Frenchy Finally Finds a Home

 

Members of the unofficial "Frenchy Fan Club" were grinning ear-to-ear as the 10-year-old tabby, who had been waiting more than a year for a forever home of her own, nuzzled the hand of her adopter and proud new papa, Walt.

Frenchy came to PAWS as a stray on August 19, 2011. She was one of those kitties who need time to adjust to new people and surroundings, which can be challenging in a shelter environment.

For more than a year, PAWS staff and volunteers tried every angle to find the right person who would appreciate Frenchy's smart, sweet, and sometimes sassy, nature. Several PAWS staff members even started an "Adopt Frenchy" campaign complete with custom-designed t-shirts!

On September 26, they finally found that person. Walt Saveland had just lost his beloved cat Taylor to cancer, and was looking for another feline companion. PAWS staff members suggested he visit with Frenchy.

During their visit, Frenchy performed her special trick, "sit," that PAWS staff and volunteers had taught her using clicker-training. Walt decided that Frenchy was a character just like him and decided to adopt her!

PAWS staff and volunteers were overjoyed.  Volunteer Zach was so happy to see Frenchy finally going to a good home that he generously paid her adoption fee. Fellow volunteers chipped in as well — Megan made up a goodie bag filled with Frenchy's favorite toys, and Jen gave Walt a ride home so that he wouldn’t have to take Frenchy on the bus.

After 398 days of waiting, Frenchy finally found a home and family to call her own.

 

Girl Scout Cookies: More Than Just a Tasty Treat

 

The members of Girl Scout Troop #41236 were determined to help animals in need.

As they researched the idea and learned more about PAWS, they were excited to discover that they would be helping both companion animals and wildlife (especially bears and baby seals!)

They decided they would share the proceeds from their annual cookie drive and set a fundraising goal for “A Gift of Caring”.  It was a sweet success.

With the money they raised, they purchased items from the PAWS Wish List, and delivered their donations along with bright smiles.

Thank you Girl Scout Troop #41236 for all your hard work and your gift of caring!

 

 

 

Petfinder "Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet" Week

 

Bonded Pairs. Senior pets. Special needs animals. Cats with three legs, like our handsome boy Slick (pictured below). Many factors can make a pet seem "less adoptable," or cause an animal to be overlooked by potential adopters in the shelter environment. To raise awareness and help promote these wonderful, albeit often overlooked, animals, Petfinder has designated September 17–23 as "Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week."

In honor of the occasion, and to help these deserving cats and dogs find the homes they deserve, PAWS will be offering $25 off adoption fees for several of our "harder to place" animals.

September 17–23, the following PAWS animals will have reduced adoption fees:

Cats
Frenchy: This beautiful tabby gal is looking for a mellow home.
Logan and Heiress: This bonded senior pair would give you double the love!
Jet: This sweet tuxedo kitty is the perfect lap warmer.

Dogs
Boo Boo: This gentle lady has a lot of spunk left in her golden years.
Eddie: This three-year-old Pit Bull gets along with other dogs both big and small!
Hogan: This nine-year-old (but young-at-heart) guy still has lots of energy.

Companion animals make wonderful additions to any family, and these six cats and dogs would be no exception. They may be unique, but that's what makes them special.

"Less adoptable"? We think not. 

Adopt during our Petfinder Adoption Special!

 

The Buddy System

 

It's that time of year again. The orphaned Raccoons that we raised at PAWS during the summer are now starting to head back out the door to resume the wild lives that are their birthright. They are released in small groups—some are brothers and sisters that arrived at the PAWS Wildlife Center as family units, while others are comprised of unrelated individuals that were raised together.

On release day, the world must seem very big and a little bit scary. The last time most of these Raccoons were in the wild, they were tiny infants in a warm, safe den. Whether the groups are genetically related or not, they always stick close to one another at release. It's their own version of the "buddy system", and it seems to boost their confidence, perhaps because there are more eyes and ears nearby to help spot danger. 

On September 11, we released the first Raccoon group of the year at a large natural area managed by King County Parks. The following photos tell the story of the release.

The Raccoons are usually very wary when the carrier door is opened. After exiting, they may stay within reach of the carrier for several minutes. This youngster held onto the door while assessing his surroundings.

It is also common for the Raccoons to climb on top of the carrier and thoroughly assess it before taking an interest in anything else nearby. Such was the case with these two young males.

While the two males inspected the top, this female investigated the back side of the release carrier.

Raccoons are drawn to water, so we always try to release them near a good water source. At this release, the carriers were set on the bank of a stream.


As expected, the water proved irresistible to the Raccoons. This female dipped her hands in the cold water and began feeling around for tasty morsels.


The release site had abundant trees and good brushy cover. The Raccoons seemed to approve.


As the sun set, a parade of bushy, ringed tails could be seen receding into the distance. Furry, masked faces swung left and right with ears and noses twitching. Night fell and The Wild embraced her six prodigal children. 

That's not a Fox in the Henhouse

On August 24, an orphaned Bobcat kitten sat and peered into a chicken coop in Redmond, WA. She was starving, and the chickens on the other side of the wire must have looked too good to be true. In reality, she was so small and frail that a chicken might have been more than she could handle. Fortunately, the person to whom the chickens belonged recognized that the kitten was in need of help. She placed a live trap near the chicken coop baited with exactly what the cat was longing for—chicken giblets. The next morning the woman transported the newly captured bobcat to PAWS.

Although she weighed only 3.6 pounds at admission, the Bobcat kitten had the fight and attitude of a much larger cat. Had she been well fed, she likely would have weighed at least twice as much. We anesthetized her so she could be given a thorough examination without risk of injury to her or her handlers.

Besides being extremely underweight, the Bobcat was found to be in good health and injury free. We removed one small tick from underneath her left eye, but she did not have any fleas or other ectoparasites. Clearly she had been separated from her mother for several days, but she arrived in our care before she had declined to the point that she might have serious long-term health issues.

If all goes well, the Bobcat will be in our care until sometime next spring. By then she will have grown into an impressive sub-adult cat, ready to return to her rightful place in the wild.  

Saving Lives and Having Fun at PAWSwalk 2012

 

The sun was shining on Saturday, September 8, as animal-lovers from all over the greater Seattle area gathered at Marymoor Park for the 21^st Annual PAWSwalk sponsored by Seattle Weekly! Thanks to more than 1,300 walkers and at least 800 of their canine pals, dozens of generous sponsors, and 170 amazing volunteers, PAWSwalk was a great day for the animals at PAWS.

The grounds were abuzz with excitement and energy as Master of Ceremonies Lee Callahan welcomed walkers—both two- and four-legged—to the event. Dogs of every shape and size sported colorful PAWSwalk bandanas as their humans perused the Sponsor and Vendor Booths , watched exciting demonstrations by the Seattle FlyDogs team, participated with their pooch in Canine Behavior Center’s agility course, and visited the family-friendly Kid Zone.

After the walk, participants enjoyed more fun activities, including a Human/Canine Look-a-Like contest and PAWS Dog Games, before finishing out the day with a cold beverage in the Pours for PAWS Beer and Mimosa Garden.

And here is the best news—while we’re still adding up all of the generous donations for the final total, so far we’ve raised more than $165K! Your generous gifts will allow us to continue our life-saving work helping thousands of injured, orphaned and homeless animals this year.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you! 

If you weren't able to join us this year, you can also still make a difference for the animals: give online now and help raise the PAWSwalk total even more.

Thank you for making PAWSwalk 2012 a success!

 

An Accidental Vacation

 

When a member of the public arrived at the PAWS Wildlife Center on July 9 with a box containing orphaned squirrels from Seattle, we assumed we were receiving a litter of Eastern Gray, Douglas or Northern Flying Squirrels. Ordinarily, this would be a safe assumption. All three of these species are found in the Greater Seattle Area. But when we opened the box, we found four babies that had no business being on the west side of the Cascade Mountains. They were Red Squirrels, a close cousin of the Douglas Squirrel that is only found in the northeast and southeast areas of the state.

What were baby Red Squirrels doing in Seattle, over 150 miles away from the nearest appropriate habitat? As it turns out, the little squirrels may have been on vacation. Well, to be clear, it was probably someone else's vacation, and the squirrels were just accidentally taken along for the ride.

 The person who brought the squirrels to paws had found them in the heart of downtown Seattle, floundering on the pavement in a hotel parking lot. Their mother had likely made her nest under the hood of a car, and then the car had driven off with the nest and babies inside. How or why they finally became dislodged in the hotel parking lot is unclear, but there they were, and they needed help. We were able to give them the help they needed.

After seven weeks in our care, the Red Squirrels were ready to be released. On September 1, I drove them over 160 miles to prime Red Squirrel habitat in the Okanogan National Forest outside of Mazama, WA. I documented their transition back to the wild in photographs.

The four young squirrels were a little nervous after their three-and-a-half hour car ride. They huddled together in the back of their release carrier.

When the door was opened, they took turns standing in the doorway sniffing, looking, and listening as they processed their new surroundings.

As is often the case with young animals, they were reluctant to venture far from the carrier at first. This squirrel decided to climb on top for a different view of things.

Likely feeling exposed and vulnerable, the squirrel became nervous on top of the carrier.

After a few seconds, he scrambled down the door and went back inside.

Eventually, one brave youngster noticed the nearby trees. She jumped up on the trunk, paused for a moment, and then began to climb.

As she climbed higher, she began to find interesting moss and lichen on the trunk. She paused to sniff each new thing she encountered.

Encouraged by their sister, the other three squirrels exited the carrier. One of them paused on top of a stump before jumping to a nearby tree and scampering up.

Soon all four squirrels were climbing, running and jumping in the treetops. They stayed close together and chattered constantly to one another.

By the time I left they looked completely at home. Their long, unplanned vacation on the west side of the mountains had finally come to an end.   

Can't make it to PAWSwalk? Join The Couch Potatoes team!

 

Some of us, like Annie here, love to walk (or run!) For others, relaxing in a hammock with a good book or lounging on the couch to watch their favorite TV show sounds much more appealing. But everyone wants to help animals!

That's why we’ve created The Couch Potatoes.  This is the perfect PAWSwalk group to join if you can’t make it to PAWSwalk this year—or  if you just prefer to sleep in on Saturday mornings—but still want to help make PAWSwalk a success. It’s a team for those of us who want to make a difference for the animals without having to change out of our PJ’s!

With your help, we can raise the money needed to provide food, shelter and medical care for more than 6,000 animals this year. 

It’s easy!  You can make a donation to The Couch Potatoes, or sign up to be a Couch Potatoes team member!  As a member of the team, you can stretch your personal donation even further by asking your friends who couldn’t make it to PAWSwalk to contribute as well. 

We on The Couch Potatoes team hope to raise $1,000 for the animals at PAWS. Please, help us reach our goal by donating or joining our team today. And best of all, you can feel good about making a difference in the lives of cats, dogs and wildlife in our community from the comfort of your own couch!

Thank you for your contribution!

Donate to The Couch Potatoes today!