The Biggest Loser: Paws Edition
The Perkins County Animal Shelter will be holding a weight loss and trick competition to raise funds for the shelter this year.
Typically, the shelter hosts a wine tasting event to raise money, however due to COVID they had to come up with a more socially distant activity.
A few months ago, staff at the shelter were discussing new fundraising ideas, and the topic of how many animals are overweight came up.
According to Perkins County Animal Shelter staff, 55% of cats and 53% of dogs are affected by pet obesity.
Perkins County vet tech Jess Bollinger had recently won a Fitbit herself, and that helped guide the ideas toward a weight loss competition for pets.
They figured springtime would be a good time to start since people will be able to spend time outdoors with their pets.
The competition will run from Apr. 12 to June 12. A weigh-in must be scheduled for Apr. 8-10 in order to be considered in the competition.
Because animals come in all different shapes and sizes, the weight loss will be gauged by percentage of body weight lost by the animal across a six-week period based on body condition scoring.
The contest is also not limited to overweight cats and dogs. Bollinger said technically any overweight animal they can weigh indoors can be entered in the competition.
During the weigh-in visit, Dr. Shannon Jensen and staff will assess the pet’s weight and discuss possible dietary changes and exercise that can be done to help the pet lose excess weight in a healthy manner.
They will also take “before” pictures of the animals during the first weigh-in visit.
Dogs will have check-ins every other week, on Thursdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon. Weigh-in dates will be Apr. 29 to May 1, May 20-22 and June 10-12.
Cats, on the other hand, will only be weighed at the beginning and end of the event to avoid stressing the cats out too much.
Those with pets of healthy weights can participate in the trick competition.
Pets must be entered by Apr. 15, and owners will provide the staff with the current commands the pet knows.
At the end of 8 weeks, owners will bring the pet in to present a new trick to a staff member who will record a video of the pet doing its trick and share it with the judges.
Judges, which will be Perkins County Animal Shelter staff, will watch the videos at the end of eight weeks and select the winners.
It costs $50 to enter the competition, and prizes will be given to the first, second and third places for each dog and cat category for weight loss and tricks. Prizes for non-dog or non-cat animals would be determined based on the specific animal and its needs.
Owners can enter more than one pet if they would like, as the goal of the competition is to make healthier pets.
The first place prizes for the weight loss competition include a dog Fitbit and automatic cat feeder. Other prizes, which will be contributed by Thrivent, Hills and Merck, are yet to be determined.
There is also an ad sponsored by the Tribune about the event on page 6.
The Perkins County Animal Shelter page on Facebook will be sharing tips and tricks along the way to help pets do their best in the competition.
“We’re pretty excited, and I’m hoping we can get some people involved!” said Bollinger.