animal adoptions, focusing on placement, promotion and behavior.

Who are our Members?Petfinder members include many kinds of adoption groups, including shelters, rescue organizations, veterinary clinics, humane societies and SPCAs. In 2009, Petfinder added almost 1,800 new members (about 35 a week), bringing us to a total of more than 13,000 across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

And a busy bunch they are! Our members adopt out over 4 million pets per year. At any given time there are 300,000 adoptable pets available on Petfinder, and members add over 1,600 new pets each day.

Last year, Petfinder developed and delivered 21 Adoption Options events, directly reaching more than 1,500 attendees.

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Webinars

In partnership with Best Friends Animal Society, Petfinder continued to deliver a number of webinars for members to discuss common issues, such as fundraising, liability, feral cats and lost pets. Each webinar featured representatives from our member groups who could share their own perspectives and experiences.

Contests anD giveaWaysContests and other special promotions are a great way to create awareness for Petfinder, drive traffic to the site, provide direct financial assistance to our members and generate enthusiasm among the public for our mission.

the ars shelter+ Challenge

The Animal Rescue Site $100,000 Shelter+ Challenge and Petfinder.com provided $200,000 to 200 Petfinder members during the Spring and Fall challenges.

And ARS has designated $300,000 for three new shelter challenges in 2010.

the refined feline Makeover

A complete cat room makeover was provided to Central Minnesota animal Care & Control, Mn218, who created the most compelling application.

“help spot” gear

Shelter and rescue groups vied to come up with the most creative slogan to adorn new collars

and leashes. The winning group won free collars and leashes embroidered iAdopt. The collars will also be made available to all Petfinder groups at a discount.

“Thank you so much for

sharing all your ideas with

us today. It was a great day

and I came away with a ton

of ideas. I think everyone

that attended enjoyed

the whole day and all the

information that was given

out. I don’t think I have

ever sat still that long with

out wanting to fall asleep.”

Claire Whitlock-SkinnerBig Dogs Huge Paws, CO285

MeDia plaCeMentsPetfinder has developed a strong reputation as a thought leader for a wide range of pet-related issues, such as animal welfare, population management and disaster planning. Perhaps that’s why so many media outlets – newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and online – turn to us when they need expert sources for their pet-related coverage.Thanks to our outreach efforts, in 2009 Petfinder received more than 282 million media impressions.

More than Just good for our egos

• Petfinder.com’s first-ever Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Day was created to shine a light on pets who are having particular difficulty finding forever homes. The awareness for this event surpassed expectations with more than 200 print and online placements in such publications as USA Today, New York Post and The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, as well as more than 15 broadcast television segments.

• The “Foster a Lonely Pet for the Holidays” Program, in partnership with Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie and book, “A Dog Named Christmas,” proved to be an INCREDIBLE initiative. More than 200 media placements were secured, including The Associated Press, USA Today and “CBS Early Show,” and the combination of media attention, in conjunction with over 2,000 shelters and rescue groups who participated, undoubtedly helped many adoptable pets enjoy foster visits in warm homes over the holidays.

• People love to share special moments with their families and that includes having their pets in weddings. Marking wedding season, Petfinder.com identified pet parents that invited their adoptable pets to be a part of their special day. The media outreach was cause for even more celebration due to more than 50 stories featuring this trend in such publications as USA Today, The Associated Press and The Orlando Sentinel.

• Helping pet parents fly the friendly skies with their friendly felines and pups, Petfinder.com once again released its Pet-Friendly Airlines ranking. The media coverage for this initiative was flying high with more than 150 stories in such outlets as The Associated Press, MSNBC, The Washington Post, The Seattle Times and The San Francisco Chronicle.

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puppy Bowl

Animal Planet’s beloved alternative to that “other” football game garnered almost eight million viewers in 2009. Adorable adoptables from Petfinder constituted all of the puppy participants as well as the kittens leading the half-time show.

“Petfinder is every rescue

group’s best friend. I don’t

know what we would do

without a site like yours.”

Dawn LockeAdopt A Rescued Pet Inc., FL456

soCial MeDia’s iMpaCt

Cross proMotion

Our Twitter and Facebook communities include people looking to adopt, pet parents, as well as those people working or volunteering in the shelter and rescue communities. We’re able to spread the adoption message to our 50,000 Facebook fans and 4,000 Twitter followers – plus, by making adoptable pets easy to share, we help them find homes. In 2009, Petfinder received more than 1 million visits from Facebook users and 350,000 from Twitter users.

partnershipsBy partnering with other organizations that share our mission, Petfinder is able to provide additional financial and other assistance to our member organizations.

petfirst

In keeping with our mission to continue to elevate the status of pets to that of family members, we partnered with PetFirst to introduce adopters to comprehensive pet health insurance for their new furry family members. For only $5.00 for the first month, adopted dogs and cats gain $1000 of accident and illness protection. This can be the safety net needed for a pet parent’s being able to afford an unforeseen medical emergency, rather than making the tragic decision not to treat. After the introductory month, pet parents are offered programs with a focus on lifetime wellness for their pets.

Maddie’s fund

Maddie’s Fund is a charitable foundation that was created to honor the memory of Maddie, the founders’ beloved Miniature Schnauzer. Petfinder and Maddie’s Fund continued to develop innovative marketing strategies for hard-to-place pets.

More than $50,000 was awarded to 70 Petfinder members in 42 states for providing excellent customer service when approached by our “secret adopters” inquiring about one of their adoptable pets.

iams adoptable pet video

Iams sponsors our adoptable pet videos, making it possible for members to enhance their pet listings with videos, increasing their animals’ appeal.

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the ars shelter+ Challenge

Petfinder.com members are granted hundreds of thousands of dollars through the The Animal Rescue Site $100,000 Shelter+ Challenges. In addition, ARS donates 100% of their site sponsor

advertising fees from their click-to-give program to their charitable partners, of which the Petfinder.com Foundation is proud to be one. These funds are used to provide care and feeding for shelter pets.

petCo

As part of the Think Adoption First program, all PETCO stores offer their customers an in-store option to search for adoptable pets through a Petfinder-powered kiosk.

“We want you to know

90% of our adoptions are

because of your service. We

are able to save more lives

because we signed on with

Petfinder. Thanks for the

constant update and for

being there for the pets!”

Jo FordMackinac County Animal Shelter, MI506

Public Expo booth

Proud Partner of Petfinder.com

tools for suCCessThis year, new content areas were designed for better ease of use so that pet parents can find helpful materials easily.

Classified ads with photos

A picture is worth a thousand words! New this year : the classified ad tool has been upgraded, allowing users to upload photos of lost, found or adoptable pets. .

new library Content for shelters

Our new portal to the library content makes it easier than ever for shelters to find useful information. visit www.petfinder.com/forshelters

new video player for training

And for easier accessibility to training videos, we now provide an updated, simple-to-use video player hub. You can find it at www.petfinder.com/videos/petfinder-video-hub/

neW in 2009

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new partners Make petfinder pets accessible to More users

Partnering with organizations also dedicated to helping homeless pets has contributed to our ability to connect with pet adopters and shelter volunteers alike.

new ad Council Campaign to send people to petfinder.com

For more than 60 years, the Ad Council has created some of the most compelling and memorable public service campaigns for print, broadcast media and the Internet. (Think: “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.”)

This year, the Council launched its first-ever animal welfare-oriented campaign in partnership with the Humane Society of the United States and Maddie’s Fund. Its call to action directs viewers to a Web site that allows people to search for adoptable pets (powered by the Petfinder listing database) and includes other resources to emphasize the joy that comes from adopting a pet.

For more information, visit the Web site at www.theshelterpetproject.org

Pedigree’s new search tool is driven by Petfinder’s search engine.

Petfinder.com Foundation

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The Petfinder.com Foundation, founded in 2003 and managed by Executive Director Liz Neuschatz, helps homeless pets by saving lives through adoption programs, helping shelters prepare for and recover from disaster and working to make shelters across the country more sustainable.

international fund for animal Welfare

Animals are often the forgotten victims, caught in the path of a brushfire, snowstorm, flood or fire. The Petfinder.com Foundation has partnered with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), to help when disaster strikes, granting IFAW $75,000 in 2009.

Working with local communities, IFAW steps in to alleviate suffering, save lives and educate for the future. IFAW and the Petfinder.com Foundation formed a relationship in 2006 in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita resulting in the IFAW/Petfinder.com Foundation animal rescue trailer. The animal rescue trailer has been an integral part of IFAW’s ability to effectively respond to disasters in the United States and care for affected animals.

Bordetella vaccination grants

The Petfinder.com Foundation and The Animal Rescue Site have awarded forty-eight Petfinder.com members – $173,190, to purchase enough vaccine to inoculate all their incoming dogs and puppies, approximately 69,276, against kennel cough (infectious tracheobronchitis) for approximately one year. Kennel cough is similar to the common cold; it is a contagious virus that shelter managers would like to eradicate. The grants are part of the Petfinder.com Foundation’s Care and Feeding program. Funding is made possible through the Foundation’s partnership with The Animal Rescue Site’s Click to Give program and individual donations.

the petfinder.com foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) public charity whose mission is to ensure that no pet is euthanized for lack of a home.

From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU to Petfinder for your generosity in providing bordetella vaccinations for so many of our fantastic shelter dogs! These vaccines allow us to transport wonderful, highly adoptable dogs from several “high kill” shelters in NC and VA to our intake partners in NY. Because each dog requires several vaccinations prior to transport (including bordetella), the expenses the sending shelters incur in saving these dogs’ life can be very straining on their already limited budgets, and providing the participating shelters with the bordetella grants is a small yet significant way we can help them continue their life-saving efforts. And these efforts do add up . . . . last year, our little organization saved the lives of over 1000 wonderful dogs and puppies!!!

Melissa Bahleda, President, PARTNERS! Canines

In total, the Foundation awarded or fulfilled more than $1,800,000 in cash and

product grants to our members in 2009.

fvrCp vaccination grants

Nine Petfinder.com members have received grants from the Petfinder.com Foundation, totaling $21,588, to purchase FVRCP vaccine to innoculate all their cats and kittens for approximately one year. FVRCP protects against three contagious feline diseases: rhinotracheitis, calcivirus, and panleukopenia. Funding is made possible through the Foundation’s partnership with The Animal Rescue Site’s Click to Give program and individual donations.

Cat hide, perch and go Boxes

These cleverly designed boxes give shelter cats a place to both hide and/or perch, depending upon their preference. The box (a specially coated/durable cardboard) also converts to a cat carrier – with each cat’s own familiar smells – that adopters can use to take him or her home. Studies have shown these boxes reduce stress (and therefore, illness) in both the shelter and the cat’s new home. The Petfinder.com Foundation, together with The Animal Rescue Site and the PETCO Foundation, delivered over 80,000 boxes to Petfinder.com members. In addition, another $75,000 grant was given to discount boxes for Petfinder.com members.

Customer service grants

In July 2009, Maddie’s Fund and the Petfinder.com Foundation conducted a ten-week customer service awards program with four objectives in mind: raise awareness about the importance of good customer service in rescues and shelters, reward organizations that were doing it well with cash and local publicity, offer tips and support for shelters that did not provide good customer service and use the results to help others implement “best practices.”

While Maddie’s Fund supplied the money, Petfinder.com Foundation staff conducted shelter and rescue surveys. Prizes of $500 were given to 30 rescues (three per week) for responding to an email inquiry about a specific pet within 24 hours and to 30 shelters that answered the telephone and gave helpful information about a pet. Prizes of $2,000 were awarded to ten shelters that provided in-person secret adopters with positive experiences. In all, $50,000 was awarded for exceptional service.

“The Copper Country Humane Society would like to thank The Animal Rescue

Site and Petfinder.com Foundation for teaming up and providing such a wonderful

opportunity for shelters and rescue groups to win grants. We are so thrilled

to have won $1000.00 for getting the most votes in week five. This Shelter+

Challenge has created an absolute buzz across the entire UP from radio to TV.

It has been so exciting to see people vote and network on our behalf.”

- LeRita Allert, CCHS Volunteer (Michigan)

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spay/neuterSpaying or neutering cats addresses the overpopulation of cats and kittens and gives those already in shelters a greater chance of being adopted. Four Petfinder.com members were awarded spay/neuter grants, totaling $23,000 in 2009. The Petfinder.com Foundation partnered with The Animal Rescue Site’s Gifts That Give More™ program to raise money for this cause.

the animal rescue site $100,000 shelter+ Challenge Petfinder.com Foundation awarded $200,000 of grants to Petfinder.com members in 2009, thanks to The Animal Rescue Site’s $100,000 Shelter + Challenge that gives people the chance to vote and shelters the opportunity to win cash. We helped with two Shelter+ Challenges in 2009.

Disaster relief grantsIn 2009 the Petfinder.com Foundation awarded $51,000 to 20 Petfinder.com members to help them recover from disasters.

power to the paws $1,000,000 generator Donation programWith support from Merial’s Paws to Save Pets, HONDA Power and the Foundation, over 450 Petfinder members received power generators to assist with disaster preparedness planning. This program started in 2008 and fulfillment continued throughout 2009.

sponsor a pet programMany of the visitors to Petfinder.com want to help the pets they see there but are not able to adopt one of them right then and there. That’s why we developed the Sponsor a Pet program, which gives our supporters the power to fundraise on their own Petnotes pages.

Over 1200 Petfinder member shelters and rescue groups participated in the SAP program in 2009, receiving more than 3300 donations and raising over to $133,000 with an average donation amount of over $40.

researchThe Petfinder.com Foundation provided a $50,000 grant to the Morris Animal Foundation to help fund research projects aimed specifically for cats, improving their housing, decreasing stress and increasing their chances of adoption.

“The funding we received

from the Petfinder.com

Foundation for FVRCP

vaccines will go a long

way to ensuring the cats

entrusted in our care will

remain happy and healthy

while they wait for their

forever homes. We’d like

to thank the Petfinder

Foundation for making

these critical vaccinations

available to our shelter

and the many others

around the country.”Gail Armstrong Executive DirectorSPCA Suncoast

FOUNDATION

A Wealth of Resources

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More petfinDer perksBelow is a sampling of the wide variety of additional benefits available to our members.

Data syndication

When an adoption group signs up with us, they’re not just getting the power of Petfinder.com. Our listing database powers 275 popular Web sites, like AOL, Petco.com, Oodle and Ebay classifieds, and Pedigree.com, reaching even more millions of potential adopters every year.

Through the Petfinder API, anyone can use the Petfinder database to promote adoptable pets. With minimal technical knowledge a budding developer can build facebook widgets, iphone applications or power a portion of any Web site with adoptable pets from Petfinder.

Web site hosting and services

Any animal welfare organization can have free hosting on the Petfinder.com site, where they can add photos, event information, adoption forms, staff information and more – all at no charge.

event Calendar

Members can upload information about local fundraisers, adoption fairs and other events they’re sponsoring.

kuranda Bed Discounts

These cots, especially designed for kennel use, are offered to Petfinder members at more than 35% off retail price.

ongoing support

Every year, Petfinder’s Support and Outreach team responds to more than 50,000 requests for assistance, from routine inquiries to technical issues to situations requiring law enforcement involvement.

Here are just a few examples of the types of daily services we provided in 2009:

• Wrote and distributed almost 2,000 press releases on behalf of our members

• Created almost 400 unique Petfinder.com URLs (e.g. noahsark.petfinder.com instead of www.petfinder.com/shelter/NJ19.html) to enhance member branding

• Increased automatic import accounts to over 1,400, allowing members to upload pet data directly from shelter management software, reducing their administrative burden

Petfinder is committed to providing our members with the programs, tools, services and support they need to achieve their missions. That’s why so many of them tell us we’re an indispensable key to their success.

Looking Forward

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Where Do We go froM here?Petfinder and the Petfinder.com Foundation are continuing to develop innovative programs and services to help our members achieve their objectives.

Our areas of focus for 2010 are increasing visibility for the “adoption first” message, continuing our focus on elevating the status of pets to that of family members, sharing best practices for a number of topics (for example, shelter operations and animal care) and technical and administrative enhancements to allow members to spend less time on routine clerical tasks and more time on high-impact activities that have a more direct effect on improving rates of adoption.

With so many successes in 2009, we’re fired up and ready to continue our winning ways.

“The information we

got has already made a

difference in the way we

do things and for us this is

only the beginning.”

Dee WalfordSteri-Animal, QC10

for MeMBers

sharing Best practices

In 2010 we will launch a series of “Best Practices” tutorials for shelters and rescue groups to help our members take their operations to the next level. By making adoption not only the ethically right choice, but also an excellent experience through high-quality customer support, members will be able to increase their community support, which translates into lifesaving support for pets.

partnerships, pr and Marketing

Creating greater public awareness of the importance of choosing adoption first is always a top priority for Petfinder. Our team is constantly busy developing new themes and angles to increase our media coverage, creating a series of promotional sponsorship opportunities and expanding our presence in social media.

Developing partnerships, like that with the United States Postal Service and their Stamps to the Rescue campaign, enables us to get adoptable pets further out on the Internet beyond the millions of Petfinder visitors.

upgraded administrative system

Major additions and improvements to the management system will allow enhanced data tracking of pets within Petfinder and improve member efficiency and reporting capabilities.

for the puBliC

improved site search Capabilities

We are making upgrades to provide significant improvements in the speed, flexibility and power of our search function to better serve potential adopters and help them easily connect with their perfect matches.

new features

We believe that the more valuable information we can provide pet parents to help them deal with common issues, the more engaged they will be with Petfinder and the more likely they will be to return when they decide to add another new family member.

In 2010, we’re adding comprehensive sections on a variety of topics to make us a one-stop answer shop, including

• Improved Site Search capabilites

• iPhone app

• New segmented enewsletters with focus on training and pet health

• Home page redesign

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“We could NOT do this work without

Petfinder.com …Thanks for having faith

in us. God luv ya all at Petfinder.com!

Judy R. Haushahn7 Bells Sanctuary, MO260

Petfinder continues to dramatically increase public awareness of the availability of high-quality adoptable pets and enable shelters and rescue groups throughout North America to continue to increase adoptions. We continue to focus on our goal of ending the euthanasia of adoptable pets. In addition, we strive to elevate the status of pets to that of family member.

www.petfinder.com