“By holding monthly adoptathons in neighborhoods throughout Seattle, we are able to spread the word about the joys of adopting shelter pets and saving lives. If you have room in your home and your heart for an orphaned animal, this is a great opportunity to come and see some of the wonderful pets available from our foster-care parents,” says Don Jordan, Seattle Animal Shelter director.

Adoption prices for cats range from $102 to $107 and include:

·         Initial vaccinations

·         Deworming

·         Feline Leukemia testing

·         Certificate for free health exam at local veterinarians

·         Spay or neuter

·         Microchip (About the size of a grain of rice, the microchip is injected under the cat’s skin, providing an identification number associated with that animal. Animal shelters can then “scan” a lost animal and retrieve its records from the microchip.)

·         Two-year Seattle Pet License (if applicable)

The Seattle Animal Shelter has an exemplary foster-care program to rehabilitate sick and immature dogs and cats. Donations from the city’s “Help the Animals Fund” pay for veterinary care for these animals.

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.

“The Seattle Animal Shelter isn’t just about cats and dogs anymore,” says Director Don Jordan. “Because of our tremendous success in adopting out cats and dogs, we are now entrusted with the lives of all animals when pet owners can no longer care for them. Adopting an animal from the Seattle Animal Shelter is the right thing to do.”

Volunteer small-animal specialists are on hand to help adopters find the right pet for them. They provide information about each animal’s characteristics and needs, demonstrate basic care and handling skills, and answer questions.

All ages are welcome, but children must be accompanied by an adult. Animals may be adopted by adults only. Adopters must be prepared to provide proper housing, food, water, toys and other materials necessary for the good health of the animal. The adoption fee for small animals ranges from $5 to $25.

If you would like more information or directions, please call (206) 386-PETS(7387) or visit the shelter’s website at http://www.seattleanimalshelter.org. The shelter is open every day, noon to 6 p.m. for adoptions and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. for licensing.

The Seattle Animal Shelter reserves the right to approve or deny any animal adoptions and limits the number of small animal adoptions to no more than three per household.

“We want to call attention to the thousands of homeless pets who, for one reason or another, get overlooked,” says Kim Saunders, vice president of Shelter Outreach and Public Relations at Petfinder.com.  “It may be that the pet is simply shy and doesn’t put her best paw forward with potential adopters. Or perhaps he is a senior citizen.  Another less-adopted pet is the pit bull because sometimes the breed as a whole is given a bad rap because of bad behavior of one dog.”

Petfinder.com, the largest online database of homeless pets, has set aside Aug. 12 to focus on their hard-to-place pets.  More than 95 percent of Petfinder members surveyed are finding it especially hard to find homes for adoptable pets they have posted on Petfinder.com. 

“As part of our mission to ‘save one life at a time,’ we are happy to partner with Petfinder to help find loving homes for the many deserving animals we have at our shelter,” says Don Jordan, director of the Seattle Animal Shelter.

The shelter will feature their “less-adoptable-pets” for the whole week of Aug. 12 through Aug. 18.  During this week, all pets with the “less-adoptable-pets” designation will have their adoption and microchip fees waived.  (Please note: Licensing and Spay/Neuter fees will apply.)  These pets have been patiently waiting at the shelter for more than two months for their forever homes. 

One of these pets is “Chatty,” a Siamese-mix cat who is 11 years old.  Chatty was surrendered to the shelter because her owners had to move.  She is a sweet cat who loves to sit on your lap and, true to her name, Chatty also likes to carry on conversations with anyone who will listen. 

The Seattle Animal Shelter is located at 2061 – 15th Ave. W., approximately one mile south of the Ballard Bridge. The shelter is open seven days a week, noon to 6 p.m. for adoptions, and from 9 a.m. for licensing. For more information, please call (206) 386- PETS (7387) or visit www.seattleanimalshelter.org.