Biggest Loser: Paws Edition comes to a close

The Perkins County Animal Shelter has decided the winners for their first ever Biggest Loser: Paws Edition pet weight loss competition.

The competition had few competitors, but according to animal shelter employee Christy Bacon, many people opted to donate funds to the animal shelter rather than enter the competition.

Three dogs and two cats competed to see who could lose the greatest percentage of their body weight, within a healthy range for the pet.

The competition started April 12 and finished up June 12, when all pets were expected to have their final weigh-in.

Cats

Second place for the cat weight loss competition went to Choco, a Siamese mix, who was the only contestant to gain weight during the competition. He gained exactly one pound during the contest.

“I was really hoping he would lose weight,” Bacon lamented.

Michealangelo, a barn cat, took first place. He ended up maintaining his original weight at the end of the competition.

“He did really well because he’s an inside and outside cat, I believe,” Bacon said. “They cut his food back, which means he was supplementing with mice and what not, so not gaining or losing was probably okay for him.”

Michealangelo won a prize basket containing an automatic feeder, a tumbler with a cat-related saying and a couple of decorative pet-themed signs for the owner, that say things like, “Love is a four legged word.”

Bacon thought it was important to include a prize for the owners, because the competition relied on them to keep their pets working at losing weight.

Dogs

A chihuahua mix, Clyde, took third place in the dogs’ weight loss competition by maintaining his starting weight. Bacon said he gained some and he lost some, and ended up back at his original weight.

For a third place prize, Clyde received Bravecto chews for flea and tick prevention.

Pete, a German shepherd deemed a “good boy” by Bacon, came in second place having lost 2.2% of his body weight by the end of the contest. Pete’s owners are also the proud owners of cat competition winner Michealangelo.

Pete took home a bag of food for his second place standing.

In first place was Bubbles, a shih tzu, who lost 11% of her body weight over the eight weeks.

Bubbles’ owner received a basket containing a FitBark GPS activity tracker, which is sort of like a FitBit for dogs. Also included were a dog-themed tumbler and signs.

Though she was not included in the official results, the shelter included an ambassador  in the weight loss competition: a mixed breed dog named Ria.

Ria started the competition at 64.4 pounds and with some hard work for both Ria and Perkins County Animal Shelter staff, she worked her way down to 57.7 pounds.

Her weight loss accounted for 10% of her body weight, which would place her in second place had she been officially competing.

“I can’t give our kennel techs enough credit,” Bacon noted. “They had to do the work. I pretty much told them she needed to lose weight, we estimated about how much and they did the rest.”

Ria is currently available for adoption at the Perkins County Animal Shelter. According to her PetFinder listing, Ria has been a very good dog while at the shelter, where she was originally placed because her owner moved into a nursing home and Ria couldn’t come along.

It should also be noted for interested future “fur-ever” homes of Ria that while she does well with other dogs, she does not do well with cats. The shelter recommends meeting Ria before adopting and introducing her to any dogs already in the home.

Ria is spayed, up-to-date on vaccinations, crate-trained and knows how to sit.

To learn more about Ria, she can be seen on PetFinder at the Perkins County Animal Shelter, or call the shelter at 308-352-2630 to inquire further.

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