Amy Ferguson (she/her) grew up in Eastern Washington and moved to the Seattle area in the late 90s. Before her career in animal welfare, she worked in health insurance and then made the leap to animal welfare in 2009 when she joined the board of directors for ARF of Everett, and then in 2013 became their Executive Director. In 2017, Amy became the Executive Director of Pawsitive Alliance, and in 2019 moved to the Executive Director role at Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project. Amy has served on the board of the Washington Federation of Animal Care and Control Agencies since 2020 and in 2022 became Treasurer. She also currently sits on the Marketing/Fundraising Committee.

Amy, her husband, and two cats live in downtown Everett and occasionally share their home with foster kittens.

It was an eventful session in the Washington State Legislature in regard to animal related issues.  Two major victories to report.

HB1234 was passed unanimously by both chambers and signed by Governor Inslee.  This legislation will improve laws regarding civil forfeiture of animals seized for abuse and neglect and strengthen RCW 16.52. 

HB 1424 was also passed by both chambers and signed by Governor Inslee.  It provides better consumer protection with respect to the sale of dogs and cats from pet stores. 

Both laws take effect later this summer.  KUDOS to Pasado’s Safe Haven and many other WaFED member organizations for their tireless efforts and hard work on these important pieces of legislation.

For detailed information on these changes, as well as updated information from the Washington State Department of Health, concerning updates to regulations for veterinary medical services offered by animal shelters, please visit www.wafederation.org and view the recorded webinar that outlines these changes. 

At the May Homeward Pet 2023 Fur Ball Gala & Auction, Washington Federation Board Member, Chris Federlein.  Chris was presented with the award as recognition to her commitment to bettering the lives of animals not only through her volunteer and donor activities at Homeward Pet, but through her individual passion to end cat overpopulation throughout Washington state.

Shelby Wade, Homeward Pet Adoption Center Volunteer Manager, shared:

“Chris has been an active volunteer for over 11 years and has done the volunteer reception role almost exclusively, weekly, working with the public and sharing her extensive knowledge, especially regarding cats and community cats.  She is absolutely my “go to” and an inspiration with community cats.  She has also provided support for offsite events, the Homeward Pet food bank (pick-ups and deliveries to and from community locations), and fostering.

Her continued support of the community through us and Community Cat Coalition is quite admirable.

She always keeps a cool head with situations at reception and is an exceptional representative of Homeward Pet.”

Chris began volunteering with a local cat shelter shortly after retirement and served a term on their Board of Directors where she led a team to review and update their bylaws, developed job descriptions for board positions, chaired a committee that managed one of their two major annual fund raisers, and worked with a CPA firm specializing in non-profit accounting to begin preparation for a formal audit. Chris then became involved with a group of local rescuers who wanted to start an organization to focus on helping free roaming cats in the community and helped launch the Community Cat Coalition in 2012.

In addition to Chris, the “Peggy Noll Heart of the Shelter Award” was presented to Mud Bay, Inc. for it’s support of Homeward Pet and animal welfare organizations throughout Western Washington.

The “Peggy Noll Heart of the Shelter Award” was launched in 2019 when it was presented to its namesake, Peggy Noll.  Ms. Noll has had a significant presence at Homeward Pet for more than 31 years, serving as volunteer, board member, executive director, fundraiser and now, Community Engagement Director for Homeward Pet.  Her tireless commitment to animal welfare and her passion to better the lives for all animals is why the award was created and named in her honor. 

Thanks to the sales of ‘SPAY~NEUTER~ADOPT’ specialty license plates six grants for spay/neuter surgery were issued in April.  A total of $28,000 in grants to six organizations located throughout Washington will result in over 600 animals being altered.  Pet cats and dogs owned by low income households and community cats will benefit from this funding.

Organizations receiving grants include Humane Society of Southwest Washington, Blue Mountain Humane Society, Northwest Organization for Animal Help (NOAH), Pet OverPopulation Prevention (POPP), Sedro Woolley Police Delpartment and Yakima Humane Society.

Your support in promoting the sale of these license plates makes this grant funding possible!  Please continue to promote these plates so that we can continue to grow our spay/neuter grant program.  Low cost spay/neuter resources are greatly needed.   Click on SPAY ~ NEUTER ~ ADOPT LICENSE PLATES – Washington Federation (wafederation.org) to find promotional materials that can be utilized.

A huge thank you to Leslie Dalzell and her staff at the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County for hosting our inaugural Shelters After Dark event on April 28th!   After the group enjoyed refreshments and some networking, Ann Graves and Kathleen Olson gave brief presentations on WAFED programs and the history of the organization. Then Dr. Jennifer Bennett, Chief Veterinary Officer, Tacoma & Pierce County Humane, gave a timely presentation on the changes in shelter medicine the state has seen, and the history of WAFED advocating for animal welfare since 1908.

The event was well attended, with 21 representatives from a good variety of organizations, including South County Cats, Auburn Valley Humane Society/Northwest Spay Neuter, Feline Friends, Purrfect Pals, Seattle Area Feline Rescue, Community Cat Coalition, Humane Society of Mason County, HSUS, and the ASPCA!  Leslie Dalzell and Julia Bonsell led an enjoyable tour of the facility, pointing out the improvements made over the past several years.

Our goal is to make Shelters After Dark a regularly scheduled event.  The next Shelters After Dark will be held this fall.  Stay tuned for details!  These events are a great opportunity to network with attendees from other organizations and also to learn what other shelters are doing.  We look forward to seeing everyone at future Shelters After Dark!