SHORELINES

8 Shor e l i n e S | 2015 Vol :1 populated by a menagerie. Nine dogs, among them a Lhasa apso, Shih Tzu, Chihuahua, Yorkshire terrier, Jack Russell, a long-haired weenie dog and a papillon sport names like Grizzly Bear, Panda Bear, Winnie the Pooh Bear, Dr. Baird Bear, etc. Luke, the latest squirrel, soars from the tops of furniture onto Whitworth's shoulder (where he seems happiest), while Miss Scarlett the tortoise lumbers along admirably, given her impressive girth. "She's 4 years old now but she'll get as big as a Volkswagen and live 150 to 200 years," Whitworth explains. Gone now, but welcomed when he was dropped off, was an iguana that got along happily with the rest. Three cats, dubbed Pineapple, Judge Judy and Snowbe Obi-One Kenobi Ball, mostly live outdoors. And, thanks to Jake's "baby mama" Katie Cake (another rescue who stayed around), the resident groundhog count is currently five, including heir apparent Smith Lake Jake Jr. Yet there's only one celebrity in the place, only one animal with his own website, three Facebook pages, two LinkedIn accounts, YouTube videos galore and a full social calendar. He's also the only one with an ever-growing gaggle of big-name friends. "Just friend him on Facebook and you can see the list," Whitworth says. "Leonardo DiCaprio, Reese Witherspoon, Donald Sutherland, Bradley Cooper and Robert Downey Jr. are some. Alfred Hitchcock is friends with him, which Above: Photo by k arim shamsi-Basha — Smith Lake Jake's owner, Ginger Whitworth, has created more than 125 custom hats for the groundhog.

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