Animal Obituaries

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2009:
Socks, 18, the White House cat throughout the Bill Clinton
administration, died on February 20, 2009. Originally kept by
former President Clinton’s daughter Chelsea, who adopted Socks from
a litter born in her piano teacher’s yard when Clinton was governor
of Arkansas, Socks had lived with Bill Clinton’s former secretary
Betty Currie in Hollywood, Maryland since the Clinton family left
the White House in early 2001. After Socks and a newly acquired
chocolate retriever named Buddy had several altercations on the White
House grounds, then-First Lady Hilary Clinton in 1998 published a
book of children’s letters to the animals entitled Dear Socks, Dear
Buddy. Bill Clinton likened trying to achieve a truce between Socks
and Buddy to seeking peace in the Middle East, a problem Hilary now
confronts as Secretary of State.

Angel, a severely beaten white dog who became mascot of the
Selangor SPCA in Malaysia, died on February 26, 2009.

Ivan, a 10-week-old blond cocker spaniel adopted by
television talk show host Oprah Winfrey from the Pets Are Worth
Saving Shelter in Chicago, died on March 17, 2009 of parvovirus.
Winfrey first adopted one of Ivan’s littermates, whom she named
Sadie. She introduced Sadie and the rest of the litter on her March
6, 2009 broadcast, then adopted Ivan too. Ironically, PAWS is
noted for providing a high standard of veterinary care. The PAWS
clinic has at least twice been a tour stop for participants in
national humane conferences. “Winfrey has worked with and supported
PAWS in the past, most notably during a series of shows last year
about puppy mills and pet overpopulation. She also has funded a pet
room at the facility,” wrote Chicago Tribune staff reporter Willaim
Hageman.
Muchana, an 8-year-old western lowland gorilla, became
tangled in a rope and strangled during the night of February 28,
2009 at the St. Louis Zoo.

Hope, 35, who in 1989 birthed Kwanza, the only gorilla
born at the North Carolina Zoo, was euthanized on March 19, 2009
due to severe health problems. “Hope arrived in 1984 after the
National Institutes of Health discontinued a gorilla research program
in Louisiana,” recalled Raleigh News & Observer staff writer Martha
Quillen.

Muke, 44, a female western lowland gorilla who had lived at
the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City since 1996, was euthanized on March
23, 2009 after a year-long struggle against cancer of the uterus.

Chalakka Mohanan, 53, an elephant brought by two unlicensed
and ill-trained mahouts to Kottuvally, near North Paravur, Kerala,
India, died from malnutrition and neglect on March 17, 2009, The
Hindu reported. The mahout apparently leased Chalakka Mohanan from
one Anwar Saddath, of Perumbavoor. Locals tried unsuccessfully to
save Chalakka Mohanan, and demanded that the mahouts be prosecuted.

Subramani, 57, the oldest tusker and second-oldest elephant
at the Theppakadu elephant camp within the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in
India, died on March 14, three weeks after he was gored by a wild
elephant. Captured in 1958, Subramani worked at first in logging,
and was later used to help capture problematic wild elephants.

Girija, 43, an elephant used in temple parades, died on
March 12, 2009 at Anuparpalayam, Tamil Nadu, allegedly of
dehydration caused by a neglectful mahout.