An Extraordinary Time

Animal Shelter. February 22, 2006 Belltown

 

According to city ordinance No. 5. approved December 23, 1869, “… no dog or bitch shall be permitted to run at large within the limits of the City of Seattle.  If so found running at large, it shall be the duty of the City Marshal to impound each and every such dog or bitch in common pound…”  Back then it cost a dollar in pound fees, 50 cents a day for every day your dog was there, as well as a fine of $3.  In addition it states, “No slut shall be allowed to run at large while in heat, under a penalty of five dollars for each offense.”

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Jean Peters, 35

I own Wags 2 Whiskers in Belltown. We do overnight boarding here.  It’s a kennel free environment. They sleep out with myself or one of my employees on a futon in the living room area.  We like to watch TV until they go to sleep.  We try to make it as homelike and as much like their house as is possible so that they feel more comfortable and secure in the environment being away from their folks when their parents travel on vacation.  …  I think a lot of them do better having a human being nearby with them. 

I get a tremendous amount of love from these dogs and its extremely rewarding.  I can’t even describe it.  I enjoy seeing these guys light up everyday…. And just the fact that they like to cuddle up with you at night and the warmth of having you nearby.  I think they really appreciate that too.  They sleep really soundly.

They’re pack animals.  They don’t want to be alone.  That’s not in their nature. 

I let my dogs on the bed…. Some people say that it breaks down the pack, that you’re not the pack leader if your dog’s sleeping on your bed.  That you don’t have as much say over your dog in their behavior and what they do.  But I think you also choose.  I let my dog’s up but they know to wait until I put the blanket on the bed.  And so there’s definitely some rules around it too.  It’s a privilege.

These guys learn from each other and if you isolate a dog too much, they don’t learn kind of what the rules are and how to interact with other dogs.  And I think that’s a big mistake people sometimes make with dogs.

It takes heart to live in the Pacific Northwest. Even with all our rainy history the month of January was the third wettest in history with 11.65 inches of rain. Still, this doesn’t keep us inside.

On the morning of February 5th at 8:56 am we experienced gale force winds with gusts of over 50 mph in West Seattle according to the National Weather Service. Combined with a high tide of 12.4 it sent many to the beach to watch the surf in awe.

Larry Morgan, 44, West Seattle
I knew from experience what was going on down there. And I knew the tides were high. I knew it was going to be rockin’. Of all the times I’ve been going down there and doing that, that was the wildest ride of all. Damn near knocked me off my feet. I think it was gale winds.

Every time it gets stormy that’s when I run down there and do that.

My first home was a boat. My mother and father owned a WWII sub chaser surplus boat that they bought from the Navy. I grew up there in the shipyard my Dad worked at and then we moved a block away. He had interesting fishing boats and then I ended up getting one for a number of years. I was destined for the water.

It sets me right at times. Just going down there, I mean even as violent and stormy as it was, it’s kind of stress relieving believe it or not.

I’ve taken a few over the bow. (That’s) just kind of a term from fishing days. Anybody that’s been out in rough seas and ya take a green one over the bow is essentially, you’re nosing into a wave or something. I like having that water in my face and stuff. It was fun. Its my little thing to do.

I turn around. I don’t want it to get down my hood…. The whole idea is to try and keep as much water out as you can. I don’t want to be on a boat like that. I’m much safer having them crash on me on the beach here.

(Now) I drive crane on the waterfront. The big hammerhead orange cranes down there. That’s my main job.

The water is my life now. It’s all evolved that way.