In Connecticut, sports fans not only have the option to keep an eye on local athletes competing at the Olympics right now, but also some local shelter dogs.
At Where The Love Is in Hamden, pups are going for the gold! They are celebrating their very own Olympics with a modified version of the games.
With Olympic rings and flags, the arena is set, and the athletes are putting their best paws forward.
“This is the 2024 Where The Love Is Rescue Olympic Games, area, area grounds, I should say,” Russell Meister, WTLI Social Media Team member, said.
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The canine athletes are training hard.
“They're all going to show how hard they worked, and we'll have some winners,” Julia Pisani, WTLI Adoption Coordinator, said.
At the Hamden shelter, no sport is off limits.
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“We have slalom, we have a ring jump, we have tug of war, we have competitive eating, and we have maybe apple bobbing,” Meister said.
There are nearly a dozen qualifying competitors.
“They're not only trying to, like, you know, do the physical activities. You really got to get their mental game down, right?” Meister said.
Nail biting moments in this Olympics arena!
New mom, Jinx, and a recent surrender, Winnie, conquer the slalom.
Harley is a star apple bobber.
Even 10-year-old Buddy is diligently training to prove to his coaches he is up for the challenge.
“So this is the geriatric part of the Olympics,” Meister said. “Buddy is around 10 years-old or so, and yeah, he's, he's going for the gold. He might not make it. Maybe going for the gray!”
There is no age limit to these Olympic Games. Even the youngest of athletes are getting into the arena and honing their sporting skills.
They may just be puppies, but Petunia and Blue Bell go neck-and-neck in tug-of-war.
“Petunia wins. Good boy!” Meister said, cheering on the pup.
Both added to their medal count, taking home a gold and a silver.
“Are you just going to try to chew it?” Meister asked.
Yet there is a bigger win for these shelter pups.
“Seeing them outside of the kennel and really showing their true personality is why we do the things that we do, to showcase who they really are,” Pisani said.
Where The Love Is has seen a steady stream of surrenders ever since the pandemic, so they’re shining the spotlight on these stars.
“Hopefully this will make people think, and they'll see something, they'll say, ‘oh my gosh, look at that dog running through that slalom. That could be my dog. I could love that dog!’ And that's really what we're going for,” Meister said.
From competitive eating, to the demonstrative sport of ribbon dancing, these pups will always have Paris.
“They really do belong in a home doing these things every day,” Pisani said.
Between the WTLI Rescue Olympic Games and Clear the Shelters month this August, the rescue organization hopes to find loving homes for all of the pups staying at the shelter.
