White's Road Park Charlie
Lansdale’s beloved unofficial mascot and local tourist attraction White’s Road Park Charlie may have placed #4 in his group in the semifinals for PAWS Foundation’s “America’s Favorite Cat” contest, but he will always be #1 in the hearts of his fans and followers, both in real life and on social media.
Charlie’s owner, Kristen Ortiz, of Green Street, posted on the 1,700-follower strong Facebook group dedicated to her wanderlust pet at noon March 29 that Charlie did not break into the top three.
“THANK YOU for all the support! Wish we could have taken 1st place, but he still did good thanks to all of your votes and donations!” Ortiz wrote in the post.
Charlie will always be #1 with us! Grateful this community can enjoy such a lovable,
social animal. Lansdale's little rock star,” posted follower Teri Lynn.
“A great effort, let's do it again next year!” wrote Marjie Wassermann
He's #1 in Lansdale,” wrote Dolores Boginsky.
The cat that defeated Charlie and 12 other cats – Tay Tay – is currently sitting in second place in the Final 14. Voting ends April 4.
Technically, Tay Tay does not have her own Facebook group; she is promoted via her Virginia Beach owner’s personal Facebook with 291,000 followers. Tay Tay has 19,300 Instagram followers and more than 1,000 posts. Her owner runs a cat TikTok.
Last week, Charlie made it into the semifinals of the competition. The winner gets the cover of “Modern Cat” magazine and $10,000.
Read more on the history of Charlie here.
"He should be America’s favorite cat because he is already the suburb of Lansdale Pennsylvania’s favorite cat so why not take over the country,” wrote Kristen in the initial entry form. "Due to his exploring the neighborhood and sometimes not coming home at night, neighbors suggested I make him a Facebook page to keep track of his whereabouts. The amount of followers became a huge surprise as apparently Charlie has more friends and acquaintances than I could have ever imagined! His chronicles are posted on Facebook daily by his many fans.”
The best thing about Charlie, to Ortiz and the community, is his free spirit.
"Charlie is an inside cat with a strong drive to be outdoors. We installed a cat door so he can come and go as he pleases which has created a whole exciting realm that Charlie explores,” Ortiz wrote. "Charlie stays around the neighborhood and is well loved and looked out for. Most of his time is in our local park, he also has certain homes he visits daily. He claims patio furniture as his own, has food bowls and toys at homes and even has sleepovers.”
According to Ortiz, Charlie does not have a favorite toy, but instead enjoys people – and food.
"He will join in on people’s picnic blankets at the park, get in on strangers’ family photos, sit on anyone’s lap that will have him for a nap, and hitch a ride in strollers of moms taking a walk,” Ortiz wrote. "He also enjoys stalking and pouncing on his brother Sonny.”
Let’s not forget Charlie’s appetite.
"He’s not picky about food, he tries any treat he is offered, will try to eat unattended ice cream, and has been known to steal turkey sandwiches from my 3-year-old son,” Ortiz wrote.
According to its website, PAWS Foundation, founded in 1967, is dedicated to helping cats and dogs and wild animals go "home” and thrive, be it a family room or a forest. The nonprofit uses donations to rehabilitate orphaned and injured wildlife and shelter homeless cats and dogs for adoption, according to its website. All in all, PAWS has helped and rehabilitated more than 270,000 animals.
