West Seattle, Washington
03 Sunday
We usually just put the lost/found notes on the Pets page, but the one that just came in about the discovery of two tortoises begs for a wider audience. Check it out here.
Just because as is usual for these types of stories, the question of whether it was indeed a pit bull stirred up so much discussion yesterday: When we talked to Ann Graves of Seattle Animal Shelter a short time ago for a followup on the Lafayette dog-bite incident from yesterday (original WSB report here), she confirmed, yes, the dog is a pit bull. Might have a tiny bit of other blood, but mostly pit bull and that’s how they’re classifying it. Meantime, they still haven’t found its owner; “we’re hoping someone will come forward,” Graves says. For now, the dog is in 10-day quarantine at the Seattle Animal Shelter to make sure it doesn’t have rabies or anything else that would mean further treatment for the little girl, and “an active investigation” continues.
We just confirmed with the Seattle Animal Shelter that they have seized the dog which is reported to have bitten a child at the Lafayette Elementary playground before school this morning. Our first report came from Lafayette parent Bernicki, who quotes school administration as saying the bite wasn’t serious; the dog apparently ran onto the playground without its owner or minder anywhere in sight, and in fact, Ann Graves from the Animal Shelter tells WSB they are still trying to locate its owner before they can decide what will happen to the dog. She says their report indicated the dog is a pit bull, which is also what Bernicki told us, but they will not be able to confirm its breed — it could be a mix — until the dog is at SAS facilities later.
Till 3 pm today – those are some of the adoptable heart-stealers King County Animal Services has brought to the Furry Faces Foundation plant sale at 3809 46th SW (map). The sale’s continuing till 4 and is running again tomorrow, but the critters are only there today, and only till 3.
West Seattle-based Furry Faces Foundation usually has a few plant sales each spring and summer to raise money for its animal-rescue work — 
but during the first day of the F3 sale this weekend, you’ll not only find plants, you might find yourself a new pet. Teri Ensley of Furry Faces says King County Animal Services is bringing adoptable cats and dogs to the sale this Saturday, 3809 46th SW (map), 11 am-3 pm. Rain or shine; there’s a backup plan if the weather’s soggy. The sale will continue, sans animals, on Sunday, and plants will be sold both days 10 am-4 pm. (Shown at left, in case you were wondering, are the official WSB mascots for pet adoption, the cats we adopted from local shelters as adults.) P.S. One more pet note while we’re all here – we just posted two more lost pets on the WSB Pets page; maybe you can help bring them home.
OFF-LEASH AREA CLOSED TODAY: Westcrest Park Off-Leash Area is closed 9 am-4 pm today for maintenance work, and park steward Steve says in this post on the WPOLA Yahoo! group, “I need all the humans I can get!” to help.
JUNCTION DEVELOPMENT DESIGN REVIEW TONIGHT: 6:30 pm, Southwest Precinct meeting room, the California/42nd/Alaska development (presentation previewed and linked here yesterday).
SCHOOLS SHOW OFF ART/MUSIC TALENT: Lafayette Elementary has an Art Walk 6-9 pm at the school and in nearby businesses’ windows; Pathfinder K-8 has its first all-school art show 6:30-8 pm; the West Seattle High School Spring Concert is at 7:30 pm.
More new events added daily (now stretching to next spring!) on the WSB Events page.
Happened onto this tv story about a North End school (KapKa Cooperative K-2) 
whose students have come all the way to Fauntleroy Creek in recent years to study an environmental challenge – creek pollution from pet waste. On the Fauntleroy Community Association‘s web section for the creek, you’ll find a link to this official state proposal for tackling the problem (public comments are being accepted till June 16th). Here’s more on the study.
Still letting your cat(s) run around, confident you’re in a wildlife-free zone? If so, you’re the reason “Mac’s Mom” wanted us to share her e-mail:
We are in the 4100 block between 44th and 45th [map], an area not particularly close to any green spaces. One month ago we found the remains of our family cat who had met a very violent end (at about 4AM – he put up quite a fight). Last weekend, our neighbors experienced the same loss. [Yes, we had told our neighbors what happened] I’m not sure how large a Coyote’s territory is, but we are evidently within one and wanted to let other folks in the area know that this is happening. While we’ve seen all of the warnings here on the blog, we disregarded them as we are so far from what we would consider to be “Coyote Habitat”. Please don’t make the same mistake we did!
It’s been said 2,005,894 times, there are many other good reasons to keep pets indoors too … cars, humans, other cats, other types of wildlife among them. For more on “coexisting with coyotes,” check out the info in our coverage of a city-organized presentation earlier this year.
We’ve followed up from time to time on the aftermath of the February 26th Westwood incident in which two pit bulls attacked a man and his Chihuahua, and then were shot by police (original WSB report here; followup with police-report narrative here). One pit bull died that night; the other was seized by the Seattle Animal Shelter. During our followup calls, SAS executive director Don Jordan had told us the dogs’ owner faced citations and possibly a criminal charge (March 3 update here; April 10 update here). The second dog’s fate depended on what happened with those cases. Jordan just called WSB to let us know the case is closed because the owner agreed to have the second dog euthanized. “We wanted to make sure that dog was off the street,” Jordan said. The civil citations and possible criminal charge are not being pursued, according to Jordan, because of that agreement, and also because the victim did not want to press charges or even give a written statement. Jordan had told us previously that this owner had a history of trouble involving other dogs, not these; we asked, so does that mean any restrictions can be put on his right to own or license dogs in the future? Not in this case, he said, noting that even in cases where people are found guilty of crimes involving animals and judges decide to impose such restrictions, they can never be prohibited from ownership for a period longer than 2 years. “That can be frustrating for us,” he acknowledged.
Walking through the chilly drizzle just now, it’s tough to believe that forecast for summerish weather later this week – but maybe it’s for real – the city just issued an advance alert about keeping pets safe in high temps.
First, the latest e-mail newsletter from Lady Di, Pet Chaperone discusses the move to her new location in The Junction (the old one in Admiral is making way for development):
Moving date has arrived for the Lady Di business. On June 1st we will be open in our new facility at 4433 42nd Ave SW (right in the heart of the West Seattle Junction). We are located behind the Eagles. From California Avenue; entry is through the alley off Genesee St. or Oregon St. The Lady Di Pet Chaperone sign will be posted on the fence.
The new facility is smaller and still offers that “at home” feeling. A cozy fire on cold fall and winter days will keep all the “pups” and us warm. Any donations of wood or furniture will be greatly appreciated. Because the new facility is smaller we will have to limit the number of dogs. The weight limit will be reduced to 50 pounds and only a few of our larger dogs will be able to make the move with us. We are all sorry about this change and hope those few will find another facility for daycare. …
We hope this move will go smoothly and that you will all enjoy bringing your dogs to our new “home-away-from-home.”
We also heard this weekend from Shane at Stella Ruffington‘s in Morgan Junction:
The Seattle Dog Daycare Association (SDDA) is holding a food drive from May 1 through May 15, to benefit local shelters and rescues in the greater Seattle area. Food and/or cash donations are being accepted at Stella Ruffington’s Doggy Playcare during regular business hours.
The Seattle Dog Daycare Association is a networking group of professional dog daycares in the Greater Seattle area.
That’s your first look at Myrtle, the Shar-Pei that won the “Most Beautiful Pet” contest at the West Seattle Junction Association’s first-ever Pet Fest about an hour ago. We have a lot more to show you from the contest, including video, a little bit later, but wanted to post this as a reminder that Pet Fest continues till 4 pm in the Wells Fargo lot at the NE corner of 44th/Alaska. (Don’t miss the pet-adoption area featuring Homeward Pet, run by West Seattleite Steve Siadek, who regularly contributes adoption candidates to the WSB Pets page.) ADDED EARLY MONDAY: Still working on a longer compilation of video from the contest, but here’s a clip of Myrtle with the runner-up, another Shar-Pei, named Buddy (his owner Michelle says he’s 1 1/2; Myrtle’s owner Ryan says she’s a rescuee and about 8):
Check the West Seattle Weekend Lineup for more local events today; here are 3 highlights:
FIRST DAY FOR THE ELLIOTT BAY WATER TAXI: The big celebration is noon-2 pm; rides are free all day; the first sighting of the Water Taxi at Seacrest should be around 8:40, going by the Sunday schedule.
FIRST-EVER “PET FEST” IN THE JUNCTION: 10 am-4 pm in the Wells Fargo parking lot, NE corner of 44th/Alaska. More info here, more on the newly added “Most Beautiful Pet” contest at noon (we’ll be showcasing the winner!) on the Next to Nature site here (or in this previous WSB post).
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: As always, we bring you the weekly “fresh sheet” for what you’ll find on the SE corner of 44th/Alaska, 10 am-2 pm – plus word of some special events (and a giveaway) today:Read More
Michael at Liberty Bell Printing in The Junction mentioned this situation when we dropped by the other day on other business — we told him it sounded like news to us. Lots of hard-working animal-advocacy groups in West Seattle; this one, Friends of the Animals Foundation, is a week away from a fundraiser but hampered by a crisis related to a recent fire — read on to see what Michael wants you to know:Read More
Just in from Louis Lujan @ Next to Nature, sponsoring the “ugliest dog/cat” contest for this Sunday’s Pet Fest in The Junction and now adding something new:
Pet Fest Contest UPDATE!! New Category!
Guess what, West Seattle?… Paw for paw, the West Seattle neighborhood has the best looking pets anywhere! Haven’t found an ugly one in the whole lot, but we’re still holding out. To provide better opportunity to the vast majority of West Seattle pets, a “Most Beautiful Pet” contest will be held in addition to the “Ugliest.” Your pet is free to use props to show off their true quality. Here’s a hint – the Judges are 5th graders!
So we want to see uniquely homely AND good-looking pets at Pet Fest this Sunday…
Bring your homely OR handsome hounds and pets to the Pet Fest tent near 44th and Alaska this Sunday. The judging will begin at 12, noon. A panel of local school kids is standing by to determine “West Seattle’s Ugliest – and now – Most Beautiful Pet”!!
Our revamped contest is still free to enter, and there’s a growing prize package for the winners. Go to the Next to Nature table at Pet Fest to sign-up. The festival gets rolling at 10 a.m., so you can start signing up then, just make sure you’re signed up by 11:30. Each contest will be limited to 20 entries on a first-come first-served basis. We anticipate
mostly dogs since they usually do best in these public festival settings, but if your cat, bird, ferret, cow, or koala is comfortable with crowds they’re eligible for the contest too.See you at Pet Fest this weekend! There will be great nutritional and health information, adoptable dogs and cats, pet portraits, and more!
Coupled with the first-ever Sustainability Festival May 4 (featured in our previous post today), that marks two consecutive Sundays with “first-ever” festivals in The Junction.
Somehow seems in keeping with the Earth Day theme (and seeing as how we’re an apparent hotbed of urban chicken-raising): Didn’t want to just relegate this one to the Pets page alone. Ronald e-mailed us with this:
Yesterday afternoon our neighbor asked us if we had chickens again because there was one loose in their backyard. We caught it and put in in our aviary overnight to keep it safe. It’s black with a small comb, with feathered feet. Looks very healthy so we figured it “flew the coop” from someone nearby. This is in the 4700 block of 48th Ave SW, below the Alaska Junction, about 4 houses south of Ercolini Park. Contact phone 425-260-6946.
WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham photographed the West Seattle High School Class of ’09‘s second annual Snooty Walk fundraiser this afternoon, with this info about those pix, clockwise from top: 1. A pug dashes for the finish line with lofty goals of winning “fastest dog”; 2. “Gunner,” a 2-1/2-year-old purebred black lab, ducks through a flexible tube to win first prize “Speediest” through an obstacle course; 3. Chloe and Jacob Simmons congratulate their dog, Frieda, during the “Best Dressed” portion of the competitions; 4. Grayson (27 months old) couldn’t resist taking apart the dogs’ race lanes to investigate his world through a cone. (Prints of Matt’s WSB photos and his other work are available through his site, mattdurhamphotography.com.) Below, coincidentally sent separately by Grayson’s mom, this photo shows the family’s two canine competitors:
Accompanying that photo, these details:
West Seattle’s own Harold, 4/M/BlackPug, won something! He came in second, VERY SNOOTY, at today’s Snooty Walk and Pet Rodeo. For so long now all the attention has gone to Hester his older sister, 5/F/FawnPug. Though we think the pair was robbed of the Cutest Couple Award we had a great time again (Hester has been putting up with Harold’s ahumpin’ for YEARS, yet the prize went to a couple of dogs that just met at the event. Can you believe it?) I hope to see the Get Snooty T-shirts put up on eBay for the community to bid upon. Keep the money flowing in, Class of ’09!
ADDED 9:03 PM: This one’s from Laurie:
Laurie elaborates:
This is Penguin, the Polish Crested chicken who won “Most Unique†and “Smallest†pet. She is 7 weeks old and has been hand-raised from chickhood. Bianca (8 years old) was very happy to win a trophy!
ADDED SUNDAY: More of “Gunner,” the “Speediest Pet” winner. Proud owner Wendy Bradley sent this quick clip of Gunner “running the tube” (that’s Matt Durham at the other end getting the photo you saw above), followed by a photo of Gunner with his trophy:
Looks like Winter Encore ’08 smacked other areas but spared us (so far), so here are outdoor and indoor highlights (find today’s full list in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup):
EARTH DAY: It’s officially not till Tuesday but today, Cooper Elementary and neighboring Pigeon Point Park are the epicenter of the Duwamish Alive! activities happening all day long (with work parties at Roxhill Park and Brandon Street Natural Area too). Full details here.
FREE SWIMMING! It’s part of the April Pools Day event 10:30 am-noon at Southwest Pool.
LONGFELLOW CREEK FARM WORK PARTY: As we put it in our first report, “free organic produce … with just one catch!” Noon-4 pm.
HOMEMADE BRIGADE: Artists and craftspeople are setting up inside Freshy’s noon-4 pm today to show and sell their creations. Organizer Amber Bennett says live music will follow.
SNOOTY WALK: Across the street from Freshy’s, at Hiawatha, the pet event organized by and benefiting the West Seattle High School Class of ’09 starts at 2 pm. Read all about it here.
GOING TO THE HEALTHY LIVING EXPO? It’s not in West Seattle but if you’re going to this event @ Qwest, the WS Nia Divas asked us to let you know they’re presenting a free Nia class there @ 3 pm.
WSB FORUM COMMUNITY GET-TOGETHER AND ARSON-VICTIM FUNDRAISER: 6-9 pm tonight at Admiral Pub, join the WSB Forum Community for an evening of fun — all ages welcome — including a dart tournament and raffles with a list of enticing items (still growing as we speak) to raise money for Puget Sound Key and Lock, the Morgan Junction business gutted a month ago by a still-unsolved arson attack (recent followup here). Admiral Pub is on the east side of California just a few blocks north of Admiral; here’s the latest forum thread about tonight’s event (including raffle-item updates).
At left is “Daisy,” the missing Boston Terrier whose photo is on almost every utility pole, store window, and bulletin board in West Seattle — she’s even the subject of a spray-painted bedsheet hung over a section of waterfront railing. We posted her photo on our Pets page, and there it stayed till we got a note Friday from a friend of Daisy’s owner Dez, saying Daisy’s still missing and by the way, not only is Dez dealing with this frantic, relentless search, she’s also 8 months pregnant. We thought you might want to hear from Dez herself, so we talked with her Friday evening at her workplace, the Forsythe Studio salon in The Junction:
As the posting on our Pets page says, Daisy got out quite by accident. A reward is offered; call 206-935-1865 or cell phone number 206-227-7090. if you’ve seen her.
Those are a few of the photos that WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham took at last year’s “Snooty Walk” pet event put on by the West Seattle High School Class of ’09. This Saturday, the ’09ers are doing it again — and class co-president Sumeet Chadha wrote this to tell you a little more about the event:
This year the class of 2009 at WSHS is hard at work wrapping up the final preparations for the Snooty Walk on April 19th. It has been very hectic because our Advisor went on Admin. leave so the class has been working extra hard to bring everything together.
This year there are plenty of new events like, cutest couple, best dancer, and the obstacle course. Of course we are keeping some of the most fun events that we had last year such as, drooliest and best trick. Husky will be providing ice cream and volunteers will be cookin’ up hot dogs (pun) and hamburgers. We will also feature a bouncy toy.
We are going for more of a spring carnival feel with the bouncy toy. There will be a lot more to do while roaming around this year because we are setting up a “driveway fair” with a bunch of non-profits and sponsors coming to talk about their products.
It is $10.00 to enter a pet and all proceeds benefit WSHS class of 2009 in order to create a $5 prom. The money will also be used for graduation and other class needs.
We raised more than $1,400 last year and hope to beat that amount this year!
That’s this Saturday @ Hiawatha. Check out the Snooty Walk website for more, including event times. Organizers say it’s on, rain or shine!
Courtesy of the LOLcat generator @ Seattle-based ICanHasCheezburger.com … our illustration for the fact we have more details on the “Ugliest Dog/Ugliest Cat in West Seattle” contest under way now in advance of the West Seattle Junction Association‘s first-ever Pet Fest, 10 am-4 pm April 27. As we mentioned last week, you can enter your pet now by visiting Next to Nature, where Louis Lujan explains they’re not really asking you to declare your beloved pet “ugly,” but rather, more like a “funniest-looking” pet (or pet photo) situation — Louis tells WSB, “It’s supposed to provide a few lighthearted chuckles … We’d gladly accept some animals that are just having ‘bad-hair days’ or ones that are dressed up to be ‘ugly’.” Dogs will be judged “in person” on Pet Fest day; cats will be judged by fest-goers viewing their photos (out of respect for the fact most cats don’t like crowd situations); photos in either category should be entered ASAP at NTN in The Junction. Later today, one more Junction Association update – the newest details on what’s in the works for Summer Fest in July!
PARKS: Is the city Parks Department on the right track after the first draft of its “strategic business plan” following meetings around the city last fall? Tonight’s the second of seven West Seattle meetings where you can have a say. 6:30 pm, Hiawatha Community Center; other meetings are listed here.
PETS: Though Seattle Animal Shelter handles pet matters within the city limits, pet advocates from West Seattle as well as the rest of the county are expected at the King County Council‘s Town Hall meeting on county Animal Control policies and changes. 6:30 pm, Highline Performing Arts Center in Burien, preceded by an adoption fair that starts at 5:30 pm (and an advocates’ rally at 6). Read more here.
KIDS & BOOKS: The next step in “West Seattle Reads” — which started with this event at Sanislo Elementary three weeks ago offering free books to kids from around WS — happens tonight at the Delridge Library, 7 pm (and 7 pm tomorrow at Southwest Library). Read the backstory here.
More events for today, tonight, and the weeks and months ahead, can be found here.
RAMP BACKUP: Heading westbound on The Bridge past the Harbor/Avalon exit around 6 pm, we noticed traffic was backed up all the way to the bridge deck itself, and it looked like gridlock along Harbor, even worse than summertime. Guessing the road narrowing at the pump-station project along Alki is a major factor.
FIRE PITS? Received e-mail from someone noting the fire pits are absent at Alki. We can’t find any indication online that they would be permanently gone, and can’t quite recall if there’s usually a seasonal removal. Any enlightenment?
REMINDER FOR PET OWNERS: Dani sends an important reminder, which she titled “Hot Cars = Hot Dogs,” after a close call in the Alki area. Read on:Read More
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