The Media to the Rescue

Back in August, PAWS Companion Animal Shelter Director Kay Joubert found herself in quite a predicament. After agreeing to take in hundreds of animals from overloaded shelters around the state, she and her staff found themselves with nearly 100 kittens. Kittens are typically adopted very quickly from PAWS, but according to Joubert, it’s not as easy as checking them in — and adopting them out.

“They needed foster care to look after them until they were ready for adoption. We have an amazing roster of foster families, but we didn’t have enough for this many kittens.”

Joubert and her team decided to reach out to the media for help, and the response was more than anyone could have expected.

“We had more than two hundred phone calls from a story on KOMO News and KING5.com,” says Foster Care Coordinator Rebecca Oertel.

Out of those calls, more than 50 families attended a training and became foster volunteers!

“It’s amazing to me how many people will answer the call when you have a specific need,” says Joubert. “We were overwhelmed by the response, but more than that, we’re grateful.”

Who says there’s no “good news” anymore?