Partners for Pets named finalist in Animal Planet makeover contest

Partners for Pets, a no-kill animal shelter near Troy, is one of five national finalists in an Animal Planet contest called Pet Nation Renovation in which the public votes to help decide which group gets up to $180,000 toward a “major makeover” at their shelter.

To vote for Partners for Pets, go to animalplanet.com.

“We’re hoping we win; it would be amazing,” said Lisa McCormick, the founder and director of Partners for Pets. “You’ll hear me screaming if we win.”

Partners for Pets has already started construction on a new shelter at 9136 Lower Marine Road near Troy, and McCormick said the group would be able to finish the project if it wins the contest.

The group’s Facebook page is filled with supporters urging readers to vote for the metro-east organization.

Partners for Pets picks up cats and dogs from shelters operated by Madison and St. Clair counties and then adopts out the animals at area pet stores.

McCormick said the group has outgrown the shelter she established at her home near Troy in 2002 and recently purchased five acres for a new home. A large pole barn is being retrofitted to house dogs. Cats have already been relocated to a house on the property.

“We can’t move the dogs until we get the main shelter completed and the outside yards completed,” McCormick said.

She said if her group wins the contest, Partners for Pets would be able to realize two goals:

▪  Build a spay and neuter center for the shelter’s animals. This service eventually would be offered to the public.

▪  Open a training center in an existing building on the Lower Marine Road property. This center would be used to train dogs that have behavior problems. “That would really help get the animals adopted,” McCormick said.

When the construction work is finished, Partners for Pets will be able to host adoption days at the new shelter as well as the adoption events at pet stores.

Partners for Pets’ work on the new shelter was featured in the News-Democrat last month.

Pet Nation Renovation voting began Monday and continues until 10:59 p.m. April 4.

Contestants had to be a 501 (c)(3) non-profit group. Also, each group had to submit a video to Animal Planet to enter into the contest.

“I really like how it shows the old shelter and why we need this new shelter,” McCormick said of the group’s video.

The contest rules state that the shelter with the most votes will not automatically win the contest but that the number of votes will be considered.

The other four finalists are Bandit’s Adoption and Rescue of K-9s in Ashland, Va.; Salfid Rescue in Souderton, Pa.; Dublin Laurens County Humane Society, Dublin, Ga.; and S.A.F.E. Pet Rescue in Hollister, Fla.

The winner will be announced on April 12. Karin Failla, a spokeswoman for Animal Planet, said this is the first-ever Pet Nation Renovation contest.

A film crew will visit the winning group and then Animal Planet later this year will air a Pet Nation Renovation show about the winners.

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 9:41 AM with the headline "Partners for Pets named finalist in Animal Planet makeover contest."