07/08/09

Socks’ Ashes Scattered at Governor’s Mansion
Karen Nichols

The ashes of former first cat, Socks Clinton, have been scattered in the rose garden at the Governor’s Mansion (see photo, below right) in Arkansas. The ceremony was attended by Linda Dixon of the Clinton Presidential Library and first lady Ginger Beebe, who read a poem she wrote in honor the famous tuxie.

On a porch just outside the kitchen, a plaque was erected to honor Socks, the Clinton’s family cat. The plaque notes that Socks was first cat of Arkansas from 1991 to 1993 and first cat of the United States from 1993 to 2001. “When (the Clintons) lived at the mansion that’s where Socks hung out, on the back porch there,” said Ron Maxwell, administrator of the mansion.

The Clintons adopted Socks when they were living at the Governor’s Mansion in 1991. Socks moved with the family to the White House when Bill Clinton was elected president. When the Clintons left the White House, Socks went to live with the Clinton’s secretary, Betty Currie, at her home in Maryland, a move that left many cat lovers furious with the Clintons.

Last year, Socks was diagnosed with cancer, and was euthanized on February 20th of this year. Reportedly, after Socks’ death, Betty Currie said she felt, “awful, awful, awful.”

The small urn in which the ashes were contained was later taken to the Clinton Presidential Library.

Maxwell said the ashes were scattered after a small ceremony attended by a few people, including Linda Dixon of the Clinton Presidential Library and first lady Ginger Beebe, who read a poem she wrote in honor the cat.


[LINK: NWA Online]

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06/22/09

Moderncat Giveaway: Red Tango Handbag
Karen Nichols

This week, our friends at moderncat are giving away a Red Tango handbag with a Red Tango cat-themed mirror compact and pill box. For details and to enter, head over to moderncat!

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05/07/09

Contest: Win Big with Your Winning Smile
Karen Nichols

smilecontestI’m Tired Online is looking for the next darling doggy and kooky kitty super stars to win a spot in its new SMILE2 video, so it has launched the SMILE2 Photo Contest. Contestants must have Hollywood-worthy, award-winning “smiles” or be able to make hilarious funny faces.

So, how did this get started? According to Dan Hoffman, ITo co-founder, “My sister and partner, Carrie, and I are huge animal lovers. Carrie has always cracked up every time she sees dogs or cats who are smiling. She used to have an entire bulletin board full of photos like that. We wanted to draw attention to animal cruelty, but in a positive way. So, we came up with the concept to create our first SMILE video, which is a very cute 60 second slide show, set to music, of dogs and cats ‘smiling.’ We did it very casually, found the photos ourselves, posted it on our website and a few other places and, beyond our wildest imagination, it went viral, has been viewed more than 100,000 times and is still going strong. Who knew?!”

Hoffman explained that, after SMILE launched, customers started sending them photos of their own pets smiling. “It was a riot. We posted some of them on our website and then we decided we needed make the sequel, but this time, get all the animal lovers out there to send us photos. And, there are a lot of animal lovers out there! We think this is going to be a lot of fun and in these times, fun is just what everyone needs. Plus, it continues to help us spread the word about fighting animal abuse and raise money for the cause.

“We’re going to put every photo we love on our website for everyone to see and chat about,” Hoffman said. “It’s going to be a doggy and kitty love fest!” Plus, there will be ‘purrfect’ prizes for the winners,” he joked, “in addition to getting a starring role in the production, and grand prizes for the top precious pup and ‘krazy’ kitty.”

PRIZES:
The winners will star in the next SMILE video, and win some fabulous (TBA) prizes.

In addition, “I’m Tired Of…” is giving away some great Catster stuff for the best cat smile in the month of May. Winner will get a one-year Catster-Plus membership, a lifetime enrollment in Together Tag and a Catster T-Shirt.

TO ENTER
Click here to go to the contest website.

About the Campaign:

The “I’m Tired of…” campaign is a labor of love for Hoffman and his sister, Carrie Pollare. These $10 eco friendly bracelets, made from recycled tires and metal, are currently raising money for 12 different causes, including animal cruelty, breast cancer, diabetes, world hunger, global warming and autism. “The most important part is that we donate half our sales ($5 per bracelet) to the charities we are aligned with.” The company also just launched “I’m Tired of Animal Cruelty” t-shirts where $18 from each $36 shirt goes to Best Friends.

C’mon Kittehs! Enter today!
There were way too many dogs in that first video!

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