^[3]Who doesn’t love Ellen DeGeneres?  She’s the star of the incredibly successful The Ellen Show, hosted the Oscars ^[4] on multiple occasions (including 2014), co-owns the high-quality Halo Purely for Pets ^[5] food line, and is a outspoken advocate of animal welfare.

I have to give major kudos to DeGeneres for her role in helping better the lives of animals in need by facilitating food donations to shelters as part of this year’s Oscar Swag Bag.  Each year, the nominees for an Academy Award receive a free bag full of various luxury items totaling many thousands of dollar.  This year’s Swag Bags reportedly contain $80,000 worth of swag!

Instead of merely having the bags provide goods which may or may not be useful in the recipients’ lives (according to Buzz60 ^[6], there’s “Hydroxycut weight-loss system, fancy maple syrup, and a home-spa system”…oh my), DeGeneres ups the philanthropy quotient by helping animals.  Coincidentally, the most expensive item in the bag is actually a sizable donation of Halo pet food to a charity of the Swag Bag recipient’s choice worth $6,100.

DeGeneres and Halo Purely for Pets partnered with FreeKibble.com ^[7] so that the 20 Swag Bags given to the non-winning Academy Awards nominees contain a donation card providing 10,000 meals to shelter animals. A massive 200,000 meals will be dispensed to feed hungry canines and felines who otherwise may not have breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

According to Halo’s VP of marketing communications David Yaskulka, “we know many celebrities are extremely generous.  So we decided to gift them with something different that we think will mean a lot to them. We’re looking forward to making those donations!”

More Like Ellen the Generous

Through the Halo Pet Foundation ^[8], Halo and DeGeneres of been consistently bettering the lives of animals in need.  I am a big fan on the emphasis on education about responsible pet ownership that’s integral in the foundations’s mission statement:

The Halo Pet Foundation’s mission is to enhance the well-being of pets and the people who love them. Inspired by our love for animals, we strive to help pets and their families live longer, happier, healthier lives together. Specifically, we seek to educate people on responsible pet ownership, eliminating animal abuse and reducing the overpopulation of uncared for pets.

Reportedly, DeGeneres’ lifelong dream job was to become a veterinarian!  Having taken a somewhat different and much more lucrative career path, Ellen certainly uses her celebrity for the good of all creatures.  She states “pet adoption is something I’m extremely passionate about.  I believe that by working together, we can find good homes for the millions of homeless and abandoned pets out there.”  Should Ellen ever want to experience the diverse practice of a holistic house call veterinarian, she can certainly ride along with me.  Actually, some of my clients are also her fellow media pals (Jane Lynch, etc.).

I was slightly disappointed to see that animals didn’t have a major a role as actors did in this years Academy Award contending movies.  In 2012, I wrote for PetMD about Uggie, the canine star of “The Artist”, and interviewed her trainer Sarah Clifford (see The Artist Showcases Uggie and His Considerable Canine Capabilities ^[9]).  That year, “The Artist” won Best Motion Picture of the Year and Uggie made a jovial appearance on the stage to help accept the award. I was fortunate enough to meet Uggie at the Humane Society of the United States 26th Genesis Awards (see Canine and Human Celebrities Rally for the Cause of Animal Welfare ^[10]).

Thank you Ellen DeGeneres for being such a hilarious host and for improving the lives of shelter animals in one fell Oscar swoop.

Did you watch this year’s show with your pets?

Copyright of this article (2014) is owned by Dr Patrick Mahaney, Veterinarian and Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist. Republishing any portion of this article must first be authorized by Dr Patrick Mahaney. Requests for republishing must be approved by Dr Patrick Mahaney and received in written format.