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TheStar PetFinder Article - April 11th, 2009

Dear Members,

I'd like to express my sincerest thanks to Joleen of TheStar for kindly giving PetFinder the opportunity to be featured in the newspapers today (Saturday, Apr 11), at the Weekender section page 2. Her well-written article would certainly help bring more exposure to pet adoptions and save more lives.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to clarify on a misstatement in the article, at the bottom section of this post.

Below is a copy of the article from TheStar's website:

Quote:

On-line do-gooders

PetFinder.my
www.petfinder.my

In March last year, Andy Koh, 28, came across a community of people who rescue and foster homeless animals when he was looking for a suitable home for an injured puppy he had rescued.

When he learned that the most frequent problem these people faced was finding homes for the animals, Koh and his business partner in ecommerce solutions, Ezer Ratchaga, 37 , decided to create a comprehensive website for cats and dogs that brought together pet rescuers, fosterers and adopters.

On April 18, 2008, Petfinders.my was born.

The website is supported by SPCA and PAWS, and incorporates, among others, adoption p rofiles of pets, lostand- found pets, discussion forums, classifieds, information about caring for pets and microchipping, and a Hall of Shame that exposes people who are cruel to animals.

PetFinder.my has so far helped 1,139 animals find a home, with another 639 still looking. Members update the website themselves, posting information on animals up for adoption together with their own contact details.

“I’ve always placed ads in the paper offering puppies for free. When you list something like that, you will definitely get enquiries, so why not get all the pet rescuers to list their animals in one place?” Ratchaga explained.

“SPCA told us that most of their calls are because of our website. It’s a win-win situation because the animals get adopted and don’t have to be put down,” said Ratchaga.

Although animal adoption is what PetFinder champions, the website stresses responsible adoption.

“We want the public to be more informed about the animal they are adopting.

They must ask questions about the breed, potential diseases, maintenance and, most importantly, vaccination. Although vaccination is legally not required, owners should nevertheless vaccinate and deworm their pets. Neuter them when it is time, so that there would not be unwanted animals in the future,” Ratchaga urged.

“Many countries practise TNR (Trap, Neuter & Release) Programmes where strays are caught, neutered and released to live out their lives. If our local councils can implement this programme instead of paying bounty for animals, our stray problem would be drastically reduced over time as they won’t be able to breed,” added Ratchaga.

“We have around 10,000 hits to our websites every day and our forums are very active,” Koh chipped in.

“It is a vibrant place to ask questions and look for information. We knew we were able to make a difference when our website helped reunite an owner with her dog Mago, which she posted on our Lost & Found page. Mago was found by another member at a car wash,” he added.

One project that PetFinder.my is currently pursuing is the compilation of microchip information in one central database.

“We want people to microchip their pets so that it would be easy to reunite pets with their owners. Most of the information in the microchip are outdated because different vets and organisations hold different databases.

We are working with vets, organisations and, hopefully, the local councils to compile a central database and make it easily available on-line.

“Another idea is for the local council to make it compulsory to microchip your pet. It could be given out as a package when an owner applies for a licence,” said Koh.

PetFinder.my has an application which can be implemented in Facebook and blogs whereby visitors to your site can view current animals up for adoption. Simply download the application from the link at the top right of their website, and you could be saving lives.

PetFinder.my celebrates their first anniversary this month.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/stor...&sec=lifefocus

In the article, a sentence stated:
SPCA told us that most of their calls are because of our website.

This is actually a misstatement, as what we meant was "many of their calls and emails", not "most of their calls", which would seem that we are taking away the well-deserved credit of SPCA and their volunteers' efforts. We have absolutely no such intention, and contacted TheStar's editor immediately after seeing a digital copy of it yesterday to remedy the error, but unfortunately it was already sent for printing. We have already clarified this with SPCA yesterday to avoid any misunderstandings. {wink}

Btw, our domain name was misspelled too if you noticed, at the 3rd paragraph haha. Couldn't fix that in time too.

Re: TheStar PetFinder Article - April 11th, 2009

ANdy,
Sound glad heard we in star news. It able attention get public for visiting petfinder.my.
sametime to who interest like have a new pet or another pet. they can find at here.
this interview have discuss about your forum?

Re: TheStar PetFinder Article - April 11th, 2009

Wow! this is great!!

but.....the star readers are going to look for petfinders.my, and they'll get.....{catlaugh}{catlaugh}{catlaugh}

Oops! This link appears broken.
Suggestions:
Go to www. petfinder. my
Go to www. petfinder. com
Search on Google:

they might end up in petfinder.com, and can't find andy or ezer....{shy}{shy}

Re: TheStar PetFinder Article - April 11th, 2009

beside the star newspaper interview, I have introduced one chinese pet magazine for do review the petfinder.my. No sure they interest for it.

Re: TheStar PetFinder Article - April 11th, 2009

I actually joined the petfinder forum after reading this article today. What a nice forum for pet lovers {good}.

Cik Su

Re: TheStar PetFinder Article - April 11th, 2009

welcome to petfinder, cik su!! happy to have you here. {good}{happy}

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolcats (Post 39186)

I actually joined the petfinder forum after reading this article today. What a nice forum for pet lovers {good}.

Cik Su

Re: TheStar PetFinder Article - April 11th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolcats (Post 39186)

I actually joined the petfinder forum after reading this article today. What a nice forum for pet lovers {good}.

Cik Su

Hye Cik Su,
Glad you joined us. The friendly pets forum {happy}
Pls share your pet pictures here *at cats TV and photos* for us to drool {high}

Re: TheStar PetFinder Article - April 11th, 2009

me too!I joined after I saw their ad in the star{victory}{happy}

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolcats (Post 39186)

I actually joined the petfinder forum after reading this article today. What a nice forum for pet lovers {good}.

Cik Su

TheStar PetFinder Article - April 11th, 2009

This mornign around 8am,I read the Star paper when I saw this article and 2 familiar faces.I was like huh?? That is Andy and Ezer!!! hahahahahah!! I quickly sms to Andy abt the article.They are celebrities now {shy}{shy}

Re: TheStar PetFinder Article - April 11th, 2009

haha..next time whenever they go out with their furkids..people will for autographs from them and pawprints from their furkids!!!!{shy}{shy}

Quote:

Originally Posted by June (Post 39227)

Re: TheStar PetFinder Article - April 11th, 2009

I was sooooo proud when I read the PF article in The Star today. Good job, guys !!!! Keep up the good work. Hats off to Andy & Ezer {good}{good}

Re: TheStar PetFinder Article - April 11th, 2009

So happy to see petfinder.my is getting good publicity from the local media I believe more ppl will surf petfinder.my after this to look for the lovely pet to adopt. This will really mean more hope for the one waiting to be adopted.

Well done Andy & Ezer. {good}{good}

Re: TheStar PetFinder Article - April 11th, 2009

Andy & Ezer is so famous now {shy}{shy}{shy} ..can I have your autographs, sir!

{wink}{grin}

Congrats on the article and the exposure on Petfinders. It's another good step for better adoption and education of pets. {good}{good}{good}

Re: TheStar PetFinder Article - April 11th, 2009

petfinders.my {shy}{shy}{shy}

Re: TheStar PetFinder Article - April 11th, 2009

Dear All,

Thank you for your wishes and compliments. It is very fortunate for us to receive exposure from TheStar.

I am sure all of us know that the actual credit goes to our community, especially the rescuers and fosterers for their selfless dedication, and that certainly deserves the utmost respect and plays a crucial role in making this service a success.

So, let's give them a well-deserved big round of applause! *Clap Clap Clap*

Let's all keep up the good work and take this community to new heights. {good}

Re: TheStar PetFinder Article - April 11th, 2009

Yeah, actually our hits shot up to 18,000 for a couple days after the article came up... it's usually about 10,000-14,000.

So, good job The Star...

On a funny note: I tried to sneak in a hint for the star to sponsor our classifieds ads but apparently I think it got edited out.. hehe.... can't blame a guy for trying right??

Oh, and Andy's right.. the Kudos definitely goes to all the unsung heroes here on Petfinder... You guys are the real deal! We just provide the infrastructure.. it's the independent rescuers and adopters what made PetFinder work for the animals...

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolcats (Post 39186)

I actually joined the petfinder forum after reading this article today. What a nice forum for pet lovers {good}.

Cik Su

Heya coolcats!! that's really nice to hear... welcome...

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackie007 (Post 39180)

Wow! this is great!!

but.....the star readers are going to look for petfinders.my, and they'll get.....{catlaugh}{catlaugh}{catlaugh}

Oops! This link appears broken.
Suggestions:
Go to www. petfinder. my
Go to www. petfinder. com
Search on Google:

they might end up in petfinder.com, and can't find andy or ezer....{shy}{shy}

Or what about if they were suppose to go to petfinder.com and ended up at petfinder.my?? hehe...

Quote:

Originally Posted by monkee94 (Post 39193)

me too!I joined after I saw their ad in the star{victory}{happy}

Yay!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by June (Post 39227)

Haha.. June... not celebrities lah.. maybe one day can be bollywood stars {ohmygod}??

Re: TheStar PetFinder Article - April 11th, 2009

YUP!!! let's give a round of applause to the real heroes of petfinder community!! *clap! clap! clap!* {good}{good}

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyKoh (Post 39280)