Do you remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? About this time last year, it seemed like you could barely avoid it. Every celebrity worth their salt was suddenly getting up on YouTube or the Today show and heaving a bucket of ice-cold water over their head in the name of raising funds and awareness about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

A year later, the Ice Bucket Challenge seems almost as quaint as rickrolling, but it did raise a lot of money and awareness for a disease that doesn’t usually get a lot of coverage. With that in mind, it’s easy to see why the SPCA in Erie County, New York, has launched its own version as part of the annual Paws in the Park fundraiser. Its version of the challenge is a little bit milder than the Ice Bucket Challenge, though. All you have to do is eat a dog biscuit:

Step 1: Make a video of just you, or you with pets or friends, nibbling a dog biscuit!**
Step 2: In the video, challenge two or three friends to take the challenge! They can make their own biscuit-tasting video, or donate to the challenge…or both!
Step 3: Post, post, post! Post your video on all social media platforms! Tag your friends! Make sure they know they’ve been challenged! And be sure to use the hashtag #DogBiscuitChallenge! You can even send your video to us at DogBiscuitChallenge@spcaec.com! We just might share it!

The first big celebrity to take the Dog Biscuit Challenge was Rex Ryan, who took over coaching duties for the Buffalo Bills football team earlier this year after being fired from the Jets. He was tagged for the challenge by Teresa Weakly, the news anchor at Buffalo’s WIVB:

I ate dog biscuits today- now I'm challenging @buffalobills #RexRyan to do the same #DogBiscuitChallenge @SPCAErieCounty @news4buffalo

— Teresa Weakley (@TeresaWeakley) August 3, 2015

 

Ryan accepted the challenge with the typical bombast that he’s become known for. “With the name ‘Rex,’ obviously I’ve eaten a lot of dog biscuits in my day,” he said. “That’s no problem. I accept the challenge. I will do it tomorrow. And the person that I’m going to challenge is going to be big. I’m not going to tell you who that is until tomorrow. So let’s just hang on. I want to make sure you guys are here for the press conference tomorrow. But I thought it was kind of funny when I got challenged by this person so I was like ‘Alright, let’s do it. It’s on.’ It has to be one of those small biscuits because of the lap band.”

The “tomorrow” that Ryan refers to is today now, and you can watch Ryan chomping down on a doggie biscuit over at Fox Sports. After, Ryan challenged Sydney Pegula, Buffalo Bills’ owner Terry Pegula’s dog.

At the risk of being overly negative, the Dog Biscuit Challenge doesn’t seem quite as impressive or likely to catch on as its predecessor. Viral successes such as the Ice Bucket Challenge were totally whimsical and unpredictable. Who among us hasn’t already nibbled on a dog biscuit or three when we were left alone for a few minutes at the age of six? Our own Founding Editor and current I-5 Executive Editorial Director Janine Kahn even taste-tested more than a few during an episode of The Dog Show.

Those doubts aside, good luck to the Erie County SPCA in their fundraising efforts, and we’ll look forward to seeing who gets tagged next in the challenge.

Via The Buffalo News

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