Partners for Pets is runner-up in Animal Planet contest

Lisa McCormick, the founder and director of Partners for Pets, is disappointed the no-kill shelter near Troy did not win an Animal Planet contest called Pet Nation Renovation but she said the group will keep working toward finishing its new shelter.

Partners for Pets was one of five national finalists in the contest in which the winner will receive $180,000 worth of renovations.

“Hopefully it was someone who needs it more than we do,” McCormick said Tuesday. “I think this is really good for us because we really got our name out there.”

If Partners for Pets had won the contest, the group would have been able to move all of its operations to a new shelter at 9136 Lower Marine Road near Troy.

McCormick said Partners for Pets was a runner-up in the contest and will receive $500 in Ace Hardware gift cards and $500 in Delta plumbing products.

“We’ll carry on and we’ll get that done. It’s going to be a little bit harder,” McCormick said. “We’re not going to have this giant crew of people show up and get everything built in two months.”

So that means fundraising will continue and volunteers are still needed for the licensed, 501(c)(3) nonprofit group.

Partners for Pets’ long-term fundraising goal is now $200,000.

Partners for Pets will be one of the groups featured in the Give STL Day online fundraiser on May 3. The St. Louis Community Foundation sponsors this fundraiser.

Volunteers with Partners for Pets go to shelters operated by Madison and St. Clair counties and pick up cats and dogs that otherwise would be euthanized. The pets are then adopted out.

Animal Planet has not yet announced which shelter won the Pet Nation Renovation contest.

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Partners for Pets is runner-up in Animal Planet contest."