Here are what PAWS considers its accomplishments over the years:
1967: Founded as a nonprofit agency with a thrift store to raise money for spaying and neutering.
1968: Purchased Lynnwood house and converted a building on the property into a shelter for homeless cats and dogs. Nonprofit still based on property today.
1969: Current shelter built. It was expanded in 1986.
1970: Became the first shelter in the state to require the spaying or neutering of every adopted animal.
1981: Began rehabilitation of wild animals.
1985: Campaigned to end the Omak Suicide Race, a horse race in Eastern Washington where horses have died over the years.
1986-87: Rehabilitated the first black bear at the nonprofit and released it into the wild.
1989: Built the PAWS Wildlife Center across the parking lot from the Companion Animal Shelter.
1991 and 1993: Twice helped to put a halt to the Navy’s plans to use dolphins to patrol in Western Washington waters.
1994: Helped send Ivan, a western lowland gorilla, to Zoo Atlanta. The gorilla had spent more than 25 years on display in a Tacoma shopping mall. Ivan died in August 2012.
1995: Created PAWS Foster Care Program, allowing PAWS to save under-aged and sick kittens and puppies, as well as ill and injured adult dogs and cats.
1996: Founded a political action committee to help pass a ban hunting cougars with hounds and bear baiting.
1997: Started an internationally recognized wildlife veterinary medicine program; ended euthanasia of healthy, adoptable companion animals in care; closed the thrift store and opened PAWS Cat City in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood, a cage-free, open-colony adoption center just for cats and kittens.
2000: Launched a program called Kids Who Care to send staff into schools to teach kids; led a campaign to pass an initiative that bans the use of cruel traps on wildlife; persuaded 15 Seattle-area restaurants to stop selling veal.
2001-03: Led successful campaigns in Edmonds and Everett to ensure that all dogs and cats adopted from local shelters are spayed or neutered before adoption.
2002: 100,000th companion animal adopted.
2004: Secured a moratorium to cease the annual gassing of Canada geese in Seattle’s parks; helped lead a campaign against the use of wild animals for entertainment, focusing on circuses
2007: Cared for 50th black bear cub. The bear was rehabilitated and returned to the wild in June.
2008: Surpassed the milestone of caring for 100,000 injured, orphaned and sick wild animals.
2011: Fought a bill allowing sport hunters to again hunt cougars with hounds.
Source: PAWS
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