This Just In! Find Out Which Shelters Won $90,000 In Cash & Prizes In Our Happy Pawlidays Challenge

The holidays are always a challenging time for shelters, especially during a global pandemic. But your daily commitment to vote in our Happy Pawlidays Challenge has helped make the season brighter for hungry shelter pets during this very challenging year.

Voting for our Happy Pawlidays Challenge closed on Dec. 21, but when we counted the votes, we found that your daily votes on ShelterChallenge.com allowed us to donate the value of 4,476,410 pieces of kibble! This generous donation was made possible because of your daily votes on ShelterChallenge.com, which supports U.S. shelters and rescues struggling to feed all the animals in their care.

In addition to all this pet food, your daily votes helped us dole out $90,000 worth of cash and critical supplies to 70 shelters and rescues participating in our Happy Pawlidays Challenge. This year, voters selected Shenandoah Shepherd Rescue to be the Grand Prize Winner of our holiday challenge, rewarding the Virginia-based non-profit rescue for all its hard work with $10,000 in cash and $4,000 worth of supplies!

News of this generous prize even caused our Grand Prize winners to break down in tears of gratitude, according to a heartfelt message the volunteer-led rescue left for its voters. “This is an amazing Christmas gift to all of our dogs, and my heart is just bursting,” rescuers wrote on Facebook. “We often marvel at the hearts of our followers, and this is just proof that we are the luckiest rescue ever. Thank you for your hearts, and your support, as always.”

Happy Pawlidays Challenge voters also decided that The Cat House on the Kings, California’s largest no-cage, no-kill cat sanctuary and adoption center, deserved our second-place prize of $5,000 in cash and $3,000 in supplies!

Your daily votes also helped us reward 10 runners-up with $1,000 in cash and $1,500 in supplies. These winners include Tiny Kitten Society, American Belgian Malinois Rescue, Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary, Inc., 100 Plus Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida Rescue, Turtle Mountain Animal Rescue, Stray Rescue of St. Louis, National Airedale Rescue, Inc., Animal Aid Society, Good Mews Animal Foundation, and Second Chance Sheridan Cat Rescue.

But that’s not all! Your votes also helped us gift 10 state winners with $1,000 cash and $1,000 in supplies, reward 41 state runners-up with $500 in supplies, and present 7 weekly winners with $500 gift cards to The Animal Rescue Site.

Please join us in congratulating all of our winners! And many thanks to everyone who participated in our Happy Pawlidays Challenge. Your daily votes have helped provide critical food and care for shelter pets during this most challenging year.

Want to participate in our next shelter challenge? Clicking to vote on ShelterChallenge.com is an easy way to help your favorite shelters compete for cash and valuable prizes. In addition to rewarding rescuers for all their hard work, each vote provides your favorite shelter with the value of 20 pieces of kibble, which can really add up if you make voting a daily habit! And best of all, just like at The Animal Rescue Site, it’s free to you! Sign up to participate in our next shelter challenge and earn the value of 100 pieces of kibble just for creating a new account.