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City of Seattle
Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor
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NEWS ADVISORY
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| SUBJECT: Seattle Animal Shelter highlights anti-cruelty message during April “National Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
4/3/2009 12:10:00 PM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Don Jordan (206)386-4286
Kara Main-Hester (206)386-4293
Katherine Schubert-Knapp (206) 684-0909
Kathy Sugiyama (206) 684-0909
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Seattle Animal Shelter highlights anti-cruelty message during April
“National Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month”
“Santi,” Seattle’s poster girl for April, saved by “Help the Animals Fund”
SEATTLE – “Santi,” a 3-year old Poodle was the victim of serious neglect and she was saved by the Seattle Animal Shelter’s “Help the Animals Fund.” Santi is Seattle’s poster girl for National Animal Cruelty Prevention Month this April.
Each year the Seattle Animal Shelter participates in this national observance as part of its aggressive outreach campaign to educate the community about animal cruelty and to encourage the public to report animal abuse.
A good samaritan found Santi with matted fur, a limp and sores. After examining Santi, the veterinarian had to shave off large mats of fur only to find that the sores were actually gaping wounds needing immediate attention. Santi received life-saving medical care and healed quickly, all covered by the “Help the Animals Fund.” Shelter volunteers taught her how to walk on a leash and she was adopted into a loving forever home.
“The Seattle Animal Shelter has always taken animal abuse and welfare very seriously,” says Shelter Director Don Jordan. “Educating the public about preventing and reporting abuse is a high priority for our staff and volunteers. The more knowledge the community has, the better chance we have to improve the lives of animals in our community.”
Cruelty can range from simple neglect -- failure to provide food, water, shelter or necessary medical care, to intentional abuse, torture or death. Violence against animals may also be part of a pattern of violence against people.
“We realize that a large number of cruelty cases go unreported” says Jordan. “We offer the following advice to make life more humane for the animals in our community:”
· If you witness or hear about a possible case of animal cruelty, report it to your local humane organization, animal control agency or call your local police.
· Learn about animal-friendly legislation pending in the state of Washington. You can actively help in passing laws by writing letters of support to your lawmakers. The advocacy center at www.aspca.org allows you to automatically send personal letters to state or federal officials.
· Teach future generations to respect animal life. Make sure schools in your area include humane education as part of their curriculum or lesson plans. Contact the Seattle Animal Shelter to arrange for a staff representative to speak to your class or contact the ASPCA at education@aspca.org for classroom resources.
· Adopt a pet from your local animal shelter. You can view pictures of available animals at www.petfinder.com. Local shelter listings can also be found under “Humane Societies” or “Animal Shelters” in the Yellow Pages.
To report animal abuse, please call (206)386-PETS (7387). Callers can request confidentiality when filing a complaint.
To volunteer with the Seattle Animal Shelter or be involved in its anti-cruelty campaign, call (206) 615-0820 for more information.
To make a donation to the “Help the Animals Fund” to save animals like Santi, please make your check payable to HTAF and send to Seattle Animal Shelter, 2061 15th Ave W., Seattle, WA 98119 or make a donation on-line at www.seattleanimalshelter.org.
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