Companion Animals

Companion Animal Exhibitors – Schedule your judging appointment for fair!

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Fair is almost here! Companion Animals will be judged by appointment only again in 2024. Judging will be Sunday, October 6, 2024, beginning at 10:00 a.m. and will be held in the #50 Show Arena. Please see below for specific times depending on project:

  • 10:00 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. Pet Rabbits
  • 11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Cavy
  • 11:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. Amphibians, Birds, Reptiles
  • 1:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. Cats
  • 1:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Rodents & Ferrets

PetPALS Projects will be judged immediately following the member’s companion project appointment.  Additional information and requirements regarding judging can be found on the 2024 Jr. Fair Companion Animal Rules.

If you cannot find the email with the scheduling link, please contact Stacy at 740-653-5419.

Do you want to participate in a fun activity with your Companion Animal right after judging?  Then consider participating in the Costume Contest.  Dress yourself and your pet up in your favorite costume, have your picture taken. Fair goers will vote on their favorite costume.

We are excited to see all that you have completed and learned in your 4-H project.

Companion Animals Exhibitors: Reminders for fair!

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Companion Animal Judging Reminders:

For All Exhibitors: Judging will be held on Sunday, October 6th by appointment.  Schedule your appointment using the e-mail you received last week.  All exhibitors need to bring their completed project book to judging.  Review the Junior Fair Book for details: go.osu.edu/fcjrbook (See Department 14: Companion Animals). The Costume Contest Returns – Use your creativity to dress your pet and yourself, to see who fair goers like the best.  Prizes will be awarded.

Cat and Ferret Exhibitors: You must bring your 2024 Certificate of Vaccination Certificate to judging.  All required vaccinations must be given by a licensed, accredited veterinarian and must be current through October 6th, 2024, for county judging.

Amphibians and Reptiles exhibitors: If weather conditions on the day of judging are not appropriate for your pet to endure, please err on the side of caution and leave your pet at home and explain to the judge the reasons behind your decision.

We look forward to seeing you and your pets! – The Companion Animal Committee

Alternative Skillathon Option: Ohio State Fair VIRTUAL Skillathons – OPEN NOW and complete by September 1st

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A Skillathon is an event to test knowledge of specific subject matter using the experiential learning model of exploring, reflecting, and applying that knowledge. Skillathons are created from materials directly or modified from Learning Laboratory Kits, information provided in the Ohio 4-H Animal Resource Books, and other resources, along with input from industry experts. Each Skillathon is comprised of four educational and challenging stations.

The Ohio 4-H Program offers a virtual Skillathon opportunity for 4-H members to participate and practice their knowledge in any species. Fairfield County youth participating in any Ohio State Fair VIRTUAL Skillathon will not need to complete a county Skillathon as this will meet the Fairfield County Junior Fair Requirement. If youth choose to complete the alternative Skillathon at the Ohio State Fair (virtually or in-person), they will also need to submit their completed project record book to the Extension Office by Friday, September 20th at 4:00 p.m. However, if an exhibitor wishes to compete in the Fairfield County Premier Exhibitor Contest, they will need to complete the Fairfield County Skillathon for each specie they wish to compete in to be eligible. Project record books are to be COMPLETED for EACH 4-H/FFA project taken to the Fairfield County Junior Fair.

If participating in the VIRTUAL Skillathons, they must be completed by September 1st to meet the Fairfield County Skillathon requirement. No registration is required – just click on the direct links below to get started.

Companion Animals Exhibitors: Reminders for fair!

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Companion Animal Judging Reminders:

For All Exhibitors: Judging will be held on Sunday October 8th by appointment.  Schedule your appointment using the e-mail you received last week.  All exhibitors need to bring their completed project book to judging.  Review the Junior Fair Book for details: 15 Companion Animal Rules (osu.edu)  The Costume Contest Returns – Use your creativity to dress your pet and yourself, to see who fair goers like the best.  Prizes will be awarded.

Cat and Ferret Exhibitors: You must bring your 2023 Certificate of Vaccination COUNTY COMPANION ANIMAL DAY Vaccine Certificate (osu.edu) to judging.  All required vaccinations must be given by a licensed, accredited veterinarian and must be current through October 8th, 2023, for county judging.

Amphibians and Reptiles exhibitors: If weather conditions on the day of judging are not appropriate for your pet to endure, please err on the side of caution and leave your pet at home and explain to the judge the reasons behind your decision.

We look forward to seeing you and your pets! – The Companion Animal Committee

Companion Animal Exhibitors – Schedule your judging appointment for fair!

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4-H members with companion animal projects should have received an email from Stacy Hicks to schedule their appointment for judging on Sunday, October 8th at the Fairfield County Junior Fair. Companion Animal Judging will take place in the #50 Show Arena.

Please see below for specific times depending on project:

  • 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Pet Rabbits
  • 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Cavy
  • 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians
  • 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Cats
  • 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Rodents & Ferrets

PetPALS Projects will be judged immediately following the member’s companion project appointment.  Here is a link for the Junior Fair 2023 Companion Animal-Fair Guidelines. If you cannot find the email with the scheduling link, please contact Stacy at 740-653-5419.

Master 4-H PetPALS Volunteer Leader Training

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This opportunity is available to adults and teens. Read on for more information!

Master 4-H PetPALS Volunteer Leader Training will be held on Sunday, April 23, from 1:00pm – 7:00pm at the Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center. Registrations are due by Monday April 17. The registration fee is $45.00 for adults and $35.00 for youth (13+). Registration is online only and can be found at https://go.osu.edu/4-hpetpals2023.

If interested in attending, please register by the deadline and select “pay by check” and checkout. Forward your email to Leslie Cooksey at cooksey.25@osu.edu. We will be using OSU 4-H Endowment Interest Funds to cover the cost of registrations for Fairfield County volunteers/teens attending.

Please note that this training is later in the 4-H year than we would like. It is the first training offered since 2020 and it took a little more to organize than originally thought. The goal was a quality training so please bear with us until we get back on a more regular schedule. This training will be offered every February in the future.

What is 4-H PetPALS?

4-H PetPALS is an intergeneration leader-directed project connecting youth and their pets with senior adults and other people in various types of health care facilities, hospices, as well as youth in school programs, libraries, etc. 4-H members learn to select, socialize and train appropriate pets to participate as youth pet teams in animal-assisted activities.

To be a 4-H member enrolled in 4-H PetPALS, there must be a trained adult Master 4-H PetPALS Volunteer giving leadership to this project. This can be in a separate 4-H PetPALS club or within an existing 4-H Club.

The training on April 23 will give volunteers the information needed to become 4-H PetPALS advisors. Older youth (13+) are also welcome to attend the training. They will engage in activities to help the adult advisors teach their members.

Information about 4-H PetPALS can be found at https://ohio4h.org/animalsciences/ohio-4-h-petpals.

Interested volunteers contact Renee Clark clark.471@osu.edu or Sara Deakin deakin.5@osu.edu if they have questions.

Companion Animals – Judging Reminders

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Dear Companion Animal Exhibitors and Parents,

We want everyone to have a great experience with judging and here are some helpful reminders/information about a fun activity we will be hosting:

  • Please be sure to sign up for your judging appointment and review the Jr Fair Rules Book for judging requirements.
  • Please be sure to bring the appropriate items to keep your pets comfortable and safe, while they are away from home. A special note to our Amphibians and Reptiles exhibitors: If the weather conditions on the day of the show are not appropriate for your pet to endure, please err on the side of caution and leave your pet at home and explain to the judge the reasons behind your decision.
  • For all exhibitors, we will once again be having a costume contest for you and your pet.  We always love to see your creativity at work!!

We are excited to see all of you on Sunday, October 9th!

– The Companion Animal Committee

2022 Ohio State Fair Virtual Skillathon Results: Cavy

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Congrats to the following Fairfield County youth who placed in their respective species for the 2022 Ohio State Fair Virtual Cavy Skillathon!

OSF Virtual Cavy Skillathon Results:

  • Age 10: Gracie Weber, 3rd Place
  • Age 11: Hallie Nicodemus, 5th Place
  • Top 25 Overall Awards: Gracie Weber, 21st Place

For a full list of results from Ohio State Fair Skillathons and for upcoming Skillathon events, visit: https://ohio4h.org/animalsciences/ohio-4-h-skillathons

Congrats to Ohio State Fair Project Winners (non-livestock)

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The non-livestock results from the 2022 Ohio State Fair are posted online. Click here to see a complete list.

Clothing:

Rian Raver, Sundresses and Jumpers, Outstanding of the Day

Saige Howard, Sew for Others – Junior, Outstanding of the Day

Hannah Brown, Dress Up Daywear, Clock Trophy Winner

Julia Ribo, Sew Fun – Senior, Outstanding of the Day

Mary Cate Kitsmiller, Clothes for High School and College, Outstanding of the Day

Scarlett R. Sims, Designed By Me, Outstanding of the Day

Rachel Sponseller, Ready, Set, Sew Active, Outstanding of the Day

Creative Arts:

Isabella Byrd, Get Started in Art – Senior, Outstanding of the Day

Jaela Kim, Seeing Through Graphic Design, Outstanding of the Day

Creative Arts – Cake Decorating:

Alexis Kline, Cake Decorating Advanced – Junior, Clock Trophy Winner

Communications:

Gracie Weber, Demonstration – Junior, Outstanding of the Day

Companion Animals:

Hannah Jones, You & Your Dog Interview (Ages 8-10), Outstanding of the Day

Gracie Weber, Reptiles & Amphibians (Age 8+), Honorable Mention

Engineering Excitement:

Kendall Wild, Science Fun with Electricity, Outstanding of the Day

Family Life:

Megan Maloney, Babysitting, Outstanding of the Day

Food and Nutrition:

Charlotte Werner, Yeast Breads on The Rise, Outstanding of the Day

Julia Luallen, Kitchen Boss, Outstanding of the Day

Cece Woods, Sports Nutrition – Senior, Outstanding of the Day

Health:

Max Sims, Staying Healthy-Junior, Clock Trophy Winner

Matthew Taylor, First Aid in Action-Junior, Outstanding of the Day

Home Decorating:

Sophia Preston, Makeover My Space-Junior, Clock Trophy Winner

Leadership:

Kate Johnson, Club Leadership, Clock Trophy Winner

Grace Terflinger, Leadership Self-Determined (Camp Counseling), Outstanding of the Day

Photography:

Daisy D’Amico, Controlling the Image – Level 2, Outstanding of the Day

STEM:

Gracie Weber, From Airedales to Zebras – Vet Science I, Outstanding of the Day

Shooting Sports:

Alayna Leppert, Shooting Sports-Archery, Junior, Outstanding of the Day

Brendan Logsdon, Shooting Sports-Archery, Senior, Outstanding of the Day

Natural Resources:

Josiah Edwards, Beekeeping – Junior, Clock Trophy Winner

Gracie Weber, Outdoor Adventurer: Beginning Fishing, Outstanding of the Day

Lucille Fish, Explore the Outdoors, Outstanding of the Day

Julia Ribo, Grow Your Own Vegetables, Clock Trophy Winner

Workforce Prep:

Brin-Leigh Hoisington, Workforce Prep – Junior, Clock Trophy Winner