Meet Carrie! RASKC is incredibly happy to honor Carrie Driscoll. She serves as Co-Lead of RASKC's Tukwila Petco Cat-Care Team. Carrie does a magnificent job of onboarding new volunteers, going to great lengths- sometimes on a moment’s absence notice- to ensure there’s volunteer coverage for cat-care at the store, maintaining the accuracy of the online schedule, following up with team members who may not have posted their hours, and participating in team leadership meetings. She does so with great skill, diligence, and humor. Carrie and her son Jacob have been volunteering on biweekly shifts for many years.

RASKC is also in awe of the fact that Carrie and her spouse foster five children, four of whom are under five years old.  Thank you for all that you do to make the world a better place, Carrie! To read an interview with Carrie, go to our website or blog.  

If you are interested in becoming a RASKC volunteer, go here to fill out an application and register for new volunteer orientation.

Meet Emeline! RASKC is super pleased to shine the spotlight on exceptional youth Emeline Sears, along with her mom Ingrid and younger sister Hannah. Emeline has been volunteering at our Kirkland venue for over five years, having contributed close to 200 shifts. She started when she was 13 years old with her mom. Now Emeline is a senior at Juanita High School. She mentioned that she really likes the teachers there.

Emeline loves animals, especially cats. “The primary thing that I like most about volunteering is getting to know the personality of each animal I meet,” she said.  At home Emeline cares for a beta fish and some white clouds, in addition to a hamster named Bolt.

Emeline likes to write and draw stories. She especially enjoys running and participating in RPGs (role-playing games).  

In her role as daughter, Emeline said, “I would definitely like to thank my mom for deciding to volunteer with me. The thing that I admire most about her would be the span of her interests from engineering to art. It makes me feel like I can bridge things too.”

RASKC appreciates all the ways that Emeline and her family bridge connections between people and animals.

RASKC loves to receive updates from people who adopt our animals. We are especially grateful to Viveca for this video update on dog Django.

Previous to this match, Django had resided at RASKC for several months. She had been adopted a couple of times, then returned. So our hearts fill with happiness to see how Django has come into her own during the past year.

Viveca explained how RASKC’s Rover Scholarship program provided essential assistance in helping bring out Django’s best self. She said, “[Early on] we decided to put Django in training. Thankfully we had the Rover Scholarship. I’ve never even heard of a scholarship for a dog before. We probably wouldn’t have considered taking her into as much training as we have if it wasn’t for the scholarship honestly. Since we’ve done her training, Django has blossomed so much.”

RASKC has been offering the Rover Scholarship for two years for difficult-to-adopt dogs, like Django. RASKC waives the adoption fee and provides $400 in reimbursement to the adopters who sign up for a professional training class or hire a professional trainer for the dog.

Hurray for Django, her family, and RASKC’s other Rover Scholars!

RASKC dog Ginger and four kittens accepted an invitation from KIRO 7 to come to the television studios in Seattle earlier this week. Volunteers Jennie Larson and Tiffany Morin, along with RASKC staffer Nickie Ford, brought the animals to meet and play with KIRO’s Emmy award-winning anchor Michelle Millman. Footage of the good times will be highlighted on social media and on tv too!

One of the camera operators was overheard saying, “That was a purrrfect shoot.”

KIRO 7 promotes pet adoptions from several animal organizations throughout the year, culminating in a Project Paws adoption event with animals from six local shelters, including RASKC, on Saturday, September 21, from 12pm- 3pm at the Marketplace at Factoria (Bellevue). There will be giveaways and family-friendly activities there.

RASKC is delighted to support Hannah Scheeler in her quest to achieve a Girl Scout Gold Award, sometimes seen as an equivalent to an Eagle Scout designation.

Hannah designed and is implementing a one-week “reading with cats” pilot project that is taking effect this month. This project encourages students of all ages to read aloud to feline friends in a designated colony room at the shelter. Dozens of students have participated so far.

Hannah received assistance from longtime Girl Scout leader and RASKC volunteer Susan Coffman and RASKC Administrator for Communications and Community Involvement LLuvia Elliison-Morales.

Thank you, Hannah, for giving RASKC this opportunity to work with you!

As Dr. Seuss wrote in the Cat in the Hat, “But I like to be here. Oh, I like it a lot.” 

The newest edition of RASKC’s feline foster room opened recently to great fanfare. This space, beautifully designed by Foster Care Coordinator Lori Mason, has relocated to a colony room that is immediately visible from the front lobby of the Cat Adoptions Building. As you enter through the front door, look to the right to see this renovated space.

“I credit Sergeant Adryan Jones with the good idea of moving the foster room to a place where residents can immediately see frolicking kittens in the sunshine,” said Foster Care Coordinator Lori Mason.

Lori has placed a number of photographs on the wall in the room, including a tribute to former foster volunteer Kaylie Bergen. She was an amazing young lady who dedicated her tragically short life to fostering cats and kittens.

It is important that none of the decorative items in the new foster room be removed without the okay from Lori or Administrator Lluvia Ellison-Morales.

Guests and volunteers are strongly encouraged to visit first with the animals in this room before engaging with other cats and kittens in the building. This will help protect the health of the animals in the foster room.

The Early Morning Cat Crew cleans the spaces where foster animals reside prior to cleaning the other areas. This is another measure to protect the health of these cats and kittens.

Earlier this month about 40 volunteers, friends, and family gathered at the Seattle Meowtropolitan Cat Café for this annual RASKC volunteer appreciation event.

Normally the cafe charges $13 for each visitor’s 50-minute session. Because of Meowtropolitan’s generosity, RASKC volunteers were able to enjoy the experience free of charge. This is the fourth consecutive summer that this event has taken place.

A foster volunteer posted on Facebook, “Thank you for inviting us. We had such a good time.” A good time was had by all!

All of the cats at the café come from RASKC. Some cats live at Meowtropolitan on an ongoing basis. Most of the RASKC cats there are available for adoption.

Seattle Meowtropolitan offers to the general public Yoga with Cats four days a week, Purr and Paint events on Wine Wednesdays, and Family Days with younger children once a month.

Warm 106.9 radio personality Heather, along with RASKC volunteers Lisa Clair and Haley Heggenes, provided RASKC dog Tak on quite an adventure earlier this month.

The foursome climbed onboard a row boat and paddled around Green Lake in Seattle. The video was posted on the Facebook pages of RASKC and the radio station and shared widely. Tak was adopted soon afterwards.

We really appreciate the creativity and tremendous energy of Warm 106.9’s Heather to promote pet adoptions from several animal organizations via the radio station’s Wet Nose Wednesday feature. Big thanks to volunteers Lisa and Haley too!

Everyone is strongly encouraged to vote online this month until Monday, August 26, for Becky Rubeck, RASKC’s nominee for Mud Bay’s 2019 Volunteer of Excellence Award. Cast your ballot at www.mudbay.com. If Becky wins the most votes, then she will receive $1,000, and RASKC will receive $1,000 too.  

Becky specializes in providing round-the-clock care for “bottle baby” kittens. Every three to four hours Becky prepares bottles and feeds the precious fur babies during kitten season with very few breaks between litters. This year Becky has been fostering kittens non-stop, even in the early months of January, February, and March. Becky tirelessly promotes her foster kittens to be adopted by engaging with customers at RASKC and at special adoption events.

Becky played a huge role in organizing four of RASKC's Volunteer Appreciation Banquets in Kent. A few years ago Becky worked hard on the RASKC rummage-sale fundraisers that provided the money for RASKC to build an outside “catio” on the south side of one of our buildings. 

All RASKC volunteers and staff are encouraged to attend Mud Bay’s “FUTY” party taking place in Seattle on Sunday afternoon, September 15. Mud Bay sponsors the “From Us, To You” event as a way to thank all volunteers and staff from animal-welfare organizations in the region. Mud Bay presents delicious food and beverages, fun games, lots of free pet-supply samples, a photo booth, and a very festive environment at no charge. Advance online registration, however, is required for you and your guest(s) by going here and entering this promotional code FUTY19S. It’s important to type in the case-sensitive code and not “cut and paste” it in.

Please remember to vote online at www.mudbay.com before August 26 for RASKC’s Becky Rubeck to be Mud Bay’s 2019 Volunteer of Excellence!

If you would like to make a special donation to RASKC, we are seeking:

Cat blankets- sewn. The desired dimensions are 22” x 18” or 10” x 18.”

Cat blankets- unsewn with tied fringe. Cut the material either as 25” x 21” or as 13” x 21.” Watch this training video. Or read these written instructions. It’s very important that the fringe is tightly tied together. Loose fringe can be hazardous to cats. 

At the request of the foster program:

• Meat-based Gerber baby food
• Kitten playpens at least four feet across with Velcro (not zippers) like this
• Snuggle Kitties with a battery-generated heartbeats like this
• Miracle nipples- both sizes, like this

For more information on donations or in-kind gifts, visit our Donations page on our website.

Animal Control Officer Val Fetters has been working for RASKC for four years. She is super friendly and very artistic.

Tell us about yourself. I go by Val. I lived on the East Coast most of my life, but I was born in Germany. Until I came to Washington, I’d never lived in the West. I love it here. The weather is perfect, and the mountains are gorgeous. I can be an introvert until you get to know me, but mostly I’m a little jokester. I don’t really conform to any particular group, I just like being myself. I’m obsessed with Shih Tzu, Shepherds, and Taco Bell. That’s really all you need to know. Haha.

What does your work for RASKC involve? I’m currently an Animal Control Officer. I respond to, investigate, and send up charges for all domestic animal related inquires, complaints, and concerns. Police might request our assistance for an aggressive dog, and we might request their assistance for an aggressive person. Everyone thinks we catch stray dogs and cats all day, but that’s far from the truth. If I was chasing after dogs all day, I’d definitely be in a lot better shape than I am now.

What is the best part about your job? Changing the way animals are perceived in the world. I also really enjoy working with our deputies. I’ve built a rapport with a few, and it’s always fun to see them at a work and personal level.

What do you do when you’re not at work? Travel. I love seeing different parts of the world. When I don’t have enough time for that, you can find me on the mountain snowboarding or dancing at a country place. I’m also pretty content just spending time at home with my dogs and fiancé.

Please share a notable experience working for RASKC. After being released to the field on my own, I got my first police assist. I was so excited. There was a brown Doberman that had been hit by a car, was still alive, and was apparently stuck underneath the axel of the vehicle. I remember thinking what in the world am I going to do? Who could even train for something like that? When I arrived there was a crowd, and the accident was blocking traffic. The community was such an asset. A resident who had a jack in his car came running up to help. We had the dog on my truck within 10 minutes. I guess my instincts kicked in, because without thought I just grabbed a moving blanket on my truck, slid under the car, wrapped the dog’s muzzle with a leash, got the blanket under the dog, and a police officer helped me slide him out on the blanket to minimize injury. After that I remember thinking, “I got this!”

Ginger is a 12 year-old female Labrador/Shepherd mix (A590830). Her personality color is GREEN, meaning she is an adaptable dog who loves to go with the flow! This sweet girl is an affectionate lovebug who would be thrilled to cuddle up with you at home. She loves going on walks and hanging out with her favorite people.

Ginger came into the shelter with another dog, so she may be selective about which dogs she gets along with. Ginger may do best in a home with no other dogs or she would need to meet other dogs in the home first. She does have flea allergy dermatitis, so she will do best with regular flea treatments and visits to the veterinarian. Ginger is spayed, current on vaccinations, and microchipped. Her $100 adoption fee also includes a free visit to the veterinarian of your choice, and 30 days of opt-in pet insurance through Trupanion. 

You can find out more about Ginger on RASKC's website at  www.kingcounty.gov/adoptapet. Click on "dog" and type in her name. 

You can also meet other animals available for adoption, seven days a week at RASKC's King County Pet Adoption Center in Kent, located at 21615 64th Ave S; Monday - Friday: 12 noon - 6 p.m., Saturday - Sunday: 12 noon - 5 p.m. Phone: 206-296-7387 (PETS), email pets@kingcounty.gov.

Apply for King County’s Ruth Woo Emerging Leaders Fellowship ($22.41- $28.40 hourly, temporary one year, full time, application deadline Friday, August 23, open to the public). People who are interested in exploring a career in public service are encouraged to apply here. Three people will be selected who demonstrate commitment to furthering the achievements of Ruth Woo. She empowered and advocated for youth from communities that face economic disadvantages and barriers toward educational and career aspirations.

If you’d like to help promote a poker run fundraiser to benefit RASKC, please contact volunteer Mike Gunderson. His Apple Dumpling Gang motorcycle club is planning to organize this event later this year.

Thanks to former RASKC Volunteer Gary Hodgkin for his “pop up” fundraiser at Dragon Boat races in Kent last month. He offered free massages with encouragement for recipients to make a donation to RASKC. About $200 was contributed to our Benefit Bequest Fund.

If you are scheduled for volunteering on alternating weeks at RASKC/ Kent or Kirkland and if you need to absent twice within a four-week period or so, please make best efforts to fill-in when you can on an open shift. We miss you way too much if you go a whole month without helping out.

Place clean items only in recycle bins- inside and outside. Whenever you toss an item in an inside blue recycle baskets or the big green bin outside, please ensure the item is clean. Recently RASKC discovered a hole in the bottom of outside recycling bin. Rodents had been feeding off of food attached to items from that bin. We aim toward only clean items in the recycling bin both to help recycling and to deter outside rodent activity.

Moderation please- litter & blankets: Please pour only a moderate amount of litter in the litterboxes. Otherwise cats and kittens will too often toss or spill it all over. No one likes those messes! Sometimes volunteers will need to throw out litter when there’s just too much in a litterbox. Also please ensure that no more than two blankets are placed in any cat condo. Thanks!