Washington State Animal Response Team (WASART)

30/06/2025

Thank you, Steven's Animal Sanctuary, for your ongoing partnership, generosity, and letting us get in our RDA requirements of cow kisses and goat nibbles!

28/06/2025

There is a rhythm to many dog rescues that we do. We get a call, we show up on the scene, we battle terrain, we retrieve the dog, we return the dog to their owner, and then we go home.

The interesting story around Seamus’ rescue are the circumstances surrounding it. This is better told by The ZOEY Group.

Thank you for trusting us to be part of the story. 💚🐾

26/06/2025

A big Thank You to everyone who joined us for the Hiking with Dogs class at REI Issaquah! �We loved sharing tips on how to keep your four-legged hiking companions safe on the trails — and we hope you walked away feeling more confident and prepared for your next adventure together.

Special thanks to REI Issaquah for hosting us and helping us spread awareness about trail safety for pets and their humans.

If you want to learn more about WASART and how we help animals in emergencies, visit www.wasart.org or follow us here for upcoming events and resources!

Happy trails and tail wags!

08/06/2025

With the hot weather the next few days, it’s a good time for a friendly reminder. The asphalt will be too hot for unprotected paws as will the rocks on hiking trails.

If you aren't sure, hold the back of your hand for 5 seconds to the ground your dog will be standing on. If it's too hot for you, it's too hot for them.

Stay safe out there!

08/05/2025

Here, friends, is the most accurate dad joke of the bunch. We live in an area of mountains and severe elevation changes. When an animal is in an emergency situation it's often a long ways away. We have ropes that are 300 ft long and that's generally enough. We've had a horse 8 miles up a trail. Whew, that was a long hike to haul ourselves and the equipment up.

We're also here for the long haul of the future, and that's where you come in. Help us buy the ropes, especially as safer, stronger, and lighter ropes are developed in the future. Help us buy the carabiners, pulleys, and all the other pieces of a system. Help us fund our training and pay for our gas. We'll hike up the trail, bring the dog up the cliff.

Thanks for your support. We'll do the actual hauling.
https://www.wagives.org/organization/Wasart

07/05/2025

How are you doing, folks? Staying hydrated? Do you need a snack? We're all volunteers, and we're here because we, like you, also love animals. But animals can't talk. They communicate for sure. We see they need help out of the situation they are in. They are scared, anxious, in pain. They are looking for their owners. Their owners are scared too. At the end of the day, our goal is to make all that better: the dog is reunited, the horse is no longer stuck in mud. We check on our fellow volunteers, who are also tired, "are you okay to drive home?"

So we also ask you, supporters: how are you?

Help us out with our work, if you have the resources and bandwidth, would you?

https://wasart.org/givebig

07/05/2025

Joey our manikin horse is the best -- he never complains, he's always there for us. He's not picky about food. He's not prone to colic. He's totally okay with being the butt of the joke. Such a team player! We couldn't ask for more!

Joey is some of the specialty equipment we've purchased through donations. He's been with us around a decade, and all of us have learned how to package horses safely on him, or how to lift them under our tripod/bipod. He's really been there for us. Thanks for being there for us, too, for this year's !

Here's the link:
https://www.wagives.org/organization/Wasart

06/05/2025

Rescuing animals in emergency situations often involves technical skills like knot tying, understanding friction, leverage, pulleys, breaking strengths, and, most importantly, how to bring your team home healthy and safe! Much of our training time goes into practicing using the equipment we buy with donations. That's right, friends, it's like you can be there, if not in spirit, then in the form of some really helpful and safe equipment. Want to send us some love? Donate during Tues/Wed's . https://www.wagives.org/organization/Wasart

06/05/2025

Happy Tuesday, neeeighbor! We help out animals in sticky situations like mud pits! Fortunately we have this mannequin named Joey who helps us out. Gear like Joey is paid for by donations. If you'd like to help us unstick some fuzzy friends, trot on over to the giveBig portal! Here's a shortcut: https://www.wagives.org/organization/Wasart

05/05/2025

Prepare yourselves for all the dad jokes you can handle with our theme this year where we're highlighting the training we do and our team spirit. We hope you'll join us on the team when you make donations through GiveBig, happening now at
https://www.wagives.org/organization/Wasart

Thanks for your support!

05/05/2025

The spring and summer hiking season is finally here! Be prepared when hitting the trails with your furry best friend. Join us at REI Issaquah on Saturday, June 21st, for the Hiking with Dogs class. Learn what to put in a trail first aid kit, the 10 dog hiking essentials, common dog trail injuries and how to avoid them, learn how to bandage an injured paw, and see what technical rescue equipment is used to carry an injured dog out of the backcountry.

This class is FREE but registration is limited. Sign up on the REI website here: https://www.rei.com/events/wphd/wasart-presents-hiking-with-dogs

We look forward to seeing you!

Join the Washington State Animal Response Team (WASART) at REI Issaquah to learn how to keep your dog safe while hiking in the Pacific Northwest. This interactive class includes a slideshow and live demonstrations on essential dog hiking gear, first aid kits, and preventing common trail injuries.

26/04/2025

Happy National Volunteer Week! 💚💛 At Washington State Animal Response Team (WASART), our incredible volunteers are the heartbeat of our mission to save animals in crisis. From rescuing dogs off the side of a cliff to setting up emergency animal shelters during disasters, our team’s dedication shines through every day.

This week, we celebrate the skill and compassion of our volunteers who train tirelessly to help pets and livestock across Washington State. Whether they’re out in the field or supporting behind the scenes, their efforts make a lifesaving difference for animals and their owners. 🐾

Here’s some photos of our volunteers learning dog first aid and practicing with the rescue litter to be ready for the busy spring and summer hiking season.

Thank you WASART volunteers, and all volunteers everywhere!