In February, CU Advantage hosted its inaugural Fur-Ever Friends Valentine’s pet photo contest on the @cuadvantage Instagram account. More than 70 CU employees submitted photos of their furry, feathery and even scaly companions. Employees across campuses cast thousands of votes for their favorites.

A selection of employee-submitted pets from the contest.

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Fur-iendly competition

After submissions closed, pets advanced through multiple voting rounds on Instagram Stories in a bracket-style format. CU employees voted throughout the week to determine which pets moved to the next round — a grand total of 4,100 votes.

On Valentine’s Day, Luna was crowned the Fur-Ever champion after receiving the most votes.  Luna’s owner, Alexis from the Center for Cultural Connection & Community at CU Boulder, shared why Luna is her perfect Valentine:

“Luna is my perfect Valentine because she is always down for coffee dates & any adventure! She has been my Valentine for the last 9 years! I love my girl so much & can’t wait to spend another Valentine’s with her this year!”

Instead of a crown, Luna received a Colorado-themed pet toy basket.

Across the CU community

In addition to featuring relevant perks and benefits, the contest served as a new and lighthearted way for employees universitywide to connect. Submissions came from all four CU campuses and System Administration, and hundreds of employees followed along throughout the week as the bracket narrowed and favorites advanced.

In this simple photo contest, employees were able to interact, cheer on colleagues’ pets and participate in something together outside of their day-to-day work.

“This was such a fun contest! I’m really grateful for the pet discounts too,” one employee commented.

• Rover
• The Farmer's Dog
• Allivet
• MetLife Pet Insurance

Stay connected

Missed the Fur-Ever Friends fun? Follow @cuadvantage on Instagram to catch future contests, employee giveaways and regular highlights of the many perks available to CU employees.