In March of last year, we issued an action alert to provide feedback to the City of Seattle on including animal services in the One Seattle Comprehensive Plan. Washington State’s Growth Management Act requires cities and counties to periodically update their plans for growth in population and services. The City of Seattle anticipates adding up to 250,000 people in the next decade. This increase will require plans for housing, amenities and public services. People bring animals. An increase in the human population will directly lead to an increase in the animal population.
Since then, the City has been working to evaluate public comments received and update the One Seattle Comprehensive Plan accordingly. An updated draft became available in March 2024. The updates include increased references to wildlife, particularly within the Parks & Open Space and Land Use sections. However, domestic animal services are still not included in the updated Plan. It is unclear if, or even how, animal service and staffing needs of today have been evaluated, let alone assessment of future animal service needs.
Please take action today. Join us in letting our local government know that we want this issue addressed in the next iteration of the One Seattle Plan. Submit your comment here before May 6, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. Please also consider contacting the following to amplify your voice:
all of our nine City Councilmembers;
the One Seattle Comprehensive Plan team directly;
The Office of Planning and Community Development led by Rico Quirindongo.
Below is some language for your comment. You can select from the bullet points below. Personalizing the comment usually makes an even greater impact. Thank you for caring about Seattle’s animals!
SAMPLE COMMENT:
(Here are a few talking points for your letter. Cut & paste and/or personalize.)
Please include an evaluation of animal services in future updates to the One Seattle Comprehensive Plan and include the Seattle Animal Shelter and local animal welfare groups in the planning process.
I am a Seattle resident and I care deeply about the animals in our community. It is unclear if or how animal service needs in Seattle today have been evaluated, nor that the animal services offered in the City today will meet future needs as our population grows. People bring animals and the City must prepare for increased animal service needs. Using estimates from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), we predict an additional 61,099 companion animals in the City of Seattle by 2040.
Animals are integrated with social issues that affect struggling members of our community. One in four unhoused people is estimated to have a companion animal. Poverty and eviction can lead to animals being surrendered. However, the Plan does not list pet fees as a barrier to accessing housing, nor are pet fees included in rent assistance programs.
With the City’s focus on marginalized and displaced communities, please provide an outline of how animal services will increase its outreach and public programs, especially those from the spay/neuter clinic. Seattle Animal Shelter’s new Free Vaccine Clinics have provided critical animal health services to 222 pets in just 2 events, highlighting the need for increased animal services, particularly within neighborhoods prone to displacement. The current Plan’s goal is to ensure that Seattle residents have access to the services they need, but most neighborhoods called out as having large displacement numbers require at least three transfers on public transit and over an hour of time to reach the Seattle Animal Shelter (one way). The City must plan on outreach, education, relationship building, and increased services in neighborhoods prone to displacement.
In 2020, the City of Seattle had a cruelty case that involved more than 200 animals in the shelter system for over four months. In 2023, a fire at a doggy day care affected 115 animals. It is unclear whether animal services have the capacity to respond adequately should similar situations occur requiring emergency responses and temporary housing. Increased population leads to a higher likelihood of hoarding and other situations in which animals are seized in high volumes.
Field officers do a great deal more work than the public knows. In 2019, there were 890 cruelty complaints alone and only thirteen field officers. This averaged out to 68 cruelty calls per year per officer. This is not even mentioning the other calls involving loose, dangerous, or dead animals. Field officers also patrol Seattle’s almost five hundred public parks. The City recently approved adding two new off-leash areas for the post-pandemic pet boom. The One Seattle Plan prioritizes parks and community spaces where residents will inevitably bring their animals. The City needs to plan for increased staffing to be able to adequately patrol all this land.
Care or shelter officers complement the field officers. With more animals in the city, there will be more surrenders and possibly more cruelty case victims. Care officers provide veterinary care, food and water, and enrichment. They interact with volunteers and the public. The officers oversee surrenders and adoptions for a wide variety of dog breeds, cats, small animals, birds and reptiles. They often work directly with customers in need or crisis. More people and more pets will result in more demand.
Animal cruelty often goes hand in hand with intimate partner violence and the Washington State Supreme Court has ruled that animal cruelty can be a form of domestic violence. It is unclear whether the City of Seattle is prepared for this increase in demand for services.