It's a PAWS Baby Shower!

 

Springtime is almost here, and that means baby season at PAWS.  So we're throwing ourselves a Baby Shower!  We need a wide variety of supplies to care for the thousands of kittens, puppies and baby wildlife who come to us each year.  In fact, two-thirds of the animals we care for every year are babies and juveniles.  Every item you donate from our wish list saves precious financial resources and equally precious lives.  You can help us care for these baby animals by sending a gift this spring.

You can make a quick and easy donation to our "Baby Shower" by purchasing an item from our Amazon wish list!

Cool Cars for Cats and Canines

 

For those of you who like fast cars and furry creatures, this is one event you don't want to miss! The University of Washington's Red Square Car Show is an annual display of the finest automotive offerings from the greater Pacific Northwest.

As a collaborative effort between Sigma Phi Epsilon, Cats Exotics and NorthWest Auto Salon, the Red Square Car Show has been known to feature a broad spectrum of high end exotics, import tuners and classic muscle cars.  Best of all, the proceeds from this exciting event will be donated to PAWS!

The 2012 Red Square Car Show will be held on Saturday April 7 from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. at the University of Washington.

With food and refreshments available from popular Seattle food trucks Skillet Street Food, Bigfood and Moonie Icy Tunes Ice Cream, plus a prize raffle, this event is sure to be fun for the whole family!

We hope to see you on Saturday April 7 for the Red Square Car Show!  For more details about the event, please visit the Red Square Car Show website.

 

Wild Patients Falling From the Sky

 

We receive so many injured wild animals here at the PAWS Wildlife Center, it sometimes seems like they must be falling out of the sky. And sometimes, as demonstrated by a recent patient, that is exactly what is happening. 

On March 23, a Common Goldeneye was found sitting in a stairwell at the Holy Names Academy in Seattle. Unlike Mallards and a few other duck species, goldeneyes aren't prone to wandering around on land far from water. A stairwell is certainly not a place a goldeneye would ever choose to be, but this bird had not arrived there by choice. The bird had been attacked by a predaor. His neck was badly lacerated, the tip of his bill was cracked, and he had lost a significant amount of blood. Judging from the nature of the wounds and the fact that the bird ended up in the stairwell, the most likely course of events is that the goldeneye had slipped from the grasp of a passing eagle that had intended to make a meal of him.  Too injured to fly, the duck fell to the ground and came to rest in the stairwell. His bill tip was fractured on impact.  

At PAWS the bird was stabilized and then anesthetized so the veterinary staff could assess and treat his wounds.  Drs. Huckabee and Johnson cleaned the neck wound before inserting a wicking drain and suturing the wound closed.  As of this writing, the goldeneye’s wounds are healing well, and he is slowly regaining his strength.

I photographed the goldeneye prior to the repair of his neck injury. He was anesthetized at the time and the veterinary staff was preparing to suture his wounds.  The photo is graphic, so I wanted to give you the option to not view it if you don't wish to do so.  If you do choose to view it though, it will give you a much clearer picture of how far the duck has come since his admission.  Click the link if you wish to   View this photo.

The photo below was taken just five days after the goldeneye was admitted.  As you can see, he's come a long way.

Wrens Make Themselves at Home in the Latest Campus Update

Spring has officially arrived, and the wildlife on the PAWS Campus seems to know it.  Click the link below to download the latest issue of The Campus Update.

Download Campus Update 032412

More Signs of Spring on the PAWS Campus

Singing, incubating, building, drumming, mutual preening and food sharing—all are signs that spring is coming soon to the PAWS Campus!  Click below to download the PDF and read the full story in the latest Campus Update.

Download Campus Update 031212

Wild About Our Volunteers

 

Whether it's bottle feeding an orphaned squirrel, trying to keep up with an excited dog on the leash, or showing a young child how to hold a kitten, there's never a dull moment in the life of a PAWS volunteer! And we could not care for the thousands of cats, dogs and wildlife that come through our doors each year without these compassionate and dedicated animal-lovers.

Each year, more than 1,000 volunteers donate thousands of hours of service, giving hands-on care to the animals, educating the public about animal welfare, assisting at PAWSwalk and other community events, providing administrative support, and much more.

Our volunteers report a sense of satisfaction in contributing to the health and well-being of the animals, and working alongside others who want to do the same.

Garbrielle Evans, a PAWS Wildlife Center volunteer, loves the experience of directly caring for animals in need. "I help nurse injured wildlife back to health," she says.  "Volunteering at PAWS is amazing and I'm so thankful for the experience." 

Erin Kohlenburg, a weekly dog-walker and PAWS foster parent, agrees that the experience of being a PAWS volunteer is incredibly rewarding. "I enjoy spending time with the different dogs" she says, "and learning about them so they can find perfect matches for a permanent home."

Today, we celebrate all of our volunteers and the incredible work that they do.  Because without them, there is no us.  And if you are not a current volunteer but are interested in being a part of the life-saving work that we do, find out more about what it means to be a PAWS volunteer and sign up today!

Happy Volunteer Appreciation Day from all of us at PAWS! 

Nesting Season Begins on the PAWS Campus

The recent return to cold, rainy weather has not slowed down the local wildlife population's march toward spring.  In the past week, Anna's Hummingbirds have been spotted building nests on the PAWS campus.  Download the PDF below for the whole story.

Download Campus Update 021812

A Flurry of Activity on the PAWS Campus

We're still in mid-winter, but the sunshine and warm days at the end of January and beginning of February produced a spring-like atmosphere on the PAWS Lynnwood Campus.  To get the full story, click on the link below to view a PDF version of the latest PAWS Campus Update. 

 

Download Campus Update 020712

Call to Action: Help End the Suffering of Homeless Animals

Please take five minutes today to send an email to your representative and help us get SB 5151, the Spay/Neuter Assistance bill, on the budget. 

This can be done in just two easy steps:  

Step 1.  Use this letter template to help formulate your message. The key point is to emphasize the financial and community benefits of the bill.

Step 2. Email a copy of your letter to the members of the Senate Ways & Means Committee. The email addresses of the members of the committee can be found here.

Please contact info@savewashingtonpets.org if you need assistance with writing your message or identifying your legislator.

This bill will help put an end the suffering of unwanted and homeless animals in our community by preventing unplanned litters. Spaying and neutering is good for the community and a great way to help our animal friends live longer, healthier lives.

On behalf of PAWS and the animals in our community, thank you!

Patient Number One Flies Free

You may recall from the January 6 post here on the PAWS Blog that the wildlife center's first patient of the year was a Northern Saw-whet Owl.  The owl had been found on January 1 alongside a highway, apparently suffering from head trauma caused by colliding with a vehicle. 



We're happy to report that, after one month of care, the Saw-whet Owl made a full recovery. In the evening on January 31, he was released in a forested natural area along the Skykomish River. Thanks to the expert medical care he received at the PAWS Wildlife Center, he now has a second chance to live wild and free.