Shelter’s Edge

They planned. They prepped.

And their communities came. And saw. And adopted…

The ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge kicked off last Wednesday, and in the first five days alone, contestants reported that more than 3,300 animals found new homes. Some of the 50 contestants even broke their own records—including 40 adoptions in one day at City of Bloomington Animal Care & Control and 97 adoptions in 5 days at Denton Animal Shelter Foundation, where they actually ran out of cats and dogs.

But you gotta see it to believe it. Here’s some highlights of the $100K Challenge kickoff from agencies all across the country:

To get staff, volunteers and the community jazzed for the big day, Humane Society of Southern Arizona held a pre-kickoff pep rally. “Our goal for the months of August, September and October is to break our record for the number of lives saved — reuniting or finding forever homes for 3,000 dogs and cats by October 31,” says HSSA.

Did you catch Rachael Ray on Good Morning America? She was there to announce the start of the Challenge and encourage animal lovers to get involved at their local participating shelter.

Why does this team look so pumped? Canyon County Animal Shelter was just about to launch their Empty the Shelter adoption event.

Q: Why were these people waiting in line? A: To adopt a pet at Animal Rescue League Shelter & Wildlife Center‘s Free Fur All event, featuring free adoptions for every animal in their care and free microchips for owned pets. “We’ve never seen anything like this before,” says the Pittsburgh agency.

Check out this match made at Beaumont Animal Services… hard to tell who looks happier in this pic–we’re calling it a tie!

Yup, a photo’s worth a thousand words, but the caption that The Pennsylvania SPCA wrote to go with this one = priceless: “Buster in his cone of shame, posing with his forever family!”

By Sunday afternoon, Bangor Humane Society had just one puppy left–Ike, left, shown here with his bro, Spike–and the Maine agency promised his adopter a special surprise. “Spike and Ike’s adoption fees were paid for by their foster parents, in turn making their adoption fees free to their new families,” says BHS. “Because of this, BOTH of Spike’s and Ike’s adoptive families decided to pay it forward, and pay for the adoptions of two other dogs that are still here! The positive vibes are for sure felt throughout the entire building!”

Agencies celebrated bigtime by taking photos of each match made and updating their adoptions counters—check out the daily changing of the numbers at Marin Humane Society here. Friends For the Dearborn Animal Shelter rang the adoptions bell with each new home found.

Tulsa Animal Welfare is creating a wall with photos of the animals adopted during the Challenge—that’s 24 in the first 3 days.

Another great way to celebrate: “Yippeee! I’m adopted!” reads this sign on an empty kennel at Kent County Animal Shelter.

The Challenge contestants kicked butt with creative adoptions campaigns, too. Look at these guys over at Montgomery County Humane Society! Several agencies held Olympics-themed events, including BARC. “Adoption fees have been sponsored for all of our Gold Medal PurrFurred Pets, reduced adoption fees plus bonus gifts for our Silver Medal pets who are ready to go home, and reduced fees for all Bronze Medal pets available for adoption!” says the Houston agency.

Animals returned to their owners also count as lives saved in the $100K Challenge. Winnebago County Animal Services shared these tips on Facebook along with the message, “7 lost dogs and 8 lost cats came into Animal Services since yesterday. Most of them don’t have any identification. If you have have lost your pet or know someone who has lost their pet, please visit the shelter to look for them. Returning pets to their owners also saves lives!”

Also making the $100K Challenge go ’round: Community supporters like Shelby, who accepted donations for Great Plains SPCA on her 7th birthday last Thursday. “Shelby wants to be a ‘Peterinarian,’ not a ‘Veterinarian’ when she grows up,” says the Kansas City metro area agency. Awwww…

All that lifesaving makes you tired! We’re betting that staff, volunteers, animals and their new humans all across the country felt a lot like little Lucy, adopted at Medina County SPCA, by the end of the weekend!

Stay tuned to Shelters’ Edge for updates on the agencies competing in the Challenge. You can also visit the ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge website for continuing coverage and to check on the latest number of reported adoptions—more than 4,400 at the time of this writing, by the way!

Related links:
ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge
Video: ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge Kicks Off
This Time Last Year: “Keeping Up with the Contestants: Kick-Off Weekend Warriors”

Tags: Adoption Marketing, Adoption Programs, Saving Lives, Videos

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