FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOCAL ANIMAL SHELTER IN RUNNING TO WIN $100,000; OFFERING $10 ADOPTIONS

The Animal Foundation offering $10 adoption fees on all animals waiting for homes 10 days or longer, August 25-30, in hopes of winning $100,000 national grant.

Las Vegas, Nev. – August 23, 2013 – The Animal Foundation, Nevada’s largest open-admission animal shelter and pet adoption center, announced that it is reducing adoption fees to $10 for all adoptable animals that have been waiting 10 days or longer to find a home beginning August 25 through August 30.

Shelter staff hopes that the deeply discounted fees will motivate residents to give a homeless pet a loving home while assisting the organization in its efforts to win a $100,000 grant from the ASPCA. Since July 1, The Animal Foundation has been participating in the ASPCA $100K Challenge, a 3-month-long competition in which 50 shelters from across the country strive to save the lives of more animals than they did in the same three months of 2012. The shelter with the greatest increase in lives saved over 2012 receives a $100,000 grant. The Animal Foundation is currently in second place nationally, just 62 adoptions behind Riverside County Department of Animal Services. The Challenge ends Saturday, August 31.

“This June and July, we saved 2,749 lives…504 more than the same two months of 2012,” says Meghan Scheibe, marketing and public relations manager for The Animal Foundation. “We are grateful to the community for supporting our efforts by adopting and getting involved this summer. So many animals have been adopted to wonderful homes, transferred to our amazing rescue organization partners, and reunited with their owners. We’re just a few positive placements shy of winning a $100,000 grant that could help us increase the lives we’re able to save in 2014 and beyond. We need members of the community to adopt this week to help us finish in first place and win the grant funding.”

If The Animal Foundation wins the $100,000 grand prize, it will use the funding to develop a comprehensive, proactive return-to-owner program for the lost animals entering the facility each year. Currently, less than 11% of the animals entering the shelter are reunited with their owners, a percentage The Animal Foundation aims to increase with assistance from the ASPCA grant.

“This grant would allow us to make huge strides in reuniting lost pets with their owners,” Scheibe adds. “Registered microchips and ID tags are the most effective tools for reuniting owners and their lost pets, but when an animal comes in without a microchip or ID tag, or a form of identification that is out-of-date, our abilities to pursue owners are limited. The $100,000 would allow us to implement programs to proactively seek out owners of pets who enter the shelter without up-to-date identification.”

To find homes for the more than 350 pets currently available for adoption, and to increase the chances of winning the Challenge, The Animal Foundation is encouraging residents to take advantage of deeply discounted adoption fees August 25-30. All adoptable animals that have been waiting for a home 10 days or longer can be adopted for just $10. Normal adoption fees range from $105-250 for dogs and $80-100 for cats. Residents who take advantage of this limited-time promotion can save up to 96% on the adoption fees of qualifying pets. Fees include spay/neuter, microchip, up-to-date vaccinations and more. A $10 city license fee may apply.

The Animal Foundation’s $10 adoption fees are valid Sunday, August 25 through Friday, August 30 at organization’s two adoption locations: the Campus Adoption Center (655 N. Mojave Road, Las Vegas) and the PetSmart Charities Everyday Adoption Center (286 W. Lake Mead Parkway, Henderson).

For more information, or to view pets available for adoption, visit www.animalfoundation.com.

About The Animal Foundation 

The Animal Foundation is a private, non-profit, multi-service agency dedicated to making a difference in the lives of animals in the Las Vegas Valley. To promote the humane treatment of animals, The Animal Foundation operates Nevada’s largest open-admission shelter (Lied Animal Shelter), taking in more than 40,000 lost, unwanted and abandoned pets every year. Additionally, the Foundation operates lost and found services, foster home and adoption services, a low-cost spay and neuter clinic and vaccination clinics, and community education. To learn more about The Animal Foundation or view adoptable pets online, visit animalfoundation.com and facebook.com/animalfoundation.

About The ASPCA $100K Challenge
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 more information about the 2013 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge, please visit www.aspca.org/100K.