EDMONDS, Wash. — A nonprofit mobile vet clinic was stolen and recovered by Thursday afternoon, but it's badly damaged, impacting pets and families in need.
Board members for Seattle Veterinary Outreach said its ambulance was stolen around 7 a.m. Thursday morning. The organization does all of its pet clinic work inside there with all of its equipment.
"They took about five minutes to get in it and another five minutes to get it started and off they went," said Christie Lo, a board member who found the ambulance had been stolen. "This is not just a vehicle, you know, this is truly a mobile clinic," Lo said.
The non-profit cares for pets of those experiencing homelessness or are low income. They also connect the owners in need of social services.
"We'll see people with open wounds, they won't take care of themselves, but they'll bring in their pets, and dote on them love on them and spend all their money on their animal," said Rose Symotiuk, board president of Seattle Veterinary Outreach.
The group has cared for thousands of pets in their five years of operation. They typically serve 50 to 60 pets per week.
"This is really devastating," Symoriuk said. "People line up for hours beforehand drive from everywhere in the state even to get care for their animals."
By Thursday afternoon, the group got a call from Everett Police, and the ambulance had been recovered. A window had been busted out and the inside ransacked. It was found at the intersection of 100 Street Southwest and 18th Avenue. A caller said he saw the ambulance and recognized it from a news story.
"All our medications are gone, all the medical equipment is gone," said Rachel Raj, executive director of Seattle Veterinary Outreach.
The thieves got away with their new generator and damaged the ignition. Even though they have the ambulance back, it's unusable.
"We just recently got a grant and spent about $20,000 on medication because the need for flea control and anti-parasitic in the area is so huge," Raj said.
The organization was getting ready to hold a clinic tomorrow in Everett, which is one of their largest and the only one in Snohomish County. Now the clinic is canceled.
"We'll get there, we're going to get back out there, just get through today," Raj said.
The non-profit is mainly funded through donations and grants.