This year between August 1 and October 31, 50 shelters across the nation participated in the ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge. The final results of the Challenge were released last week, and we were thrilled to learn that 56,232 lives were saved in 91 days! What an amazing feat, and regardless of who came out on top in the rankings, all of these shelters are winners in the eyes of their communities and the BISSELL Pet Foundation (BPF).

The Challenge experienced a record breaking year, with 14,376 MORE lives saved in 2012 compared to the same months last year. The Kent County Animal Shelter (KCAS), located right here in Grand Rapids, MI, knows what it feels like to break records as a 2012 Challenger. KCAS qualified for the Challenge by engaging our community and pulling in enough on-line votes to move on to the next round. BPF is proud to have supported their efforts and the IC Pawz promotion for the length of the Challenge.

Through funding provided by a BPF grant, KCAS was able to offer reduced adoption fees and subsidize the cost of spay and neuter surgeries for all adoptions during the Challenge. As a result, they saved 674 pets, which included 300 adoptions in 91 days.

Although KCAS did not qualify for a monetary prize, they increased their live release rate by 25% and their adoption rate by 137% over the same time period last year. This was enough to earn them 28th place out of 50 organizations nationwide that competed in this year’s Challenge. In addition to saving more lives and decreasing the number of homeless pets in our community, KCAS gained a multitude of support. This Challenge has opened the eyes of our community to the many wonderful pets available for adoption at our local shelter!