The Humane Society of Broward County in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Tops Southeast Region after Second Month of ASPCA $100K Challenge

NEW YORK--The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced that the Humane Society of Broward County in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. is at the top of the leaderboard in the Southeast region of the 2011 ASPCA $100K Challenge by sending 996 pets home during the second month of the three-month competition, an increase of 389 lives saved over the same month last year. In the first two months combined, HSBC has adopted or reunited 1,872 animals, placing them first in their region and third in the nation in the rankings. Forty-nine shelters from 33 states and territories across the United States are working to increase lives saved in order to win a portion of the $300,000 in ASPCA prize grants, including a grand prize of $100,000. Contestants so far have saved a total of 33,636 animals in just 60 days.

Since the start of the ASPCA $100K Challenge, contestants have tried out new methods of driving traffic to their adoption centers - many have stayed open around the clock for 24-hour adoption events, offered unique promotions and discounts on adoption fees, and more.

"The Humane Society of Broward County has enlisted the help of the community, and it has made a huge difference with their numbers," said Bert Troughton, vice president of community outreach for the ASPCA. "They're working with local businesses, schools and other members of the community to plan unique events and promotions, getting everyone involved with the mission of saving more lives."

In addition to the Humane Society of Broward County, contestants in the Southeast region for the 2011 ASPCA $100K Challenge are: Decatur Animal Services in Decatur, Ala.; Walton County Animal Services in DeFuniak Springs, Fla.; Animal Care and Protective Services in Jacksonville, Fla.; SPCA Tampa Bay in Largo, Fla.; Orange County Animal Services in Orlando, Fla.; Cherokee County Animal Shelter in Canton, Ga.; Cobb County Animal Control in Marietta, Ga.; Humane Society of Greater Savannah in Savannah, Ga.; Kentucky Humane Society in Louisville, Ky.; Humane Society of South Mississippi in Gulfport, Miss.; Brother Wolf Animal Rescue in Asheville, N.C.; Gaston County Animal Control in Dallas, N.C.; Pitt County Animal Shelter in Greenville, N.C.; Burlington Pet Adoption Center in Haw River, N.C.; and St. Croix Animal Welfare Center in Kingshill, U.S.V.I.

During the 2011 ASPCA $100K Challenge, contestants will compete to save at least 300 more animals--during the months of August, September, and October 2011--than they did over the same three-month period in 2010. The shelter with the biggest increase in animals saved will win a $100,000 grant. The agency that gets the most community members involved in saving animals will win a $25,000 grant, and those organizations that do the best in their regions will be eligible for between $5,000 and $25,000 in grants. In last year's first-ever ASPCA $100K Challenge, contestants saved a total of 48,779 lives over three months - an increase of 7,362 lives over the same three months in 2009.

It has long been a priority of the ASPCA to create a country of humane communities where there is no more euthanasia of homeless animals simply because of a lack of space or the resources to adequately care for them. The ASPCA $100K Challenge builds on that goal by inspiring shelters and their communities to innovate and act to save more animals.

For more information about the contest, please visit http://challenge.aspcapro.org. To locate a 2011 ASPCA $100K Challenge contestant near you, please visit http://challenge.aspcapro.org/challenge/contestants. To see a complete list of 2011 $100K Challenge events as they are scheduled, please stay tuned to http://challenge.aspcapro.org/shelter/events/all throughout the contest.