West Seattle, Washington
03 Sunday
Today we welcome Seattle Canine Club as the newest WSB sponsor. When local businesses start advertising on WSB, they get the opportunity to tell you what they do – so here’s what Seattle Canine Club, which is in SODO – convenient for many West Seattle commuters – wants you to know:
We have over 19 years in the market. We are among the few that offer a one-stop shop for all dog-related services (day care, boarding, grooming, training, and lab services) but especially notable, we are the best-rated dog facility in Seattle, with over 4.9* in our Google Reviews. We are proud to pay the best salaries in town and have staff members with as long as 9 years in tenure with us. We provide a safe environment for dogs, where peace of mind of our humans is key – we invest on our staff and are constantly improving our processes and services.
Here’s why customers choose Seattle Canine Club – they always value the care we bring into our services, the level of detail and attention we give to their dogs and our relationship with them. We are a family-owned business and our staff treats our members’ dogs as their own. We don’t charge for playtime, treats, lunches, or anything you’d consider just caring for dogs. And we go the extra mile to help dogs be happy, calm, and enjoy their time. Our grooming, training, and day-care services follow FearFree approach to ensure minimizing any dog anxiety. Also, all our staff is Pet CPR and First Aid certified. Members come first because they need a place for their dogs for boarding or day care, they stay because they know we care for their furry friends as they would themselves.
For some members, Seattle Canine Club has touched their life by enabling balance between their busy professional careers and their love for their dogs. Our first member, 19 years ago, is currently on her 4th dog, coming every day of the week. For another member with 4 teacup dogs, we created a unique pricing model that fit her special needs. For another member who is originally from across the world, a passing in the family meant that their faithful companion spent 2 months with us. We took special care with walks, training, and exercising outside the normal services. Every dog and every member is unique, and meeting them where they need us is what makes us unique!
Seattle Canine Club‘s owner is Jose Rodriguez, who took over the business when founder Rick Beaubelle retired after 18 years in business. Since then, he has grown the staff 30%, and included training, grooming, and lab services as part of the offerings, as well as doing renovations across the facility and expanded capacity to meet our customers needs. Seattle Canine Club is at 2751 4th Avenue South [map] – phone #, email, and other ways to reach them are here.
We thank Seattle Canine Club for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
Two people have texted us in the past few minutes about a dog on the upper bridge, near the eastbound side’s Delridge onramp. One described it as “looks very afraid, has a collar, white and brown, shorter hair.” As we advised that texter, this is definitely something to report to 911 – hazard to traffic (not to mention the dog).
In 15 years of publishing the only all-West Seattle lost/found-pets webpage, we’ve heard a lot of stories about how pets find their way home. This week, we heard from Shelley, whose cat is home four months after vanishing, and her story carries a reminder for everyone who shares their life with one or more pets:
Almost four months ago we placed a Lost and Found notice in the West Seattle Blog for our kitty, who went missing on June 19th.
The good news is, a kind man named Dale brought her into West Seattle Animal Hospital in Jefferson Square and Dr. Quincy examined her and found she was chipped. A big thank you to the West Seattle Animal Hospital and especially to a West Seattle resident named “Dale” for bringing Natasha back to us. Surprisingly she doesn’t seem to remember us, but I’m sure we can love her back to the way things used to be.
We asked Shelley how Dale had found Natasha: “She had been living near the Sunset area behind his house down in the wooded area, and she would come up and eat his cat’s food. He fell in love with her and thought she was one brave, beautiful kitty, but his own cat was crabby with her. he is an elderly man and so kind to try to catch her and bring her in to the vet to get her checked out.” So the reminder is – be sure your pet is chipped! And be sure the chip information is up to date – we heard recently from another reader who got her dog back because the finders posted here, but might have had a faster reunion if the chip info had been updated – they’d moved over the years.
Two months ago, we published a call from Jennifer for no-longer-needed newspaper, to help Smidget Dog Rescue handle a plethora of puppies. This week, on behalf of the now-adoptable dogs in her collage (and others), she sent this message of thanks:
A HUGE thank you to readers! Over the last weeks I’ve picked up and delivered an entire shed full of newspapers for the puppies (40+ of them now) to Smidget Rescue! We are so grateful. The oldest ones are ready for applications!
Email for applications: Smidgetrescue@hotmail.com
Thank you for the boost [on the newspaper needs]. It’s a rough time for rescues and this was a big help.
Urban Animal (WSB sponsor) – with clinics including 17th/Roxbury in White Center – is making history, announcing that it’s becoming “the nation’s first worker cooperative veterinary practice.” Urban Animal has three clinics and 110 employees, who will as a result “share in the governance and profits of the 11-year-old company” as it makes the transition to a “limited cooperative association.” The announcement says our state has more than 30 of those types of co-ops, but nowhere else in the state or country is there one that’s a veterinary practice. . In transitioning to a limited cooperative association (LCA), Urban Animal joins approximately three dozen worker cooperative-based businesses in Washington, yet the first veterinary practice of this kind. Founder Cherri Trusheim plans to “gift a portion of the company to seed it, with a goal over time to become a 100 percent employee-owned worker co-op.” Urban Animal explains that this is another way its business practices run counter to the “unprecedented corporatization” of veterinary care: “This often detracts from employee culture. Corporatization also diminishes the standard of care by upselling and tying veterinary professionals’ compensation to the amount of products and services they sell. Urban Animal is different and does not pay any employee based on production.” Trusheim hopes to set an example for counterparts as wel as attracting employees “who desire a workplace governed by those who provide veterinary care and not a group of nameless shareholders.” Their industry, like so many others, is dealing with a staffing shortage, but this is one way Urban Animal hopes to rise above the competition for workers. They’re working with an organization called The Cooperative Way to make the shift. Trusheim will remain Urban Animal’s CEO and all three clinics will remain open.
Happened onto an event that wasn’t on today’s list but it’s still on until 3 pm – barbecue and “pup market” at West Seattle Thriftway (4201 SW Morgan; WSB sponsor) benefiting Seattle Humane.
They’re selling lunch for $7, plus a variety of dog-related merch, and: “For every $20 donation, receive a complimentary Dog is Good tee shirt.” It’s part of the store’s “Dog Days of Summer” events.
If you read one or more hard-copy newspapers, and have some old ones stacked up awaiting recycling (or kindling, or …), those puppies need it! Jennifer emailed us with that photo and this request:
I work with Smidget Dog Rescue and we have 16 puppies right now! We are desperate for newspaper and as many people don’t get the paper anymore it’s been hard to find. I will collect people’s collections. The pups in the pic were born in rescue just last Saturday! We use newspaper, not puppy pads, because the puppies just tear the pads up. Any help spreading the word appreciated! People with paper stashes can text Jennifer at 206-261-3342 and I’ll come pick it up!!!
Earlier this week, we heard about a canary sighting, but the bird flew away. Now we’ve found out from wildlife biologist Kersti Muul, who shared the photos, that there were two, both now captured.
Kersti explains: “One was found at Fauntleroy, the other near Jefferson square. Same day, so likely escaped or released pair. Wings aren’t clipped and no bands. One is on Vashon at Haven, the other is still housed in West Seattle awaiting transportation to Vashon to reunite (assuming it’s a pair).”
P.S. We usually include lost/found birds on the WSB Lost/Found Pets page (listings can be emailed to westseattleblog@gmail.com), surfacing unusual situations like this one to the news stream too.
As first reported here one month ago, Seattle Parks is proposing two site options for a new dog park (aka Off-Leash Area) in West Seattle: Upper Lincoln Park or just south of West Seattle Stadium.
Your next chance to tell Parks which you prefer has just been announced – a pop-up 10 am-2 pm Sunday, July 23rd, at Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska). They’re also continuing the online survey through the end of this month – find the link, and more information about the city’s proposals, by going here.
That’s Helena, a 12-year-old Madison Middle School student, and we just found out from her dad Patrick that she’s collecting pet food until 6:30 pm today at 50th/Stevens. Her dad says she’ll be accepting donations tomorrow too (we’re checking on the hours). The pet food she collects will go to Seattle Humane.
11:18 AM: Seattle Parks has unveiled its whittled-down list of potential sites for new dog parks around the city. They have funding to design and build two – and to design a third; funding stipulates that one of the two has to be in West Seattle, which has only one off-leash area, at Westcrest Park in the southeast corner of the peninsula. The citywide list was presented last night to the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners. We watched the meeting, which was held at Parks HQ downtown and streamed online. This item started at about 1:20 into the meeting:
The Parks project team explained that the nine “preferred” sites citywide were from the original list of 30. One of the criteria to make the final cut: They needed to be sites already owned by the city. Here are the two in West Seattle:
Upper Lincoln Park – This site is a grassy area south of the sports field. Parks staff noted that the grass is worn in the area and that suggests to them that the area is already being used as an unofficial dog park. Here’s what was shown at the meeting:
West Seattle Stadium – This site is actually south of the stadium, west of the golf course, and downhill/east of Rotary Viewpoint Park. Parks staff noted that one big challenge would be parking, as the stadium/golf course lot fills up during event times. Here’s what was shown at the meeting:
(More than a decade ago, at least part of that site was proposed for a driving range, ultimately scrapped.)
As noted on the Parks website, the department also studied proposed sites at Me-Kwa-Mooks, Hamilton Viewpoint, and Delridge Community Center (we first reported the study sites in March; most had been suggested by community members). The briefing was relatively short, as they went quickly through the full list of nine sites. Next step is an online survey that’s supposed to start today – we’ll add the link here when available.
11:51 AM: Here’s the survey link.
Speaking of clean water … if you share your life with a dog, there’s easy action you can take. A local student is teaming up with West Seattle-based Poogooder for a new initiative that includes a community event today. Just out of the WSB inbox:
Watershed Woof! is a local community engagement initiative to help raise awareness of stormwater pollution and simple ways we can all help keep our waters cleaner and healthier, such as reducing the amount of wayward dog poo left on the ground. It’s a collaboration between Lori Kothe from Poogooder and Mac Callahan, a West Seattle resident and Maritime High School student who is focusing his freshman end-of-year project on preventing dog-poo pollution in our Duwamish River Watershed. Includes an informative web page with videos by Mac and others (
Just a reminder before nightfall that if you lose or find a pet amid tonight’s likely fireworks noise (or any other time), WSB has had a
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