NBC Owned Television Stations To Air "Best In Shelter With Jill Rappaport" on February 21 (7:00 pm EST) Featuring Betty White, Bernadette Peters, Bryant Gumbel, Lindsey Vonn, and Emmylou Harris

NEW YORK, Feb. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NBC Owned Television Stations will premiere Best in Shelter with Jill Rappaport on February 21 on NBC (7:00 pm EST).  Long time NBC correspondent, award-winning animal advocate and author Jill Rappaport is the creator, executive producer and host of what proves to be a groundbreaking tribute to shelter dogs.  The show takes viewers from coast to coast in search of our country's most loveable rescue dogs with the help of beloved actress Betty White, Broadway legend Bernadette Peters, HBO Real Sports' Bryant Gumbel, Olympic superstar skier Lindsey Vonn, and country music's own Emmylou Harris.  Best in Shelter with Jill Rappaport features categories of dogs often overlooked for adoption such as Seniors, Pit Bulls, Mutts and dogs with physical disabilities.

At each shelter, these canines will be judged by celebrity animal advocates based on very serious criteria like "lickability" and cuddle factor! Award winning journalist Bryant Gumbel and wife and author Hilary Gumbel judge at Main Line Animal Rescue in Pennsylvania, teen actor Lou Wegner at the Helen Woodward Animal Center in California, and singer/actress Bernadette Peters visits the ASPCA Adoption Center in New York City.  One dog from each shelter will be named "Best in Shelter" and rewarded with a year's supply of a food-filled care package from show sponsor Blue Buffalo.

"Most importantly, they will all find permanent homes which is what every shelter dog deserves," added Rappaport.  "BLUE is a company founded on the incredible bond humans have with our pets," said David Petrie, Vice President, Blue Buffalo Co.  Over the years, BLUE has helped place over 2.5 million pets in forever homes.

Show cosponsor Subaru has also been a long-standing supporter of animal causes. "Since 2007, Subaru has donated $12 million to the ASPCA and organized over 1,200 adoption events at animal shelters and at Subaru retailers nationwide," said Alan Bethke, vice president of marketing, Subaru of America, Inc. "Animal welfare is an important part of the Subaru brand and we are very proud to support Jill's mission to raise awareness for rescue dogs, especially those under-rescued animals featured in Best In Shelter." 

The ASPCA estimates that of the approximately 7.6 million pets who enter animal shelters nationwide each year, approximately 2.7 million are euthanized. Best in Shelter with Jill Rappaport gives these homeless animals a second chance, and brings attention to the countless pets waiting to be adopted in shelters nationwide.  Bill Smith founder of Main Line Animal Rescue applauds Rappaport's continued efforts on behalf of shelter pets. "The animal welfare community has no greater voice than Jill Rappaport and after viewing Best in Shelter with Jill Rappaport this Saturday night on NBC families who may not have adopted in the past will see just how rewarding adopting a shelter pet can be."

NBC Owned Television Stations, part of the NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations division of NBCUniversal, includes 11 local broadcast television stations and a regional cable news channel serving the largest markets in the nation, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Washington, D.C., Miami-Fort Lauderdale, San Diego and Connecticut as well as Puerto Rico. The stations produce and broadcast more than 17,000 hours of local news and information programming and enterprise journalism each year that is important and relevant to the communities they serve, across multiple online, social media and digital out-of-home platforms. The division also operates COZI TV (www.cozitv.com), a national network that brings viewers some of America's most beloved and iconic television shows and hit movies, as well as the lifestyle production company, LX.TV, and the in-house marketing and promotions company, NBCUniversal Skycastle.

"Producing Best in Shelter with Jill Rappaport is one way we can draw attention to the important issue of homeless animals and raise awareness to help them find loving owners and permanent homes," said Meredith McGinn, Senior Vice President of LX.TV, the division's lifestyle production company.

Main Line Animal Rescue Contact Allison Hough 610-933-1164 www.mlar.org

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150218/176429

SOURCE Main Line Animal Rescue

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