Posted: Jan. 9, 2009, 3 a.m. EST
The Cincinnati Bengals mascot shows off two smaller felines during the "Cats Versus Dogs" campaign that was part of Iams' Home 4 the Holidays program. |
In its continuing effort to support and raise awareness of pet adoptions, Iams' 12-week
Home 4 the Holidays program included a friendly contest between Cleveland and Cincinnati. The program was given a football-oriented theme to help bolster the efforts of the two Ohio cities known for being fiercely competitive on the playing field.
By working in collaboration with local animal shelters — SPCA Cincinnati, Cleveland City Kennels and the Cleveland TNR program — the two cities competed to see which would have the most on-field completed passes and completed pet adoptions from the first Cleveland Browns-Cincinnati Bengals matchup Sept. 28 to their rematch on Dec. 21.
Cleveland was named winner both on the football field and for completed pet adoptions; the combined total for both cities was 2,424 adoptions. In recognition of the work done in both cities during the campaign, Iams donated 10 pounds of food for every adoption the designated shelters in both cities achieved.
This “Cats Versus Dogs” initiative brought both a fresh audience and spirited effort to help the approximately 8 million pets orphaned in the United States. The Cleveland-Cincinnati competition contributed to surpassing Iams’ goal of finding homes for at least 1 million orphaned animals this holiday season. The campaign began Oct. 1 and ended Jan. 5.