Locals can still help Humane Society win online makeover contest

If all goes well, the St. Tammany Humane Society could win a $1 million makeover next year in an online contest.

Sponsored by Zootoo.com, an online pet lovers’ community, the Shelter Makeover II contest began in September and allows shelters to accumulate points when their supporters register on the Web site. The St. Tammany shelter is currently in second place with over 237,000 points, putting it behind the Liberty Humane Society in Jersey City, N.J., in first place with over 247,000 points.

“We’re about 10,000 points out of first place,” said Executive Director Vaughn Maurice. “There’s still a few more months to go, so we really hope people will go to the Web site and help us out.”

According to Maurice, the shelter automatically receives 50 points whenever someone registers and selects the St. Tammany Humane Society as the shelter they wish to support. Another 40 points is awarded by uploading a photo, with each additional photo resulting in an extra 15 points per photo. Users can upload five per day and can change them as often as needed.

Other ways to help the shelter gain points can be found in the Pet Services section of the Web site, where reviews of local services, such as veterinarians or pet stores, results in 15 points for each comment posted. Inviting friends to join brings in another 50 points.

Maurice’s favorite method, however, doesn’t bring in a lot of points.

“People can play Pet Wars, which is really fun,” he said. “They post pictures of their pets and then vote on which is the cutest.”

The cuteness contest results in only one point per game, with up to five points per day allowed.

After the points accumulation phase ends on March 13, 2009, Zootoo.com advisors will then tour the top 20 shelters that have accumulated the most points and narrow down the field to 10 finalists. In April, pet lovers across the country will then vote for their favorite shelter.

If St. Tammany wins, Maurice said he hopes the money will help jumpstart a capital campaign to build a brand new facility across the street from the agency’s current location. In addition, he’d like to see the existing property turned into a dog park and plans to recognize those supporters who accumulate 5,000 points or more.

“We’ll have a Zootoo.com wall of fame, and each of those people will have their name inscribed on a brass plaque with a photo,” said Maurice. “We want to thank those people that worked so hard for us, and make them a permanent part of our new building.”

For more information, call the shelter at 892-7387, or go to www.zootoo.com/makeover.