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Wake County shelter encourages animal lovers to join Betty White Challenge

The Wake County Animal Center is joining the viral #BettyWhiteChallenge on social media.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — The Wake County Animal Center is joining the viral #BettyWhiteChallenge on social media.

White, who was known as an animal lover and advocate, died on Dec. 31 several days after suffering a stroke. She would have turned 100 on Jan. 17.

The #BettyWhiteChallenge encourages people across the country to donate $5 in her name to their local animal shelters.

The Wake County Animal Center, located on Beacon Lake Drive in Raleigh, is the only open-admission shelter in the county that takes in all stray, abandoned and surrendered pets. You can make a donation online.

Any monetary donations received will go directly to helping animals, Dr. Jennifer Federico, Animal Services Director, said.

You can also sponsor an animal by pre-paying a portion of their adoption fee.

“We have used donations to purchase toys for the cats and dogs to ensure that they have enrichment in their kennels. Recently, we used donations to cover extensive medical care for a shelter dog that we had in foster care who developed a tick-borne disease and required multiple blood transfusions. He has been able to make a full recovery and is doing well in foster care," said Federico.

The shelter has an Amazon wishlist. People are also encouraged to volunteer their time.

In 2021, the Wake County Animal Center took in more than 8,000 animals, adopted out nearly 3,500 and found foster families for another 1,700 pets. More than 1,000 pets were reunited with their owners and over 2,000 animals were placed with partner organizations.

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