Canyon County Animal Shelter in Caldwell, Idaho Wins 2nd Place

NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced that Canyon County Animal Shelter in Caldwell, Idaho has won second place in the nation and topped the West division in the 2012 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge. The shelter will receive a $25,000 grant for its second place win, $20,000 for topping the West region and an additional $5,000 for increasing lives saved by more than 300, for a total of $50,000. In August, September and October, the shelter adopted or reunited 2,082 pets, an increase of 1,347 lives saved over the same period last year.

"Canyon County Animal Shelter has just put Caldwell, Idaho 'on the map' in the animal sheltering world," said Bert Troughton, vice president of community outreach for the ASPCA. "We applaud the spirit of the staff and volunteers, who worked incredibly hard to help the community see how great it can be to adopt from a shelter.  More than 2,000 happy endings in three months is cause for major celebration."

All $100K Challenge contestants worked to save more cats and dogs during the months of August, September and October 2012 than they did during the same period in 2011, in order to win a piece of the more than $500,000 in prize grants. The ASPCA and Rachael Ray today awarded the $100,000 grand prize to City of San Antonio Animal Care Services for achieving the greatest increase in lives saved during the three-month period (1,384). The contestant that did the best job of engaging its community members in helping to save more animals – Animal Rescue League Shelter & Wildlife Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. –won $25,000. Twenty other agencies will receive grants of $5,000 or more today for their successes at saving more lives.

All her life, Rachael Ray has been an advocate for animals and a supporter of animal welfare groups. Her love for animals and for her pit bull, Isaboo, inspired her to create a pet food called Nutrish® to raise money for animals in need.  Ray donates 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of Nutrish® to organizations like the ASPCA so they can implement programs like the $100K Challenge and support shelters and animal organizations around the country.

The ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge is a groundbreaking contest that challenges animal shelters across the country to come up with innovative ways to engage their communities and get more homeless cats and dogs into loving homes. For more information about the 2013 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge, stay tuned to www.aspca.org/100kchallenge for announcements in January 2013.