Sometimes despite all the searching, your lost pet just can’t be found. The WSB Pets page archives include still-open reports that may never be closed. And then there’s the tale of Lisa and Elliott. Posting as “Elle,” Lisa reported her cat Diesel missing four months ago. That’s Lisa in the photo, but not Diesel – well, not ENTIRELY Diesel. Marianne from Friends of the Animals Foundation explains:

Elliott is the cat living under the porch of a Alaska Junction business on the Pets page earlier in the week. Lisa thought he might be her beloved cat Diesel and went on a search for Elliott.

She managed to trap the cat with the help of Kathleen, a WS cat rescuer. I run Friends of the Animals Foundation and had room for Elliott in our cages at Next to Nature. Lisa did some research with the help of Elliott’s microchip and found out his sad story. He was adopted from the Humane Society in January and quickly jumped off of the porch of his new home and disappeared. He was apparently on his own for the past four months. When Lisa contacted his owner, she decided that she didn’t want him.

Lisa fell in love with Elliott and with the help of Joy Turner, pet communicator, found out that Diesel’s soul is in Elliott. Elliot even climbed into Diesel’s old shirt. Elliott’s new full name is Elliott Yi Talarico (named after the businesses in the alley).

Marianne points out that Elliott did not have to spend months living in the alley – if someone had taken him to a vet sooner to check for a chip, he would have had a new home sooner. Be sure to get a found animal checked for a chip – she points out that all clinics will do that for free, and will help you connect with the Seattle Animal Shelter. Marianne also says big thanks go to Emma, who called attention to Elliott’s plight.

A happy-ending story to conclude the night:

After a text this afternoon, we posted a “lost macaw spotted” report on the WSB Lost/Found Pets page. Not much later, a rescue ensued: Merry Myers tells the tale, and shares the photos:

Mya the Macaw flew out of her house up the hill from 47th and Alaska Sts and landed on the highest branches of a tree just off the 47th Ave SW alley – between Alaska and Oregon. The owners tried to call the bird down and soon a crowd from the neighborhood gathered, including a nearby resident who brought her parrot with her to see if the Macaw might be curious enough to come down and investigate:

Tall ladders were offered by the neighbors and the owner climbed way up in the tree with treats, to try and lure her down.

Finally she began to make her way down to him and he eventually managed to grab her and make his way precariously down the tree while the neighbors cheered.

We live in a great neighborhood.

SUNDAY, 7:27 PM: That’s a cat in a tough spot in the rain – and since nobody seems to know whose it is, and it’s been up there for many hours, we went to check it out so we could crosspost on the Lost/Found Pets page. (We used a flashlight for a spotlight to get a photo – that’s the clearest one we have.) It’s sitting atop the stub of an old utility pole that’s fastened to the top of a newer one on the southwest corner of 46th and Andover, and the neighbors who e-mailed us earlier say nobody knows whose it is. If you are missing a relatively small black cat in that general area, you might go have a look. Food and water is waiting below if the kitty manages to get itself down. Otherwise, we have already forwarded the concerned neighbors the advice we’ve received repeatedly: Call a tree service. (The neighbors certainly would welcome any other suggestions.)

MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: As of 8:30, when we went by, still there:

See the comments for more extensive discussion of who’s done what and who’s suggested what. As mentioned there, we (and others) are checking with Seattle City Light – whom at least one neighbor says was called on Sunday.

9:54 AM UPDATE: The cat’s down, thanks to City Light.

Following up on the 51st/Andover dog attack reported here last night – two large dogs attacking a small one, biting it and its owner – we spoke with the Seattle Animal Shelter‘s executive director Don Jordan a little while ago, and he says he needs the community’s help to figure out whose dogs they are and where to find them. An agent’s already been back out on patrol and couldn’t find them; they’re planning to try another search, but right now, he told WSB, what would help most is ANY tip about whose dogs they might be and where/how to find them: “We need people in West Seattle to put their eyes and ears to the ground and see if we can locate these dogs.” If you have any information, contact Jordan directly – e-mail is his preference, don.jordan@seattle.gov, but you also can call him, 206-386-4286.

Lorrie wants to get the word out about a dog attack that she says a Seattle Animal Shelter officer is investigating. She says it happened around 9:30 this morning while her husband was walking their small, leashed dog:

At 51st and Andover [map], two large dogs ran up and attacked our dog. Both dog and man were bitten. … The animal control officer came to the house & documented the injury. He feels confident he will catch up to them. They have also been sighted up at Admiral. They’re really large so I would want people with small children to be wary as well.

The wounds weren’t major, she says. But they called SAS and police. No photo of the dogs, so we asked for a description: “One dog seemed to be a German shepherd/chow mix – big and furry. The other, maybe a brindle boxer/pit bull mix.” We’ll be following up with SAS tomorrow.

Someone lost their cat last night and may not even know yet that he won’t be coming home … he was hit by a car. Some caring people tried very hard to help, and asked that we share the story (crosslinked on the Pets page):

Please share the attached photo and info so this kitty’s owners can find some peace.

My wife and I saw a large white and orange cat on the side of the road on 35th between Barton and Henderson on January 11th at 11:30PM. We drove by initially thinking he was killed by a car as he was not moving, then saw him lift his head slightly. We’re cat people. We pulled over, found him bleeding from the mouth, breathing heavily, coughing blood and struggling to get out of the street but unable to do so. We pet him and diverted traffic away from the lane he was in.

Within a few moments, West Seattle neighbors from the Barton Court apartment complex and multiple drivers pulled over and turned on emergency lights to keep oncoming traffic out of the lane.

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There’s a tale of heroism, and a happy ending, behind the most-recent “found dog” notice on the WSB Pets page. Beach Drive-area resident Debra sent us the photo early this morning with news that firefighters and police had helped get the dog off the rocks at Emma Schmitz Overlook – and that the dog had been taken to Lien Animal Clinic. We later asked Seattle Fire Department public-information officer Kyle Moore if he could dig up details, and he tells WSB that Ladder 11 was called to the 4000 block of Beach Drive at 5:17 am “to assist SPD with an animal rescue”:

A bystander heard the yelps of a dog coming from the rocks below the Beach Drive walkway. The dog had somehow crawled into a hole inbetween the rocks of a 12-foot high seawall and was taking shelter. The tide was low but was coming, in threatening the safety of the scared animal. The bystander and two firefighters were able to lure the dog out of the rocks. A Ladder 11 firefighter then cradle carried the dog up to safety.

The dog was cold, scared and shaking but had no signs of injuries. Firefighters were able to walk to the dog and warm him up. The ladder company then drove the dog up to a nearby animal clinic where they met a Seattle Police Officer.

Since then, Dawnie, one of the neighbors who got the rescue in motion while spotting the dog during an early bike ride (and, it turns out, took the photo), tells WSB that its owners have been found: “A big sigh of relief, for such a sweet dog.”

ORIGINAL REPORT, 4:44 PM: If you only check the main page here at WSB, you might not be aware that one of our “inside pages” has over the past few years become an online bulletin board for lost/found West Seattle pets (so if you find or lose one, please e-mail us!). There are many reunions – but the latest one is home-page news too.

While most lost/found dog reports are resolved relatively quickly, every so often it takes a while. Take the case of Jessie – who after 11 days has just been found and reunited with her person. You might have seen the flyers with Jessie’s photo all over West Seattle (we noticed one in The Junction just a few hours ago); numerous people have helped search for her – the comment thread on the original “lost” posting tells part of the story.

She ran off after a firecracker spooked her on October 20th; it was warned that she is very skittish, so don’t go after her, just call with the sighting. The sightings were reported from Admiral to Delridge and beyond … then she was finally found this afternoon in Gatewood/Upper Fauntleroy by Brooke, who hadn’t seen the listing but did see a dog on the run and spent an hour trying to get her! Once she did, she called us and asked how to report a found pet; we asked her to send in the info and a photo – and then realized the dog looked like Jessie, so we made sure Brooke saw Jessie’s photo, and that Jessie’s person knew about Brooke’s discovery. Turns out it IS Jessie, and she’s now back home. Thanks to everyone who takes the time out to watch for and/or take care of lost pets.

10:10 PM UPDATE: Here’s a photo of Jessie with her owner Ann at left, finder Brooke at right:

The photo is courtesy of Brooke’s mom Gwen. She explains that Brooke works at Giannoni’s Pizza in Westwood Village, and had to go to work before Ann arrived to pick up Jessie – so they went over to Westwood to meet Brooke.