At Long Last, Shelter Cats (Not Just Dogs!) Grace Our Pizza Boxes
Over the past few years there has been a noticeable trend of food and beverage companies collaborating with animal shelters to help dogs find forever homes. I know this because for the majority of my tenure here at The Takeout I have been surrounded by dog people and, as such, this website has covered a disproportionate amount of dog news. I have no issues with this, because only a monster would have a problem with shelter dogs and their sad, beautiful eyes, but as a cat person, I would like to see the hospitality industry pay more attention to the welfare of our feline friends. Seriously, go Google "dog adoption pizza box" and you'll be greeted with pages upon pages of search results that go back several years. Meanwhile, Googling "cat adoption pizza box" brings up one single article about cats before delving straight into dog news, and it's from this month. Which is outrageous, because there is not an animal on earth that loves pizza boxes the way cats do. Here is my son Rocky illustrating this fact:
The news of pizza box cat adoptions comes from Just Pizza in Amherst, New York, which has started putting pictures of cats residing at the Ten Lives Club shelter on its pizza boxes. According to Step Out Buffalo, Just Pizza owner Mary Alloy came up with the idea for the promotion after... running the promotion with dogs first. (Of course.) Last year, the Niagara SPCA approached Alloy about putting photos of adoptable dogs on her pizza boxes, which was a spectacular success; not only did the "Pizza + Pups" campaign help boost adoptions, it went viral across the internet and even caused CNN to take notice. Now Alloy, who herself is a cat mom, has helped stray cats break the pizza box barrier. A champion! In addition to getting the word out, anyone who adopts a cat will receive a $50 Just Pizza gift certificate so they can enjoy a nice dinner and give their new companion a box of their very own to nap on.
"Mary has been battling a rare cancer for months and going through chemotherapy at Roswell," said Ten Lives Club Public Relations Manager Kimberly LaRussa in speaking to Step Out Buffalo. "The fact that she is still always looking for ways to give back while fighting this terrible disease is simply amazing...but that's just what Mary is. Amazing." Even if you're not a cat person, it's pretty hard not to agree.