The Maryland SPCA is offering a chance for consumers to get their hands on lots of unique collector's items, concert and game tickets and more at their annual online auction.

The fifth annual Shop-A-Paw-Looza benefits the animals of the SPCA so they can get what they need to stay healthy and find good homes. The auction runs through Oct. 27.

"All of the money raised in the online auction will go directly to taking care of the animals, including adoptions, spaying and neutering and behavior help, too," said Maryland SPCA spokeswoman Aileen Gabbey.The online auction has 360 items from which to choose. The most popular item this year is tickets to the Springsteen concert in Baltimore, but you can also win a vacation getaway to Rio de Janeiro and a lot of autographed goods, such as a racing helmet signed by IndyCar driver Danica Patrick, a baseball signed by Cal Ripken Jr. and a hat penned by Michael Phelps.

There are also some things you can find every year, such as Ravens tickets.

"Doing an online event is easy for our donors. You want to make it easy for folks to give and to get involved. Parties are great, but people are busy nowadays, so we thought this would be fun to try, and we've been doing it for five years," Gabbey said.

The SPCA said it realizes the economy is taking its toll and money is tight for a lot of people, but it's because of the economy that they need the help now more than ever.

"We have seen community-wide that there are more animals coming into shelters. We hope that that trend does not continue. That's why fundraisers like the online auction are so important," Gabbey said.

To place your bid, visit the auction Web site linked above

[This story was originally posted here]

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