The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region may not meet its ambitious goal of saving nearly 4,000 cats and dogs to win the ASPCA’s $100K Rachael Ray Challenge this summer, but a spokeswoman said the shelter still came out on top.

In May, the nonprofit was chosen along with 50 shelters across the country to compete for a $100,000 grant from the ASPCA by showing the highest increase in cats and dogs saved from June 1 to Aug. 31.

The Colorado Springs facility set a lofty goal to save 3,954 animals, but as of Thursday, the shelter had saved about 2,800 animals, spokeswoman Gretchen Pressley said.

Although the facility likely will fall short of its goal, Pressley said, the number of saved animals is a “win-win” for the shelter.

“Our adoption rate is up 
47 percent from before we began the challenge, and that’s still a fantastic outcome,” she said. “It shows that we were creative with our sales and promotions to get the community engaged, and those are 2,800 cats and dogs that have homes now.”

The shelter’s return rate, referring to the number of lost pets reunited with their families, also increased by 17 percent, Pressley said.

With slightly more than a week left in the challenge, the Colorado Springs facility suspended all cat adoptions and stopped taking in cats after several felines brought into the shelter tested positive for feline panleukopenia virus, a potentially fatal disease especially harmful to kittens.

“We are very sad that we won’t be able to continue feline adoptions, but the safety of our cats is our No. 1 priority,” Pressley said. “But the Rachael Ray Challenge has been a great experience because we really pushed ourselves to save as many lives as possible.”

As of Thursday, 150 cats were quarantined while the shelter awaited test results to determine how many had contracted the virus, Pressley said.

Until those cats were identified and quarantined, she said, no cats would be available for adoption and none would be accepted into the shelter.

Even if the nonprofit is out of the running for the grand prize, a secondary award of $25,000 for community engagement efforts could be within reach, Pressley said. She encouraged everyone in the community to visit www.votetosavelives.org and vote daily for the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region until the end of the challenge.

To cap the summerlong challenge, the shelter will offer 50 percent discounts on all regularly priced dogs and $50 off higher-priced animals from Aug. 29-31, Pressley said.

“Even if we lose, everyone still put in so much work. We were creative, and we saved thousands of lives. We will be sure to apply everything we learned from our promotions and sales into the future.”

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Contact Andrea Sinclair: 636-0235

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One of 11 stray kittens brought into the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region huddles in its cage Thursday, May 15, 2014. The Humane Society held a baby shower for donated supplies Thursday to give to the foster families of the hundreds of kittens and puppies brought in on a weekly basis as the weather warms up. Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette

Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette