Emerald City Pet Rescue Blog

If you have visited Emerald City Pet Rescue's website prior to March 2019, you might notice that a few things have recently changed. Okay, let's be honest, you might notice a lot of changes! That's right, our website has recently undergone an official makeover!

Emerald City Pet Rescue was founded in 2013. We began in a small room in the back of a vet clinic in West Seattle, and ever since then, our organization has experienced rapid growth! In 2014, we opened our first public adoption center in SoDo, which is also where our retail store, Emerald City Pet Supplies, is located. Don't forget to stop by and chat with our knowledgable staff about our pet food and products. All of the proceeds from our retail store go right back to the rescue to help save more pets!

We now also operate Emerald City Kitty Harbor, our cat adoption center in West Seattle; adjacent is Emerald Kitty Cafe, where you can get a great cup of coffee and delicious snacks, with vegan and gluten-free options available! Just like our retail store, all of the profits from Emerald Kitty Cafe go right back to the rescue.

We feel humbled and honored to be a part of the rescue effort. Over the years, we have rescued abused, neglected, and homeless animals both near and far. Our work extends to the local community and down to California. We have rescued animals from Thailand while working with SOI dogs, and recently, we even rescued a schnauzer from China! Our in-house veterinary hospital works to care for the medical needs of our rescue pets, and all of our amazing staff and volunteers help to ensure that our animals are comfortable and happy while searching for their forever homes.

Please feel free to check out our website to learn about all of our adoptable animals. We are so excited to continue growing as an organization, and we appreciate the wonderful support that we have received from our Seattle community!

At Emerald City Pet Rescue, we are blessed with an amazing staff who all work together with passion, commitment, and unconditional love for our rescue animals. At times, our veterinary team is faced with difficult medical cases which require dedication, creativity, and a whole lot of love and care. One such case was that of Gingersnap.

Little Gingersnap was found by a Good Samaritan by the side of the road in California and taken to Marysville Veterinary Hospital. Because of her extensive injuries, she was quickly transferred to a 24-hour specialty hospital.

Gingersnap had been hit by a car and her injuries were found to be quite severe. This pup’s extensive wounds required daily cleaning and re-bandaging, and the risk of infection was high.

Thanks to our amazing veterinary team, Gingersnap did not need to have skin grafts to help heal her wounds. Instead, they decided on the innovative choice to use Manuka honey to keep her safe through her healing process. Manuka honey has been found to destroy bacteria that could otherwise infect open wounds. It also has bioactivities that help to boost the immune response, which helps new tissue grow and repair wounds. It also suppresses inflammation. How incredible is that!? Nature is its own miracle!

Gingersnap was also found to have a fractured bone in her hind foot, and, to everyone’s surprise, she was pregnant. She was instantly put on pain relief medications, antibiotics, and fluids. An ultrasound was performed to check on the state of the puppies, and thankfully, the pups had strong heartbeats and seemed okay! Amazing!

Despite all of her injuries, Gingersnap gave birth to 5 puppies. She insisted on nursing them, and did a wonderful job caring for them until they were old enough to be adopted to loving homes.

When Gingersnap was fully recovered, she, too, found her forever home! Her family reports that she is still just as sweet as ever. She likes to play with her ball, is very treat motivated, and is “a bundle of love all the time!”

A dog like Gingersnap is a true treasure, a walking, talking reminder of why we are all a part of Emerald City Pet Rescue and the greater rescue community. The courage, heart, and trust Gingersnap has shown has blown us all away and touched us deeply in a way that none of us will ever forget!

The employees and volunteers here at ECPR try not to pick favorites. Key word, TRY! But none of us can deny that sometimes, certain pets will touch our hearts in specific ways. When that happens, sometimes we choose to foster, sometimes we choose to adopt, and sometimes we just do everything we can to help that animal find their ideal home.

Chewey, a chihuahua/dachshund mix, has been with us for nearly two years. He is a wonderful dog: sweet, energetic, eager, smart, adamant about getting attention, and more!

When Chewey first came to us, he had suffered an injury called IVDD, or Intervertebral Disc Disease.

IVDD is a condition in which a disc develops a problem and the material inside escapes into the spinal column, ultimately causing pain, nerve damage, and even paralysis. The condition is seen more often in dogs than cats.

When Chewey came to our rescue, we made sure he got the corrective surgery that he needed for his IVDD, but then, it was up to us, and Chewey, to see how far he could come in his rehabilitation.

Chewey began his recovery with the use of a wheelchair.

Click here to see a video of Chewey previously zipping around in his chair!

As soon as Chewey realized he could scoot around at warp speeds and keep up with his doggy-friends, he was as happy as a clam. We were grateful that we could provide him the tool he needed to get around like any other dog, but we also knew that his recovery was not over.

Our passionate, dedicated staff began daily physical therapy with Chewey, and slowly, he began to move his back legs and regain some mobility.

Then, in stepped one of our amazing volunteers, Linda. Linda does one of the hardest things to do in rescue: she fosters dogs in need, helps to heal their wounds whether emotional or physical, and then finds the strength to let them go when they find their forever families. She decided that she wanted to take Chewey home for a weekend just to give him a break from the rescue environment, but it didn’t take long before she declared that she and Chewey were in it for the long haul until he gets adopted.  She quickly learned all that she needed to know about his disease, and how to help him with his recovery.

To our absolute amazement, Chewey has made LEAPS AND BOUNDS of progress with Linda! Chewey has regained a lot of movement and feeling in his legs, and he can now go on walks unassisted, even getting up and down curbs all by himself! Every day, Chewey grows stronger.

Click here to see a video of Chewey NOW!

IVDD can be unpredictable in just how much recovery is possible, and the severity of the injury is different with each animal. We didn’t know if Chewey would ever regain motion in his legs, so to go on a walk with this little guy and see him happily and confidently keeping up a brisk pace walking all by himself brought tears to many of our eyes. The dedication that Linda has shown Chewey, and the progress Chewey has made, reminds us of our ECPR mantra, Love Can Save Lives!

Chewey has come farther than any of us thought possible, but he is still searching for his perfect forever home. We know that his ideal family is out there waiting to find him! He has so much courage and an endless amount of love in his heart. To steal a quote from Marley and Me, “Give him your heart, and he’ll give you his.”

To learn more about courageous, loving Chewey, give us a call at (206) 557-4661.