PAWS Mini Magazine Spring 2023

PAWS Connections

Second Chances Are Made Possible Thanks to Foster Families

Do you ever wonder where our adoptable animals come from? The majority arrives at PAWS via regular transports from overcrowded shelters across the country. By coming to PAWS, these cats and dogs are spared from euthanasia and given a second chance for a happy life. Periodically, animals are transferred to PAWS due to natural disasters that impact shelters and rescue organizations in areas with severe weather. PAWS has accepted hundreds of cats and dogs over the years from places affected by hurricanes and flooding. We would not have capacity to provide care for these animals without an extensive volunteer foster program. At any given time, two dozen cats or dogs might reside at the PAWS shelter, but a hundred or more are preparing for adoption while living with foster families.

Foster care for shelter animals offers several benefits for both the animals and the animal welfare system. First, it reduces stress. Living in a shelter can be

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Harry relaxes in a foster home while waiting to be cleared for adoption.

Franc, one of the puppies brought to PAWS in January from an out-of-state, overcrowded shelter.

PAWS Education Programs

Back with In-person Learning at PAWS

and in Schools

After a nearly three-year break, the PAWS education team is offering Caring Creatures, PAWS for Cats and Dogs, Our Wild World, and Heroic Animal Helpers, designed to reach youth ages 5 through 13. We currently have room in all programs, and we welcome both scouts and non-scouts to participate and learn about a breadth of topics including pet care, sharing habitats with wild animals, and much more.

We have also been visiting many schools in Snohomish County through our Kids Who CareSM program, where students learn how to coexist with wild and domestic animals in their community and are motivated to take compassionate action for animals and the environment. We are covering topics ranging from pet overpopulation to spay-and-neuter, as well as human impacts on wild animals.

This summer, we are looking forward to once again offering both Preteen and Teen Workshops and will be hosting info sessions

online in April. Last summer, we had great success through ten weeks of workshops focused on issues facing companion and wild animals with a heavy emphasis on service-learning to benefit animals in our communities.

Do you know a young person who would enjoy attending a program at PAWS? Send us an email to education@paws.org to get started.

To learn more about the PAWS Education Program, or to sign up for a program, please visit: paws.org/KidsEvents

Cover Story — continued

stressful for animals, and can lead to anxiety, depression, and other health issues. Foster care allows animals to live in a home environment, which can reduce nervousness and improve their overall well-being. Next, it increases socialization. Animals in foster care can interact with people and other animals in a home setting. This helps them develop social skills and learn appropriate behaviors.

Foster caregivers also provide individualized care to animals, including tailored training, exercise, and medical attention. This helps animals with special needs or medical conditions receive the care they require to heal and thrive. Animals in foster care often have a better chance of being adopted than those in a shelter. This is because they have the opportunity to develop social skills, receive training and medical care, and become more accustomed to living in a home environment.

Foster care helps shelters and rescue organizations increase their capacity to care for animals. By placing animals in foster homes, shelters can free up space and resources to care for other animals in need. Overall, foster care is a vital component of the animal welfare system, providing animals with the care, socialization, and support they need to find permanent, loving homes. PAWS places more than 2,000 animals in foster care each year, and we currently need additional volunteers to save even more lives – will you help?

To learn more about the PAWS Foster Care Program, or to join, please visit: paws.org/foster

Fronzie is one of the many dogs brought to PAWS from central California after the area was subjected to historic rains, mudslides, and flooding.

Students engage with animal biofacts during a Kids Who CareSM classroom session.

Since the 1980s, PAWS has operated one of the largest emergency hospital and recovery facilities in the Pacific Northwest, designed to rehabilitate sick, injured, and orphaned wild animals and return them to their native habitats. It is the only center of its kind in Washington State equipped with immediate and continual veterinary expertise and services, 365 days a year.

We have stretched to meet the needs of wild animals in our region and are now at a critical point of capacity.

The new PAWS Wildlife Center in Snohomish has been designed to support specialized

The New

PAWS Wildlife Center

Expanding to meet the needs of wild animals

in our region.

care for wild animals. Hallways and doors are extra wide to allow for movement of staff, equipment, and patients. The HVAC system is engineered to minimize air exchange between rooms to reduce the risk of infection and disease. Interior windows allow staff to discreetly observe wild patients without entering rooms to disturb them. Large surgery and treatment rooms allow staff to move easily around animals and also facilitate veterinary students to assist, learn from, and perform their own procedures while in training at PAWS.

In addition to dramatically increasing the square footage of animal care areas, like the surgery room and radiology room, the newly-designed Wildlife Center also introduces spaces that do not exist in the current Lynnwood facility, including: a wildlife waiting area where patients can settle before their first examination, an isolation room to provide flexible care space, an intensive care unit where sensitive patients can be closely monitored, and a treatment room where patients will receive expert care.

Once patients are stabilized and recovering, the PAWS wildlife team turns their focus to preparing the animals to return to the wild. Moving from a 3.5-acre facility in Lynnwood to a 25-acre site has allowed PAWS to construct new types of enclosures based on the latest innovations in the field of wildlife rehabilitation. New custom-built

recovery habitats on this remote property will reduce visual and auditory stress for animals, better support their changing needs while rehabilitating, and ultimately lead to improved outcomes, decreasing the time that animals need to spend at the PAWS Wildlife Center before they are released.

Construction of the remaining components of the new campus—the Wildlife Care Unit and the Outdoor Aquatics Complex—is already underway!

If you have questions or would like to learn more, please email: Snohomish@paws.org

Thank you for making these success stories possible with your support of PAWS!

Located just minutes from downtown Snohomish, the new PAWS Wildlife Center provides a quiet and natural setting for healing wildlife.

In-ground and above-ground pools will provide appropriate recovery habitats to birds and mammals who need water access during rehabilitation.

Custom-built recovery habitats at the new campus will reduce visual and auditory stress for animals.

From the Heart

Dear PAWS Friends,

Each year, PAWS cares for more than 4,500 wild animals from over 150 species, ranging from diminutive bats and hummingbirds to eagles, herons, seals, and black bears. Our current facilities are now more than 40 years old and were not designed to accommodate the scope and scale of wildlife rehabilitation work in our region. We know that we can be doing even more for animals with a larger wildlife center and purpose-built facilities.

The new campus features expanded medical facilities to improve the efficiency of care and provide more veterinary students the opportunity to receive expert hands-on training in wildlife medicine. It also features new recovery areas tailored to meet the needs of wild animals, including endangered and threatened species.

PAWS’ Promise

PAWS helps cats, dogs and wild animals go home and thrive—whether home is the family room or the forest. We do this by rehabilitating orphaned and injured wildlife, sheltering and adopting homeless cats and dogs, and educating the community to inspire compassionate action for animals.

PAWS mini magazine

Issue 13, Spring 2023

Editor in Chief: Mick Szydlowski

Writers: Mick Szydlowski, Bailey Serica, Andi Anderson

Graphic Designer: Lynn Jefferson

Photographers: Mick Szydlowski, Lynn Jefferson, Elliot Ralph

PAWS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and relies on community support to conduct our work to help animals.

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Who Care and PAWS Academy are service marks owned by the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). © 2023 Progressive Animal Welfare Society.

Privacy Policy: PAWS respects our donors’ and friends’ confidentiality. We never release our mailing list.

PAWS is a member magazine. Membership is available with a donation of $35 or more. For change of address notification, call (425) 412-4041.

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5200 Roosevelt Way NE, Suite B Seattle, WA 98105 Follow

That is why we are in the final phase of building a new wildlife center. The 25-acre campus will be situated in Snohomish, just eight miles east of PAWS’ current headquarters in Lynnwood. This speciallydesigned campus will allow PAWS to respond more effectively to the growing and changing needs of animals in our community while also expanding training programs for veterinarians and wildlife care professionals.

Construction of the new center is underway and we look forward to keeping you updated as the project progresses. Our existing facility in Lynnwood will continue to house our companion animal services and education programs.

Sincerely,

Heidi Wills Yamada CEO

Board of Directors

Jen Evans, Chair Joe Grube, Vice Chair Kris Tsujikawa, Secretary Bob Mahon, Treasurer

Josh Amato, Norm Arkans, James Donaldson, Rich Finlay, Joanna Grist, Heather Hager, Steve Hall, C. Han Kim, Jill Jones, Katie Jordan, Damian King, Ju Lee, Ammon McWashington, Eddie Pasatiempo, Strom Peterson, Jim Soriano, Chuck Stempler, Rebekah Strausbaugh, Karen Trujillo, Muriel Van Housen, Jennie Warmouth, Erica Wolf

CEO Heidi Wills Yamada

PAWS 15305 44th Ave W PO Box 1037 Lynnwood, WA 98046 paws.org

Contact PAWS: (425) 787-2500

Adoption Information x435

Animal Cruelty x861

Donor Relations x441

Foster Care Program x822

Hours and Address x410

Lost Pets x567

Found Pets x580

Volunteer Information x230

Wildlife Center x817

Save Animals While You File

Tax Day is almost here.

Did you know there are ways you can support PAWS that provide life-saving care to animals and a financial benefit to you?

• IRA gifts can help reduce your future tax burden and can meet your required minimum distribution for 2023.

• Donating appreciated stocks helps you avoid capital gains tax so more of your donation goes directly to helping animals. Despite the shifts in the market, some things remain the same: stock giving can make a difference for you - particularly if your stock has appreciated over time. It’s never too early to plan how you’ll help animals and maximize your financial benefit for next tax season. To help you understand your options and initiate a gift, PAWS offers a variety of free resources and tools. Learn more at paws.org/TaxDonations.

Don’t Miss These Events

PAWS Youth Programs

Inspire the kids in your life to help animals. This fall, we’re offering live workshops for kids 7 to 13 years old.

Learn more and register at paws.org/KidsEvents.

PAWSwalk:

Exercise Your Heart For Animals

June 4–24 (Virtual Event)

PAWS CEO Heidi Wills Yamada

Every mile you walk from June 4-24, you’ll earn $1 for the animals at PAWS