First .dog Website Launches to Support Rescue Groups

Our furry, four-legged canine best friends are about to get into the domain-name game, and it’s happening just in time for National Dog Day  (opens in a new tab) on Wednesday.

The annual celebration, in its 11th year, was founded by animal advocate Colleen Paige—who’s also responsible for National Puppy Day, National Mutt Day, and National Cat Day, to name a few—as a way to raise awareness of the number of dogs in shelters waiting to find homes.

Capitalizing on publicity for National Dog Day, the Petfinder Foundation—a nonprofit that supports shelters and rescue groups—launched a new website, www.MyRescue.dog  (opens in a new tab), in partnership with top-level domain investment firm Donuts, Inc.

The groups are touting the website as a significant milestone for two reasons: It’s the first to use the .dog TLD, and it will benefit homeless dogs through the Petfinder Foundation.

“This is a fabulous opportunity to raise awareness of the fact that thousands of wonderful companions can be found in shelters and rescue groups every day, and also to raise money for those lifesaving organizations,” Toni Morgan, executive director of Petfinder Foundation, said in a statement  (opens in a new tab).

On the site, adopters can post pictures and short stories about their furry rescue friends, and visitors can vote for their favorites through September 26. Each image generates a $10 donation to the Petfinder Foundation, and each vote will raise an additional $1, up to a total of $100,000. The shelter or rescue group that the winning dog was adopted from will receive a $25,000 donation from the Petfinder Foundation, and the next 15 will receive a $5,000 donation.

The site also lets visitors search through  (opens in a new tab) more than 300,000 adoptable pets and sort them based on size, breed, location, age, and more.

The .dog domain was released to the public on August 12. Jeff Davidoff, chief marketing officer at Donuts, Inc., said it offers dog-oriented businesses and brands a new choice for naming their online properties.

“With these new ‘not-com’ options, businesses and individuals can choose domain names that are super creative to the left of the dot, and extremely specific to the right of the dot,” Davidoff said in the statement. “Choosing a domain name, not unlike choosing a name for your beloved pet, should be a fun and creative process. ‘Not-coms’ like ‘.dog’ are more memorable, meaningful, [and] available than their ‘.com’ domain counterparts.”

(MyRescue.Dog screenshot)