Culture August 14, 2020

'I had to': Dennis Quaid adopts shelter cat named Dennis Quaid

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Dennis Quaid, a shelter cat in Virginia, is heading to his fancy new home after being adopted by the famous actor he’s named after.

Dennis Quaid "couldn't resist" when he came across the black cat's story and immediately made room for his new family member.

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"It was really off the wall, but I just couldn’t resist. I had to," Quaid, the actor, gushed to local news station WSLS on Wednesday. "I’m out to save all the Dennis Quaids of the world."

Dennis Quaid, the cat, who was up for adoption at the the Lynchburg Humane Society, was highlighted last week as part of the station's Clear the Shelters event.

The 6-year-old feline was described as having a "big heart" and "likes to curl up on the couch" in the now-viral video, which also included the heartbreaking fact that he'd been waiting "for a family for over a year."

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While the Lynchburg Humane Society had high hopes that Dennis Quaid would soon find his forever family, the shelter didn't expect that they'd receive a phone call from the kitty's actual namesake.

"I was like there is no way this is real, like, someone is pranking us," Danielle Ulmer, one of the shelter's managers, said, eventually realizing she was indeed speaking to "The Parent Trap" actor.

Once the humane society verified it wasn't a hoax, the two Quaids met on Zoom and plans are now in motion for the cat to make a cross-country trek to his new home in Los Angeles.

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"Maybe they should start naming animals in shelters after different celebrities and see who bites," Quaid laughs.

Turns out, that's exactly what the shelter is doing.

"We’ve already talked about that," Ulmer revealed. "We’re like, 'Alright, so everyone pick your top three favorite celebrities.'"