Effingham Animal Rescue Sanctuary recently has joined other animal welfare organizations in the area that list their homeless pets on Petfinder.com, the oldest and largest database of adoptable animals on the Internet. The site currently has over 317,870 homeless pets listed, and it is updated continuously.

More than 12,900 animal welfare organizations in the U.S., Canada, and other countries post their pets on the site. Effingham Animal Rescue Sanctuary pets may be viewed at http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/IL600.html. A potential adopter enters search criteria for the kind of pet he or she wants, and a list is returned that ranks the pets in proximity to the Zip code entered. Adoptions are handled by the animal placement group where the pet is housed, and each group has its own policies.

Petfinder.com was created in early 1996 as a grassroots project by Jared and Betsy Saul to end the euthanasia of adoptable pets. Since its inception, the site has facilitated approximately 20 million adoptions, making it the most life-saving initiative in animal welfare.

Sponsors include The Animal Rescue Site, BISSELL Homecare, Inc., a manufacturer of home cleaning and floor care products, PETCO, a national pet supply retailer that sponsors in-store adoptions and provides coupon books for new adopters, Merial, maker of the number one veterinary-recommended flea and tick preventative FRONTLINE(r), and heartworm preventative HEARTGARD(r) and PetFirst Healthcare, the exclusive pet insurance provider for Petfinder.com.