Volunteers Needed to Fourth of July Pet Assistance

Editor's Note: The following is a press release issued Tuesday by King County.

The Fourth of July is coming up, and that means shelters like the King County Pet Adoption Center will soon be filled with pets that ran away after being scared by fireworks. Again this year, Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC) will team up with Missing Pet Partnership to train volunteers for “Mission Reunite: Help and Hope for Lost Pets.” The trained volunteers will assist owners looking for their pets after the holiday.

A training session is set for Saturday, June 30, from 9 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. at the Pet Adoption Center, 21615 64th Ave. S. in Kent. During the training, volunteers will learn how to give strategic advice to pet owners whose cat or dog is missing, and how to show pet owners the tools they can use to aid in the search.

“We’re excited to once again join with Missing Pet Partnership to offer this valuable training,” said RASKC volunteer program manager Sarah Luthens. “And while Mission Reunite will help bring lost pets back together their owners, it’s also important for people to license and microchip their cat or dog. A pet that is licensed and microchipped has a much better chance of being reunited with its owner.”

“The ‘return to owner’ rate for lost pets at animal shelters across the country is low, but the Mission Reunite program can help our lost pets in King County get back together with their families,” said RASKC manager Gene Mueller. “This exciting program has proven very successful in reuniting owners and their stray pets, but we need volunteers to help continue that success.”

Missing Pet Partnership was founded in 2001 by Kat Albrecht, a former police detective-turned-pet detective. Albrecht made her unusual entrance into pet detective work back in 1997 after she used a search-and-rescue dog to track down her missing police bloodhound. Since then, Albrecht has successfully trained a number of search dogs and volunteer pet detectives to search for lost pets.

For more information, or to register for Mission Reunite, or any other RASKC volunteer opportunity, contact Sarah Luthens at sarah.luthens@kingcounty.gov or 206-296-3946.