West Seattle, Washington
23 Thursday
Just added another lost cat to the WSB Pets page. It’s a page you probably wouldn’t pay attention to until and unless you lost or found a pet; it still features some 
very-long-lost pets, like Sacha the cat (left), who’s been gone almost a year and also stars in a new Seattle Weekly story by West Seattle-residing Mike Seely, “The Lost Cats of Poverty Gulch.” It’s not just about cats and West Seattle – it’s also about greenspaces and coyotes, among other things. Which gives us another excuse to remind you that one of the excellent “Living With Wildlife” presentations is coming to West Seattle later this month – we hope it’s a full house, as the one we covered in Magnolia earlier this year was laden with helpful information. Be at the Camp Long Lodge, 7 pm, Tuesday 10/21.
Last weekend, we covered two Blessing of the Animals events, presented Saturday by The Mount and presented Sunday by St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church (photo left). Today, we just got word of another one – 10 am this Sunday at Alki Congregational United Church of Christ, whose announcement follows: In honor of St. Francis, Patron Saint of Animals, bring your pets and human friends to this very special service. We all worship together — children, adults, cats, dogs, goldfish, birds, and last year we even had a jar of bees (who put a jar of honey in the offering plate!). Dogs on leashes and cats in carriers, please. For information, e-mail alkiucc@attglobal.net.
Brother Nicholas Kis from the Order of St. Francis in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia blessed dozens of West Seattleites’ pets this afternoon in the West Seattle High School parking lot, at a “Blessing of the Animals“ presented by neighboring St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church. Mostly dogs, just a few cats, one of whom received the first blessing; later, we discovered it had a special meaning:
(video no longer available due to blip.tv shutdown)
When we caught up with Pesky the cat a few minutes later, Pesky’s owner told us that blessing was really like “last rites” — later today, she was taking 14-year-old Pesky to the vet to be euthanized, after a long and painful battle with incurable renal disease. She read about today’s event on WSB and thought it would be an appropriate place to bring Pesky first. Just ahead, more video and photos:Read More
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: Sunday morning means the weekly link to the Ripe ‘n’ Ready fresh sheet listing some of what you can expect to find at WSFM, 10 am-2 pm at 44th/Alaska. Here’s the link.
ANIMAL BLESSING #2: First one happened Saturday at The Mount; today, a big outdoor event at the West Seattle High School parking lot, starting at noon, presented by neighboring St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, and featuring the Humane Society MaxMobile with adoptable pets.
MORE: Here’s the direct link to our West Seattle Weekend Lineup Sunday list – with info on today’s other highlights (including Holy Rosary’s annual Alumni Sunday, the Seattle CROP Walk, Ciderpress in Delridge, and a Music Northwest concert).
Today is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals, and that’s why this weekend you had two invitations to get your pets (etc.) blessed. First one happened this morning at Providence Mount St. Vincent; that’s Father Lyle Konen in the video above, delivering the blessing (The Mount asks that residents not be photographed, so as far as the participants go, Cesco the dog at left is all we’ve got, but overall there was quite the crowd – listen for the collar-jingling in the video). Next blessing event is tomorrow, public also invited, at the West Seattle High School parking lot at noon tomorrow, presented by neighboring St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church. Full event info here – not only will blessings be offered, but handmade items will also be for sale, along with refreshments, and if you’re in the mood to add to your household, the Humane Society’s MaxMobile will be there (second half of this post shows its recent appearance at Thriftway).
VIADUCT CLOSURE: Reminder, the Alaskan Way Viaduct is closed till 11 am this morning because of the Puget Sound Heart Walk. (Its next weekend inspection closure is in two weeks, 6 am-6 pm Saturday 10/18 and the same hours Sunday 10/19.)
FOOD DRIVE: Heard late last night from local Prudential realtors Debbie Rutledge (via Facebook) and Alice Kuder that they and others are collecting food and money for the West Seattle and White Center Food Banks at two locations 10 am-2 pm today: Thriftway and PCC.
BURN FUNDRAISER: Around the region, it’s “Give Burns the Boot” day with local firefighters teaming up to help the Northwest Burn Foundation. Look for them at Metropolitan Market and Westwood Village QFC.
VOTER SIGNUP: Last reminder – today’s your last chance to register. Look for registration drives almost everywhere, or register online RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.
BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS: First of two this weekend – today, it’s indoors, 10:45 am, front lobby of Providence Mount St. Vincent (map), everyone’s welcome to bring their animals; Father Lyle Konen will perform the blessing.
MUCH MORE: Check the West Seattle Weekend Lineup; here’s the direct link to today’s list.
This isn’t West Seattle-specific, but if you go through the training, you CAN do it at your own home: The Seattle Animal Shelter has an orientation session coming up for people interested in providing foster homes to dogs. (SAS has a foster-cat program too; that’s where one of ours came from.) Read on for the announcement:Read More
Lots of serious news today. For those who’d appreciate a quick break from it: Cats, on leashes, in Lincoln Park.
Congratulations to the Westcresters team (click that pic for a full-size version so you can see everyone better!) for their achievement in this weekend’s PAWSWalk – they raised more than $4500! (Some of it, from a doggie-treat bake sale at Westcrest last weekend, and we hear some WSB’ers stopped by.) Next, a different view of Sunday’s Car-Free Day on Alki (our full coverage is here):
Babs sent that after returning from what she termed a “glorious bike ride.” And speaking of glorious, we got this next shot while at the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza for the Saturday sunset concert (coverage here):
Don’t mean to jinx anything, but there are indications next weekend might be nice too. Lots going on – including the West Seattle Gateway Cleanup and the Evergreen State Barbecue Championship on Alki; we’ll be previewing the big events in the next day or two.
We posted this first at partner site White Center Now, since it’s in the unincorporated area, but the photo’s too good not to share here too. We got it along with this report from Phoebe:
There were goats running around loose near SW 106th Street and 28th Ave SW this AM! (map) I saw them darting out into traffic and then ducking into this yard for a snack! I parked my car and tried to find where they had escaped from, without any luck. Eventually I called animal control, who told me the goats are technically in King Co (Seattle city limits end at SW 106th & 32nd Ave SW) and that she would “see what she could do.” I drove by again at 10:00 and I didn’t see them in the area … I hope they made it home safe & sound!
Most days, we get at least two or three lost/found pet reports to add to the WSB Pets page. Often, we get word of happy reunions within a few days. Sometimes, the search is so intense that, after the original post to the Pets page, there are in-progress updates, which we lately have been directing to the WSB Forums – and in one such case, that of Gibs’N the Irish Water Spaniel (photo above), the latest update is a happy ending – forum posts indicate he’s back home tonight. Some West Seattle pets are still missing – and have been for a long time – if you don’t routinely check the Pets page, please have a look from time to time – you never know when you might see one of those long-lost critters and be able to bring her/him home. (We have adoptable pets, and West Seattle pet owners’ favorite photos, on that page too!)
That’s Westcrest Park Off-Leash Area (map) — West Seattle’s only off-leash park (featured in this West Seattle 101 chapter) — and in the north parking lot adjacent to it, you’ll find some “Westcresters” having a dog-cookie bake sale this morning, 9:30-noon, raising money for the upcoming PAWSwalk. (If you can’t go buy treats, but would like to find out about supporting them in the walk, here’s their page; the walk is a week from today in Magnuson Park.)
Five days after we first told you about the poisoning of Coco the dog in her 47th/Genesee yard (map), owner Kate now reports Coco’s “back to normal.” She also has received an update on the case from Seattle Animal Shelter investigator Katherine Rich, regarding the reports of other area poisonings, and wanted to share what Rich e-mailed her, excerpted as follows:
I personally have taken 4 calls reporting poisonings in West Seattle. I know the dispatcher has also taken several calls. So far most of the reports pertain to fairly old cases (3-5 years old) and will be hard to follow up on. We are however questioning everyone that calls in and doing our best to follow up with what information is given. I am also waiting on some vet records in these older cases to see what the notes hold.
Kate says SAS is still interested in hearing from anyone else in West Seattle whose dog was poisoned – Rich’s number is 206.386.7387.
Since Friday morning, when we first posted the story of Kate K and her dog Coco — who is recovering from being poisoned in her own yard — the comment thread brought two other nearby residents forward with stories about dog poisonings – and that has animal authorities investigating whether these cases might be linked (at Kate’s request, we e-mailed those two commenters to be sure they saw her note about contacting the investigator). It’s also brought two citywide-media reports – we want to thank the Times for crediting WSB and those commenters in its report today (here’s the link); the other report didn’t. Thanks also to those who shared advice on emergency vets.
When we got the news last night about the safe return of the stolen Arbor Heights pugs, we asked owner Marsha Lubetkin if she could send a photo when she got a chance to catch her breath. The photo you see above just came in tonight, along with this note explaining more about the circumstances of the pugs’ return:
I wanted to thank your blog and everyone who helped us search for our pugs, Bandit & Pippin. It is such a happy ending and they are both fine and very glad to be home.
I do want to let everyone know that today I spoke with the woman who took them to the King Co Animal Shelter and she really was a good samaritan. She lives in the Skyway area near Renton and returned home from shopping about 5:00 yesterday with her brother and cousin and found 2 pugs in her yard. She had not watched the news or read the newspapers, so had not heard about Bandit & Pippin. They checked with all their neighbors and no one knew who owned the pugs. Her father told her to take them to a shelter, so she and her brother googled where the nearest shelter was and took them to Kent. She just wanted the dogs to get back to their owners, but felt the staff at the shelter were very suspicious of her and wanted all kinds of ID and she felt she was treated with disrespect. I think it was all a misunderstanding on each side. … After talking with her, I do believe her and thanked her for getting our pugs back to us. She did exactly the right thing and without her they could still be missing. She refused the reward, but I told her I was sending her a check anyway. She is the reason our pugs are home tonight. Thanks for spreading the word.
As for how the dogs got into that yard — still a mystery.
That’s Coco the dog, wearing bandages where she needed IV treatment for medications and fluids after an apparent poisoning right in her own yard in the 47th/Genesee vicinity (here’s a map). We first heard from Coco’s owner Kate K very early this morning, and then a followup after they visited the vet – she’s also put up flyers to get the word out (we just got e-mail about one of them) – here’s her story:Read More
Just talked to Marsha, owner of the stolen pugs, and she confirmed what had been left as a comment on one of our earlier posts a short time ago: The dogs are safe. Here’s what happened: They got a call from the Kent Animal Shelter around 5:30 pm, thanks to the information on the pugs’ microchips. A woman apparently brought the dogs in this morning, said they had been in her yard and she was turning them in, and she left. They are in good health and appear to have 
been kept indoors since they were stolen back on Monday. Marsha says THANKS SO MUCH to everyone who helped look for them and expressed hopes they would be found safe – she told WSB, “That’s one good thing that came out of this – seeing how caring and supportive everyone was.” She told us about bumping into a young woman who was out in the Fauntleroy Park ravine area this morning, looking for the dogs because she’d read about it here on WSB and wanted to help. (Apparently the pug spotted in the 35th/Barton area earlier today is someone else’s dog.) That’s the second happy ending today, hooray. We asked her to send us a photo of the dogs back safe at home (Pippin, above left, and Bandit at right), so we can share that with you, once she gets a chance.
This note came in from Marsha, owner of the stolen pugs:
“Pippin [left] has been seen within the last few hours running. She is freaked out and will not come to anyone. She was seen at 35th & Barton (people at Tony’s Fruit Stand saw her), she’s been seen on Roxbury & 34th and also heading west on Barton. Dic is helping us search and he said she appears to be heading north. If she is west of 35th, she may be in more familiar territory since we walk that area a lot. I walked through the ravine (where we also walk) but didn’t see her. My husband, Barney, and I are out searching. Please call our cells if you spot her and can’t catch her. If you can get her, please do and call us. Barney’s cell is 206 730-0143. Marsha’s cell is 206 915-3308. Thanks for all your help on getting our pugs back.“
We have two updates from Greg, son of the Arbor Heights couple whose two pugs were taken by burglars (here’s the original report; here’s our update from yesterday, after police received information confirming they were stolen): First, he says a $1,000 reward is offered, “no questions asked”; second, he says, “Somebody thought they saw a wandering pug on Barton 1 block west of Delridge. If you are in the area, please keep an eye out. If you see a pug that looks lost, please take it to the vet. The two stolen pugs are microchipped.”
New information today on the missing pugs we told you about yesterday, gone from their Arbor Heights home after a burglary — Southwest Precinct Sgt. Jeff Durden just called to say a witness who read about it on WSB has told police the dogs were definitely stolen – they were seen being loaded into a vehicle. Police are still working to see what kind of description of that vehicle they will be able to publicly release without jeopardizing the investigation. We’ll let you know when more information is available. 1:10 PM UPDATE: And here it is — Sgt. Durden says neighbors saw a dark blue SUV stopped near the house Monday afternoon around 2 pm, with a male driver and male passenger. They saw one of them come out of the home’s front yard, pick up the pugs, put them in the SUV, and drive off. They didn’t realize at the time that anything was wrong, so they didn’t call police until they read here about the burglary and missing dogs. They didn’t get a license plate, and not very much detail on the people in the SUV, except that one appeared to be in his late teens/early 20s, “dark complexion,” possibly Asian or Hispanic, close-cropped hair or shaven head. The police non-emergency number is 206/625-5011, or you can call 911 if you have a tip that needs immediate action.
Got this late last night and added it to the WSB Pets page – but because of the unusual circumstances, we wanted to post it here on the main page too:
My parents’ house was broken into (Monday). They went through my mom’s jewelry box, but didn’t take anything. The only thing missing are their two pugs. Both are brown. One is male and the other female. The female is 4 years old and fifteen pounds. Her name is Pippen. The male is 6 years old and 23 pounds. He is completely blind. His name is Bandit. My parents live on 98th and 37th (near the corner of 35th and Roxbury). They are both microchipped, so if anybody sees a lost pug please take it to a vet. If found, please call Greg at 206-829-9360.
The photos above show Pippen at left, Bandit at right.
That’s Callie the cat, who could be hanging on your wall sometime next year, if West Seattleite Stefan Hansmire finishes lining up enough sponsors for the project he’s working on: It’s a calendar of cat art by kids, collected, Hansmire says, “through a series of art parties and conversations.” Each month is intended to have a West Seattle business sponsor, for $150, to cover calendar-printing costs; proceeds from calendar sales will go to Friends of the Animals (he says Next to Nature and Thriftway already have agreed to sell the calendars). His eight-year-old daughter, “who loves cats,” is co-producing the calendar, “to teach kids that their creative work can have tangible value that makes a difference.” If they get a few more sponsors, things will be, well, purr-fect … click here to e-mail with inquiries.
You can’t miss that big white tent, with balloons and bright-pink signs, set up right now outside West 5 in The Junction. Till 6 pm, West Seattleite Tracy Dart – 33 years old and fighting breast cancer – is there raising money (goal: $1200) with her teammates in the upcoming Breast Cancer 3Day (September 12-14), which she’d registered for, even before her diagnosis. Check out Tracy’s custom T-shirt:
The slogan refers to breast self-exams, which is how Tracy caught her problem in time to be diagnosed in Stage 1. In addition to taking donations (from southbound drive-by traffic behind their tent too!), they’re having a small silent auction in nearby Coffee to a Tea with Sugar tonight, 7-9 pm. We got a quick video interview with Tracy about how her fight’s going and the fact this isn’t the first 3Day for her and her crew:
Now, on to Morgan Junction:
The bright yellow Seattle Humane Society Maxmobile is in the West Seattle Thriftway parking lot till 3 pm, your chance to adopt a new pet. (Remember, everybody loves puppies and kittens, but the adult pets are tougher to adopt, yet can offer a whole lot of love … we have two cats adopted as adults from shelters.) One more sighting, back in The Junction:
Lisa Corbin with the West Seattle-based Nature Consortium is tabling at the Farmers’ Market (continuing till 2 pm today) to remind everyone about the Arts in Nature Festival that NC is presenting at Camp Long next weekend. We’ll take a closer look in the days to come; you can get a sneak peek right now online — the full schedule is posted here.
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