Your perfect pet may be just a click or two away.

The Internet has made it easier for shelters and rescue groups to find good homes for pets who need them, thanks to Web sites like petfinder.com.

Petfinder started up as a great idea by some tech-savvy pet lovers and soon became the dominant site for getting the news out about pets who needed good homes. The site also served as a clearinghouse for information following Hurricane Katrina, working to reunite pets with their owners and find homes for animals who needed them.

Petfinder maintains its simple appeal and powerful database-driven search abilities, even though the site is now owned by the Animal Planet network.

Most shelters and rescue groups place their available pets on Petfinder, although each group maintains its own standards, of course, when it comes to what constitutes a suitable adoption.