At Hill’s we believe every pet needs a human and every human needs a pet. But finding that perfect match in South Africa can be quite tricky! That’s why we have made it easier than EVER!
Now you can search for a CEO of the couch, olympic athlete, a blonde or a brunette, a pointy, patchy or Labby cross in shelters across the country - straight from your couch!
You will love the exclusive filters which help you find good matches. You can search on age, size, breed, their looks, their disposition, their activity level and even suitability with other family members. (This is our favourite part - simply fill in your name and email address to access these)
Best of all, you can search across a number of shelters in one place. You can do it curled up on your couch; in the back of an Uber; in the bath; while watching Netflix or waiting for your kids on a school run.
PS: We know you’ll love it as much as we do, so please help us by rating the app in Google Play and the Apple App Store.
WARNING: Browsing shelter pets on the new Pet Matchmaker app may lead to family expansion.
Recommended treatment is to immediately share their adorable faces with others.
There are hundreds of shelters and rescue organisations in South Africa and it’s not always easy to find their websites or up to date list of pets available for adoption. The Pet Matchmaker app available on iOS and Google Play app stores makes it much easier. Simply download the free Pet Matchmaker app, register and use the fun filters to find a pet that suits your lifestyle, family and perhaps even have the looks you have in mind.
Adopting a pet is all about giving pets a second chance for a forever home they deserve. The sad reality is that thousands of pets are euthanised simply because too many pets come into shelters and too few are adopted. When you adopt, you save a pet's life and open up a shelter space for another pet who might desperately need it. The adoption fees normally include the cost of spay/neuter and vaccinations, and possibly even a microchip - which can save you some upfront costs too. In addition to the love and companionship shelter pets provide, they can teach us what matters most in life. They’ll teach us:
Whether you adopt a pet from a rescue or shelter or buy one from a breeder, make sure that you are dealing with an organization or breeder who has the best interests of the pets at heart.
Don’t forget that senior pets have a lot of love to give! Read more here about what benefits there are to welcoming a senior pet into your family.
Having a pet in your life also have many added benefits:
When choosing the right pet for you, it is important to evaluate your lifestyle and what you want to get out of caring for a pet. Using the new Pet Matchmaker app and applying the filters, guides you through some of the questions you need to think about when searching for a pet.
Some are:
Finding the right pet to adopt is the hardest part of adoption. Once you have been matched to the right pet, through the new Pet Matchmaker app, you simply contact the shelter where the pet resides and they will be in contact with their specific adoption process. This may include:
Remember all shelter or rescue organisations charge an adoption fee to cover expenses like veterinary care, spay and neuter procedures, possible microchipping and all it takes to keep a rescue organisation doing the great work they do.
It is quite difficult to distinguish between good and bad shelters. Here are a few pointers to consider. They:
Looking for more tips on how to prepare before getting a new pet? Find out more here.
At Hill’s we believe that by providing science led nutrition to shelters, in conjunction with the love and care they provide, we can help shelter pets be healthy, happy and ultimately more adoptable.
Caring for shelter pets is in our DNA and we do this in various ways: