Canyon County Animal Shelter (Idaho) Tops Division Three after First Month of 2013 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge

NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced that Canyon County Animal Shelter in Caldwell, Idaho is at the top of the leaderboard in Division Three of the 2013 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge, for sending 704 pets home during the first 30 days of the three-month competition; an increase of 267 lives saved over the same month last year. Through August, 49 animal shelters from across the country will work to increase adoptions in order to win a piece of the more than $600,000 in ASPCA prize grants, including a grand prize of $100,000.

“Canyon County Animal Shelter completely blew us away by winning second place in last year’s competition,” said Bert Troughton, vice president of community outreach for the ASPCA. “They’re back this year and showing their might once again.  They adopted out 76 animals in just the first weekend of the contest, and haven’t showed any signs of slowing down since.  They’ve also clearly increased community support via social media, increasing their Facebook® ‘Likes’ from 4,800 to more than 5,200 in one month. Their hard work and commitment has them first in their division and second overall so far.”

In addition to Canyon County Animal Shelter, contestants in Division Three (those with an annual intake of 4,001-7,000 animals) for the 2013 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge are:

• Capital Area Humane Society in Lansing, Mich.
• Cherokee County Animal Shelter in Canton, Ga.
• Cheyenne Animal Shelter in Cheyenne, Wyo.
• City of Hesperia Animal Control and Services in Hesperia, Calif.
• HALO Animal Rescue in Phoenix, Ariz.
• Jacksonville Humane Society in Jacksonville, Fla.
• Regional Animal Services of King County in Kent, Wash.
• Wayside Waifs in Kansas City, Mo.
• Yolo County Animal Services Shelter in Woodland, Calif.

The 49 contestants are working to save more animals – during the months of June, July and August 2013 – than they did over the same three-month period in 2012. Last year's competing shelters saved more than 56,000 cats and dogs during the contest, an increase of 14,376 over the same period in 2011.

The ASPCA and Rachael Ray will award a $100,000 grand prize to the shelter contestant that achieves the greatest increase in lives saved during this three-month period. The contestant that does the best job of engaging its community members in helping to save more animals will win $25,000. Those organizations that do the best in their divisions will be eligible for between $10,000 and $25,000 in additional grants. In total, $600,000 in grant funding will be awarded for increases in animal lives saved, as well as a photo contest and general participation.

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 a portion of her 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, please visit www.aspca.org/100K.