Williamson County Animal Control & Adoption Center (Tenn.) Finishes in 2nd Place in Division Two of 2014 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge

NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced that Williamson County Animal Control & Adoption Center in Franklin, Tenn. has finished in 2^nd place in Division Two of the 2014 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge. They found homes for 893 pets during the three-month competition; an increase of 384 lives saved over the same period last year, and was awarded a total of $20,000 in grant funding from the ASPCA and Rachael Ray today. They were also the winners of the 2014 $100K Challenge Photo Contest, receiving an additional $1,000 in prize money.

Fifty animal shelter contestants worked to save more animals during the months of June, July and August 2014 than they did over the same three-month period in 2013.  This year’s competing shelters saved a total of 68,805 cats and dogs during the contest, an increase of 16,789 over the same period in 2013. Over the five years of the $100K Challenge – held annually since 2010 – contestants saved a total of 282,679 lives.

“From the very beginning, Williamson County said that they weren’t going to be afraid to try new things in this competition, and that philosophy really paid off for them,” said Bert Troughton, vice president of community outreach for the ASPCA. “They found homes for nearly 900 animals in just three months’ time, an incredible 75 percent increase over last summer.”

In addition to Williamson County Animal Control and Adoption Center, contestants in Division Two (those with an annual intake of 2,501-4,000 animals) for the 2014 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge were:

• Animal Welfare Association in Voorhees, N.J.
• Clay County Animal Care and Control in Green Cove Springs, Fla., who finished in first place in Division Two
• Fox Valley Humane Association in Appleton, Wis.
• Greenhill Humane Society in Eugene, Ore.
• Humane Society of Charles County in Waldorf, Md.
• McGinn Regional Humane Society in Athens, Tenn.
• The NOAH Center in Stanwood, Wash.
• Thomasville-Thomas County Humane Society in Thomasville, Ga.
• Unleashed Pet Rescue and Adoption, Inc. in Mission, Kan.

The ASPCA and Rachael Ray today awarded a $100,000 grand prize to Central California SPCA of Fresno, Calif., the shelter contestant that achieved the greatest increase in lives saved during this three-month period. Kansas City Pet Project in Kansas City, Mo., which did the best job of engaging its community members in helping to save more animals, was awarded $25,000. The organizations that did the best in their divisions were awarded $25,000 in grants. In total, $550,000 in grant funding is awarded to competing shelters in the competition 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 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 information about the 2014 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge, please visit www.aspca.org/100K.