EVERETT – People might think of the Everett Animal Shelter in terms of cats and dogs. But as Snohomish County’s only public animal shelter, it has taken in almost a Noah’s ark of animals including hedgehogs, mice, iguanas, pythons, boa constrictors, ducks, geese, chickens, exotic birds, raccoons, squirrels and possums, as well as a caiman (a small crocodile) and a tarantula.
“We’ll take anything except livestock,” said Bud Wessman, the shelter’s executive director.
| Gimme shelter
The Everett Animal Shelter, 2732 36th St., is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Adoption fees for adult cats are $85; kittens are $100; adult dogs more than 25 pounds are $100; puppies or dogs less than 25 pounds are $125. The fees include spaying or neutering, basic vaccinations and a microchip implant for later identification. The shelter has a special through the end of November: Seniors 55 and older can adopt an adult cat for $25. |
“People think it’s nice to have a bird,” Wessman said. “They think of them like dogs and cats, with a life span of 8 to 16 years. But people do not understand that parrots live 50 to 60 years. You’re into a lifetime commitment.”
Reptiles have a great need for care that also isn’t commonly understood by the public, he said. They also carry bacteria.
As a result, the shelter doesn’t adopt out its exotic pets.
Wildlife generally are transferred to a wildlife rescue organization or released in the wild. Snakes, lizards and spiders are released to the Herpetological Society in Seattle. Birds, such as cockatiels, cockatoos and parrots, go to a bird rescue organization.
The shelter does promote adoptions of more common pets including cats, dogs, mice, rats, rabbits and guinea pigs.
The shelter adopts out a growing number – about 55 percent this year – of the approximately 9,000 animals that come through its doors annually, Wessman said. Of those, about 48 percent are dogs and 50 percent cats.
They get the animals when an owner no longer can keep it, an officer or a good Samaritan picks up a stray animal or someone brings an animal in to be euthanized. Many people simply abandon animals in the area of the shelter.
The shelter charges $60 for each animal that comes in, but that cost is increasing in 2006 to $80.
The staff doesn’t turn animals away, but sometimes has to euthanize some animals to ensure enough room for others if they can’t find adoptive homes quickly enough. The shelter receives about 40 animals per day – about 25 cats and 15 dogs, and the occasional exotic animal.
Animals may be released to their owner, to an adoptive family or another shelter.
When Everett’s animal control officers pick up a loose dog, they’ll take it home at no charge. Other jurisdictions, such as Marysville, charge the owner a fee.
“We’re in the business of trying to make sure your dogs stay in your yards,” Wessman said.
Strays are held a minimum of three days to see if the owner comes to claim them. All the dogs get a basic vaccination for kennel cough, and cats get a vaccination for upper respiratory illness.
“Of all the pet shops and other places in Snohomish County, we have more pets available than anyone else,” Wessman said.
The shelter always is in need of animal foster homes and volunteers, he said.
While volunteers are required to be 18, the shelter this year started a program for youths 13 to 17 who are trained with a parent and then can work with animals, he said.
Foster homes generally keep an animal three to five weeks, and the shelter provides the food.
“There are people who don’t want to be in with the animals, but there are so many ways they can help,” said Jamie Dahlgren, the Everett Animal Shelter’s volunteer coordinator. Training for volunteers is conducted the second Sunday and fourth Saturday of each month.
“I see the shelter as being a place where there are a great number of people who put a lot of their personal selves into making sure a lot of the animals are adopted and adopted to the right person,” she said.
Reporter Cathy Logg: 425-339-3437 or logg@heraldnet.com.
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