20. Largest increase in lives saved in each region. These contestants win the $20,000 Best in Region grants . The ASPCA has identified five regions for this challenge: West: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming; Southwest: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin; Southeast: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia and West Virginia; and Northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, DC  Help us keep on going?

qualifying heat

Shelters in the Qualifying Heat

Big round of applause for the following 95 agencies that have been accepted to compete in the qualifying heat of the ASPCA $100K Challenge! During the qualifying heat of April 4 through April 15, they’ll need their supporters to vote online to send them to the Challenge. The 50 agencies with the most votes will be the official contestants in the $100K Challenge.

ALABAMA
Decatur Animal Services	Decatur	AL
ARIZONA
Humane Society of Southern Arizona	Tucson	AZ
Yavapai Humane Society	Prescott	AZ
CALIFORNIA
Animal Friends of the Valleys	Wildomar	CA
Butte Humane Society	Chico	CA
City of Hesperia Animal Control	Hesperia	CA
City of San Bernardino Animal Control	San Bernardino	CA
Ramona Humane Society, Inc.	San Jacinto	CA
Riverside County Department of Animal Services	Riverside	CA
Santa Barbara County Animal Services	Santa Maria	CA
SEAACA	Downey	CA
Town of Apple Valley Animal Services	Apple Valley	CA
Valley Oak SPCA	Visalia	CA
Ventura County Animal Services	Camarillo	CA
CONNECTICUT
Meriden Humane Society	Meriden	CT
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Washington Animal Rescue League	Washington	DC
Washington Humane Society	Washington	DC
FLORIDA
Animal Care and Protective Services	Jacksonville	FL
Humane Society of Broward County	Fort Lauderdale	FL
Humane Society of Sarasota County, Inc.	Sarasota	FL
Orange County Animal Services	Orlando	FL
SPCA Tampa Bay	Largo	FL
Tri County Humane Society	Boca Raton	FL
Walton County Animal Services	DeFuniak Springs	FL
GEORGIA
Cherokee County Animal Shelter	Canton	GA
Cobb County Animal Control	Marietta	GA
Humane Society of Greater Savannah	Savannah	GA
HAWAII
Oahu SPCA	Kapolei	HI
IOWA
Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Inc.	Des Moines	IA
Dubuque Regional Humane Society	Dubuque	IA
IDAHO
Idaho Humane Society	Boise	ID
ILLINOIS
Animal House Shelter, Inc .	Huntley	IL
PAWS Chicago	Chicago	IL
South Suburban Humane Society	Chicago Heights	IL
INDIANA
Humane Society for Hamilton County	Noblesville	IN
Indianapolis Animal Care and Control	Indianapolis	IN
KENTUCKY
Kentucky Humane Society	Louisville	KY
LOUISIANA
Calcasieu Parish Animal Services	Lake Charles	LA
Lafayette Animal Control Center	Lafayette	LA
St. Tammany Parish Department of Animal Services	Lacombe	LA
MASSACHUSETTS
Animal Rescue League of Boston	Boston	MA
Animal Shelter Inc	Sterling	MA
Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society	Springfield	MA
Lowell Humane Society	Lowell	MA
MARYLAND
Humane Society of Charles County	Waldorf	MD
MAINE
Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland	Westbrook	ME
Greater Androscoggin Humane Society	Lewiston	ME
MICHIGAN
Humane Society of Huron Valley	Ann Arbor	MI
SPCA of Southwest Michigan	Kalamazoo	MI
MISSOURI
City of Independence Animal Services	Independence	MO
MISSISSIPPI
The Humane Society of South Mississippi	Gulfport	MS
MONTANA
Humane Society of Western Montana	Missoula	MT
The Lewis & Clark Humane Society	Helena	MT
NORTH CAROLINA
Brother Wolf Animal Rescue	Asheville	NC
Burlington Pet Adoption Center	Haw River	NC
Gaston County Animal Control	Dallas	NC
Pitt County Animal Shelter	Greenville	NC
NEW HAMPSHIRE
New Hampshire SPCA	Stratham	NH
NEW JERSEY
Animal Welfare Association	Voorhees	NJ
Camden County Animal Shelter	Blackwood	NJ
Monmouth County SPCA	Eatontown	NJ
NEW MEXICO
Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society	Santa Fe	NM
The Animal Service Center of the Mesilla Valley	Las Cruces	NM
NEVADA
Nevada Humane Society	Reno	NV
SPCA of Northern Nevada	Reno	NV
NEW YORK
Pets Alive Animal Sanctuary	Middletown	NY
Rochester Animals Services	Rochester	NY
OHIO
Angels for Animals Inc.	Canfield	OH
Humane Society of Greater Dayton	Dayton	OH
Pawsibilities, The Humane Society of Greater Akron	Twinsburg	OH
SPCA Cincinnati	Cincinnati	OH
Toledo Area Humane Society	Toledo	OH
OKLAHOMA
Edmond Animal Welfare	Edmond	OK
OREGON
Willamette Humane Society	Salem	OR
PENNSYLVANIA
Animal Rescue League of Western PA	Pittsburgh	PA
Delaware County SPCA	Media	PA
PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society)	Philadelphia	PA
SPCA of Luzerne County	Wilkes Barre	PA
SOUTH CAROLINA
Greenville County Animal Care Services	Greenville	SC
Paws to the Rescue Animal Shelter	Marion	SC
TEXAS
Animal Care Services, City of San Antonio, TX	San Antonio	TX
Austin Pets Alive!	Austin	TX
Brownsville Animal Regulation and Care Ctr.	Brownsville	TX
Citizens for Animal Protection	Houston	TX
Galveston Island Humane Society	Galveston	TX
Houston Humane Society	Houston	TX
Humane Society of Williamson County	Leander	TX
VIRGINIA
Peninsula SPCA	Newport News	VA
Roanoke Valley SPCA	Roanoke	VA
VIRGIN ISLANDS
St. Croix Animal Welfare Center	Kingshill	VI
WASHINGTON
Kitsap Humane Society	Silverdale	WA
Seattle Humane Society	Bellevue	WA
WISCONSIN
Dane County Humane Society	Madison	WI
Elmbrook Humane Society	Brookfield	WI
Fond du lac Humane Society, Inc.	Fond du Lac	WI

YAY!! Channel 19 had a spot about the ASPCA $100K Challenge on the 10 PM newscast and now has a link for www.votetosavelives.org on their website remember just a few clicks to vote Decatur Animal Shelter.

http://www.voteto/

www.voteto

Animal Abuse Quotes

Animal Abuse Quotes

"Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages." - Thomas Edison, (American Inventor and Scientist)

"Compassion for animals is intimately connected with goodness of character and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man." - Arthur Schopenhauer, (German Philosopher)

"We have enslaved the rest of animal creation and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were to formulate a religion, they would depict the Devil in human form." - William Ralph Inge, (British Author)

"For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love." - Pythagoras, (Pre-Socratic Greek Philosopher)

"Show me the enforced laws of a state for the prevention of cruelty to animals and I in turn will give you a correct estimate of the refinement, enlightenment, integrity and equity of that commonwealth's people." - L.T. Danshiell, (Animal Rights Advocate)

"He who harms animals has not understood or renounced deeds of sin ... Those whose minds are at peace and who are free from passions do not desire to live at the expense of others." - from Acharanga Sutra (Jainism - Non-Vedic Religion of Old India)

"The awful wrongs and sufferings forced upon the innocent, helpless, faithful animal race form the blackest chapter in the whole world's history." - Edward Freeman, (English Historian and Commentator)

"Nothing living should ever be treated with contempt. Whatever it is that lives, a man, a tree, or a bird, should be touched gently, because the time is short. Civilization is another word for respect for life...." - Elizabeth Goudge, (author of The Joy of the Snow)

"I hope to make people realize how totally helpless animals are, how dependent on us, trusting as a child must that we will be kind and take care of their needs ...[they] are an obligation put on us, a responsibility we have no right to neglect, nor to violate by cruelty." - James Herriot, (English Veterinarian and Author)

"As custodians of the planet it is our responsibility to deal with all species with kindness, love, and compassion. That these animals suffer through human cruelty is beyond understanding. Please help to stop this madness." - Richard Gere, (American Actor)

"Cruelty to dumb animals is one of the distinguishing vices of low and base minds. Wherever it is found, it is a certain mark of ignorance and meanness; a mark which all the external advantages of wealth, splendour, and nobility, cannot obliterate. It is consistent neither with learning nor true civility." - William Jones, (English Philologist and Jurist)

"Anyone who has accustomed himself to regard the life of any living creature as worthless is in danger of arriving also at the idea of worthless human lives." - Albert Schweitzer, (Alsatian Theologian, Musician, and Medical Missionary)

"To inflict cruelties on defenceless creatures, or condone such acts, is to abuse one of the cardinal tenets of a civilised society - reverence for life." - Dr. Jon Evans

"Our treatment of animals is important to our own internal state. If we are to expand our horizons, to grow to understand what the relatedness of each and every thing means, then our love and appreciation of all life is essential. Our respect and reverence for all living things will be reflected in our own living." - Bill Schul, (Author of The Psychic Power of Animals)

"If a man aspires toward a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals." - Count Leo Tolstoy, (Russian Novelist and Philosopher)

"Our treatment of animals will someday be considered barbarous. There cannot be perfect civilization until man realizes that the rights of every living creature are as sacred as his own." - Dr. David Starr Jordan, (American Biologist and Educator)

"We cannot have peace among men whose hearts find delight in killing any living creature." - Rachel Carson, (American Author and Marine Biologist)

"We cannot glimpse the essential life of a caged animal, only the shadow of its former beauty." - Julia Allen Field

"I have always felt that the way we treat animals is a pretty good indicator of the compassion we are capable of for the human race." - Ali McGraw, (American Actress)

"The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men." - Leonardo Da Vinci, (Italian Painter, Sculptor, Architect, Musician, Engineer, and Scientist)

"Murderers ... very often start out by killing and torturing animals as kids." - Robert K. Ressler, (Former FBI Serial Killer Profiler)

"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men..." - St. Francis of Assisi, (Roman Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans Order)

"These birds and animals and fish cannot speak, but they can suffer, and our God who created them, knows their sufferings, and will hold him who causes them to suffer unnecessarily to answer for it. It is a sin against their Creator." - George Q. Cannon, (Animal Activist)

Animal Rights Quotes

"Human liberation will begin when we understand that our evolution and fulfillment are contingent on the recognition of animal rights and on a compassionate and responsible stewardship of nature." - Dr. Michael W. Fox, (Animal Activist)

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Mahatma Gandhi, (Indian Statesman and Philosopher)

"True human goodness, in all its purity and freedom, can come to the fore only when its recipient has no power. Mankind's true moral test, its fundamental test (which lies deeply buried from view), consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals. And in this respect mankind has suffered a fundamental debacle, a debacle so fundamental that all others stem from it." - Milan Kundera, (Czech Novelist)

"Most people have forgotten how to live with living creatures, with living systems and that, in turn, is the reason why man, whenever he comes into contact with nature, threatens to kill the natural system in which and from which he lives." - Konrad Lorenz, (Naturalist)

"Life is life's greatest gift. Guard the life of another creature as you would your own because it is your own. On life's scale of values, the smallest is no less precious to the creature who owns it than the largest..." - Lloyd Biggle Jr.

Quotes About Animal Testing

"Atrocities are no less atrocities when they occur in laboratories and are called 'medical research." - George Bernard Shaw, (Irish Playright and Critic)

"It is totally unconscionable to subject defenseless animals to mutilation and death, just so a company can be the first to market a new shade of nail polish or a new, improved laundry detergent...It's cruel, it's brutal, it's inhumane, and most people don't want it." - Abigail 'Dear Abby' Van Buren Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee in support of the Consumer Products Safe Testing Act, March 1988

"It seems to me of great importance to teach children respect for life. Towards this end, experiments on living animals in classrooms should be stopped. To encourage cruelty in the name of science can only destroy the finer emotions of affection and sympathy, and breed an unfeeling callousness in the young towards suffering in all living creatures." - Eleanor Roosevelt, (former First Lady of the United States of America)

"Every year tens of thousands of animals suffer and die in laboratory tests of cosmetics and household products...despite the fact that the test results do not help prevent or treat accidental or purposeful misuse of the products. Please join me in using your voice for those whose cries are forever sealed behind the laboratory doors." - Woody Harrelson, (Actor)

"I abhor vivisection. It should at least be curbed. Better, it should be abolished. I know of no achievement through vivisection, no scientific discovery, that could not have been obtained without such barbarism and cruelty. The whole thing is evil." - Dr. Charles Mayo, (Founder of the Mayo Clinic)

April 4th

borrowed cute picture

A example of the breeds of pet's up for or have been up for adoption

 Who me? I know I'm cute!Take me or my friends home.

It's getting closer, please share this contest information with anyone if not everyone you may know and doing only that win will help the shelter much to care for furry friends!

update on details....

EASTER'S GETTING CLOSER X2

CUTE? WHO ME?

Any one wanna go camping?

I need to a HOME

Decatur Animal Services Takes on ASPCA $100K Challenge Qualifying Heat

Community Support Needed for Chance to Win $100,000 Grant and Save More Lives

Beginning April 4, 2011 Decatur Animal Services will be a participant in the Qualifying Heat of this year’s ASPCA $100K Challenge, competing for grants totaling $300,000 from the ASPCA, including a top prize of $100,000.

The 2011 ASPCA $100K Challenge is a nationwide competition for animal shelters (and their communities) aiming to get more animals adopted or returned to their owners than ever before. This first phase is the Qualifying Heat where registered shelters compete to accumulate the most online votes from their supporters. The 50 shelters with the most votes become the official contestants for the 2011 ASPCA $100K Challenge.

Supporters of Decatur Animal Services can help by voting online at www.VoteToSaveLives.org. Voting occurs from April 4 to 15, 2011.

·         Decatur Animal Services works with rescue organizations all over the country as well as promoting and arranging transports for out of state adoptions giving us more opportunities to find the perfect forever homes for our shelter’s pets.

·         Some of our recent adoption stories include a beagle that has traveled to New York to become a bed bug detection dog and a boxer mix that was recently included in the Guinness Book of World Records for her participation in the world’s largest fly-ball tournament!

For more information about Decatur Animal Services, please visit http://www.decaturalabamausa.com/departments/animalservices/index.html.

For more information about the ASPCA $100K Challenge, please visit http://challenge.aspcapro.org/contest-information.

Also, please see the attached flyer for contest information that can easily be printed and posted anywhere…Be sure to share with everyone you know!  We need all the votes we can get.

And remember, go to www.VoteToSaveLives.org once a day, every day from April 4 to April 15, 2011 and vote for Decatur Animal Services!

Welcome to the Abuse an Animal, Go to Jail cause! Hope users get involved and spread awareness by inviting your friends to join. Join the Animal Legal Defense Fund on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AnimalLegalDefenseFund or on the web at http://www.aldf.org Together, we are winning the case against cruelty!
Right now, we need your help to reach our goal of 1,000,000 members so the most important thing you can do to help our cause is to invite your friends to join too.
Help us reach our goal of 1,000,000 members today: