Property raffle to benefit Tobacco Valley Animal Shelter

A novel fundraiser, likely the first of its kind, was launched earlier this month, wherein a dream property in Montana could make an animal shelter’s dreams come true.  

The Tobacco Valley Animal Shelter is raffling off approximately 32 acres of land with Tobacco River frontage just south of Eureka. 

Wendy Anderson, director of the shelter since it was established in 2008, has big dreams for the shelter and if this raffle is a success, she’ll be able to turn them into reality.  

“A big thing that we’ve seen is that training is a huge issue. People get puppies and they grow into dogs with no manners,” Anderson said. “One of our first goals is to build a training area, a building to be able to do free classes for the community. We are going to teach you basic manners to make your dog a member of your family, not something disposable.” 

The training center would have multiple uses, like giving the shelter dogs a place to play in the winter, when Eureka can have lots of snow and very cold temperatures.  The building would also be used for meet and greets, when potential adopters introduce current pets to new ones. 

“We're talking about possibly doing a part-time veterinarian to do low cost spay neuters because there's nowhere to go here,” she said. “It would be a game changer for the area and beyond.” 

The shelter already distributes food, over 1,000 pounds last year alone, but Anderson would like to provide more so people don’t have to choose between buying groceries or dog food. 

She said her plans are in step with the prevailing trend in animal shelters, moving away from being a dog pound and toward being community centric. 

“It saves lives, basically, and it's proactive instead of reactive,” she said. 

Since opening nearly 18 years ago, the Eureka shelter has rescued over 10,000 animals. 

Inventor, entrepreneur and Eureka resident John Clarke hatched the raffle idea after a friend told him the local shelter was struggling for funding, especially after severing its contract with Lincoln County Animal Control.  

He and his wife, Celeste, had moved to Eureka and purchased the land up for raffle in 2020 with the intention of building a home and staying forever but they are now moving for personal reasons and were looking to sell the property. 

“Why don't we somehow connect the property to the animal shelter?” Clarke recalled thinking. “I thought, you can do a lottery or sweepstakes or something and started researching that.” 

He contacted Montana Department of Justice’s Gaming Commission and went through the process of creating the raffle. Afterwards, the officials told Clarke he’d gone “above and beyond in your terms and conditions.” 

The prize is a little more than 32 acres located at 6739 Tobacco Road. The parcel has two
artesian wells, three 400-amp electrical services, fiber optic internet, a 32-foot by 68-foot
existing foundation with hydronic heat tubes and a septic system 

The prize includes a 2004 class-C motorhome valued at $50,000 that the Clarkes built and have lived in since 2020.  

The goal is to sell 100,000 tickets at $20 each before July 31. In that case, the shelter and Clarke will each receive $1 million. Tickets are only available for purchase on the raffle’s website at dreampropertyraffle.org. 

In the first five days of the raffle, about 2,000 tickets were sold. Although the raffle is being run online, the drawing on Aug. 15 will feature paper tickets in a custom-made drum.  

The winner will be responsible to pay taxes, as with any winnings, and all the details are on the website. Clarke said the winner has three options. The winner can pay the taxes and enjoy the property, pay the taxes and sell the property, or donate the property back to the shelter.  

“My hope is that this becomes a model ... for the whole shelter industry,” Clarke said. “So not only would she use this money here but start helping other shelters dig out of their hole.”