City of San Antonio Animal Care Services in Texas Wins $100K Grand Prize In 2012 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge

NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced that City of San Antonio Animal Care Services in San Antonio, Texas has won the $100,000 grand prize in the 2012 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge.  The city shelter finished first in the nation and in the South Central Division in this national competition in which 50 animal shelters from across the country worked to increase adoptions in order to win a piece of the more than $500,000 in prize grants. In August, September and October, the shelter adopted or reunited 4,054 cats and dogs, an increase of 1,384 lives saved over the same period last year.

"When I congratulated San Antonio Animal Care Services on being in second place early in the contest, Executive Director Kathy Davis told me that they would not settle for number two for San Antonio's animals.  True to her words, the staff, volunteers and partners have completely turned things around for cats and dogs in San Antonio.  We're thrilled to have helped them get the community engaged in saving more than 4,000 lives in just three months," said Bert Troughton, vice president of community outreach for the ASPCA.

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. In addition to awarding the grand prize to San Antonio for achieving the greatest increase in lives saved during the three-month period, the ASPCA and Rachael Ray today awarded the second place prize of $25,000 to Canyon County Animal Shelter in Caldwell, Idaho for the second greatest increase in lives saved. The contestant that did the best job of engaging its community members in helping to save more animals – Animal Rescue League Shelter and 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.