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Whew! Sorry about the 2 month blog lapse! Our pilot taking our Fit Pets for Rescues Fundraiser to national level was challenging beyond belief but totally successful & wonderful from all reports! Our highlights by the number! 19 participating pets 15 pets lost weight 7 participating clinics & rescues 7 sponsors (Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets, myBalto, sylvester.ai, Basepaws, EpiPaws, Waldo Pet, & Dezi & Roo) 5 states and one province had challengers 4 cats over 25# (2 started over 40#) 3 virtual & live weigh-ins held 2 “powered by” long term partners (Healthy Pet Connect & myBalto) Over $5000 in clinic, rescue, and pet parent prizes awarded Over $2500 raised for rescues What is behind the numbers?
2. We created a year round FPR landing page that can track progress of pets to their ideal weight, award points for rescue donations and win great prizes donated by our sponsors. (see below!) Thanks to Ricca Gardner for all your expertise! 3. We had 5 cats in Spudgie’s Big Cat challenge (all who started over 24#, two over 40#!!) All lost weight safely & reliably with veterinary clinic supervision and great rescue participation. Spudgie and his HPC support team couldn’t be more proud! HPC & WTVC have pledged to keep donating to their chosen rescues for all 5 until they reach ideal weight!  4. Our weigh-ins were local in Madison, WI but with our virtual component we had a North American reach with Axel aka “Biggie Smalls” participating from Canada and Patches with 45K FB followers from Richmond Virginia, and sponsors from California, Florida and Michigan! Clips/Recordings coming soon! 5. Sponsors, what can we say??? They made it all possible by donating products, time and dollars to offset expenses. (FPR always uses sponsor contributions for direct event expenses or donations only) We have already mentioned how amazing myBalto was. They helped us create donation portals for each rescue to create custom leaderboards. Robert, their CEO is an emergency room veterinarian who is sharing a concept with his colleagues that has saved many pets in his own clinic from euthanasia by providing a “round up” at checkout for those pets/clients in need when unexpected health care costs hit. Purina has sponsored FPR every single year (for 12 years now!) They make amazing foods all backed by evidence based studies and are a first class company to work with! Our rep Shaun even took time on his weekend to join our Finale event/weigh-in. (No worry we will move all weigh-ins off the weekend next year!) Basepaws feline DNA kits were a big hit! Letting people know the background of their kitty and possible health risks was well received. We so appreciate all the genetic research they have done for dogs & cats. Epipaws is a wonderful new startup who can tell the age of a pet within 1 year of age. It was a super popular prize as a door prize and the rescues/clinics loved them too in their FPR staff appreciation gift boxes. It was so popular at WTVC we decided to add them to the HPC marketplace and keep them in stock at WTVC for our clients! The CEO is very interested in getting swabs from all pets to try and link aging with obesity. Sylvester.ai is an exciting add on to see if we could detect a “hangry” cat. Comparing it against the HPC mood score was quite interesting in several cases. The facial score has been validated for acute pain but we need more data for chronic conditions like obesity and osteoarthritis. Waldo Pet is coming out soon with some wearables (everyday activity monitors) and pro versions too that will do body temperature, heart rate and even blood glucose! They are also in the final stages of a portable, bluetooth dog body weight scale which would be a much needed tool. Dezi & Roo make wonderful nature based toys that cats love and help them exercise to burn a few calories. Plus they are fun to use. Dr Lynn has written a wonderful book on enriching the lives of indoor cats that is a ‘must read”! So, in summary you can see why the HPC team was exhausted at the end of the FPR challenge! We are just ready to write the rescue checks, our next HPC event is at the Madison Cat Project's Kitten Palooza next weekend and then time to get set for a summer of “kitten kindergartens” all leading up to Bugs Cat Gym’s 3rd Kitten Olympics in August! We hope anyone local can join us but remember to let anyone who lives in the US or Canada about FPR & HPC. With a nominal monthly fee of $9.95 to $14.95 and their veterinarians supervision (most charge a telemonitoring charge) pets can now lose weight remotely, rescues can get donations and pet parents can win prizes! 
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AuthorSKen is CEO and co-founder of Healthy Pet Connect 
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We recommend only foods that are AAFCO tested (preferably by feeding trials) and pet behavior friendly feeding methods for all pets. Purpose fed Rx weight management diets prescribed by your veterinarian and close supervision is strongly advised for pets BCS 7/9 and over . All exams, lab work, food Rx are performed by your veterinarian (if needed) and all data is shared with your veterinarian for your pet's safety. At-home body condition scoring should only be used as a guideline. True body condition and muscle condition score can only be performed by the veterinary team.