ANNA - Cache Creek Animal Rescue of Anna recently joined other area animal welfare groups listing their homeless pets on Pet-finder.com, the oldest and largest database of adoptable animals on the Internet.

The Web site currently has more than 323,000 homeless pets listed; listings are updated continuously.

Nearly 13,000 animal welfare groups worldwide post their pets on the site.

Cache Creek Animal Rescue can be viewed at www.petfinder.com/shelters/IL589.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. Each group has its own policies.

Since Petfinder.com was created in 1996, it has facilitated some 20 million adoptions, making it the most life-saving initiative in animal welfare.

For a complete list of shelter and rescue groups in the area, visit petfinder.com and scroll down the left column to "Find Animal Welfare Groups."

- Linda Rush