What do Baywatch star Alexandra Daddario and car-shopping website Autotrader have in common? A serious love for shelter dogs, apparently.
As part of this year’s National Dog Day (August 26), the actress and tech company have partnered with Adopt-a-Pet.com to create Dogtrader.com, a limited-time website designed to help dog lovers adopt the perfect pup in their area, much like they’d search out a new set of wheels.
At least for Daddario, who has had an adopted dog for over six years, the partnership is less unlikely than it might seem.
“These are two structural, sort of large choices in your life — getting a pet, getting a car — and this website makes it really easy,” she says, “It’s really built like Autotrader.com in that it makes it easy to choose the breed of the dog, location, the type of dog you want, and then it shows you all the dogs in your area.”
For the few days it is live — Dogtrader went up on August 21st and will continue through National Dog Day (August 26) — the site will have plenty of pets to choose from. Partner site Adopt-a-Pet.com is the biggest non-profit pet adoption site in North America, and helps over 18,000 shelters, humane societies, SPCAs, and pet adoption and rescue groups advertise their pets for free. In fact, Daddario used the site to find her own dog Levon, who she named for rock and roll icon Levon Helm.
For a first-time dog owner, as she was at the time, the ability to find an animal that suited her particular needs in terms of size and activity level without visiting a ton of shelters was a huge plus.
“These are two structural, large choices in your life — getting a pet, getting a car — and this website makes it easy”
“I went on Adopt-a-Pet.com and I found him online, and then it showed me which rescue shelter he was in,” she says, “I went to go see him and it was a perfect match. You know, whether finding a car or finding a dog, you want to find something that matches your lifestyle.”
In addition to helping would-be owners find a new four legged friend, Autotrader has also compiled a list of the best cars for dog lovers, including the Ford Escape, Honda Fit, and Toyota Corolla hatchback. The site has also compiled a series of other helpful articles for new pet owners, including a list of aftermarket accessories, and a series of tips to keep your pets friendly on the journey to the dog park or on your next weekend getaway.
As far as Daddario is concerned, everything that the auto sales giant is doing to raise awareness for the tens of thousands of shelters across the United States is amazing.
“I love the idea that a big company like this is trying to bring attention to dog adoption,” she says, “I think ‘Adopt don’t shop’ is an important thing to think about when getting a dog.”
Daddario will be shooting a film called Can You Keep A Secret, based on the best-selling novel by Sophie Kinsella, in upstate New York this Fall, and will likely be spending time between takes at the dog park with Levon.
