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City of Seattle
Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor
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NEWS ADVISORY
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| SUBJECT: Shelter volunteers work everyday to save lives
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
4/16/2009 10:35:00 AM |
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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Shelter volunteers work everyday to save lives
Seattle Animal Shelter celebrates National Volunteer Week, April 19-25
SEATTLE — National Volunteer Week is April 19-25, but the Seattle Animal Shelter benefits year round from the dedicated service of more than 600 volunteers and foster families. In 2008 Shelter volunteers donated more than 25,000 hours of service.
“The shelter could not fulfill its life-saving mission without the hard work, dedication and passion of our volunteers. Our staff is so thankful to have them here, and we hope the broader community will take this week to recognize these everyday heroes,” said Shelter Executive Director Don Jordan.
The Shelter’s volunteers are responsible for saving lives everyday at the city’s only municipal animal shelter. Volunteers walk dogs, cuddle cats and socialize rabbits 365 days a year. Many volunteers even braved this past winter’s storms to make it to the shelter to fulfill their commitments. This week the Shelter will honor its volunteers with special pins that say “We Love Our Volunteers.”
Here are some of the ways volunteers saved lives in 2008:
o Matched more than 2,700 rehabilitated pets with forever families.
o Raised $122,000 at the Furry 5K Fun Run and Walk to benefit the “Help the Animals Fund.”
o Cuddled cats 15,900 times.
o Walked the dogs 27,798 miles – that’s equivalent to walking around the world plus some!
o Played with rabbits, guinea pigs and hamsters 5,000 times.
o Took more than 8,000 photos of adoptable pets.
o Ran dogs 14,800 miles – that’s three round trips from Seattle to New York.
o Supported more than 50 people after the loss of a pet.
o Hiked Tiger Mountain 20 times with Shelter dogs.
o Saved more than 800 lives by opening their homes to foster animals.
o Helped one dog get adopted after he spent 14 months at the shelter.
You can see volunteers in action at the Seattle Animal Shelter from noon to 6 p.m. seven days a week, 365 days a year. You may also see them running/walking dogs at Green Lake on Sunday mornings or taking Shelter dogs for runs to the Olympic Sculpture Park on Monday and Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. And there are hundreds of volunteers you won’t see as they foster pets in their homes, rehabilitating and socializing them for adoption.
The Seattle Animal Shelter is open every day, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. for licensing, and noon to 6 p.m. for adoptions. It is located at 2061 - 15th Ave. W. The phone number is (206)386-PETS(7387). Animals available for adoption can be viewed online at http://www.seattleanimalshelter.org.
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