A new program for the Thompson River Animal Care Shelter (TRACS) has been set in motion. The fundraiser, sponsored by the Sanders County Ledger and Whitefish Credit Union, will be a photo contest of rescued animals. The photos will be published in the calendar TRACS publishes each year.

“TRACS has been doing an adopted pet calendar through the Ledger for the last 8 years,” said Renee Long, Shelter Manager of TRACS. There will be 12 different contests between now and the end of December 2020, with each month’s photo contest dedicated to a specific theme. The new fundraiser will publish the 12 winners and feature them in the new edition of the adopted pet calendar.

The goal of this program is for the public to be able to see all the rescued pets and to hopefully make a few dollars for the shelter. “It’s so much fun to watch a rescued pet bloom, and become a member of the family,” Wander Thorpe, Operations and Financial Manager of TRACS said. “Dressing up the pets and taking photos has always been fun, and fun for us to see.”

The guidelines will be similar to those of the previous photo contest, who’s winner was announced in The Ledger earlier this month. The owners of the rescued pet will submit a themed photo, and people will vote on their favorite. The photo that receives the most votes will be featured in the 2021 calendar. At the end of each contest, The Ledger will announce the winner, as well as the theme for the next month’s contest.

Guidelines for the contest are as follows: all photos submitted need to be in landscape mode or be able to be cropped into landscape mode. All photos need to be of a rescued animal. The rescued pet does not have to be from TRACS, it can be a pet the owner saved or rescued from a different shelter. The owners do not have to live in Montana to submit a photo.

To submit a photo, there will be a $5 entry fee. With the photo you submit, you will need to include your name, email address and phone number. You will also need to give the pet’s name and from where you rescued them.

The fee to vote will be $5. You can drop off the money with your vote at The Ledger or Whitefish Credit Union. You can also vote through the TRACS Facebook page and pay via PayPal on their website. You do not have to live in Montana to vote.

You can vote on a photo or submit a photo through the TRACS Facebook page and Messenger. If you would like to send in a photo or a vote directly to TRACS, email them at [email protected]

To pay via http://www.pet-tracs.com, click the yellow “donate” button on the left side of the page. Enter the dollar amount for either how many photos you are submitting or how many votes you are submitting. In the notes section, you will write the information for the photo you are submitting, or the information for the photo you would like to vote on.

The winner for the January page in the calendar is number 41 – Moosta, submitted by Sandy Nemec. TRACS is looking for photos to be submitted with a Valentine’s Day theme to be featured on the February page in the calendar, and photos with a St. Patrick’s Day theme for the March page. Submit entries to TRACS by Tuesday, March 31. Voting for February and March will be from April 1 to 28 and the winner will be announced in the April 30 edition of The Ledger.

There are plenty of costumes for sale at TRACS, ranging from Christmas, Halloween and even superhero costumes. “If people want to see what we’ve got, they can come on into the shelter and take a look,” Thorpe said.

The previous photo contest brought in $1,844. Thorpe said that funding will go toward medical supplies and pet food for the animals. TRACS will be announcing the fundraiser on their Facebook page, but if you have more questions call the shelter at (406) 827-8722 or email [email protected].