AWC 2007 MUNICIPAL EXCELLENCE AWARD SUBMISSION
PROJECT CATEGORY: Community Service
PROJECT TITLE: Seattle Animal Shelter Volunteer and Foster Care Program
PROJECT STATEMENT
The Seattle Animal Shelter is proud of its outstanding Volunteer and Foster Care
Program. This nationally renowned program currently has over 600 volunteers and 350
foster care families who collectively donate over 100,000 hours of service a year.
Operating under the motto “Saving One Life At A Time”, these passionate participants
save the lives of thousands of orphaned animals and help improve the quality of life of
people and animals in Seattle.
PROJECT SUMMARY
The Seattle Animal Shelter has a mandate to operate a municipal pet shelter and low-cost
spay/neuter clinic for Seattle citizens, as well as provide animal enforcement services in
Seattle neighborhoods and parks. In 1998, the Seattle Animal Shelter ventured forward
with a volunteer program. The Shelter took its first step by inviting the public to work
with the animals housed there. Through the ongoing efforts of the volunteers over the
years, a wide variety of programs have been created and the whole program has taken off.
The motto of the Shelter’s volunteer program is “Saving One Life at a Time.”
Volunteers provide foster homes for nearly a thousand animals each year which might
otherwise have to be euthanized. Because of the tireless efforts of this volunteer network
and the Shelter staff, adoption rates have doubled and the euthanasia rate has decreased
by 50% since 1998. Volunteers also raise funds that subsidize spay and neuter services
for low-income and elderly pet owners through the Municipal Spay and Neuter Clinic,
reducing the number of unwanted pets requiring placement.
Seattle Animal Shelter
Volunteer and Foster Care Program
Page 2
More than 600 Shelter volunteers and 350 foster care households work to meet the needs
of the animals seven days a week and 365 days a year. They donate 100,000 hours
annually to make this happen, and there are adoption events nearly every weekend of the
year. The annual “Furry 5K” fun run draws more than 3,000 participants and raises
nearly $100,000 for the Help the Animals Fund. Volunteers contribute to the success of
the Seattle Animal Shelter through creative fundraising efforts, which ensure that all
orphaned animals receive medical care and a second chance at life. The residents of
Seattle have embraced this cause, and the Shelter receives more than $250,000 in annual
donations from citizens as well as national organizations.
In addition to saving the lives of the animals at the Shelter, volunteers have also created
campaigns to raise public awareness about animal cruelty, instructing citizens on how to
recognize and report incidences of abuse and neglect in the community. Recently, the
volunteer program initiated a Humane Education program, teaching Seattle school
children about respect and humane care for their pets. In 2005 and 2006 the Shelter
assisted in the effort to reunite owners with their pets following hurricanes Rita and
Katrina.
The Seattle Animal Shelter’s volunteer program has become a national model. It is so
popular that other animal welfare agencies regularly send their employees to Seattle to
learn how to start their own successful programs. Seattle’s efforts to promote adoption,
reduce euthanasia, and support spay and neuter options have been recognized by
prominent national organizations, including the Humane Society of the United States, the
American Humane Association, and Maddie’s Fund.