Friends of JAS (Joint Animal Services)

Trish Lynn and Thom Donitz portrait and friends

JOLT staff photo

Joint Animal Services
3120 Martin Way E
Olympia, WA 98506
Phone: 360-352-2510
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We have another very loyal and compassionate pet charity to talk about this week.

Patty met with Kate Bligh, Secretary/Treasurer of a fairly new 501(c)(3) non-profit charity organization called Friends of JAS (Joint Animal Services). The organization received its IRS charity determination this year on June 6.

Kate Bligh has been with Thurston County Joint Animal Services for seven years and was an integral part of Friends of JAS, along with Candace Mattson, the President & others in forming this new charity. Its mission is to support and fundraise for Joint Animal Services through dedicated fundraising efforts. Their fundraising enables the shelter to provide exceptional care, resources, and support for as many animals and people as possible.  

Current goals:  

Education – which is defined as promoting community awareness of the shelter and Friends of JAS. They plan to expand their membership and participate in at least 10 exhibit and display booths in the upcoming year. Identifying low budget projects to fund for example: 

Vaccine Clinics – Many people in Thurston County struggle to pay for basic veterinary care. Friends of JAS are committed to supporting Joint Animal Services in organizing a free vaccination/microchipping clinic for our low-income neighbors. The dedicated team at Joint Animal Services already have plans to undertake this as an initial clinic.   Friends of JAS has a goal to raise $1,500 to ensure this vital program continues.   The more dogs and cats they vaccinate, the safer they are from parasites and disease and spreading those   diseases.    Microchipping assists in reuniting lost pets with their owners thereby decreasing the shelter population. 

Walk-in Dog Tub – How do you lift a 100+ pound dog into a tub at waist level?   Especially when that dog is in an unfamiliar setting and is not cooperating?   That is the current situation with the dog tub at Joint Animal Services, which can be challenging for both the staff and the dogs.   They are seeking donations to replace the old tub with a new walk-in dog tub, making bath time safer, less stressful, and more comfortable for our furry friends.

Capital campaign – Set the stage for a future capital campaign toward a new shelter in the future.   Currently, besides having inadequate space, the plumbing needs to be repaired frequently.   There just isn’t enough space for all the cats and dogs, and the building also needs other repairs, which takes away from the services provided by Animal Services. 

I would like to talk a little about Animal Services regarding adoptions.   Friends of JAS are also involved with educating the public and soon to be adopters.   Kate told me that so many people adopt animals only to return them.   Can you imagine what that does to an animal that thought they were leaving to go to a loving family.   Often, they just don’t think their decision through, or they don’t give enough time for the animal and new adopter to work things out.   One big problem is that adopters at times do not know how to introduce a new pet into their home, especially with small children or other pets.   It is important to do your research.   It saves everyone a lot of heartache. 

Remember years ago, the stigma of taking an animal to the shelter meant it being put to sleep if it wasn’t adopted within a certain amount of time? That is no longer the case, at least not in Thurston County.   The euthanasia rate is very, very low.   If and when they are at capacity, they rely on foster families to help. 

Another thing most people don’t realize is that Joint Animal Services has a legal contract to only service animals in Thurston County. Unfortunately, many people bring animals or call to have animals picked up that don’t live in Thurston County and sometimes they get upset not knowing that the shelter can only legally take in animals for those living in the county.   Fortunately, this rule does not apply to adoptions; everyone is welcome to adopt. 

Kate talked about the special relationship between Friends of JAS,  Joint Animal Services and Executive Director Sarah Hock and her staff. Sarah has been with JAS since April 2019, and how she has turned Animal Services around with her extensive 21 years of invaluable experience and knowledge. Her accomplishments are too numerous to mention in this article, but hopefully, we will get a chance to interview her and/or her staff soon.  Just in case you don’t know where Animal Services is located, its address is 3120 Martin Way E., Olympia, Washington 98506. Click here for their website.  

As mentioned earlier, Friends of JAS hopes to expand its membership. Membership criteria are very flexible. They want to encourage as much support for Joint Animal Services, so they provide options, which are: 

• Pay a one-time-only fee of $10. 
• Volunteer at Joint Animal Services (current volunteers included). 
• Assist Friends of JAS at one of their public events (events to be published in their newsletter). 

Their web address is https://www.friendsofjas.org. 

Toast for Tails

Finally, The Concern for Animals Toast for Tails yearly auction was a huge success. They came really close to its goal of $100,000. The gross came in at $93,186. There are so many generous animal lovers in our community. 

Paws for Thought

Those of us who have pets waiting for them to come home are the luckiest people on this planet.

Thom Donitz and Trish Lynn are neighbors and close friends who share their love of animals and wildlife. Trish and Thom are residents of Tumwater. Contact them at  pets@theJOLTnews.com.