Independence Animal Shelter in Independence, Mo. Remains Leader of Midwest 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 Independence Animal Shelter in Independence, Mo. again is at the top of the leaderboard in the Midwest region of the 2011 ASPCA $100K Challenge by sending 279 pets home during the second month of the three-month competition, an increase of 100 lives saved over the same month last year. IAS has adopted or reunited 627 pets in just two months, placing them first in their region and seventh 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.

"Independence Animal Shelter clearly has kept up their energy, enthusiasm, and hard work through the second month of the contest," said Bert Troughton, vice president of community outreach for the ASPCA. "The fact that they're still at the top of the Midwest region - even after a grueling 60 days - speaks volumes about their dedicated staff and volunteers."

In addition to Independence Animal Shelter, contestants in the Midwest region for the 2011 ASPCA $100K Challenge are: Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Inc. in Des Moines; Animal House Shelter, Inc. in Huntley, Ill.; Humane Society for Hamilton County in Noblesville, Ind.; Indianapolis Animal Care and Control in Indianapolis, Ind.; and Dane County Humane Society in Madison, Wis.

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.