CALGARY – With the fate of the Calgary Winter Olympics bid rejected by the public in a plebiscite, beloved 1988 Winter Olympic mascots Hidy and Howdy were euthanized yesterday.
Those in favour of bringing back the games argued that the arthritic and incontinent anthropomorphized polar bears could serve a purpose had a majority Calgarians supported the costly world sporting event.
“The mascot vet bills kept piling up,” said one of their supporters. “Howdy had a skin condition, which caused his fur to come off from the binding, and Hidy can barely walk with her hip issues. We had hoped they could make it until 2026.”
The duo were fondly remembered for not just for their role in Canada’s first winter Olympics, but also their brief appearance in film Cool Runnings and being featured on some of the “Welcome to Calgary” signage until they were taken down. They were 30-years-old, which is about 104-years-old in mascot years.
After taking the mascots out for one last farewell wave, a visibly distraught Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi armed with a rifle led the pair around to the back Canada Olympic Park. Moments later, two shots were heard.
At press time, the children of the city were told that Hidy and Howdy moved to another Winter Olympics somewhere upstate.
