Contact ZooToo.com About Your Favorite Sanctuary

Yesterday on Ellen, she featured a Rocky Ridge Refuge, home of Lurch, whom you must see to believe. Janice Wolf runs the place and she appears to be doing fantastic work rescuing animals, most of whom were supposed to be someone’s "pet." Ellen had Wolf on the show because the folks at ZooToo.com are paying for food for the animals for a year (it costs $1,400/month to feed everyone) and are also building a new shelter for them.

But that’s just the beginning . . . . ZooToo is having a contest worth $1 million:

Help Your Local Animal Shelter! Join the Zootoo House Shelter Makeover Project Today!
Zootoo House is launching the first-ever Shelter Makeover Program in America. We will provide funding for 20 animal shelters across the country to make much needed architectural improvements. One of the top 20 shelters will receive a makeover valued up to One Million Dollars.

Animal Shelters can win the makeover valued up to One Million Dollars by encouraging their local communities to become active on www.zootoo.com, the first opinion-sharing website that allows all pet lovers to help each other by sharing their knowledge. The 20 shelters that accumulate the most points between October 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008 will be eligible to win the makeover or runners-up cash prizes.

The Zootoo House Advisory Board, which consists of Richard Thompson, Zootoo Founder and Top Cat, Bill Meade from the Shelter Planners of America, and Wayne Pacelle, President of the Humane Society of the United States will personally visit each of the 20 shelters to evaluate their needs. The shelter deemed most deserving will win a makeover valued up to One Million Dollars.

To get started visit www.zootoo.com/makeover today! It’s fun, easy and free!

Now, this does appear to be about pets, and I didn’t see any farmed animal sanctuaries on the site. But I also didn’t see anything specifically excluding them. And the name does have "zoo" in it, so maybe they’d also consider wildlife sanctuaries.

I say submit information about your favorite shelter or sanctuary, and let us all know, and spread the word on message boards and the like. Worst case scenario? More people learn about more places that help animals, and more people learn about farmed animal sanctuaries (most people I talk to say: What good does it do to save one chicken? Meanwhile they wouldn’t say: What good does it do to save one dog?) After you’ve shared info about whatever place you’re submitting, people review it and rate it. The Humane Society of North Texas is currently in first place.

I’m going to write to them at: makeover@zootoo.com and ask whether farmed animals or wildlife are eligible, and encourage them to consider including them if they’re not. Maybe if enough people write, they’ll consider a change in policy. I’ll let you know what I hear from them.

For now, check them out, submit a shelter or sanctuary (I’d be interested in whether they’re moderating and wouldn’t approve a farmed animal sanctuary), and spread the word about your favorite place that helps nonhuman animals.