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Not all adoptable pet data APIs are made equal!  Choosing the right API service is more than just numbers... you also need to consider reliability, functionality, restrictions, terms of service and support.

Our APIs (REST, HTTP/JSON), which have been in use since 2006, are very different than any other adoptable pet API.  Here are just a few reasons why:

• The ONLY updateable data API (HTTP/JSON)
• Completely free of logos or advertisements (like pet health insurance)
• No requirement to say "powered by" (we're truly doing this ONLY for the pets)
• No limitations on total requests, records per request, or the number of results, etc.
• No overly complex and unnecessary tokens, signing, or 3rd party protocols
• Supported and managed by in-house staff, not contractors -- skip the Tier 1 support and talk directly to the developers!
• Updated and expanded on a regular basis
• Non-profit!

Please see our API Comparison page for additional reasons the RescueGroups.org API is your best choice for a community-focused partnership.

Our API includes dozens of data fields not found anywhere else -- fields like color, pattern, and animal specific location are just a few.  The organization data includes fields like adoption process, the areas they serve, website URL, and facebook URL to name just a few.

Please contact us for more information concerning either of our APIs.  If the API is a little too technical for what you'd like to do, you might consider our iFrame service instead.

For more information, click one of the APIs below:

HTTP/JSON API - the most powerful API available, uses POST/JSON and is designed for live queries from your web site or service.  You can search for animals and organizations using any combination of the fields, like postal code, distance, size, age, breed, etc.  This API can access both public and private data, and can update private data as well.

REST API - a very simple GET/XML based web service that uses URL parameters for animal and organization searches.  The REST API is designed to provide a large amount of pet data that you would store in a database on your servers.  The REST API then provides a method for retrieving changes since your last update so that you can add, remove and update animals on a regular (typically hourly) basis.

SOAP API (deprecated) - uses POST/SOAP and is designed for live queries from your web site or service.  You can search for animals and organizations using any combination of the fields, like postal code, distance, size, age, breed, etc.  Please note: The SOAP API is being phased out in favor of our HTTP/json API.