King County celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's legacy on Thursday, January 14. In keeping with Public Health guidance and safety, this year's event was held virtually.

The theme and accompanying quote for the 2021 Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration was: Creating the Beloved Community, and "A democracy cannot thrive where power remains unchecked and justice is reserved for a select few. Ignoring these cries and failing to respond to this movement is simply not an option — for peace cannot exist where justice is not served." - US Congressman John Lewis

The 2021 Celebration keynote was delivered by Dr. Ben Danielson, an advocate for the health and well-being of children and families with low incomes. He is a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington. For 20 years, he served as the medical director of Seattle Children’s Hospital’s Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic, based out of Seattle’s Central District, a historically Black neighborhood.

Click here to watch the recording of the event.

Meet Nichole! RASKC is super pleased to honor Nichole Clancy with Exceptional Youth recognition. She is a sophomore Zoology major at Colorado State University, who aspires to become a veterinarian. She also served on RASKC’s Early Morning Cat Crew in 2019 and has been fostering since that time. So far Nichole has contributed almost 530 hours to RASKC. Her home is in Covington.

In 2019 and last summer Nichole fostered kittens. “My foster animals acted as my stand-in emotional support animals. I realized that when I had a furry companion with me, I felt happier and more motivated.”

“Now that I am in Fort Collins, Colorado without any RASKC foster pets, my mom is going to start fostering on her own.”

Hurray for Nichole and her mom!

An expanded version of this posting is available on RASKC’s blog.

Meet Lynn! RASKC is honored to bestow Outstanding New Volunteer recognition to Lynn Ingalls. Since she began fostering for RASKC in 2019, she has contributed almost 2,600 hours! She lives in Kent.

Lynn wrote, “In 2019 I was approved for disability and honestly felt useless. That's when I met another foster parent for RASKC- Becky Rubeck, who really encouraged me. I had no idea that fostering was a thing. I immediately signed up. I have been fostering since. It has given me a sense of purpose. I am blessed to work with such amazing, supportive people at RASKC, especially Foster Care Coordinator Lori Mason.”

RASKC is blessed that Lynn chooses to care for our animals.

A slightly expanded version of this posting is available on RASKC’s blog.

LLuvia Ellison-Morales, our Administrator for Communications and Community Engagement was featured twice this month on Plataforma Latina, a Spanish speaking media platform, on the topics of Walk Your Dog Month and the various services RASKC provides. In addition to discussing animal services, Lluvia is serving as a Spanish speaking spokesperson for Seattle-King County Public Health delivering updates on COVID-19. 

“This opportunity to be able to connect with the Spanish-speaking community means so much to me,” Ellison-Morales said. “Because personally speaking, I know what it’s like. I know what it’s like to live in a new country and not be sure of processes or how to navigate systems. Whether it’s delivering information on COVID-19 or our animal services, I want to be sure our communities know we are here to help,” she added. “It’s almost a personal mission. I want to ensure that information is available in many languages.” 

RASKC provides translation on its website in five languages. In addition, staff actively use Voiance, a phone interpretation system. Early on during COVID, when RASKC was setting up pet food banks, they provided flyers and videos in English and Spanish on Condado de King, the county’s Spanish-language Facebook page. A video about RASKC services is available in Spanish and English. 

Hurray for the four local Mud Bay stores- in Covington, Fairwood, Kent, and Redmond- who together facilitated thousands of dollars of donations for RASKC from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day!

One customer at the Fairwood store donated over $100 worth of items. Through customers’ contributions, the stores also provided several hundreds of dollars in gift cards to RASKC.

“I know a lot of our customers were just smitten with the images of the cats that RASKC provided, as were my team members,” said Mud Bay (Kent) Store Manager Jason Hill. “So thank you for partnering with us for this fundraiser.”

“The Giving Tree might be over for this season, but we will keep sending our regular donations and doing our best to keep RASKC well supplied,” said Mud Bay (Fairwood) Store Manager Natalee Goodwin.

Thank you, Mud Bay!

RASKC warmly welcomes two new Animal Care Technicians- Aynsley Jessip and Dominque Martin! They both bring terrific backgrounds to the position.

Aynsley said, “I moved to Washington about six months ago from Colorado. I live in Pierce County with my two cats, and we have been enjoying the rain and fog. My background is in boarding/ daycare facilities, a parrot shelter, and in the bird department at the Denver Zoo volunteering and interning. I look forward to working at RASKC and getting to know everyone.”

Dominque is a longtime animal lover. She said, “Rescue is in my blood and future- paid or not. In my old hometown I would search for strays in my spare time, often bringing them home until we could get them picked up if they had nowhere to go. I’ve volunteered for some time now with animals even on vacation. Last summer I volunteered for a horse sanctuary. I’m an advocate for volunteering, adopting, and fostering.” Dominique also described herself as a “roller derby girl and coach! I’ve coached juniors for years and adults. I sing and write screenplays and stories in my spare time.”

Welcome, Aynsely and Dominique!

About 684 people contributed a total of more than 125,000 hours last year. RASKC is tremendously grateful for this service.

Even though shifts were cancelled for all of RASKC’s scheduled volunteer teams starting in mid-March 2020 throughout the year, there was plenty of foster work and a few other assignments too. About 1,047 animals were cared for in 317 foster households. RASKC offered a few other “contactless” volunteer opportunities, like animal transport, making cat blankets, and pet-publicist work.

Special hurray to the volunteers who contributed the most hours in 2020. The volunteer who donated the most time was, for the second consecutive year, foster volunteer Karen Tyler (4,317 hours, along with her adult son Jonah Wilson).

Here’s a listing of the top contributors among the fosters: Karen Tyler/ Jonah Wilson (4,317 hours), Jacque Rump (3,769 hours), Valli Johansen (2,311 hours), Laura Weaks (2,097 hours), Marilyn Wallace (2,091 hours), and Becky Rubeck (2,054). For a listing of other fosters who donated about 1,000 or more foster hours last year, click here. Altogether volunteers contributed at least 118,870 foster hours last year- accounting for 95% of volunteer service contributed in 2020.

Thanks to all who contributed service last year… and to those who will be helping out this year!

RASKC loves to receive updates from adoptive families. Here’s one from Danny and Jane:

“Opal has been a delightful addition to our quiet home. We finally found a scratching post that "Her Meowjesty" approves of. My husband built her an enclosed catio. Opal can now safely enjoy the outdoors and watch garden birds. We also really want to sincerely thank all of you for the wonderful work and effort you put into rescuing pets who have lost their home. It makes for a win-win situation for the community, and you really do make a huge difference in the world!”  

It warms our hearts to receive updates about people and RASKC pets who bring love to each other through adoption. If you have a story to share, please send us an email with photos to pets@kingcounty.gov. Thanks!

If you would like to make a special donation to support RASKC’s efforts with the pet-food banks, please donate gift cards.

If you would like to make a special donation to RASKC, please click here for our wish list on Amazon.

Our dog program would love to receive long leads, about 20- 50 feet or longer. 

Our foster program would love to receive meat-based Gerber baby food; kitten playpens at least four feet across with zippers (not Velcro); snuggle kitties with a battery-generated heartbeat;  Miracle Nipples, both sizes; and pet food or cat litter for our Pet Treasure Chest.

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

Meet Molly! Molly Brooks works in RASKC’s pet licensing section as a Customer Service Specialist III. She also serves as one of RASKC’s representatives to our division’s Equity and Social Justice Change Team.

Tell us about yourself. My husband and I have three amazing adult children, three crazy Australian Shepherds, one sassy cat, two adorable rabbits adopted from RASKC, and a beautiful rescue horse. We live in South Seattle but have dreams of eventually living on acreage. The personal achievement I’m most proud of is raising three incredible humans. They are all independent thinkers, creative, thoughtful, passionate, strong, and really enjoyable to spend time with. One of the issues I feel strongly about is equity for marginalized families and their pets.

Why did you decide to work at an agency that helps animals? I believe that not enough importance is placed on the value of animals' lives and what they contribute to the lives of humans and the planet. I chose to work for RASKC because of the programs offered that support the pets and people of King County.

What is the best part about your job? The best part of my job is when I can help reunite a lost pet with their owner. I am also humbled when customers share stories about their lives or pets with me.

What did you do prior to coming to RASKC? I was a preschool teacher (and co-director) for 15 years at a small nonprofit school. I started part time work with King County in 2005 as a pet licensing canvasser. After that I worked in the office for the canvassing program. Later I drove for Metro (yes those big articulated buses), and now I work full time for RASKC in Pet Licensing.

What do you like to do when you’re not at work?  When I’m not at work, I enjoy time with family and critters. We like to take drives and explore new places. We enjoy gardening, home improvements, hiking, bird watching, camping, and rock hounding.

Fun fact: As a kid, I was in rabbit 4-H and showed at the King County Fair.

p.s. Please license your pets!

Meet Squiggy! He is a four-year-old gray and white domestic short-hair cat (A627466)- big, handsome, and also friendly and sweet. Squiggy is a great conversationalist, and he loves to explore his surroundings.

With a personality color of “red,” Squiggy is a spirited cat, who may be sensitive to handling. He can get overstimulated with petting, so it’s important be attentive to signs that he might need a break. Squiggy would do best in a home with a cat-savvy family, who knows when to give this cat some space. Squiggy does enjoy human company and will become affectionate on his terms in his new home.

Squiggy has tested positive for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). Cats with FIV can live fulfilling lives, but extra care may be required. This cat should live indoors only.

Squiggy is litterbox-trained, neutered, current on vaccinations, and microchipped. His adoption also comes with 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 Squiggy on RASKC’s website at www.kingcounty.gov/adoptapet. Scroll down the page and insert his name. You may also meet this pet and other animals available for adoption seven days a week, except major holidays, by scheduling an appointment through our website. If you need assistance, contact us at 206-296-7347 (PETS), pets@kingcounty.gov.