Clinton cat "Socks" is still alive and well

[JaneQPublic]

As an olive branch to all Hillary supporters from this Obama supporter, I thought I'd share the below article about the Clinton family cat -- now almost 19 -- and his grand life with former Clinton secretary Betty Currie, here in my neck of the woods, Southern Maryland. Something tells me Hillary will have just as many lives as this old cat.

Socks lives. Betty Currie is dismayed that so many people assume otherwise. However, it is one of the first comments people make when she and the former First Cat go out for a public appearances.

‘‘’I didn’t know Socks was still alive,’ is the first thing they say,” Currie said, grimacing, at her Hollywood home last Wednesday. Despite the cat’s advanced age — he is close to 19 years old — Currie can hardly talk about the inevitable. She is his biggest fan.

And the feeling appears to be mutual.

...

Currie has taken care of Socks, the cat owned by President Bill Clinton’s family, since the Clintons left the White House in 2001. During Socks’ eight years in Washington, D.C., he became an international celebrity as one of the Clinton’s pets. And his reported conflicts with Buddy, the chocolate Labrador retriever that joined the household during those years, are the stuff of legend. The press had a field day with the troubled relationship, comparing President Clinton’s inability to handle the cat and dog fights with Clinton’s struggles to bring peace to the Middle East.

When President Clinton left office, he let Currie, his private secretary and one of Socks’ best friends in the office, take the cat home. He has been cared for by Betty and Bob Currie ever since.

More at the link, with photos:
http://www.somdnews.com/stories/06062008/entecov172737_32166.shtml

[Warren DeMontague]

1. Damn.

And I bet he could still kick Barney's ass.

[Sparkly]

5. haHA!!

:rofl:

[rug]

2. All I can say is I'm glad no one attacked Socks during this campaign.

[ZinZen]

12. LOL!

Political attacks on Socks would be going to far. I cannot believe that cat is still alive.

[tblue37]

42. I had a cat that lived to be 19. I had to have her put down,

though, when she developed an aggressive cancer of the jaw. My oldest cat now is 15, and I am hoping to have at least a few more years with her.

[AZBlue]

35. Now THAT would have pissed me off!

Lay off the cat!
;)

[justinsb]

3. Socks Had Better Give 100% on the Campaign Trail

If he/she ever wants to be first cat again :hide:

[Blue Diadem]

4. Awwww..that's really nice to know he's still here and living a good life.

I always wondered what happened to him. I'd heard about Buddy the lab, but never heard anything about Socks.

19 yrs old..WOW. Sounds like Betty Currie has taken great care of him these last 8 yrs.

[Upton]

6. Didn't Buddy get hit by a car or something?

[IndyOp]

8. Yep.

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/01/03/buddy.killed/index.html

:(

[Recursion]

7. Liberty! Stop that infernal racket!

There's something I don't know. Do the Obamas have a pet?

[Muttocracy]

31. I don't think yet - the girls have been asking for a dog and on

Good Morning America or some other video clip I saw here, Michelle and Barack said they're getting a dog after they settle into the White House :)

[Teaser]

9. cat's can live a long time

birds too. We had a finch that lived 25 years.

[hollowdweller]

10. That they gave away the kitty and kept the dog said something to me.

I won't say what in the spirit of unity but I would never give one of my kitties away. Especially if the kitty came FIRST!

[notesdev]

13. I could never

give up one of my kitties. But with them so busy, maybe Socks just developed an affinity for the secretary who was likely present more often and more often available.

[Radio_Lady]

51. Buddy the Labrador Retriever died, didn't he? I remember the news...

I'm kind of a dog person, myself, and am allergic to cats.

But I love them from afar.

RL in OR

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

14. I don't have a negative connotation about this.

Sometimes in the pet world, things just don't work out no matter how much we want them to. Instead of sentencing animals to a life sentence in a stressful surrounding, it's a lot kinder to think of solutions that work for everyone. If Socks and Buddy were just NOT going to get along, then the Clintons did the right thing by finding a kind and loving home, which they obviously did.

It's a happy ending for everyone. ( Except for Buddy, and I remember being really sorry at the time of his demise.)

[silverojo]

18. For those reasons, they should've given up the dog

The cat was there first. When the second pet doesn't fit with the family, that's the one that needs a new, loving home.

In all honesty, though, I never felt the Clintons were knowledgeable enough to be pet owners. Tethering a declawed cat to a tree, and not watching over their dog closely enough...having a pet is a lifetime responsibility, a lot harder than most people realize. I've always wondered how any of the First Families managed to have pets!

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

23. How can you speak in such absolutes when you don't personally know

the people, the animals, the situation, or the options involved?

[gateley]

41. Love me, love my cat.

Nero has me wrapped around his paw - you have no idea to what degree my life revolves around him.

And when I heard that Socks had been given away, I was outraged.

But after reading this article, I'm thinking Betty gave him far more attention and love (and spoiled him more - as it should be) than the Clintons would have been able to. With Chelsea gone, and Hillary in DC most of the time, he probably would have just been "the cat" to their housekeeper or something.

[bitchkitty]

57. Not watching over his dog?

He wasn't even there when Buddy was killed. What, you expect the President of the US to stay home to watch the dog?

[silverojo]

16. I'd never give up the kitty!

I was also upset when the news showed images of how he was tethered to a tree. You don't let a declawed cat go outside without supervision, let alone tie it to a tree where any passing animal could kill it.

I'm so glad Socks has been in better hands, and has managed to live longer than most cats do. I'll always remember that sweet little black-and-white cat fondly. :)

[Arugula Latte]

20. Me too! Kitties come first. Bye, Bye Buddy would have been my choice.

I remember this pissing me off at the time, too.

[femrap]

46. I was pissed too...

I sent a letter to the WH for a picture of Socks and they sent me one. It was cute.

[Eurobabe]

48. Yep.

Spoke to me too.

[ObamaKerryDem]

11. Wait..Socks is a boy?

Always thought he was a girl...my bad. haha :P I was wondering about that cat! Good to know he is still alive and well. He kinda looks like my aunt's cat.

Thanks for posting this! :)

[Faygo Kid]

15. Good for Socks. Old cats are the best cats. Here's another.

Purrcilla is 15. Healthy and happy.

[petersjo02]

17. What a great picture of your cat!

Wouldn't have guessed her a day over 9. ;-) I've had many, many cats over the years. When my daughter (now 47) was still living at home, we had a grand total of 12 cats at one time. Loved each of them and miss each of them to this day.

The oldest of our cats lived to be nearly 25. We don't know for sure, because Tom came to us in 1975 as a full-grown stray. He lived a good life and died in my arms in 1998.

[Faygo Kid]

27. Great story. Good heart.

Believe it or not, I'm more of a dog person. So many stories of my cats and my dogs. Loved them all, and they all gave more to me than I ever gave to them. Sounds like we are on the same page.

[silverojo]

21. Aww, what a sweetie!

Pretty green eyes and a little smudgie on her nose!

[liberaldem4ever]

19. Thank you for letting us know about Socks!

I knew Betty Currie took Socks when the Clintons left office, but I never heard any more about him. I still have the cute books that were written I think by Hillary about Socks and Buddy. Poor Buddy, I wish that Betty would have taken him too. I think that was kind of Hillary and Bill to find Socks a good home with Betty instead of leaving him at home by himself all the time. I'm so happy to know the Socks is still OK. :)

[YOY]

22. My pet will outlive you all

She's not too cuddle but she's hardly a meanie...



(Not my Mushroom Pizza Babay)

[Kool Kitty]

45. Ah! Another turtle parent.

I have two red-eared sliders, and I have had them for 20 years. They are wonderful (if messy) pets. (And my cats never bother them.)
You have a beautiful box turtle there.

[YOY]

52. Oh that's not Mushroom. She really is of a more dull brown and her orange is more yellowed.

but she is well fed, healthy, and content. I've had her since I was ten and I'm thirty three now and my daughter loves her too.

She's pretty clean actually. Once a week she takes a bath and noshing on crickets and grapes are things she seldom needs a napkin. The Sliders are messy how? They're aquatic, right? I'm gonna guess pooping in the tank.

[Kool Kitty]

58. Yes, they are aquatic. And pooping is the

"messy" that I was talking about. Actually, it is less of a problem than it was, becuase I just got two great filters that seem to be doing the trick. It's been trial and error with the filters because they took a couple of the old filters apart, and one that worked very well had a sponge-like piece that they chewed to pieces. Industrious boys they are.

[Auntie Bush]

24. Thanks! I enjoyed reading that.

I also thought socks had died. Thanks for the happy update.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

25. Socks is a Southern Marylander now!

Better keep up with her stuffed ham and oysters!

[JoFerret]

26. Bugger the olive branch nonsense but

that is good news.

[Toucano]

28. Sweet post. n-t

[piesRsquare]

29. One of the funniest pictures of Socks...

...and one of the cutest (and best!)

[Muttocracy]

33. still has cute feet (photos in the article linked above)

[Muttocracy]

34. looks way smarter than most of W's press secretaries! nt

[Kat45]

30. I had some Socks catfood, packed in a big container of Socks himself.

When I saw it in a store, I just had to get it. I probably still have it somewhere, most likely in a box that never got unpacked. Still would be unopened, with the food inside.

[OzarkDem]

32. What a great story

Socks has been in good hands all these years.

[Olney Blue]

36. Socks is in good hands with Betty. Thanks for the nice story.

[jgraz]

37. Maybe now Sean Hannity will stop saying Hillary had him "suicided".

I doubt it, though.

[Zachstar]

38. Time for Socks to join the Web 2.0 crowd.

Pose for some LOLcats Kitty!

[ClayZ]

39. My calico kitty, Crash, is two years younger that Socks.

Our kids named her CRASH because she looks like 3 cats crashed together.

She walked out to the grove with us last night and stayed for nearly an hour.

She has been spending more and more time sleeping, lately. She has had us since she was a kitten since she was a kitten. Her sister, Art, also lived with us, but she went over the Rainbow Bridge a couple years ago. :-(


K and R

[ClayZ]

40. My calico kitty, Crash, is two years younger that Socks.

Our kids named her CRASH because she looks like 3 cats crashed together.

She walked out to the grove with us last night and stayed for nearly an hour.

She has been spending more and more time sleeping, lately. She has had us since she was a kitten since she was a kitten. Her sister, Art, also lived with us, but she went over the Rainbow Bridge a couple years ago. :-(


K and R

[ruby slippers]

43. so, the cat was given up for adoption???? collateral damage????

[Douglas Carpenter]

44. and I thought he was arrested in a kitty-porn scandal?

:wow:

[Name removed]

47. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MonkeyFunk]

53. God

your hate makes you one of the most disgusting people here. Truly, truly disgusting.

[totodeinhere]

49. You go Socks!!

[PretzelWarrior]

50. too bad socks couldn't lend one of his nine lives to Hillary

Hillary exhausted hers. every time you thought she was down for the count she kept coming back for more.

[Condem]

54. My 21 year old just passed away.

I have seven cats over 15. With proper care, this is commonplace.

[bluedawg12]

55. Sweet pic of Betty and Socks! Bless her heart.

[DeepModem Mom]

56. Thank you for this! Sounds like he's living out his days in a wonderful place. nt