The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) will add a new dimension to the “valentine” theme this February, when it will launch an online contest for the “perfect pit bull and adopter match”: the ASPCA’s Adopt-A-Bull Contest, sponsored by Animal Farm Foundation.
Entries will be invited from both shelters and the public (who can nominate the shelters they adopted from), and will focus on adoptions of American Pit Bull Terriers and dogs that appear to be predominantly of that type, that have taken place through shelters using the ASPCA®’s Meet Your Match™ program. The ASPCA®’s Meet Your Match™ program is a scientific, research-based adoption tool aimed at creating better matches between prospective pet parents and animals based on accurate behavior assessments for the animals and understanding an individual adopter’s lifestyle and expectations. Meet Your Match is proven to be extremely successful in increasing adoptions and reducing returns at shelters.
“The ASPCA’s Adopt-a-Bull Contest is a great opportunity not just to highlight the positive attributes and merits of the American Pit Bull Terrier, but the importance of making good, long-lasting matches between pets and people,” said ASPCA President & CEO, Ed Sayres. “Every animal has the potential to thrive in the right home and the ASPCA’s Meet Your Match program continuously fosters the kind of successful matches beneficial to every party involved: the adopter, the animal and the shelter.”
The contest will run four times through the year, with one winner announced for each quarter. Each winner will automatically be entered into a contest for the grand prize. The grand prize winner will then be selected in 2009 via an online public vote. The prize package for quarterly winners includes a $4000 grant for the shelter, and an ASPCA Collection gift package for the winning pit bull-adopter match. The grand prize shelter winner will receive an all expense paid trip to New York City in April 2009 to participate in the ASPCA’s third annual ASPCA Day celebration and a $5000 grant for their shelter. The grand prize pit bull and adopter winner will receive a photoshoot with a professional photographer and a bronze of their pet.
“Animal Farm Foundation is pleased to sponsor the Adopt-a-Bull contest because the ASPCA’s Meet Your Match program promotes matches based on individual personality, instead of color and breed,” said Animal Farm Foundation President, Jane Berkey. “We are confident that the contest will promote great family matches for dogs that appear to be predominantly American Pit Bull Terriers.”
In recent years, pit bulls have been in the spotlight because they have been exploited by dog fighters and individuals bent on abusing the breed, and are often at the center of controversial breed-specific legislation. Despite this fact, pit bulls are known to remain loving and loyal to their human counterparts—sometimes to their own detriment—and can make excellent pets. Several well-known figures have owned pit bulls during their lifetime, including Helen Keler, Theodore Roosevelt and the “Our Gang” Little Rascals. An illustration of an American Pit Bull Terrier served as a symbol of the American spirit during the First World War. Today, pit bulls are the cherished pet for millions of Americans, including Rachael Ray, Rosie Perez, and Jon Stewart.
“Pit bull dogs are just dogs,” said Ms. Berkey. “Four legs, two eyes, and one heart.”
For more information on the ASPCA®’s Meet Your Match™ program, please visit www.aspca.org/meetyourmatch.
About the ASPCA®
Founded in 1866, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) was the first humane organization established in the Americas, and today has over one million supporters. A 501 [c [3 not-for-profit corporation, the ASPCA’s mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States. The ASPCA provides local and national leadership in animal-assisted therapy, animal behavior, animal poison control, anti-cruelty, humane education, legislative services, and shelter outreach. The New York City headquarters houses a full-service, accredited, animal hospital, adoption center, and mobile clinic outreach program. The Humane Law Enforcement department enforces New York’s animal cruelty laws and is featured on the reality television series “Animal Precinct” on Animal Planet. For more information, please visit www.aspca.org.