Pets Going For Gold

Why should Michael Phelps and company get all the attention? As if doggy day care weren't enough, pet lovers around the country are cheering on their own Olympic hopefuls. A look at some other critters testing their athletic prowess outside Athens.

--By Peter Bailey

CAT FOR A DAY Hairballs were flying the last week of July at the Meow Mix Gold Medal Games, where 6,000 (human) cat lovers competed in such events as the hairball toss and litter-box cleanup

ANIMALS ALL Geckos and penguins battled for king-of-the-beasts honors in front of screaming animal "nations" during the Animal Games on cable's Animal Planet earlier this month

WEASEL WARS Boots set a course record at last week's Ferret Olympics in Springfield, Ore., by finishing the Tube Race in 6.15 sec. Sparky took home the gold in the paper-bag-escape event. Tank weighed in as heaviest ferret

POOCH POWER Last month's Chinook Olympics featured sack races and the howling of the Chinook breed's national anthem. Up next: the 13th annual Dog Olympics at North Carolina State