Accessibility Statement

PetAdoptNow is committed to making petadoptnow.com(the “Site”) accessible to as many visitors as possible, including visitors with disabilities. We believe that the ability to research pet adoption, locate a shelter, and read a pet-care article should be available to everyone.

1. Conformance target

We design and develop the Site with the goal of conforming to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA. These guidelines define how to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and neurological disabilities.

2. What we have done

Our ongoing accessibility work includes:

• Color contrast that meets WCAG AA on body text and link text against the page background;
• Visible keyboard focus on all interactive elements (buttons, links, form fields, the cookie banner);
• Semantic HTML — proper heading structure, landmarks (header / nav / main / footer), and lists, so screen readers can navigate efficiently;
• Descriptive link text instead of “click here” phrasing;
• Alternative text on pet, breed, and article photographs, describing the subject and source;
• Responsive layouts that work at 320px viewport width and at 200% zoom without horizontal scrolling;
• Form fields labeled with explicit <label> elements, error messages associated with their inputs, and required- field indication for assistive technologies;
• Skip-to-content link at the top of every page (visible on keyboard focus);
• ARIA used sparingly and only where native semantics are insufficient;
• Motion reduced for users who set prefers-reduced-motion in their operating system.

3. Known limitations

We aim for full WCAG 2.1 AA conformance but acknowledge the following known gaps that we are actively working to address:

• Some pet photographs sourced from third-party shelters have limited alternative text — we fall back to a programmatically generated description (pet name, breed, source shelter) but the underlying photograph composition is not described.
• Third-party advertising delivered via Google AdSense is served by Google’s own framework and is outside our direct control. Google publishes its own ad accessibility guidance for advertisers.
• The mapping previews on some location pages use embedded third-party services whose internal controls may not be fully keyboard-accessible.

4. Browsers and assistive technology

We test the Site against current versions of:

• Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge on desktop;
• Safari and Chrome on iOS and Android;
• NVDA and JAWS screen readers on Windows;
• VoiceOver on macOS and iOS.

The Site may still work with other assistive technology and browser combinations; we welcome feedback if you encounter something that does not.

5. Reporting an accessibility issue

If you encounter a barrier on the Site, please tell us. We will prioritize a fix. Email [email protected] with:

• The URL of the page you were on;
• A description of the problem and what you were trying to do;
• The browser, operating system, and any assistive technology you were using (and their versions, if known).

We aim to acknowledge your message within 5 business days and to fix verified accessibility issues within a reasonable timeframe, with priority given to issues that block use of the Site.

6. Updates to this statement

We will update this statement as our accessibility work progresses. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.