Festival/Conference
Help Our Pets Reach for the Stars!
Tallahassee Animal Service Center

ASC pet adoption contest now underway - Today, the Tallahassee-Leon Community Animal Service Center (ASC) announced that it has been selected as one of only 50 animal shelters throughout the United States given the opportunity to compete in the ASPCA $125K Challenge. The winner of the adoption challenge, sponsored by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), will win $100,000. An additional $25,000 will be awarded to the animal shelter with the best community engagement throughout the contest. The City wants to "Reach for the Stars" and aims to win the entire $125,000.

The goal is simple - from August 1 to October 31, adopt the most cats and dogs (our stars!) over the number adopted in the same three-month period in 2009. In Tallahassee, 683 cats and dogs were adopted from the ASC in that same time period last year. The City wants to win the entire $125K and has set a goal of adopting 1,200 cats and dogs into loving homes during the contest.

"I am ever proud of the fact that Tallahassee has a history and reputation of reaching for the stars," Mayor John Marks said. "We set tall goals and work to make them happen."

The contest officially begins at midnight this Sunday, August 1. The ASC wants the community to Come Meet Our Stars at a special nighttime adoption spectacular this weekend. The red carpet will be rolled out from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. (July 31-August 1). All adoptions of cats and dogs during the event are FREE. There will be no adoption fee or charge for spay/neuter services, but patrons wishing to adopt a lifelong friend at no cost are asked to bring in one or more of the ASC's wish list items. These can include kitten or puppy formula, a bag of dry dog food, 6 cans of cat food or 2 packages of soft dog treats. Additional wish list items needed at the ASC are available at Talgov.com/animals.

If you're not good at staying up with the midnight creatures (feline, canine AND human!), the ASC will continue the Come Meet Our Stars promotional event this Sunday, August 1, from 1 to 5 p.m. Adoptions will be limited to two animals per household during this weekend's events.

Pet over-population is a continuing problem at animal shelters across the country. A variety of programs exist to address the issues, including aggressive spay/neuter programs, animal adoptions and humane education. Here in Tallahassee, the ASC takes in an average of 30 animals a day (that's over 10,000 animals a year), with only 30 percent being adopted.

While our goal is to win the national competition, the ultimate winners will be the newly adopted animals and their new owners. You can be a star in our and these pets' eyes by adopting a cat or dog (or both!) today. A variety of special adoption events will take place this month and continue through the October 31 deadline.

For more information, please visit Talgov.com/animals, call the Tallahassee-Leon Community Animal Service Center at 891-2950, stop by the ASC located at 1125 Easterwood Drive near the entrance to Tom Brown Park or find the ASC's official page on Facebook. Be sure to watch WCOT (Comcast Cable channel 13) and monitor @COTStars on Twitter throughout the contest period for clips and pictures of our stars around town.

Contact
Erika Leckington, Animal Service Center, 891-2959; or Lizzy Kelley, Communications Department, 891-8533

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Tallahassee Animal Service Center
1125 Easterwood Dr.
Tallahassee, FL

July 31 to August 1, 2010
10:00 PM to 2:00 AM
yes, this is a midnight event!
FREE

Contact

name:	Shannon Carroll
tel:	850-891-2950
email:	Shannon.Carroll@talgov.com
web:	http://www.talgov.com/communications/newsdetail.cfm?id=2466