Eight contestants are competing to see who can stay chained to a doghouse the longest in an effort to win the My Life as a Dog Challenge, which began Saturday in Bricktown, hosted by the Central Oklahoma Humane Society.

“We drove by a chained dog one day that looked miserable and decided to do something to advocate for these poor creatures,” said Christy Counts, president and executive director of the Humane Society.

Katie Hodges, public relations junior, was asked to be a part of the planning committee after she met Counts while lobbying against an animal-related bill at the Oklahoma City Capitol, Hodges said.

Hodges is also president of the Animal Volunteers Alliance at OU. She used this position to encourage club members to volunteer at the event.

“Volunteers are there to talk to the public about dog chaining,” Hodges said. “They mainly watch the contestants for rule infractions and make sure nothing goes awry.”

Contestants are only provided food, water and shelter because current laws say that owners must only provide those things, no matter the conditions, Hodges said. The ultimate goal of the event is to raise awareness and support to change this legislation, she said.

Other rules include only removing the chain to use the bathroom for a reasonable amount of time, no use of personal items unless they are earned through competitions or donations, and no talking except to volunteers or staff, according to the event’s Web site.

“[The contestants] really appreciate the support, so people should really take the time out to let them know what a good job they are doing, but don’t ask prompting questions,” said Taylor Tinsley, a political science and public affairs and administration sophomore. “They can’t respond, and it is not very considerate to tempt them.”

Tinsley is a member of the Animal Volunteers Alliance and volunteered at the event Saturday.

Contestants are also required to write two blog posts a day, according to the Web site. Blogs are then posted by volunteers for the public to read.

Blog topics from the first day varied from complaints about the rain to trash talk about the other contestants, but some did take time to blog about the cause.

“I felt a little bit of the loneliness a chained dog must feel [Saturday],” contestant Leah Rose, nicknamed Princess, wrote in her blog. “Four of my favorite people came to see me, and it was so hard watching them leave.”

The challenge takes place across from the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. It will last until all but one contestants has quit or until Sept. 19. If there are multiple persons remaining, the person with the most votes will win the car, donated by Chesapeake Energy Corporation.

To vote for contestants, read blogs or learn about dog chaining, visit the event’s Web site at http://www.okhumane.org/chainoff.