The company says it matched the online donations made during the humane society’s telethon this past weekend as well as help keep the technical side of the television charity event running smoothly as well. In total, more than $554,300 was donated during the charity event, an increase of $88,000 over last year. Max, Go Daddy’s founder and CEO Bob Parsons’ dog, walked across the stage to deliver the company’s donation check on live television.

Last year, Go Daddy also helped support the telethon with both financial and technical assistance. In addition to a $50,000 check, Go Daddy supplied a new Web address when the Arizona Humane Society’s old Web site crashed, unable to handle all the traffic generated by the telethon.

“Go Daddy has been a good friend to us, providing funds and technical support, so we can focus on taking care of the animals,” says Cheryl Naumann, president and CEO of the Arizona Humane Society. “Last year they literally saved the online element of our telethon and this year they helped keep everything running smoothly, not to mention the generous financial donation.”

Go Daddy Founder and CEO Bob Parsons was at the Arizona Humane Society’s telethon to match online donations when the glitch occurred. The society’s Web site, which was hosted by another Web hosting company, crashed, unable to keep up with the spike in traffic even though the staff had prepared for the surge.

Go Daddy says almost immediately the company created an alternative Web site address for telethon donations and the Internet operation ran smoothly for the rest of the fundraising drive. By the end, members of the community donated more than $117,000 online, almost seven times the amount pledged last year. Parsons, on behalf of his company, donated $50,000 to the animal-welfare organization.

“We agreed on the spot that we would transfer our Web hosting over to Go Daddy,” says Cheryl Naumann, Arizona Humane Society president and CEO. “Go Daddy’s quick response at the telethon saved our behinds. We’re the highest grossing pet telethon in the United States. Our Web site simply has to work. By switching to Go Daddy, we have the peace of mind that such an incident won’t happen again.”