Academy Award(R)-Winning Actress Hilary Swank Named 2009 Ambassador for Iams Home 4 the Holidays Pet Adoption Campaign
Swank and 3,500 Adoption Organizations on a Mission to Help 1.5 Million Pets Find Homes.

After 10 years of successfully helping millions of orphaned pets find homes, Iams Home 4 the Holidays (IH4TH) today announced that two-time Academy Award-winning actress Hilary Swank will serve as the drive’s 2009 ambassador. Swank will share her personal experience with
adoption and rescue in an effort to help educate others about how they can make a positive impact on the lives of homeless pets. Along with founding partner Helen Woodward Animal Center and nearly 3,500 participating animal organizations from around the world, the program has set a goal to help 1.5 million pets find homes Oct. 1, 2009 through Jan. 4, 2010.

“I’m so proud to be working with Iams Home 4 the Holidays to help raise
awareness about the importance of pet adoption,” said Hilary Swank, pet parent
and 2009 Iams Home 4 the Holidays Ambassador. “Last year, the program’s
adoption goal was to get 1 million pets adopted in just three months, but this
year the goal is even bigger – we’re on a mission to find loving homes for 1.5
million orphaned pets between Oct. 1 and Jan. 4.”

Swank has adopted many pets throughout her life, including her two dogs Karoo
and Rumi. She rescued Karoo from the side of a road while filming in South
Africa a few years ago and adopted Rumi last fall from a participating IH4TH
shelter in Los Angeles.

“Now more than ever orphaned animals need our help and who better to give them
a voice than Hilary?” said Mike Arms, founder of Iams Home 4 the Holidays and
president of Helen Woodward Animal Center. “Along with Hilary and her
inspiration, our 3,500 animal organizations are working to shine a big
spotlight on the need to help the nearly 8 million homeless pets in our
country, and are committed to helping raise awareness about the importance of
pet adoption.”

“Hilary’s genuine passion and love for animals combined with her pet adoption
experience makes her a tremendous ambassador for Iams Home 4 the Holidays,”
said Dan Rajczak, vice president and general manager, P&G Pet Care in North
America. “We’re confident that with the support of an advocate like Hilary,
we’ll be able to achieve or even exceed our pet adoption goal again this year
and help 1.5 million pets find loving homes.”

Iams Home 4 the Holidays is dedicated to helping homeless pets. The program
has placed more than 3 million animals in homes since 1999, and in 2008, the
adoption drive found homes for 1,202,718 pets. The 2009 program officially
kicks-off on Oct. 1, but in the meantime, there are still millions of homeless
animals that need help. To learn more about how to make a difference in the
life of 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.

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 11 years ago, IH4TH – along with nearly 3,500 pet
adoption centers – has helped more than 3,278,143 families experience the joy
of pet adoption, including 1.2 million pet adoptions this past year alone. For
more information, please visit www.iamshome4theholidays.com or follow us at
www.twitter.com/IH4TH.

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 www.iams.com or 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 www.pg.com for the latest news and
in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

CONTACT:
Heather Wilkins
PainePR
(949) 809-6766
hwilkins@painepr.com

Along with the IH4TH website , you can get more information by following the drive on Twitter.

Source: http://www.reuters.com