LAPLACE – The St. John Humane Society in LaPlace has joined the most unifying initiative to ever hit animal welfare, petfinder.com, the first and most successful online shelter network. From the comfort of home, internet users can log on to the searchable database of more than 25,000 homeless pets and enter their criteria, kind of animal, breed, size, age and gender of pet they wish to adopt. From the Petfinder web site, potential new pet owners can visit more than 1,700 shelters and rescue groups’ pet lists and get a list ranked in proximity of their zip code. Each pet has its own web page with a description and usually a photo. Thousands of pets a day are getting a second chance and member shelters and rescue groups are receiving free e-mail and technical support. Visitors can see the local shelter or rescue group pets at www.petfinder.com/shelters/LA23.html. Shelter personnel and volunteers keep the list of pets continuously updated. Some shelters and rescue groups report that up to half of their adoptions are a result of Petfinder listings. The American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) teamed with the site, lending the prestige of its name and providing national shelter outreach and continuing education. Petfinder.com is free to shelters and rescue groups and adopters, thanks to Ralston Purina, which has signed on as a sponsor and will be adding valuable features to the web site, including breeder selector and other pet care content. Shelters and rescue groups that are not members of Petfinder.com can join and have pet lists online within a few days. For information contact kim@petfinder.com.