West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
WSB dropped in for a quick soundbite as the retirement celebration began this morning for Lien Animal Clinic‘s Dr. Larry King. We asked what he’s going to do now:
The clinic, of course, will keep going strong. Read more about it and its staff at the Lien website.
Out of the inbox, from Robyn, who wanted to share a warning for other dog owners:
I went to the Alki bonfire/Christmas ships event Saturday night, December 8. I’m a long-time Alki resident and have two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels who are family members and function as service dogs. For 9 years my dogs have greeted visitors to Alki from all over the world, spreading peace and love and community. On Saturday night a woman greeted my dogs, and then came back under cover of the music and tried to steal my eldest dog. My dogs were leashed and standing quietly beside me. This woman, who smelled of alcohol, first grabbed my dog’s leash and demanded I give her my dog, then grabbed the leash with both hands and started yanking. I was with a friend, who helped me protect both my dogs and fend off the thief. A warning to West Seattleites—all small dogs need to be protected, even when they are right beside you. Do not leave small dogs and children unprotected for even a minute. Do not tie your small dogs up at coffee shops or grocery stores, particularly gregarious breeds like Cavaliers! Alki residents—be vigilant, wacko criminals are everywhere!
Robin’s note to WSB also expressed concern that she didn’t see any police at the event; she acknowledges that friends have since urged her to report what happened, and we would echo that for everyone who experiences a crime or attempted crime – be sure to call 911 — even if you don’t think something can be done about it, or if you are sure the culprit(s) are long gone, police need to have a record to track what’s happening in the community, to assign resources and follow trends.
We patrol Craigslist every day or two to keep an eye out for anything unusual that’s West Seattle-related. Nothing’s really jumped out for a while – till the pug saga. Apparently there’s a missing pug out there somewhere. The latest ad seems gentle and desperate — talking about a lost pug and a heartbroken child. But it’s the same dog featured in this extremely gruff ad from five days earlier, directly addressing a suspected thief and snarling, “We are closing in on where you live, pal … Give him up, you bastard!” Then, between those two postings, was the appeal to the heartstrings, featuring baby pictures of the dog in question. Certainly desperation can be the parent of creativity; good luck finding the pug.
First, there’s the Kitten Holiday Party (listed on the West Seattle Weekend Lineup) at Pet Elements south of Morgan Junction:
That’s where we found this new kitten owner adopting what she referred to as “Elliott’s new friend.” (Elliott being the cat who will be surprised and hopefully pleased to meet his new pal.)
Also today and tomorrow, noon-4 pm (and those hours Thursday-Sunday every week), an exhibit at the Log House Museum with a unique take on Seattle history, and it’s only there a few more weeks – here’s what the LHM folks have written up about it:Read More
“TOAST TO THE ANIMALS” TONIGHT AT BEVERIDGE PLACE PUB: This puts the “fun” in “fundraiser” — a benefit for Furry Faces Foundation. Their announcement is livelier than any rewrite we could do:
“Raise your glasses and ring in the Holiday Cheer for rescued animals,” say Terri and Gary, owners of the Beveridge Place Pub, “as we are delighted to announce another Wine Tasting Fun-Raiser, benefiting Furry Faces Foundation, a.k.a., F3. And, if you like a particular wine (s), you may purchase a bottle or two or more … right then and there.” “For a mere $15 you get to taste 4-6 lovely wines, savor light appetizers, mingle with your neighbors, and help defray the cost of spaying ‘n’ neutering rescued animals,” raves Lora Vickrey, F3 treasurer and Hotwire Coffeehouse owner [also WSB sponsor], “plus, we will be previewing our soon to be infamous, nefarious game of kismet, called …. Box-a-Rama! Be there, or be square.”
That’s 4:30 pm-7 pm tonight (here’s a map to Beveridge Place Pub).
GET YOUR DOG GROOMED ON TURKEY DAY: Across California Ave from Beveridge Place and a bit north, The Wash Dog is taking appointments for grooming on Thanksgiving morning. We heard from Wash Dog owner Bernadette Cassidy after our post seeking info on West Seattle businesses open Thanksgiving. We’re building that list now; meanwhile, you can call Bernadette to snag one of those holiday appointments at 206-935-4546.
YOGA WITH YOUR DOG? Wendy Hughes-Jelen from the High Point K9 Club is trying to organize a “yoga with your dog” class or workshop. Wendy had a great time taking a class in Bellevue that’s taught by an instructor who lives in West Seattle, Brenda Bryan. Wendy is working with Brenda and the High Point Community Center to get West Seattle dog yoga going, but she needs at least 4 people/dog pairs to rev this up; e-mail her at wendyhj (at) greenspacesrealestate.com if you want to get in on it. (Read more about “yoga with your dog” at Brenda’s website.)
From the inbox this afternoon, Deborah writes:
I picked up a very big, very sweet black lab last night at Waite and 50th in West Seattle. He had no collar so I brought him to the W Seattle Animal Hospital. They scanned him and he also had no chip. He was picked up by the Humane Society today, and if anyone is looking for him, they can call the Humane Society at 206-386-7387. He was the sweetest thing, so I hope that you can post this and try to reunite him with his family!
If you can’t quite place 50th/Waite, here’s a map.
The keyboard kitty is Sacha, who escaped from his house in the 6700 block of 25th SW (map here; that’s near Home Depot) this past Thursday. He’s a 2-year-old neutered Russian Blue. If you’ve seen him, click here to e-mail his owners. We have a couple of potential pet sightings to pass along too:Read More
DOG OWNERS, TAKE HEED: A post on the Westcrest Park Off-Leash Area Yahoo! group says Animal Control officers were at the park this week citing owners of license-less dogs. (The crackdown’s been under way citywide all year.)
BEACH DRIVE RESIDENTS ON ALERT: Beach Drive Blog shares a warning about car prowlers.
END OF AN ERA: We didn’t realize how sad we are going to be on Election Day until we saw the phrase in “print” in the online version of the newsletter for Fauntleroy Church, which plans a bake sale and bazaar for visiting voters (and others) that day and begins its pitch for volunteers this way: “For this last in-person election ever in King County …” BWAAAA! Seriously, we’re sad. We’ve voted in person every election, every place we’ve ever lived, since the very first elections for which we were eligible after turning 18, and as you have probably figured out by now, that wasn’t exactly yesterday. For some, trying to carve out time to get to “the polls” may have been a hassle, but for us we always found a way to make it a wonderful ritual and a time to remember how lucky we are. Sitting at the cluttered table marking up the ballot at our leisure just won’t be the same.
The city is offering pet owners this advice on Halloween pet safety. Meantime, two missing cats to be on the lookout for — e-mail WSB if you have information on either one, and we will put you in touch with the owners:
The photo at left shows Tigger, an 11-year-old indoor cat missing since Saturday 10/20; his owners think the wind blew open their patio door, and out Tigger went. He should be wearing a black collar with identifying information and his license tag. He’s a silver/gray Maine Coon Tabby. … The photo at right shows Sage, also an indoor cat, but her owner says Sage’s escape this past Saturday night is a mystery. They live in the Sylvan Ridge development on the west edge of the High Point area. Sage is bluish-gray with a white belly.
Sandi writes to say she found a “small female white poodle in the Genesee area” today. We’ll put you in touch if it’s yours. 6:55 PM UPDATE: Reunited. Yay!
Reader Stacy says the two black Labradors shown below — one un-neutered male and one female she says looks to have given birth recently — turned up today at the Fauntleroy ferry terminal. They found an animal-control officer to scan them; one dog had a microchip, but — “with outdated info based in Redmond,” says Stacy. Any ideas who they belong to? Let us know and we’ll get you in touch with Stacy.
He’s the only pet mentioned here recently who’s not reunited with his people yet … but with several hundred more people joining us all here since we first mentioned him, it’s worth one more try:Read More
The folks who run Kitty Harbor, a new addition to the east side of Harbor Ave by ActivSpace, welcomed a WSB visit this past weekend for this video feature. Kitty Harbor is operated by Delyn Kosbab, founder of the rescue organization Animal Safe Haven Association. As you will see her explain in the second clip (with the help of a playful pal), this is NOT a place to drop by and just gawk at cute cats; they are extremely serious about finding the best home for the dozens of rescued cats and kittens they are trying to place. Like these, who couldn’t resist trying to play with a volunteer helping clean cages:
In this clip, founder Delyn Kosbab explains Kitty Harbor and its guidelines, adoption fees, etc.
You can find out more about Kitty Harbor at its new website. As you’ll see on the site, it’s open Friday-Sunday or by appointment.
Teri from the rescue group Furry Faces Foundation has suddenly found herself in a bit of a rescue situation – a lost cat turned up in her yard yesterday. Teri describes the cat as gray, no collar, looking confused (“maybe an indoor cat that got out, or new to the neighborhood?” Teri muses); if you’ve lost a gray cat in West Seattle, call her and describe your cat’s physical features, “unique personality,” and the area where your cat’s missing (no, she says, it isn’t Flint) — in the meantime, she’s taking the cat to a vet later to scan for a possible ID chip. You can reach Teri at funkietoo@hotmail.com or 206-932-1652.
Days after WSB readers helped bring Max back home, are you ready to help reunite another lost cat with its owner? At right, you see Flint the cat, whose owners write:
We were having our roof replaced this week and our cat got spooked and ran away from home. We’ve waited 4 days for him and have done the normal walking the neighborhoods, putting up posters and such. Now we’re asking for additional eyes to help us.
Flint is a grey and white male cat – 3yo. He’s gray with a white chest and white paws – very distinctive. He is microchipped. He is on regular medicine and is need of treatment. Please help us find him.
Flint disappeared at 26th & Holden (map below). You can reach his owners at 206-355-8965.
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We promised you an update once it was confirmed: The cat pictured at right, found at 35th/Thistle and taken care of for more than a week before its finder e-mailed us for help, is now home. His name is Max; his owner saw Max’s photo on WSB just before catching a plane out of town but managed to get a housesitting friend to go retrieve Max and bring him home. Gotta love a happy ending.
Many fine things to do in West Seattle today, and the WS Weekend Lineup lists a ton of them. But as the day begins, we want to single out a few:
ONE RACE/ONE VILLAGE: First-ever 5K run for the Agathos Foundation. Registration starts at 8 am at the Bathhouse (we believe the website means “Alki Ave” where it says “Beach Drive”).
KITTEN ADOPT-A-THON: Just found out about this last night, walking past All the Best Pet Care on Alki and spotting flyers on the windows. 11 am-3 pm, at the store (next to Cactus).
ME-KWA-MOOKS SIGN CELEBRATION: 10:30 this morning at the park that’s a lot bigger than it looks from Beach Drive. A volunteer organizer says the event is “to celebrate the installation of an interpretive sign that will tell you where a mansion once stood, what the park’s name really means, and why the trail through the woods gets better every year. Coffee, pastries, and unforgettable historical insight are all on the house!”
And if you have to leave West Seattle this morning, remember The Viaduct is closed 7 am-11 am for the Heart Walk.
(THURSDAY 10/4 UPDATE: Looks like these are both closed cases. See the comments for the dog update; cat update will be on the home page soon when happy reunion is confirmed.) We haven’t launched a separate pets page yet since we haven’t been swamped with pet alerts since our last flurry of activity — but today, we’ve received separate notes about a found dog and found cat, so in hopes of finding their owners, here goes. E-mail us if you have any idea about either pet’s ownership, or leave a comment. First, the dog:
We just found a dog out wandering SW Barton and 18th SW. She’s black and looks like a lab mix. She’s got a choke collar on but no tags. We’ve got her in our front yard right now to keep her off of the street but we’d love for her to find her home!
Next, the cat. This one turned up at 35th/Thistle more than a week ago and its finder has taken it in, but would like to find its real owner (or, failing that, a new adoptive owner). it’s a neutered male, 9-10 years old, no collar, affectionate. Here’s a pic:
Again, e-mail us if you know anything about either of these pets, and we’ll put you in touch with the people who contacted WSB.
Wildlife danger isn’t the only reason not to let your dog run loose on local beaches. Potential penalties are another good one. And the best news is, you do have somewhere to take your dog and let it run free: Westcrest Park. The park steward for the off-leash area, Steve McElhenney, e-mailed us this weekend (with photos taken during sunnier times) and wanted us to get the word out. Steve says, “Off-leash area are created in conjunction with Seattle Parks & Rec and COLA, Citizens for Off-Leash Areas, to offer locations for dogs to run and play off leash … It’s a great little community we have, a great place for the dogs, and a way to meet new people and make new friends.” As with the gathering in the photo below:
There’s even a Yahoo! list for Westcrest users to share dog photos and updates on park events, such as a work party that Steve says is coming up October 18th from 6-8 pm (much like the one in the second photo he shared):
Steve also says Westcrest has a separate “small/shy dog area,” and 98 total acres of trails. Ready to check it out? Here’s the city link again; the parking lot is at 5th and Cloverdale.
–Taco Del Mar in Westwood Village has opened.
-Also in Westwood Village, Pet Pros — one of the 6 pet stores WS now has, counting the newly opened All the Best Pet Care on Alki — says it’s having a grand-opening sale 9/28-9/30.ÂÂ
-Another business is celebrating a grand opening: We just heard from TouchTech Systems, which has moved into the former West Seattle Helpline spot (they’re now in the WS Community Resource Center) in The Junction (along the corridor at 4517 Cali). Company president Brian Presser, a WS resident, describes TouchTech Systems as:
We are a small local company that provides multimedia marketing and communication solutions for the internet (such as websites) as well as interactive kiosks for a multitude of uses. We sell and provide service for essentially all Apple computer equipment and are a reseller of most major hardware and software brands including Xerox, HP, Adobe and Microsoft.
Finally heard from Lady Di-Pet Chaperone regarding her plans as her current Admiral location (site of the 2310 Cali project) gets closer to demolition. She says she’s expecting to be able to stay there at least another 9 months, but is actively looking for someplace new.
Haven’t run a lost-pet post in a while, but Hugo’s disappearance is an unusual case. His owners say housekeepers accidentally let him out today at their Upper Fauntleroy home, but he’s a fast runner and could be anywhere by now. No collar. He’s a “big whippet that looks like a greyhound,” as his heartbroken owners describe him, and they say he’s under treatment for cancer. If you see him, call April at 206-351-9756 or John at 206-954-2694. 8:42 PM UPDATE: Note in the comments says Hugo’s been found.
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First — Bob Bollen sent us this pic of true dogpaddling off Alki today:
Also from the inbox — word that one of the Alki baby seals got tv time today.
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