Posts tagged "hilary swank"

Hilary Swank is ecstatic. The two-time Oscar-winning actress has another accomplishment of which she can be proud: As ambassador for the Iams Home 4 for the Holidays campaign, she has helped 1.4 million animals find loving homes in the last few months.

As the owner of two rescued dogs, Karoo and Rumi, and two rescued parrots, Angel and Seuss, pet adoption is something Swank preaches and lives.

Just days after the Iams Home for the Holidays campaign ended earlier this month, Swank spoke with Paw Nation and opened up about the first pet she ever had, why she's passionate about pet adoption, and why she never leaves home without her pets -- all four of them!

How do you feel about having helped 1.4 million animals find homes?
I'm thrilled. Especially during these difficult economic times, for people to bring another animal, another mouth that needs to be fed [into their homes], it's quite incredible. It just makes me so happy to know that these animals that were homeless, they now have a chance at life in a loving home.

Why do you feel so strongly about helping animals get adopted?
They don't have a voice to be able to speak about their situations. They need advocates to go out and speak for them and encourage anyone who wants to bring an animal into their home to adopt. When you hear those statistics, that 8 million animals yearly are homeless and approximately 6 million of them get put to sleep, you're just like, spread the word!

Hilary Swank took time out of her busy schedule (she's currently promoting her latest film, "Amelia") to attend the Iams Home 4 the Holidays event. Along with her mom, Judy Swank, the Oscar winner posed for pictures and helped raise awareness for shelter pets. This definitely is our kind of red-carpet photo -- precious!

Helping shelter animals definitely is no acting gig for Swank; this actress walks the walk. She currently lives with two rescued dogs: Karoo, a Jack Russel/Corgi mix she found as a tick-infested stray while working on a film; and Rumi, a Golden Retriever mix she adopted from the East Valley Humane Society. Throughout her life, she's also rescued other dogs, cats and birds.

Swank says in her Iams profile, "Every day when I look at Karoo and Rumi, I know they're thankful I've adopted them into my family, and I'm just as thankful they've adopted me." Finally, a celebrity with whom we can really connect!