Tim Pham is no stranger to the public eye. As an anchor for KREM 2, he's on TV constantly. But Pham says it sometimes feels like his two beagles, Baxter and Freedom, are more famous than he is.
"Whenever I post about one of them, they might get more likes than I do," Pham says with a laugh. "They're stars."
Pham got Baxter nearly a decade ago. He's made frequent appearances on air with Pham over the years and is well-loved by viewers.
Freedom is a more recent addition. Pham's journey with Freedom started in 2022, when a facility mass breeding dogs mainly for use in lab research in Virginia closed after a federal investigation uncovered horrific conditions. In what would become the largest rescue in the history of the Humane Society of the United States, roughly 4,000 beagles were rescued from the facility and put up for adoption across the country. Sixteen of the dogs ended up at SpokAnimal's shelter.
It was a big national story with a local angle. Pham went to SpokAnimal to report on it for KREM. While he was at the shelter, one of the puppies stood out.
"I picked her up, and she went from crazy to calm in my arms," Pham says. "I was like, 'Oh, I think a connection is happening.'"
Pham had gone to the shelter for a story, but he walked away with a new dog. He decided to name her Freedom.
"I think it's kind of symbolic to her situation," Pham says. "She was in captivity, she's free now."
Pham later found a Facebook group where he was able to connect with others who adopted the thousands of rescued beagles. Earlier this year, Petco awarded SpokAnimal a $25,000 grant after an essay Pham wrote Freedom won Petco's Love Stories contest.
It took Freedom a bit of time to recover from captivity and get used to being in a loving home, Pham says, but she's doing great now. She frequently appears on air along with Baxter and is also a hit with viewers.
"Oftentimes she'll be running laps around my house, and I just look at her and think, 'Your life was so different not so long ago,'" Pham says. "It just brings me so much happiness to see how happy she is."
DASH
In April of this year, Washington State University lost an icon.Dash, an incredibly photogenic golden retriever and unofficial mascot for the school, died at age 13 after a struggle with cancer.
Dash was well-known in the WSU community. In 2017, he became a viral sensation after his owner, Ande Edlund, posted a photo of Dash wearing a baseball cap at a Mariners game and holding a hot dog in his mouth.
Dash's following quickly grew, and he became a sensation around the state. He grew especially famous at WSU, where Edlund graduated in 1994.
Dash's owners gave guest lectures about social media and branding at WSU's Murrow College, and Dash became a guest "pawfessor." He posed for photos with WSU's mascot, Butch the Cougar, and became known as an unofficial ambassador for the school. Dash would also participate in fundraising events and was recognized as an honorary Coug by the school's Alumni Association.
Students started to recognize Dash every time he was on campus.
"People would say, 'Oh, I feel like I'm meeting my favorite celebrity," Edlund says.
Dash started treatment for cancer in 2023. He spent the final days of his life receiving care at WSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, where Dash has an honorary "dogtorate."
"He got great treatment there, surrounded by people who loved him," Edlund says.
KEYBOARD CAT
Keyboard Cat is perhaps the most famous pet to come out of Spokane. In 1984 local artist Charlie Schmidt recorded a video of his fluffy orange cat Fatso wearing a blue shirt and pounding her paws on a keyboard. Schmidt uploaded the clip to YouTube in 2007, where it quickly went viral and became a staple of the early internet.Fatso died in 1987, but Schmidt later adopted another cat, Bento, who starred in new Keyboard Cat videos created between 2010 and 2018. In 2023, director Andre Relis announced that he was starting production of a documentary about the sensation called Keyboard Cat: Anatomy of a Meme.
PETUNIA & FELIX
Shoppers at Ritters Garden Center and Nursery have likely encountered two relatively famous feline faces.
In 2019, the North Spokane business adopted two cats from Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services: Petunia, a fluffy cat with butterscotch-colored fur, and her son Felix, an orange tabby.
The two cats have since become regular fixtures at the store. Visitors can find them hanging out behind the counter, exploring the store or napping in the sun. The cats are social and often interact with guests, said Dalton Luke, who oversees Ritters' customer service and is one of the cats primary caretakers, in an interview with the Inlander earlier this year.
"We just love them," Luke said. "It's so cool to see the customers come in and be like 'Oh, I'm looking for Petunia and Felix.' It's cool to see other people love them as much as we do." ♦
