Contests

Back in January, we put out a call for photos and stories of your beloved rescued companions for our 2011 “My Furry Valentine” Photo Contest. Well, the winners are in! Our judges have selected their top entries, and we're proud to present them here. Thank you to everyone who entered, and four paws up to our winners. Please note that selecting the winners was a very hard process, and each entry touched our hearts. We plan to feature many of your stories and photos in the Your Stories Section of our website—so be sure to check it often!

A special congrats to our winners, and thank you to everyone who entered—and please tell your critters they all look mahvelous! Happy Valentine’s Day!

Flopsy Full of Love
By Marie Gretta Parker

I adopted Flopsy Lopsy from a local animal shelter last fall. I had never had a rabbit before, and had no idea how great it could be. Lopsy has become an ambassador for small homeless animals. I created his own Facebook page to promote the adoption of small animals that are left in shelters—including rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, birds, etc. His page now has 400 friends, and I update it daily. Flopsy has changed my life. Through him, I have met so many selfless people who work tirelessly to rescue and protect animals.

The Short Story of My Little Cupid
By Andrea Silva

Guinness and I found each other one afternoon while I was volunteering at the Sacramento County Animal Shelter. He was part of a litter of puppies who were confiscated from their owner after the neighbor complained they were being abused and neglected. To say he was starving would be an understatement. He was also ridden with infection and parasites, had a broken tail and leg and was missing part of his right ear. The facility vet did not expect a good outlook for him and contemplated simply putting him down to save him the suffering.

Guinness limped up to me and put his paw right in my open hand, and that was all it took. I felt an instant connection with him and got permission to take him to my own vet for treatment. It took nearly three years for him to heal and get up to a normal weight. He is now my constant companion, and I feel overwhelmingly blessed by him. I am so grateful to the ASPCA for giving all these pets a second chance at the happiness they deserve.

Me and My Shadow
By Bobbi Lapushansky

My Furry Valentine is Floyd—my fat, 15-year-old cat who I adopted as a kitten from a local shelter. The day we met, he was meowing as I approached the cages. I have always loved Tabbies and he was no exception. I knew as soon as I saw him we were meant to be together. I asked to hold him, and no sooner did the cage door open that he leapt into my arms! Floyd has been my kitty shadow ever since—I couldn’t imagine my life without him.

They Call it Kitty Love
By Lori Bentz

I hadn’t intended on rescuing two cats (or at least that is what I was telling myself), but when I saw these two that quickly changed. They were young, and had been abandoned at the shelter during the night. They stayed close to each other, and snuggled together when they slept. I took them both to the “Get Acquainted” room, and these sweet boys looked me in the eyes, then climbed up together and snuggled onto my lap. Needless to say, they both came home with me, and their cuddly love and playfulness enriches my life every day.

My Buddy
By Paul Simpson

My Buddy came to me as an abused stray who had wandered up to a friend’s house in Kentucky. Buddy will be six-years-old this Valentine’s Day. And like his birthday, Buddy has the sweetest and kindest nature imaginable. He is the greatest cuddler with the gentlest heart. He brings such happiness to my home—I could not imagine my life without him. I am very glad that he is no longer afraid of people and that he realizes that he will never be hurt again. I truly can say I love my buddy, Buddy.

On December 9, the ASPCA joined the generous folks at Humane Society of Boulder Valley to celebrate their grand prize win of the ASPCA $100K Challenge. Saving 1,000 more cats and dogs in August, September and October 2010 than they did during the same months last year—the shelter won the Challenge and received a $100,000 grant to continue its life-saving work.

The special day began with an awards breakfast honoring the shelter’s dedicated staff and team of volunteers. In the evening, the staff welcomed its community to a heartfelt awards ceremony, shelter tour and reception. Visitors had a chance to meet with staff and ASPCA representatives, as well as visit with adoptable animals.

"Standing in a room full of people who've worked so hard to save more lives, and surrounded by over 2,000 photos of the precious lives they saved is humbling,” says Bert Troughton, ASPCA Vice President of ProLearning. “But what's really inspiring is that they are already talking about this amazing finish as just the beginning—wow!"

“We are honored and humbled to be the first grand prize winner of the ASPCA $100K Challenge,” says Lisa Pedersen, CEO of Humane Society of Boulder Valley. “We are forever changed as an organization and as a community—and as we look ahead, we know this is just the beginning; together we will keep challenging ourselves to save more lives.”

Well, it’s official: The Tallahassee-Leon Community Animal Service Center (TLCASC) knows how to party—and for good reason! On December 7, the ASPCA joined the municipal shelter to celebrate its receipt of the ASPCA Community Engagement Award for its incredible public outreach during the $100K Challenge. The day-long celebration included an early morning press conference and shelter tour, followed by a special award presentation held at Tallahassee’s exclusive Challenger Center.

For launching a creative and comprehensive “Reach for the Stars” communications campaign, adopt-a-thons and celebrity-themed video promotions, TLCASC received the award and a $25,000 grant to continue its life-saving work.

The ASPCA was thrilled to join TLCASC’s dedicated shelter staff, hardworking volunteers and engaged community members who all raised the bar to save more animals during the $100K Challenge.

“Tallahassee put out the call to the community, and the community answered by saving more lives,” says Bert Troughton, ASPCA Vice President of ProLearning. “We are proud to honor the success of our colleagues, and we thank them for setting such a great example of engaging with the public—this celebration was well deserved!”

Stay tuned later this week for our report from Boulder, CO, as we celebrate with Challenge grand prize winner Humane Society of Boulder Valley.

Tallahassee-Leon Community Animal Service Center saved more than 1,000 animals during the $100K Challenge.

We are very excited to announce that Tallahassee-Leon Community Animal Service Center (TLCASC) in Tallahassee, FL, a municipal agency that cares for 11,000 animals annually, has won the ASPCA Community Engagement Award and a $25,000 grant! The award is part of the $100K Challenge, a national contest designed to inspire animal shelters across the country to save more lives.

The ASPCA selected TLCASC for the Community Engagement Award because of its creative and comprehensive “Reach for the Stars” communications campaign, which recruited dozens of local officials and celebrities to act as “agents” for animals in need of new homes. The campaign included an all-night adopt-a-thon and celebrity-themed video segments.

During the Challenge, TLCASC was everywhere from local fairs to college campuses, and kept the community in-the-know with fun blog posts from Daisy, canine reporter, who shared individual animal successes as well as exciting milestones. Together, staff, volunteers and the TLCASC community saved 1,288 animals from August 1 through October 31—an increase of 335 lives saved over the same time period in 2009.

Congratulations to the staff and volunteers of TLCASC, and thank you for creating such an amazing model of community engagement to save more lives!

Want to see all of TLCASC’s incredible community outreach? Visit the $100K Challenge blog! Next week, we're hitting the road to celebrate with Tallahassee, so stay tuned for reports from sunny Florida. And don’t forget to check out aspca.org/blog tomorrow when we’ll reveal the grand prize winner of the ASPCA $100K Challenge!