Eskimo Joe’s unveils iconic T-shirt to celebrate Pete’s Pet Posse’s 10th anniversary
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Media Contact: Jane Braden | Gooden Group | 405-818-1905 | jane@goodengroup.com
Oklahoma State University’s Pete’s Pet Posse, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive university-based pet therapy program, is celebrating its 10th anniversary in style in 2023.
Longtime partner Eskimo Joe’s Clothes, creators of what many consider the most collectible T-shirts in the nation, has designed a T-shirt for the pet therapy’s anniversary milestone. It features a pack of smiling Pete’s Pet Posse dogs on the move with their tails and tongues wagging, wearing Western hats and orange bandanas — all drawn in the iconic Eskimo Joe’s style. The shirt design is on a black 100% ringspun cotton tee and is available in adult sizes S-3X and youth sizes S-XL, too.
"We love the work that Pete's Pet Posse does on the Oklahoma State University campus," said Stan Clark, Eskimo Joe's CEO and founder. "Most people love pets and it's so endearing to watch someone's demeanor, attitude, even their body language, change as they engage with one of the dogs. It's good for the soul and it makes people smile. And on a personal note, I love dogs!"
Ann Hargis, co-founder of Pete’s Pet Posse, said the shirts are a fitting tribute to the program.
“It is a thrill to see Pete’s Pet Posse images on an Eskimo Joe’s T-shirt as a tribute to our first 10 years of serving the campuses of Oklahoma State University,” Hargis said. “The design captures the spirit of the Posse with friendly dogs wearing big smiles. Bringing smiles to the students, staff, faculty and visitors of Oklahoma State University and impacting the emotional well-being of the university system has always been our primary goal as an organization.”
The Pete’s Pet Posse 10th Anniversary shirts are currently on sale in Eskimo Joe’s Stillwater and Tulsa clothing stores and can be purchased online by going to https://shop.eskimojoes.com/. Partial proceeds from T-shirt sales will benefit the self-funded pet therapy program at OSU.
Pete’s Pet Posse operates under the umbrella of The Ann Hargis OSU Center for Pet Therapy on the Stillwater campus alongside the student support group Ruff Riders, the Pete’s Pet Posse Governing Board and Research Board. Currently, 61 dog/owner/handler teams are operating on five OSU campuses across Oklahoma.
The program was established in 2013 on the OSU-Stillwater campus and in 2015, they expanded to OSU-Tulsa and OSU-CHS. In 2020, the dogs and their owner/handlers began work at the OSU College of Medicine at Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah and are planning to launch at the OSU-OKC campus in 2023. The Ann Hargis OSU Center for Pet Therapy officially opened in 2021.
Ten years ago, the program was the vision of co-founders Hargis and Center for Pet Therapy Director Kendria Cost as a pilot program introducing eight dogs to the OSU system. Since then, more than 100 dogs and their owners/handlers have participated in the Posse reaching over 300,000 lives and conducting nearly 5,000 appearances. Even more people have been reached through the program's very robust social media platforms.
About Eskimo Joe’s:
Steeped in a tradition of unbeatable guest attention, Eskimo Joe's service with a smile and fun atmosphere have catapulted the Oklahoma icon from the humble beginnings as a college bar to a must-go attraction in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Eskimo Joe's smilin' fun T-shirts are reputed to be one of the most collectible shirts in the country and have been spotted all around the globe making Joe's giant grin “The smile seen around the world!"