Additional benefits of Internet adoptions come from their reach beyond the county dog shelter ?anyone in the country can click on a site and select a region where they want to find their new addition to the family.
And, the Internet dog search shuts out the noise and the smells associated with a county shelter. However, Garcia adds that the drawbacks are that pet postings are not interactive, and chemistry between the dog and its new owner is a vital part of the selection process.
Garcia's paper is part of a larger, ongoing project she is researching on comparisons between virtual and traditional animal shelters.