Shelters are always busy trying to find forever homes for their animals. Part of their job is bringing attention to these adoptable pets so they can find perfect families.
One of the most effective ways to bring attention to a shelter pet is to make them a celebrity, literally. Many pets have found homes by being named after movie stars, from Paul Rudd’s doggie doppelganger to a cat named “Dennis Quaid” getting adopted by the real Dennis Quaid.
Recently, one cat went viral after being named after Pedro Pascal — and it didn’t take long for him to find a home.
Pedro Pascal is one of the biggest actors in the world right now, thanks to his roles in some of TV’s biggest hits: Game of Thrones, The Mandalorian, and most recently HBO’s post-apocalyptic drama The Last of Us.
So, the Kansas Humane Society, in Wichita, decided to capitalize on fans’ ongoing love for Pedro Pascal by naming one of their shelter cats in his honor: meet “Pedro Pspspscal.”
“We named him after Pedro Pascal, just to capitalize on all the memes and success of The Mandalorian and The Last of Us,” Jordan Bani-Younes of KHS told Newsweek. “We have a names chat with most of our staff and I believe our social media manager saw the name on Facebook and suggested it.”
The hilarious name went viral after one user tweeted about it, writing that they had “been laughing about this for 5 consecutive minutes.”
As Pedro went viral, KHS went even further, photoshopping the adorable rescue cat into some of the actor’s most famous roles, including The Last of Us, The Mandalorian, and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
“Pedro Pspspscal is daddy and we all love this famous boi,” KHS wrote.
Overnight, Pedro went from a rescued stray to the internet’s favorite celebrity cat, and the shelter hoped that the viral fame would lead to sweet Pedro finding the home he deserves.
“Pedro came to us from our neighbors next door at the Wichita Animal Shelter, who found him as a stray,” Jordan told Newsweek. “Pedro is a very cuddly boy that loves head rubs. Every time I walked into the cat condo, he jumped up to the third shelf to get head rubs and pets.”
Thankfully, thanks to his viral fame, Pedro did indeed find a home. In an update, KHS confirmed the cat had been adopted!
It’s not clear if the real Pedro Pascal heard the news about the cat named after him, although the shelter said that Ashley Johnson, who played Ellie in The Last of Us video games and Ellie’s mom in the TV show, recently followed the shelter on social media.
Though Pedro has been adopted, the shelter has many other cats up for adoption, and they hope the story inspires people to consider them as well.
We’re so glad Pedro Pspspscal has found a home! Please share this adorable news! 😻❤️