17K Animals Saved in First Month of ASPCA $100K Challenge

The numbers are in!! Just when we thought we’d seen it all, our $100K Challengers floored us once again. This past August, 49 competing shelters in 33 states adopted out—or reunited with their pet parents—17,391 animals. Would you like us to repeat that? No problem, in just 30 days, our Challenge contestants found safe and sound forever homes for more than 17 thousand cats and dogs. That’s a combined increase of nearly 3,000 more animals over the same month in 2010!

These incredible numbers are thanks, in large part, to the innovative ways shelters are approaching this year’s contest. Kicking off the competition in style with all-night adoption events, pajama parties, pet carnivals and Meow Mondays, when cat fees are waived (we’re looking at you, Kitsap Humane!), this year’s Challengers have kept the momentum going for more than 30 days and are moving full steam ahead toward the finish line at the end of October.

Big congratulations to the shelters in each region that saved the most additional cats and dogs at the end of the first month of the Challenge: The Humane Society of South Mississippi (Southeast), Greater Androscoggin Humane Society (Northeast), Ramona Humane Society (West), Humane Society for Greater Savannah (Southeast), Citizens for Animal Protection (Southwest) and the Independence Animal Shelter (Midwest). These participants will each receive a $5,000 Fast Start grant for kicking butt and taking names in their individual regions.

Click here to see the full leaderboard with complete month one results for all participating Challengers.

But it ain’t over till it’s over, and there’s a whole lot more to come in this Challenge. Contestants have two more months of adoption promotions, return-to-owner innovations and life-saving secret weapons. You can follow all the minute-by-minute action on the $100K Challenge blog at http://challenge.aspcapro.org/.