About 6pm last evening, quick-witted Laura who was walking at Lincoln Park called the Seal Sitters hotline to report a pup resting on the park’s north-end beach. Our responders arrived within minutes to find an alert and reasonably robust pup tucked near a large log. The pup was named Chumley and is our 12th pup of the season. Chumley was able to rest undisturbed under the watchful eye of volunteers; however, an off-leash dog ran down the path from the hill above onto the beach close to him. Thankfully, our volunteers were able to coax the curious dog out from under the tape and a mere 5 feet from the pup. The dog then ran off, back up the hill. No owner was ever seen.

The north end of Lincoln Park is notorious for people with off-leash dogs and is an area heavily used by resting seal pups, as is all of Lincoln Park. We cannot stress enough the dangers of mingling these two species. Not only is it highly likely that a seal pup could be injured or killed by a dog (as the recent seal pup death on a Puget Sound island), but also the animals can transmit diseases between them. Please remember and respect the City law that prohibits dogs, leashed or unleashed, from public beaches. Lincoln Park now has an off-leash area for dogs where they can run free and not potentially harm another species. Chumley was still on the beach when our volunteers left the park at dark. It is not safe for our volunteers to remain after dark in remote areas.

This harbor seal pupping season is a bit of a change from last year’s. We have had fewer pups visit our shores and so far they are not returning for days in a row. Consequently, we have had less “responses”. This could change any day now as we move into fall with upcoming salmon runs. Where there are big fish, they are usually the small bait fish that seal pups forage on. That could increase our numbers - or the 5 pups that are currently using the platforms could decide to move to the beaches to rest.

7:00 am pupdate
Our first responder arrived in pre-dawn light this morning to see if Chumley was still on the beach. He was not. However, the spot where he had been resting was covered with huge dog paw prints and a man’s footprints. Had Chumley still been there and was he harmed? We won’t know unless he shows up again with a wound. Many, many responsible dog owners are equally upset at this irresponsible behavior by other dog owners. PLEASE obey the law and keep dogs off City beaches. Respect other animals that are trying to survive on our beaches - share the shore. Chasing migrating shorebirds and resting seal pups can mean the difference between life and death for these animals.

Tags: Chumley