Everybody was a Winner at the Oscars, thanks to Halo, Purely for Pets

I loved watching the Oscars this past Sunday --- along with about a billion other movie fans around the world! --- even though it was typically too long. One of the high tension moments at the Oscars that makes me feel uncomfortable is when the envelope is being broken open to announce the winner in a category, and a split screen shows the faces of all the nominees, especially in the moment when somebody else's name is read aloud. The camera stays on the expressions of those who were not The Chosen One and in an instant they go from being a possible winner to just one of the “losers.”

Except that Halo found a way to change that feeling for the nominated celebrities who didn’t win the coveted Oscar gold statuette --- instead they received something priceless to make them feel on top of the world. Ellen DeGeneres’ natural pet food company, Halo, Purely for Pets, in partnership with Freekibble.com, is gifting 20 non-winning Oscar nominees a gift that gives back by donating 10,000 meals of natural pet food to the animal shelter or rescue of the celebrity’s choice. The opportunity for the recipient to give back to shelters with Halo Spot’s Stew and their new line, Vigor, is a whole lot different than the usual content of swag bag gifts, which typically focus on luxury and status. Instead, the non-winning Oscar nominees in the Best Actor/Actress, Supporting Actor/Actress and Director categories will win a 10,000-meal donation to their favorite animal shelter or rescue from Halo and Freekibble.com.

The donation each celebrity will be able to give away is worth $6,200 --- but the feeling of caring for less fortunate pets is priceless, especially because so many celebrities are advocates (as Halo is) for animals in shelters waiting for good homes.

When those “losing” nominees went home late on Sunday night I'll bet most of them were thrilled by the greeting they got from their dog or cat, running to greet them at the door as if they held an Oscar in each hand! That's one of the profound joys of having pets for all of us --- that they love and admire us no matter what victories or defeats we've had that day.

[P.S. I wanted to ask Halo to let their part-owner Ellen Degeneres know what could have made the Oscar ceremony a great deal better: having her as the host!]

--Tracie Hotchner

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