Bloomington animal shelter eyes online prize

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) - Saving the lives of animals is the goal of every shelter.

At the Bloomington Animal Shelter, you’ll find a story behind every meow and bark. But not all of the animals housed at the shelter will find a loving home.

Now, the team in Bloomington is taking on a competition to save the lives of more animals. It's the ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge. But they don’t call it a challenge for nothing.

“We have to save 300 more lives than we did last August, September and October, “ Laurie Ringquist said. “They count lives saved as adoptions and reuniting strays with their owners.”

Ringquist, who oversees the shelter, said getting more people to adopt is the challenge.

Last year Bloomington adopted out 511 animals. To win the reward, Ringquist said, they will have to adopt out at least 811 animals.

“That is huge,” she said, noting they will push to attract clients from Bloomington and surrounding areas.

If the shelter walks away with the $100,000 prize, they plan to renovate.

“There are parts of the shelter that have been here since the 1960s, and they look like it,” Ringquist said. “We can make the space bigger and nicer. It would make the animals stay here better and healthier.”

Smaller awards are available. For example, saving 300 animals guarantees a $5,000 reward.

Currently, the shelter is in second place in online voting. They'd like to finish the first round in first place but need your vote to make that happen. Voting closes at midnight Monday.

Click here to vote .