Wine, Whiskers and Wags calendar contest features local pets

Kirsten Adair, Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, Ind.
·4 min read

Oct. 7—Cass County Humane Society Executive Director Lisa Terry was looking for a fundraising idea that was unusual, could be held annually and involved all community members regardless of whether they have pets or not.

Those criteria helped her imagine the first Wine, Whiskers and Wags Animal Calendar Contest.

"We tried to come up with something that would be unique and novel," Terry said. "It's sort of multi-layered. You can take your phone and go on to the QR code and it takes you to the entries. For $50, you can enter a picture with your family, your pets, your snake, your bird. We have a baby cow in there. We don't care what it is. Your entry goes on a bottle of wine, so you get a bottle of wine with your $50. People can vote online or vote starting next week at (The People's Winery)."

The rules are simple: pay the entry fee, send in a photo of your pet and vote. The photos can include hamsters, lizards, chickens and any other manner of pet in addition to cats and dogs. Each vote requires a $1 donation to the humane society, and voting is open to anyone regardless of whether or not they entered a photo. There are no limits to the amount of times someone can vote.

"The joke has been at board meetings that, if Grandma Miller wants to vote for her grandkid's dog and throw in $200, we don't care," Terry said. "You can't over-vote for an animal."

So far, over 30 dogs, cats and one cow have been entered into the contest. A cat in orange bunny ears, a labradoodle in a green and gold-sequined hat and a yellow lab against a background of festive Christmas trees are just a few of the entries themed for specific holidays.

"They're so cute," said Tera Wagoner, who is working toward becoming the assistant shelter manager at the humane society. "I'm super excited to see the calendar. There is this one Aussie, and he has just the cutest little smile. All the dogs are just picture ready."

Wagoner added that the photo of a young calf nose-to-nose with a human baby might be her favorite photo submitted so far.

People can vote on the humane society's website at https://www.cchspetsrus.com. The top 12 photos that receive the most votes will be featured in a particular month of the calendar.

Originally, the deadline to enter photos was Oct. 1. However, that deadline was extended Sunday, Oct. 9 to give people more time in case they had not heard about the contest by the beginning of the month. Terry said she expects even more people to learn about the calendar and enter the contest next year.

"The first time is always difficult," she said. "People are going to go, 'I wish I had known about that,' or, 'I didn't see that.' We think that next year we'll have double the entries."

To wrap up the contest, the humane society will host a final voting event at The People's Winery on Oct. 15 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Each entry will be printed on a wine bottle and displayed inside the winery, and people can drop cash change and checks into the jars beside each bottle to vote.

Terry said there will be music, free food and appetizers, and a cash bar. Local musician Mike Almon will provide the music, and people can purchase humane society t-shirts for $10 and cases of wine bottles that display their pets on the labels.

"If you want to purchase a case of wine and give these as gifts at Christmas or New Year's, then the winery will give us a portion of that back," she added.

There will also be another exciting aspect to the event on top of the calendar contest. The humane society is rebranding itself, and Terry said the humane society will reveal its new name that evening. Until then, however, Terry wants the new name to remain a surprise.

Wagoner is still fairly new to the humane society, but she is looking forward to the final night of the contest. She added that preparing for the event at The People's Winery has not affected her work at the humane society or the care and attention given to each animal.

"I'm really excited for the fundraiser," she said. "I think it will be fun to meet everyone and see their interest in the humane society since it's my first event since being here. I'm excited to see the top 12."