If I could give 0 stars, I would. I run a responsible, reputable 501(c)(3) rescue out of South and Central Texas. Dogs are dying daily on the streets and in overcapacity animal control facilities. The Petfinder “quality” team decided to disable our account because “ When you became a Petfinder member, you agreed to our Terms of Service and Code of Conduct, which state that your organization may be removed from Petfinder at Petfinder’s sole discretion without advance notice. We have determined your organization is no longer eligible for Petfinder membership.” That means they don’t have a reason for disabling our account other than someone on the “quality” team felt like disabling it. I have attempted to escalate this matter up to a supervisor within the quality team and have not received any response back. Our rescue is currently experiencing what we believe to be unjust treatment by a member of the Petfinder quality team. The lack of transparency—both in terms of the decision-maker's identity and the reasoning behind their actions—is deeply concerning and makes it impossible for us to address or resolve the issue effectively. Our rescue depends on Petfinder to be able to adopt out our dogs so that we can continue saving more dogs from overcapacity animal control facilities that euthanize on a regular basis in South and Central Texas. By locking our account and banning us from utilizing Petfinder to post our dogs for adoption, that leaves us in a position where we are forced to close intake and not take in any more dogs into the rescue. Ultimately, that means the recent actions taken by the quality team are having immediate and life-threatening consequences resulting in outcomes that jeopardize the lives of dogs in animal control facilities at risk of euthanasia that my rescue otherwise had the capability, capacity, and resources to save. I am extremely disappointed and deeply disheartened by how this situation has unfolded. The current lack of communication and accountability from Petfinder is not only unacceptable on a professional level, but it directly conflicts with the collaborative spirit needed to support animal welfare. This situation deserves open, fair communication so that my rescue can get back to doing what matters most — saving dogs' lives. We’re doing everything we can to advocate for the dogs in our care and for the dogs waiting to be rescued from animal control facilities that will lose their lives due to this decision made by the “quality” team, but without clear communication or a path forward, we’re stuck—and dogs' lives are at risk. I have respectfully requested that someone in a leadership position within the Petfinder organization reach out to me directly so we can work toward a resolution in a constructive and professional manner, but all of my attempts to get a mere response from the 5+ emails I’ve sent regarding this matter have been ignored.
