The Academy Awards paid tribute to the late actress and animal rights activist Betty White on Sunday by urging people to adopt pets from the nonprofit Paw Works. After Jamie Lee Curtis took the stage with a puppy to announce the initiative, a famous friend took part in a big way.
Actor John Travolta and his son Ben adopted a dog. But not just any dog — they chose MacNCheese, the dog Curtis brought on stage.
“A MAGICAL ending to the story from last night,” Curtis wrote on Instagram, sharing a photo of Travolta and and his son. “At the Oscars I reconnected with my friend, John Travolta. We starred together in the movie PERFECT back in 1984.”
Curtis explained she had already left the Dolby Theatre when she got a text of a photo of Travolta with the dog in the green room before he presented the award for best actor. “I thought it was so beautiful to see him with her and then today I found out that he and his son, Ben have adopted beautiful little Mac & Cheese and are taking her home today,” she wrote.
The actress, 63, said it was “an emotional end and a perfect tribute to Betty White.”
Travolta and Paw Works also shared photos of the dog and its new family on Instagram.
“On a night of winners and losers, we think Mac N Cheese is the biggest winner of all!” the organization wrote.
When White died on New Year’s Eve at the age of 99, social media was flooded with messages about the actress, many remembering the icon for her two passions: acting and animals.
The #BettyWhiteChallenge, which encourages people to donate to animal shelters in her honor, quickly spread online. Shelters across the U.S. said they were flooded with donations on what would’ve been White’s 100th birthday on January 17.
A spokesperson for American Humane, where White was a volunteer and board member, told CBS News web traffic and donations supporting the animal welfare organization quadrupled since White’s death.
