The Humane Society of Cherokee County is now ninth in a national competition and has a chance to win a $1 million shelter makeover.

Zootoo.com, a networking Web site and resource for pet lovers, has launched the Second Annual Zootoo.com Shelter Makeover Contest. It will end May 1, and 19 runners-up will share awards totaling $195,000.

Rita Allen, a volunteer at the HSCC shelter, said their current ranking is a reflection of community support.

“We have four dog-walking days a week, and there may be 15 to 20 people out there,” she said. “Maybe it’s because it’s a college town. We’ve gotten a lot of support from some of the fraternities and sororities at Northeastern State University.”

Allen said area merchants and media outlets have always been supportive of the shelter, which houses about 70 dogs and 15 cats.

Animal lovers who want the Tahlequah shelter to win can go online and join Zootoo.com, and then choose Humane Society of Cherokee County. The HSCC shelter will get more points based on the member’s activity in zootoo.com, such as contributing reviews of pet products and services, sharing opinions and advice, and more. HSCC has earned 143,207 points in the Internet contest so far.

“We have a young volunteer named Jessica Lucas who wanted to do this last year, but we told her we didn’t have enough time,” Allen said. “This year she brought it up again, and we decided to give it a try.”

Allen said the shelter has only been in existence about three years and has two buildings with a core staff of about 15 volunteers. The community has been so supportive that charitable giving and occasional grants have provided the $5,000 to $6,000 a month it takes to keep the operation going.

“I don’t know if we’ll get the million-dollar shelter makeover,” she said. “It’s a long shot, but would you have thought Tahlequah would be No. 9 in the nation so far?”

Lucas, the 22-year-old NSU student who got the ball rolling, said she was motivated by her love of animals.

“There are so many animals in the area that really need shelter and they need help,” she said. “This shelter in particular is all-volunteer run, so it especially needs the extra help that it can get from winning the contest. I go and walk the dogs, and they make such great pets. I think it would be easier to find them great homes if people were more aware of the humane society and what they do for the animals.”

The 20 shelters that have accumulated the most points by March 13 will be named semifinalists. Zootoo.com will then visit all 20 semifinalist shelters and narrow them down to the top 10. Once the 10 finalists have been chosen, pet lovers across America will be able to review the finalists and pick the winner by voting for the shelter they think most deserves the makeover.

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