COLUMBIA -- Hundreds of people and their four-legged friends wore blue and lined Broadway St. in Columbia Thursday.

The event was to show their support for the Central Missouri Humane Society (CMHS) and a special guest- the man who decides if the shelter will be in the running to win a million dollar makeover from the online pet Web site, Zootoo.com.

"All of our kids really love animals, so this is something we wanted to support," said Eleanor Miller of the First Baptist Child Development.

Organizers asked the community to wear blue to support the shelter.

"Everybody's got some blue on, and they've got their streamers that they made, some of them made masks, and some of them made signs," said Mitter.

Last week, the shelter was in first place for the first phase of the contest, so Zootoo founder Richard Thompson gave the shelter a check for $10,000, plus an additional $5,000 for being in the top 20 shelters nationwide participating in the contest.

"We signed up on Zootoo, and we've been uploading pictures for points and we went to the events," said shelter supporter Jennifer Roberts.

After Thompson presented the check, he toured the facility, and chatted with staff.

"They certainly have a need here, they certainly can use a makeover, they certainly can use more help from the community," said Thompson.

Thompson will visit all 20 shelters in the contest. Then, he'll narrow the list down to 10 finalists, and then the country chooses the winner in a USA Today poll.

"America votes,” said Thompson. “You guys have to figure out how to let all of America know that Columbia should be the number one."

Organizers say they're going to hold on to the $15,000 in prize money for now, hoping to add that to the million they plan to win.

A reminder for those who have signed up on Zootoo-contest rules say those online point totals will not be a factor in determining the finalists.

The top 10 finalists will be announced in Las Vegas on April 7.

This is the second year for the contest. Last year, the million dollar makeover was awarded to a St. Louis-based stray rescue.