Zeke, a K9 Pet Detective, is supposed to find lost dogs, but last week instead of locating a dog, the five-year-old Bloodhound ate a rock.

Zeke was rushed to the Five Corners Emergency Vet in Burien where an X-ray revealed a rock the size of a golf ball lodged in his small intestine. Dr. Paul Chauvin performed surgery on Friday night which went smoothly and without complications.

Zeke is well on the road to recovery, however, that rock may yet sink the volunteer program that Zeke is involved in. 

Kat Albrecht, a former police officer-turned-pet detective, is Zeke’s guardian/trainer. Albrecht founded Missing Pet Partnership, a nonprofit organization in 2001.

The organization moved its training operations to the Puget Sound area in 2008 where Albrecht has been quietly training a small group of volunteers and dogs to sniff out lost pets. Plans were in place to launch the first-ever lost pet search-and-rescue team in King County, however, the rocky economy has affected those plans.

Missing Pet Partnership does not have the funds to pay for the Seattle volunteer K9 vet bills. The cost of food, equipment, and vet bills for these unique search dogs rests squarely on the shoulder of their guardians. Besides Zeke, there are five other volunteer Seattle K9 pet detectives in training.

Last year one of the search dogs, Harley, saved the life of a missing cat named Norm in Medina.

Zeke’s surgery alone came to $2,089 and wasn’t covered by insurance. With increased bills and a dramatic drop in donations, Albrecht may have to suspend her work with the nonprofit and seek other employment. If that happens, she won’t have time to complete Zeke’s training or launch the program.

The nonprofit needs both volunteers and donations. A special benevolent fund has been set up to pay for the surgery. You can make a donation to help pay Zeke’s vet bill with a check payable to “Kathy Albrecht for Zeke K9 Pet Detective” or make a tax deductible donation to “Missing Pet Partnership.”

Send all donations to: Missing Pet Partnership, P.O. Box 3085, Federal Way, WA 98063.

Missing Pet Partnership was founded in 2001 by Kat Albrecht, a former police detective-turned-pet detective. Albrecht made her dramatic entrance into pet detective work back in 1997 after she used a search-and-rescue dog to track down her missing police bloodhound.  Since then, Albrecht has trained over 100 human and canine pet detectives to locate lost pets across the USA, in Canada, and even in Ireland.  
For further information go to www.missingpetpartnership.org.