LYNNWOOD
Responding to a planned closure of the King County Animal Shelter, the Progressive Animal Welfare Society has offered to shelter dogs and cats from four King County cities.
The 42-year-old organization is offering to shelter dogs and cats from the cities of Shoreline, Bothell, Woodinville and Lake Forest Park.
King County oversees shelter services for 32 cities but its executive, Kurt Tripplett, announced last month the county will stop providing shelter services by Nov. 1.
“We have definitely reached out to some of the cities that border Snohomish County to make sure they understand the options available to them for shelter services,” said PAWS companion animal shelter manager Kay Joubert.
Shoreline has expressed an interest, she said. It’s not known what the other cities think of the deal. It’s also not known how much PAWS would charge for the shelter service.
Her organization provides shelter services for the cities of Brier, Lynnwood, Mill Creek and Mukilteo, as well as Snohomish County.
Generally, PAWS shelters 50 or more dogs in its 35 kennels and 100 or more cats at its facility at 15305 44th Ave. W.
The organization started with a focus on advocacy and prevention, Joubert said. PAWS currently receives stray animals from other agencies and from people who drop them off; the organization also accepts unwanted animals from people’s homes.
Today, PAWS offers a range of other services, including a rehabilitation sanctuary for wildlife, spaying and neutering, and a foster program.
“About 50 percent of our animals are strays who come in from private citizens,” she said.
Those stray cats and dogs are held for 72 hours to give owners a chance to reclaim them, she said.
Once the three days are up, the animals belong to PAWS.
PAWS has visitation rooms, where prospective owners can interact with animal they’re interested in.
Oscar Halpert writes for the Herald of Everett.
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