Cat missing for 2 years reunited with Everett family

EVERETT — Sheila Davis hadn’t seen Special K, a striped gray tabby cat with a sweet disposition, since Memorial Day weekend 2012.

So when the Everett Animal Shelter gave the busy school bus driver a call last week, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. They’d found Special K.

“At first I was incredibly tentative because after two years, I’ve never heard of a cat coming back,” Davis said. “My poor daughter, when I called and told her, she thought I was pulling her chain.”

Taylor Davis, Sheila’s 21-year-old daughter, loved the mild-mannered cat her family adopted in 2008. She was crushed when Special K disappeared in 2012. Since then, the family had moved from Marysville to Everett and given up on seeing their pet again.

“She’s the most laid-back, easygoing cat,” Sheila Davis said. “To have her come back is actually a blessing, and if she could talk, I’d love to know where she’s been the past two years.”

A Marysville resident found Special K wandering and brought her to the Everett Animal Shelter, shelter director Shannon Johnson said. Staff checked the cat for a microchip and discovered that the friendly tabby had been adopted from the Everett Animal Shelter nearly six years ago. The shelter microchips every animal that gets adopted, Johnson said, and Special K’s chip led them to Davis.

“She was pretty hysterically happy when she found out we had her cat,” Johnson said.

Already this month, the shelter has either adopted or reunited 111 animals with families, she said. That number will feed into a summer-long goal of more than 1,600 adoptions and reunions as the Everett Animal Shelter competes to win $100,000.

The shelter is one of 50 organizations around the country participating in the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Rachael Ray $100K Challenge. In its fifth year, the competition challenges shelters to top previous summer records for adopting out cats and dogs. This is the Everett Animal Shelter’s first time competing, and the staff and volunteers will need to find homes for more than 1,600 cats and dogs by Aug. 31 in order to qualify for the $100,000 grand prize.

That’s double last year’s summer adoption numbers, Johnson said.

The city plans to use the prize money to create a program for low-income families to spay and neuter their pets, said Meghan Pembroke, a city of Everett spokeswoman. Johnson said the shelter also could pay for free vaccination clinics or microchipping.

Throughout the summer, the shelter will host fairy-tale-themed weekend events, such as a Rapunzel adoption day with a discount on long-haired animals and a wizard-themed adoption day with a free magic show, Pembroke said.

The shelter, which serves all of Snohomish County and has contracts with a number of nearby cities, relies on 15 paid staff and 300 regular volunteers for day-to-day operations, Johnson said. As of noon Monday, the shelter housed 125 animals.

Kari Bray: 425-339-3439, kbray@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.