Gamer pledges to eat wet dog food on live 24-hour charity stream
Other incentives include eating wet dog food and wearing a shock collar
A Maltese streamer has pledged to eat wet dog food and wear a shock collar live on stream on Friday to raise money for charity.
Natanael Aquilina, also known by his Twitch name Spooner, will host a 24-hour live stream to raise money for The Island Sanctuary, a charity that helps abandoned and stray dogs.
“My dog died this year,” Aquilina said, explaining the choice for the canine carers.
As an incentive to donate, it is common practice in the streaming world to set up donation goals; monetary landmarks that essentially torture the streamer for the viewer’s entertainment.
He had initially pledged to eat raw chicken feet if he reached a €400 target, but later decided against it for health and safety reasons and will cook it instead.
After €75 is donated, Aquilina promises to bark for an hour and for €25 more, will eat wet dog food. Other milestones include wearing a shock collar (€200) and eating an extremely hot tortilla chip and not drinking anything for five minutes (€500).
With more donation goals to be announced, he will also add goals on the fly such as random physical challenges: a number of push-ups or burpees.
Aquilina will start his day-long marathon at 9pm on December 23 and, as the journey will take a toll on the streamer’s psyche – and taste buds – several other streamers will join in to support the gamer.
“These streams are extremely draining,” streamer Ashley Eric Peschel said from experience, the TikToker having done his own 24-hour streams. Guest appearances help the long-distance streamer get through the event as they take some of the pressure off by giving them a break.
But the challenges can be tough, Peschel continued, recalling the time he ate dog food for charity on one of his own streams.
“It’s not too bad if he buys a good brand,” he said, “but I only had a couple of bites.”
Along with Peschel, others will join Aquilina across the tiring venture as they play various genres of games including first-person shooters (Call of Duty) and horror games.
This is not the first time Aquilina has used his growing platform, currently at 3,900 followers, for charity.
In March 2021, Aquilina did his first 24-hour charity stream, raising €800 for YMCA as he hit various donation goals such as a shot of hot sauce at the €25 marker and a merch giveaway once €300 was raised.
Last December, the local streamer raised €1,300 for Rescued Paws Malta, theming his goals around the charity as he ate cat food at the €200 milestone.
People can get involved by joining the stream and clicking the donate button.