A group of teenage girls came together Saturday to help save the Roice Hurst Humane Society -- an effort that had a surprise result.

Melissa Murphy says her love for animals pushed her to become a volunteer at the Roice Hurst Humane Society. So when heard last week that the Western Slope's only no kill shelter was in trouble, she and her friends decided to take action.

"Somebody donated twenty-thousand dollars, so we're trying to add on to that to help them stay open for the rest of the year," said Murphy.

On Saturday, Melissa, three of her friends, and their parents set up shop outside of Petsmart to collect donations.

"They really needed some help and we thought we could do this," said Rianna Morgan, one of teens behind the fundraiser. "We've always loved animals."

The enthusiastic group spent the afternoon holding up signs and cheering as the people drove by. They also served lemonade and cookies to those who made contributions, tolerating the summer heat to help save the home and lives of the hundreds of animals Roice Hurst cares for.

"Most of them are elderly and they said most of those would be put down because not many people want elderly dogs," said Murphy.

Fortunately for them, those cookies and lemonade went fast. The girls say they had a steady flow of people stopping by their tent all day, with some giving as much as $300. In just a little over two hours, the girls collected four times their original goal.

"Our goal was five hundred dollars," said Murphy. "But we raised over one thousand, nine hundred."

It's what the Roice Hurst staff calls another overwhelming and touching example of how the community is coming together to save the shelter.

For more information on how you can help, click on the link below.