Photos: Best in Throw: Iams Home 4 the Holidays Football Initiative Connects Nearly 2,500 Orphaned Animals With Families This Season

Cleveland Defeats Cincinnati in Inaugural ‘Cats Versus Dawgs’ Competition as Iams Donates More Than 14 Tons of Pet Food to Local Ohio Animal Shelters.

CINCINNATI, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ — The football term “completion” had added significance this season as Iams Home 4 the Holidays (IH4TH) kicked off a creative campaign designed to capture the attention of gridiron fans in Ohio and across the country, while generating awareness about Iams’ national pet adoption campaign. The 12-week IH4TH “Cats versus Dawgs” program, which included an in-state “completions” competition between Cincinnati and Cleveland in collaboration with local animal shelters the SPCA Cincinnati, Cleveland City Kennels and the Cleveland TNR Program, helped drive 2,424 pet adoptions for the national IH4TH program that surpassed its original goal of finding loving homes for at least 1 million orphaned animals this holiday season.

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“We’re thrilled by the response this program generated for the Iams Home 4 the Holidays campaign and the friendly, in-state competition it created between the passionate football fans and loyal pet owners in Cincinnati and Cleveland,” said Kris Parlett, Iams spokesperson. “Iams continuously looks for ways to bring people and pets together, and the ‘Cats versus Dawgs’ initiative afforded us the opportunity to reach a fresh audience during this year’s pet adoption campaign.”

During the IH4TH “Cats versus Dawgs” initiative, which spanned the first on-field matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns in Cincinnati on Sept. 28, and the rematch in Cleveland on Dec. 21, the two Ohio football cities competed to see which could record the most “completions” on the field (completed passes) and off the field (an adopted pet from each city’s designated animal shelter). Cleveland was declared the winner with 1,540 completions to Cincinnati’s 1,303. In addition to in-state bragging rights for Cleveland football fans and pet lovers, Cleveland City Kennels and the Cleveland TNR Program will receive 15,400 pounds of pet food on behalf of Iams, which pledged to donate 10 pounds for every “completion” during the program. Iams also will donate 13,030 pounds of pet food to the SPCA Cincinnati.

“As a longtime supporter of Iams Home 4 the Holidays and a huge football fan, I was ecstatic when Iams extended the SPCA Cincinnati the invitation to participate in this exciting program,” said Harry Dates, CEO, SPCA Cincinnati. “We appreciate Iams’ generous donation and its ongoing support of our organization, and we look forward to continuing to be a part of this unique initiative in the years to come.”

To get more information on Iams Home 4 the Holidays and the “Cats versus Dawgs” program, please visit www.iamshome4theholidays.com.

Founded by the Helen Woodward Animal Center in 1999 and supported by Iams, Iams Home 4 the Holidays harnesses the power of nearly 3,000 worldwide animal organizations in a global effort to raise awareness about the importance of pet adoption. By providing resources and information about participating rescues and shelters, potential pet owners are encouraged to visit animal shelters and rescues to adopt dogs, cats or other animals waiting for a home when they are considering a new four-legged family member.

Important Facts

• There are as many as 8 million* orphaned pets in the United States.
• As many as 4 million* orphaned dogs and cats will be euthanized this year due to shelter overcrowding.
• For anyone interested in adopting a purebred dog, it’s helpful to know that more than a quarter of all dogs in animal shelters are purebreds.
• More than 15 countries participate in this adoption drive, making Iams Home 4 the Holidays one of the world’s largest pet adoption programs. There are participating shelters in Canada, Iran, Australia, India, New Zealand, Iraq and more.
• Iams Home 4 the Holidays has helped more than 1,047,000 dogs, 962,000 cats and 66,000 other animals, such as rabbits, reptiles, birds and more, find homes over the past nine years.

The pet adoption campaign takes place October 1 through January 5, 2009 and anyone who adopts a dog, puppy, cat or kitten will receive an Iams Adoption Starter Kit, which includes a care guide loaded with tips and information about pet care, behavior, training and nutrition. The kit also includes the new pet’s first meal as well as coupons for great savings on additional pet food, other supplies and animal health insurance.

To learn about the myriad ways to help an orphaned pet, including finding participating shelters, volunteering and making a donation to support animal organizations and pets awaiting new homes, visit www.Iamshome4theholidays.com.

* According to a pet population study from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

About Iams Home 4 the Holidays (IH4TH)

As one of the most successful pet adoption programs in the world, IH4TH partners thousands of animal organizations dedicated to finding forever homes for orphaned pets. Founded by Helen Woodward Animal Center and supported by Iams, IH4TH began in 1999 with just 14 participating animal shelters in San Diego County. Since it began more than 9 years ago, IH4TH – along with nearly 3,000 pet adoption centers – has helped more than 2 million families experience the joy of pet adoption, including nearly 500,000 pet adoptions last year alone. For more information, please visit www.iamshome4theholidays.com.

About Helen Woodward Animal Center

Helen Woodward Animal Center is a private, non-profit organization where “people help animals and animals help people.” Founded in 1972 in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., the Center provides services for more than 57,000 people and thousands of animals annually. Helen Woodward Animal Center is also the creator of the international Home 4 the Holidays pet adoption drive and the Animal Center Education Services program, teaching the business of saving lives to animal welfare leaders from around the world.

About P&G Pet Care

For more than 60 years, P&G Pet Care (NYSE: PG), the maker of Iams and Eukanuba, has enhanced the well-being of dogs and cats by providing world-class quality foods and pet-care products. To learn more about Eukanuba(R) and Iams(R) Dog & Cat Foods or general pet care and nutrition information, call the Iams Consumer Care Center at (800) 446-3075. You can also visit us on the Web at http://www.iams.com or http://www.eukanuba.com.

About Procter & Gamble

Three billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R), Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Mach3(R), Bounty(R), Dawn(R), Gain(R), Pringles(R), Folgers(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Oral-B(R), Actonel(R), Duracell(R), Olay(R), Head & Shoulders(R), Wella(R), Gillette(R), and Braun(R). The P&G community consists of 138,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

SOURCE Iams