Zootoo.com is a new company/website designed to give back to the animal community and encourage people to get involved beyond their personal pets. The company was named Zoo, meaning all animals, and Too, meaning you, too, can be helpful.

Zootoo.com is the only user generated site that is designed for animal lovers to share information about everything animal related, including pet services, pet products, pet news, pet people, volunteerism, social networking and pet food recalls. As a “user-generated platform,” every pet lover gets a chance to participate in providing valuable information based on personal experience, thus making it an unbiased and reliable source of information and interaction for the pet community.

Zootoo.com was founded by Richard Thompson, former owner of Meow Mix. Richard Thompson is an extremely personable and fabulously successful entrepreneur who created Zootoo.com as a way to give back to the pet community. Conceived as a win/win economic philanthropy, Zootoo.com has allowed Richard to make a difference in the lives of pets and the people who love them.

The Zootoo.com Shelter Makeover Contest mission is to improve the condition of animal shelters, facilitate adoptions, and make shelter visits a loving, safe, and positive experience for children, adults, and pets. With www.zootoo.com, every click helps a pet and every pet-lover has a voice.

• Zootoo.com is hosting a contest where the community can log on and earn points for sharing information on a variety of pet oriented subjects. These points can then be directed to one of the nearly 1,000 animal shelters across the country who are participating in the contest and on March 31st Zootoo.com will announce the top 20 semi-finalists eligible for the grand prize. Richard Thompson and his prestigious board members will visit all 20 shelters and select the grand prize winner, who will receive a makeover valued at up to one million dollars*. A second shelter will win a $10,000 cash prize, and the 18 other top shelters will each receive $5,000. Additional details and a complete list are available at http://www.zootoo.com/makeover .  

* Actual makeover value depends on the condition of the shelter and judgment of the Zootoo.com Advisory Board.

Zootoo.com also seeks out the neediest pet cases. One case just completed was at the Rocky Ridge Refuge in Monkey Run, Arkansas. This animal Group Home, with over 50 animals both exotic and common, was in desperate need of renovation. Zootoo.com funded and completed the project, working hand in hand with volunteers and paid contractors, and completed the job in ONE week. You can view the progress and final outcome at www.zootoo.com as a showcase of what Zootoo.com is capable of providing for other shelters and animals.