When it was conceived a little over four years ago, few involved in Petfinder could have imagined where the web's first shelter network would be today. The free, online, searchable database of shelters and animals that need homes has become one the most unifying initiatives ever to hit animal welfare.

Thousands of homeless pets in over 1,500 shelters across the U.S. and Canada have their own home pages and hope for a second chance, thanks to the searchable directory of adoptable pets that also provides home pages, email and technical support to its shelter and rescue group members.

A "Virtual" Shelter
From the comfort of their own homes, pet seekers can find out who is available for adoption at local shelters or they can use the "search" function to see a distance-sorted list of pets that meet their specific needs like size, gender, breed and age.

The site is updated continuously by the shelter volunteers and staff themselves and gives potential adopters a picture, a description of the animal, and contact information. More than 15,000 pets are currently listed.

"Petfinder is a virtual shelter," says Jared Saul, of Hillsborough, New Jersey, who developed the site with his wife in 1995. "It is being able to sit down with your family and visit hundreds of shelters, get to know the pets, and not have to drive all around to do it. When someone finally does go to meet a pet as a result of Petfinder, they are more likely to be well suited for each other. What better use of the web?"

The service is free. The site also includes classified ads, discussion forums and a library of animal welfare articles.

A Boon to Adoptions
Animal shelters and rescue groups can register to join Petfinder online and can start entering pets the same day.

Some participating shelters attribute as much as 50% of their adoptions to their participation in Petfinder. Many also report that Petfinder adoptions are more successful, with fewer pets returned.

"Many people find visiting shelters traumatic, especially those who feel guilty when they can't take all the pets home," says Betsy Saul "Petfinder allows you to focus your search from home, which makes finding your new best friend much easier."

A Labor of Love
The Sauls developed the site as a New Year's Resolution to help homeless pets. Originally it served primarily shelters in the New Jersey area, but went national in August 1998. The Sauls' labor of love was the first searchable directory for homeless pets.

Today, Petfinder is made up of a large group of animal-care professionals and "regular people with real jobs" (mostly participating as volunteers) who work together to maintain active and accurate homeless pet lists.

The Sauls attribute the site's success to not only hard work, but also to the press. "We never had to spend a dime on advertising," says Betsy Saul, who admits it was a good thing since, at the time, they didn't have any dimes to spare. "The second week after we launched, Yahoo! gave us a "cool site" award." Since that time, Petfinder has been recognized by American Online, Forbes magazine, Family PC and has even been featured on Oprah.

Last year, Petfinder drew interest from The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), which helps shelters join Petfinder, as well as helping educate shelter personnel once they become members. The site is also sponsored by Petopia.com, the online pet supply retailer.

For more information, visit the Petfinder sit at www.petfinder.org.