West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
We just talked with Don Jordan, executive director of the Seattle Animal Shelter, to find out what will happen to the owner of the two pit bulls shot by police in Westwood last week, as well as what will happen to the one that survived. Jordan confirms the dogs’ owner has a history with animal-law enforcement, but not involving the same two dogs from this incident. At the very least, though, the owner will be given citations that Jordan says will total more than $1,000 in fines — for violations including allowing a dog to menace/bite, allowing a dog to roam, and expired tags (neither of the dogs had a current license). Once the city investigation is concluded within a week or so – Jordan says they have two witnesses left to interview – the case will be sent to prosecutors for review to see if any criminal charges are warranted. If not, Jordan says he still has an “administrative process” he can trigger to determine whether or not the surviving dog would have to be returned to the owner. (Previous coverage: Original report the night it happened; followup with more details from the police report; update last night from the man who was attacked, along with his Chihuahua.)
Unless you are following the heated pit-bull debate on the comment thread for our followup on last Tuesday’s officer-shoots-pit-bulls incident in Westwood, you will miss this, so we’re reposting this note from the man who was walking his Chihuahua when those dogs attacked:
dear wsb.com readers, I am the person who along with my little dog was attacked tuesday evening. I like the officer who was forced to shoot felt that I and my 7lb. dog were in real danger. To those who wished to donate for help with vet bills the good news is that my little Rosie, while sore had no bad injuries. (I still can’t believe that I prevailed in that battle.) perhaps those who still wish to help could help a family license a pet so some child in a family going through tough times won’t be forced to lose a beloved animal. That kind of karma can move a long ways forward.
Thanks dwr&Rosie
We are now sending a note to “dwr” to ask how HE is doing.
The city just issued a reminder that it’s patrolling parks and neighborhoods to check for licenses.
That’s a photo sent to WSB by a man who lives in the Westwood neighborhood where police shot two dogs, described as pit bulls, night before last. (Original WSB report here.) The neighbor believes those are the same dogs – even if not, he says there’s a dog problem — irresponsible owner problem, maybe more like it — in his neighborhood: “I have called Animal Control AND Police on these dogs NUMEROUS times. I have photos attached of the dogs hunting/stalking during the day right in a neighborhood where children play outside all day and walk to and from school. … I have many, many photos of these and other loose dogs stalking my neighborhood day and night.” On the night of the police/dogs confrontation, we heard scanner traffic indicating a history of previous trouble with the dogs that police shot. Now we’ve seen the full police writeup of what happened Tuesday night, and thought you might be interested in additional details:Read More
ORIGINAL REPORT: Just got a phone call about police activity at 24th/Trenton reportedly involving pit bulls. Scanner seems to confirm something happening out there with that particular breed of dog — the caller said it involved the dogs attacking another dog — we’re headed out to check on it. (If this pans out, it would be the third notable pit-bull incident in West Seattle in recent days; there was one in each of our previous two police-report summaries — a man shooting one, and a 9-year-old girl getting bit in the face by one.) 8:44 PM UPDATE: Our person on the scene confirms tons of police and medic activity. No extra details yet, though. Scanner just described original call as a “dogfight.” 8:52 PM UPDATE: Looks like “an older man” is going to be taken away for treatment; our original caller said he’d heard a man had been bitten. 8:59 PM UPDATE: At the scene, the victim’s wife told WSB her husband and their dog were out for a walk when other dogs attacked them; the man is going to the hospital (but is reportedly conscious); police confirm shots were fired but won’t confirm our reader’s report that at least one dog was shot. We’ll have scene video soon. (Side note, for WSB regulars who have previously admitted to being fans of KING 5 breaking-news specialist Jim Forman, our correspondent reports he’s on the scene now.) 9:48 PM ADDITION: Here’s our video clip. Nothing earthshaking – just the medic unit pulling up to a scene already awash in flashing lights.
10:04 PM UPDATE: According to the KING 10 pm report, one of the pit bulls was shot and killed; the dog they attacked was a 7-pound Chihuahua named Rosie. The wife of Rosie’s owner says he was just bitten in the hand, but “he has a bad heart” so he was going to be checked out further. (The online version of their story is here.) 11:02 PM UPDATE: KIRO and KOMO made it out here for their late newscasts. KOMO’s reporter, however, inexplicably proclaimed himself to be in White Center. (Hint: If you are dealing with Seattle Police, you are not in White Center, which is handled by the King County Sheriff’s Office. This part of Westwood is well within the city limits.)
CANINE: That’s Mo the poison (and hurricane) survivor at his party at Beveridge Place Pub tonight (backstory here), posing with one of the baskets donated for a fundraising raffle.
COOKIES: West Seattle Girl Scouts announce … they’re here:
Here’s the official GS announcement on where and when you’ll be able to buy them:Read More
OLIVIA: She’s the 10-year-old Hope Lutheran fifth-grader we told you about last Wednesday (left), fighting Crohn’s disease, a chronic intestinal inflammation that’s hell on anyone and rare in kids. Her school and church are presenting a spaghetti dinner and silent auction, noon today at the Seattle Lutheran High School gym, to help with her mounting medical bills.
MO: He’s the Hurricane Katrina survivor chow mix (right) who had a second brush with life-threatening danger last month (our original story here) in a poison scare with a possible link to Westcrest Park. This afternoon, Beveridge Place Pub is where a 4 pm party, including a raffle, is planned to help cover his costs.
As for what else is going on today – you’ll find the full list on the West Seattle Weekend Lineup.
This Monday, West Seattle-based Furry Faces Foundation partners with Feral Care and the Seattle Humane Society to mark the upcoming “Spay Day” by spaying/neutering dozens of feral cats. Teri Ensley from F3 tells WSB that in the process, they’ve received kittens who need foster homes. If you love kittens but don’t really want one around for a LONG time, this might be the perfect opportunity:
So far, Feral Care has 50+ feral cats humanely trapped and rested quietly, just waiting to be fixed. Along with feral trapping … comes kittens. Yes, kittens already. Some are tame and some are feral. We are hoping we can find some people that are willing to foster 2-4 kittens as a time until they are fixed and ready for adoption events. The fostering stint will most likely be anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks … depends on the age and tameness status.
(People) can get a kitten fix and help save their lives by offering a temporary home. Also, fostering would count as community service hours for those that have school requirements.
Ready to find out more about helping out a couple of those little guys till they are ready to find permanent homes? E-mail Teri at: furryfaces@hotmail.com By the way, if you have a non-neutered pet and $ is the only thing that’s kept you from taking that important step, you might qualify for this city-sponsored offer.
Some good news about the dog-poisoning concerns at Fauntleroy Park and Westcrest Park (background in previous WSB coverage here): Seattle Parks security supervisor Larry Campbell was at tonight’s West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting, and he says nothing more has been reported since the most widely publicized case, in which “Mo” the Katrina survivor (photo left) got sick after romping at Westcrest. However, he says, the Parks Department has put up flyers saying it’s keeping close watch on the parks, and asking that anyone who sees anything suspicious, or thinks their dog’s been poisoned, call 206/684-7457. Meantime, “Mo” continues to recover, and we just got word tonight of a fundraising party this weekend:Read More
This one came in just before our Friday afternoon visit to the Southwest Precinct, where we verified a police report is filed in the case. Here’s the e-mail from Chris:
I was attacked by a German Shepherd dog yesterday while taking my walk at Lincoln Park (West Seattle) at about 5:45 pm. It happened at the South Side near the Gas station. The dog was not leashed and it came attacking me from my left.
Man, it sure was a powerful dog and brought me down. I am 5ft 9in and 170 lb. I was lying on the sidewalk and could see his white teeth coming at me again and finally the owner came and pulled his dog away.
I got punctured bites on my left calf and thank God the doc said I have my shots updated.
What pisses me off is this:
I asked the owner for help and asking him for his name/info and he said he was getting the dog to his car and promised to come back. He did not come back. I wanted to take his picture on my cell but he ran away and drove off. He is a White (dark skin), crew cut, 5 ft 10’, quite built, no glasses, drove an older Honda or Toyota hatchback.
The police said chances that he lives nearby and not many people own a German Shepherd.
A lady saw him driving away too.
If I had not worn a thick sweat pants, my left calf would be gone!!!
Anyway, you dog lovers, I know most of you are responsible but this one got away!!
The police have an open case on this so if you have any tips, call the non-emergency line @ 625-5011.
From WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham: A Jack Russell Terrier waits plaintively for its owner, outside Elliott Bay Brewery & Pub in The Junction. (Prints of Matt’s WSB photos and his other work are available through his site, MattDurhamPhotography.com.)
Finally got word of results from the bicycle-donation drive at PCC last Saturday (weekend coverage here) — 182 bikes donated (and a lot of bike parts), all going to help kids in Africa. WTG! One other weekend postscript — the cat-adoption event at Kitty Harbor (which was featured in this WSB report last fall) was a roaring success, according to KH’s Delyn Kosbab — new homes for all 60 of the cats and kittens that were available for adoption.
Thanks to OP for that photo of one of the flyers (weatherbeaten as they can get) that’s up alerting people about the poison concerns at two local parks. As previously mentioned, the locally based animal-advocacy group Pasado’s Safe Haven (whose post-Katrina rescue had included Mo, the West Seattle dog that got sick last week) is offering a $5,000 reward, and there are now details on its website, including a flyer you can download to print and post. (P.S. A pet-helping side note: This Saturday and Sunday, 20 cats and 40 kittens will be available for adoption at Kitty Harbor next to ActivSpace on Harbor Ave, 11 am-7 pm both days. KH has found new homes for more than 500 felines in its first four months in West Seattle! 11 am-7 pm both days; call 935-1919 or go here to find out more.)
Two days after we reported the story of “Mo” the Katrina-survivor dog getting seriously ill from suspected poison at Westcrest Park‘s off-leash area, at least two citywide media sources are picking up the story tonight, and Pasado’s Safe Haven — which rescued “Mo” from New Orleans and brought him here, where his “mom” Cammie Owen adopted him — is reported to be offering a reward, as some WSB readers hoped would happen. We are checking directly with PSH to be sure we have the facts straight, since at least one of the citywide reports so far seems to be confusing the Westcrest case with the Fauntleroy Park poison alert also circulated on Friday. But according to the e-mail forwarded to us, PSH will be posting artwork on its site for flyers to print out and post. Not there yet, but we’re keeping watch. Stand by for more. 11:40 PM UPDATE: Pasado’s Safe Haven tells us it’s working on the website update. Citywide coverage from tonight is here and here.
That’s Mo, a Chow mix who lives with Cammie Owen — after being rescued from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, plagued by mange but ready to thrive in a new home. You would think the hurricane would have been enough of an ordeal that this dog should have had smooth sailing ever since, but then came a sudden, life-threatening sickness:
That’s Mo just days ago, his belly shaved after an ultrasound, as vets tried frantically to figure out what was wrong with him. Cammie says they believe he ingested rat poison — and she suspects that happened at Westcrest Park, where she has put up warning flyers. And she says he’s not the only dog that runs there that’s gotten sick:Read More
We have been working today on a story about a dog that got very sick after running in Westcrest Off-Leash Area, and its vet and owner suspect rat poison may have been to blame. While we are continuing to work on those details for a longer article you will see here in a little while, we have just received what looks like a followup on the Fauntleroy Park poison concern we posted here two weeks ago. This was forwarded from the Partners for Animal Welfare newsletter, quoting another organization’s bulletin:
This notice just came in via Pasado Safe Haven’s e-mail newsletter the week of January 28th . In looking into this a little more on the web, unfortunately people may be trying to poison the many coyotes that have been spotted in the area, but your dog might very easily pick up the food or treats being left out. Please watch your dogs while at any park in West Seattle!
NEWS ALERT JUST PHONED IN:
Reported Poison in Fauntleroy Park, West SeattleIf you walk your dog in Fauntleroy Park, in West Seattle, please be warned; multiple dogs have ingested poison in the park! Apparently the poison is in dog food, bones, and other dog treats. These enticing treats have been found under bushes and throughout the park. Please be careful and let anyone you know who goes to Fauntleroy, know also. Thank you!
Just as we were reading that e-mail, we got a call back from the Parks Department employee we’d called about Westcrest, Carol Baker. She tells WSB the department is NOT aware of any NEW incident of suspected poison having been found in Fauntleroy Park since this report on Jan. 14. More later on that and also the Westcrest report (we have spoken with the owner of the dog in that incident, which is recovering, but in the short run, if you take your dog to that park, sounds like it would be a good idea to keep very close watch to keep it from ingesting anything).
The West Seattle-based animal helpers at Furry Faces Foundation are working on Spay Day USA events coming up next month, including a special clinic day for feral cats, 
but there’s one thing you can help them with RIGHT NOW – they need donations of clean, used towels. The towels are used to keep the animals warm while they recover; towels donated now will be reused for future events too. Teri Ensley of FFF (aka “F-Cubed”), says the success of spaying/neutering campaigns will help more than just the cats directly involved — it means “less kittens will enter our shelters which will increase the adoption rate of adult cats because they don’t have to compete with the cute little kittens.” (Seen above, two cats we adopted as adults – them and us! – from local shelters.) Take your clean, dry used towels to Pet Elements in Morgan Junction (6701 California Ave SW). And if you have a question about Spay Day USA, e-mail Teri (furryfaces@hotmail.com). There are some other ways you can help – check the WSB Pets page.
Following up on the capture of the suspected serval in West Seattle (sighting first reported here Friday; capture reported here Saturday; photo at left shows a wild serval, haven’t seen one yet of the actual capturee): We just heard back from Don Jordan, director of the Seattle Animal Shelter, who gave WSB the full scoop on what happened, and what will happen next:Read More
ADDED 10:35 PM: Just can’t get enough of tonight’s sunset. For this one, we have Dan E to thank:
ADDED 7:30 PM: And another spectacular sunset shot – this one from SL (thank you!):
ADDED 6:05 PM: One more scenic shot – the Sunset Avenue sunset, from Steve Heck (thank you!):
FROM EARLIER: Thanks to John LaSpina for thid shot of the Olympics in the morning light:
Now, the site notes:
ADOPT A PET! Since debuting the WSB Pets page a couple weeks ago, we’ve continued adding features, including lost/found pets and more photos from the West Seattle Blog Pet Photos group on Flickr, but we don’t mention every update here on the main page, so if you’re interested in pets, check the Pets page from time to time – you never know what you’ll find. Most recently, we have heard from a couple of animal-rescue groups asking if we’ll feature adoptable pets – so we have three links on the Pets page right now for dogs looking for new homes, including Rufus (photo right).
FORUMS GONE WILD: Well, maybe “wild” is a bit strong. But more than 250 people are now participating in the relatively new WSB Forums – which is where you can post a request for Reader Recommendations, or answer somebody else’s request – or you can get discussion going on a topic of your choice, such as the hottest one this weekend, The Seattle Freeze. (Our newest forum area is all about West Seattle schools – the forum is here; our new list of links to all WS schools, public and private, is here.)
Just in from TC (thank you!), re: the cat sighting from yesterday:
The exotic cat that someone saw on 1/18/08 was just captured by the Humane Animal shelter at about 4:30 and is being taken to a rescue shelter. We were up jogging on the Madison Middle School track when some boys pointed out a larger than domestic size spotted cat on the banks. We called the Humane Society 386-4258 and they came out and captured it. They said it was a serval, a wild cat from Africa and that it is the second one picked up in West Seattle.
We’ve seen servals … in zoos. Will look up a usable photo shortly to add here. ADDED 7:18 PM: Here’s one. Again, NOT the WS capturee, just one found roaming online:
Earlier today, we got this note and posted it to the Pets page:
I just saw a very exotic cat wandering around 48th and Lander. It almost looked like a zoo kitty and not a domestic cat (looked like a small leopard). I will go see if I can get its picture, but just in case someone is looking for this cat. It did not look comfortable outside.
We just got a phone call — apparently it’s still out there in that area somewhere (the caller said it looks like an ocelot?) and neighbors are a little spooked, but the person who called us said Animal Control wasn’t interested in coming out. This cat sound familiar to anyone?
Added this as a PS, hours after the announcement of our fledgling Pets page over the weekend, so in case you missed it: We created a Flickr group you can use to upload your most insanely adorable/heartwarming pet pix, for potential featuring on the WSB Pets page. You can find the West Seattle Blog Pet Photos group here. (There’s a couple of cuddly cat pix there so far, one from us.)
For the first time in a while, a “lost pet” e-mail landed in the WSB inbox this morning, reminding us we had been meaning to add a West Seattle Pets section. As with everything else, this page is starting small, with room to grow (room for pet fun and pet info as well as lost/found). Please go there to see “Nico” the lost kitty in case he turns up at your house. 11 PM UPDATE: “Nico” is back home safe; we’re continuing to add features to the pet page, including a link to the WSB Pet Photos group on Flickr that we just set up in case you want to upload pet pix for potential showcasing (we started with a pic of our 2 cats).
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