Texas Humane Heroes Tops Division Two 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 Texas Humane Heroes in Leander, Texas is at the top of the leaderboard in Division Two of the 2013 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge, for finding homes for 408 pets during the first 30 days of the three-month competition, an increase of 192 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.

“Texas Humane Heroes has increased their adoption numbers by more than 120 percent in the last five years, due in part to their participation in this contest,” said Bert Troughton, vice president of community outreach for the ASPCA. “They started month one this year off with a bang, waiving adoption fees during a mega adoption event and finding homes for 82 animals in just the first day. They’ve been calling each and every adopter a hero, and their hard work making these matches has them ranked well within the top 10 in the country on the leaderboard.”

In addition to Texas Humane Heroes, contestants in Division Two (those with an annual intake of 2,501-4,000 animals) for the 2013 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge are:

• Animal Rescue League of Boston in Boston, Mass.
• Beaumont Animal Services in Beaumont, Texas
• Brother Wolf Animal Rescue in Asheville, N.C.
• Friends For the Dearborn Animal Shelter in Dearborn, Mich.
• Humane Society for Greater Savannah in Savannah, Ga.
• Lawrence Humane Society in Lawrence, Kan.
• Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation in Arlington, Va.
• South Suburban Humane Society in Chicago Heights, Ill.
• Virginia Beach SPCA in Virginia Beach, Va.

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.