| Saving Our Most Vulnerable Pets  Angie and Andy were diagnosed with ringworm in mid-June and finally cleared it last week. The yellow tinge on Angie’s fur is from a bath or “dip” in lime sulfur, required twice a week to fight off the fungus. A series of rooms tucked away in the heart of the shelter, behind a single door marked with the letters “ISO” are where hundreds of lives are saved every year. Seattle Humane’s Isolation Ward serves our most vulnerable and infectious pets — puppies and kittens sickened with deadly viruses like parvo or panleuk, as well as upper respiratory infections (URIs) and stubborn fungal infections like ringworm. While highly curable, treating these extremely contagious conditions requires space and long-term care (often weeks or months), something many shelters and rescues don’t have the capacity to provide, especially during kitten season. We’re taking in as many pets from our shelter partners as we can, and finding foster homes to free up room in ISO is vital to saving even more puppies and kittens. “We are incredibly lucky that we have a facility that can accommodate large populations of animals needing concentrated treatment, but we are nearing capacity. To save as many lives as possible, we rely on the support of dedicated foster parents, especially those willing to take on a little fungus or nurse a sneezy kitten back to health,” said Shelter Care Director Manders Vandel. Signing up to foster a pet with medical needs is easy, and you’re literally saving lives! Our foster team provides everything you need, including food, supplies, support and medications. You provide a home, care and love. Need more convincing? “I promise you, the cuddles are well worth the effort!” said Vandel. Learn much more about our hard-working ISO unit here and see some of the pets we were able to save thanks to your support in our July 2022 Newsletter. And be sure to check out all our cats and dogs available for adoption now!  Are People Returning Their ‘Pandemic Pets’?  Is there a “pandemic pet” sitting at your feet or on your lap as you read this? A cat, dog or critter you adopted after COVID changed everything? Millions of Americans adopted animal companions during the pandemic — by some estimates nearly one in five U.S. households. Fast-forward to 2022 and we’re seeing an uptick in pet surrenders nationwide. Numbers are on track to make this a record-breaking year. Are these the same pets so many people scrambled to adopt when they were stuck working from home? While there are many factors fueling this increase in surrenders, people returning to the office is not one of them. We did some digging into why so many people are making the difficult decision to surrender a pet. See what we found here on our blog. You’ll also find ways you can help turn this troubling trend around, like supporting our Pet Food Bank through the KIRO 7 Cares Pet Food Drive running through July 31. Scroll down to learn more! Expanding Critical Veterinary Care Access  Dr. Jessica Reed treating one of the many pets brought in for veterinary care at a week-long clinic in rural Colville, Washington. Breaking down financial and physical barriers and improving access to veterinary care is the first pillar in our vision for the future. It often means meeting pets and the people who love them where they are — in their communities. Seattle Humane Chief of Veterinary Medicine Dr. Jessica Reed saw this firsthand when she recently volunteered with the Rural Area Veterinary Services (RAVS) program and spent a week in Colville, Washington with a team of veterinarians offering free exams and spay and neuter surgeries to pets in the community. “RAVS is a very special program. These community clinics provide a unique opportunity for practitioners to get to know the loving pet owners in these communities and work directly with them to provide access to veterinary care for their pets. As a participating veterinarian, you also have the opportunity to work with a stellar group of veterinary professionals, as well as really compassionate and enthusiastic vet students,” said Dr. Reed. By the end of the clinic, 140 animals were spayed and neutered and 124 more received wellness exams. Kudos to Dr. Reed and the RAVS team for supporting family pets on the other side of the state! Free Vaccine Clinic July 30! Seattle Humane is holding a free vaccine clinic for pets from 1-5 p.m. on Saturday, July 30 at the Pet Place Market in North Bend. Vaccines, microchips, wellness care, pet food, supplies and resources will be provided on a walk-in basis. Vaccines generously supplied by Petco Love. Help us spread the word! You Can Make a Life-Changing Difference This Month!  We’re all paying more at the pump and the grocery store. What if these higher prices meant you must give up a beloved pet? This summer local families facing financial challenges and struggling to KEEP their pets are reaching out to Seattle Humane for support more than ever. You can help us be there for them through the KIRO 7 Cares Pet Food Drive running now through July 31 in support of our Pet Food Bank. You can make a pet food donation at any of the 18 Pet Pros locations in our area, or with just a few mouse clicks, donate through our Amazon wish list. Our biggest need right now is for all types of cat food and canned dog food. Your gift today will make a life-changing difference for pet families! Celebrating and Supporting Our Community  It was a thrill to celebrate Pride once again and march with the MaxMobile in Seattle’s Pride Parade last month. The weather was hot, but we got to hand out some cool stickers to parade-watchers and see some adorable pets along the parade route! We met up with the Sounders just a few days later for the Pups at the Pitch event at Lumen Field. Watch the video. The Seattle Sounders and The Farmer’s Dog were amazing hosts, and after all those smooches and cuddles from fans, our puppies were pooped by halftime! On July 9, Seattle Humane staff and volunteers participated in the Hope Festival at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, an event created and run by local high schoolers that provided supplies and services including food, clothes, hygiene items and haircuts to more than 1,000 attendees. Our team handed out free pet food and supplies and our “kitten cuddle booth” for the kids was a su-purr hit! Mark your calendars now for some big events celebrating Seattle Humane’s 125th Birthday in September, including our 125th Anniversary Day of Giving on Friday, September 16 followed by a Birthday Party open house at the shelter Saturday, September 17! Keep an eye on our Events page to learn more. New Classes for Dogs of All Ages!  Is there a pup in your life that needs to learn some manners? Or an older dog that’s shy and fearful? We’re here to lend a paw with new training classes for dogs of all ages and temperaments! These lessons are held in-person at our shelter in Bellevue. For puppies, we now offer Puppy Play Skills, Puppy Head Start and Puppy Manners 1. For older puppies and dogs, we have Teen Dog Manners, Shy Dog Manners and Dog Manners 1. If the class you are interested in attending isn’t available, please sign up to be notified when new sessions are posted! Some have a free, but mandatory prerequisite, Behavior Basics. Find more information and a look at all our available classes here. Set Your Love in Stone!  Treat your special pet or person with a made-to-order brick or paver in their honor! Seattle Humane's Walk of Fame, the front pathway to the shelter, is inlaid with customized bricks, each representing a meaningful and timeless tribute, honoring family, anniversaries and other milestone events. We invite donors and their honorees to attend a small reception on Saturday, September 17, so you will be among the first to see your personalized tribute set in stone. Don't miss out on this special event — order your brick and paver today!  Order your permanent tribute by August 1 to receive your invitation! Humane History: Ballard’s Bozo the Beach Dog  Bozo receives a new collar and license from King County Humane Officer Roy MacKenzie. Bozo the beach dog made quite a splash (so to speak) back in 1924. According to newspaper reports, the friendly collie had been abandoned by his family and lived as a community dog in the Ballard Beach area. But Bozo was no ordinary stray. He faithfully patrolled the beaches like a lifeguard in the spring and summer, keeping a sharp watch on the boys and girls, pulling them out of the water to safety when needed. Someone eventually complained and asked the King County Humane Society to step in. Instead of sweeping him up, the Humane Society put out an appeal in the newspapers: if Bozo gets a home and a dog license, he can stay. Offers poured in. A local family agreed to take in Bozo, another paid for his license. But when Humane Officer Roy MacKenzie went to the beach to deliver the good news, Bozo was gone! Turns out some children had hidden him away. When Officer MacKenzie explained his mission and that he was there to give Bozo a license — and make him legal — Bozo suddenly appeared, “wagging an affectionate greeting to all.” Look for another Humane History highlight next month! July Foster Parent Spotlight  Rebecca Abram with senior dog Rusty. This month we are thrilled to feature Rebecca Abram as our Foster of the Month! Rebecca has cared for 15 dogs and puppies since she started fostering in November 2020, but she went above and beyond this May when Seattle Humane was facing a foster emergency. A truckload of dogs — including 37 puppies — had just arrived from out of state with a dog on board who tested positive for parvovirus, a highly contagious and potentially deadly disease. We put out the call for fosters and Rebecca took in four of the pups. Read more about Rebecca! My Seattle Humane Story: Loralee and Malie  Animal Pathway Coordinator Loralee Greco sees thousands of animals at the shelter each year, but Hawaii cat Malie stopped her in her tracks — and stole her heart. “We had just gotten in a transfer from one of our partners in Hawaii and that's when I saw him — the most perfect cat I have ever seen. Simba, a large, short-haired brown tabby with gorgeous green eyes, was slow blinking at everyone who passed him. As soon as I made eye contact with him, he stretched his cute paws out to me and rolled over to show his belly in a very flirty way. As I opened the suite door, he stood up and that's when I realized he was even more perfect — he had a bob tail. I remember looking at a coworker while holding him and saying, 'I think I'm in love.' We decided to name him Malie — Hawaiian for 'calm.'" Thank you, Loralee, for sharing your Seattle Humane story! Do you have one? A special pet you adopted that changed your life? An experience you had as a volunteer? We’d love to hear it! We’re featuring them throughout 2022 as we celebrate 125 years of saving lives and completing families!  |
