Many have probably noticed the ubiquitous Animals First Foundation booth at the various street fairs in West Seattle and surrounding communities. Hanging by its table is a large black poster board of snapshots of dogs with names like “Cherry” and “Louie,” some looking content, others with those puppy-dog eyes that seem to say, “Please take me home.”

The West Seattle based 501 (c)(3) foundation’s Web site features black outlines of birds flying through an ominous sky like those in the opening shot of Citizen Kane’s idyllic Xanadu. And while Animals First is mostly about dogs, and to a small extent, cats, fostering, healing, and placing them, its Web site features vegan recipes, Canadian seal hunt opposition information, and stories including “The Dark Side of Turkey Farms,” and “CPR for Pets.”

“Our goal is more encompassing than finding homes for dogs and cats,” said Animals First Foundation president, Heather Enajibi, an Auburn resident who grew up in West Seattle and attended Highline High School. Carina Borja, a West Seattle resident, is the founder.

“We promote awareness of seal slaughter through our Web site,” said Enajibi. “We also take out ads to donate to the HSUS (Humane Society of the United States.) We believe in the rights of animals. Seal fur I find abhorrent. In this day and age fur is not necessary.”

Animals First Foundation works in conjunction with other rescue and adoption organizations, including Petfinder.com and West Seattle resident Teri Ensly’s Furryfaces.org.

“We have no facility and depend on foster homes, kennels and vets,” said Enajibi.

Adopting a dog through her organization costs $200, and includes spaying, vaccinations, microchip, and requires a 30-day “foster period” to make sure pet and owner are a good fit. She acknowledged that kenneling and vet bills to rescue certain dogs can cost thousands per potential pet.

While fluffy little lap dogs are rescued and adoptable, it is the pit bulls and other breeds perceived as aggressive that makes up the bulk of rescue dogs, according to Inajibi. They are a harder sell to potential dog owners, and so more remain as new pit bulls come in.

She believes this is due in part to unfair breed-screening when owners of these dogs cannot find landlords willing to accept their dog, so they have to give their dog up. Also, she said, when a dog belonging to a so-called gentler breed bites someone or another dog it is under-reported in the media.

She urges people to look at www.happypitbull.com to assuage their notions of pit bulls.

Meet Grommett, a playful pit bull and a success story. Grommett was a stray in Everett, and its new owners found him through Petfinder that linked the pup’s photo from Animals First Foundation. He now belongs to Patrick Dwyer and his fianceé Kim Dougherty, West Seattle residents. The three live together in a condo.

There was no conflict because Dwyer and Dougherty were the first to buy a unit in their rehabbed condo building and no pet restrictions existed.

“He will lick anyone who comes into the house,” said Dwyer. “You can’t trust ‘bite statistics.’ They’re not comprehensive. I’ve been bitten by schnauzers,” added Dwyer, a mechanical engineer with a Renton firm.

“A lab (Labrador retriever) broke away from its owner and bit Grommett on the neck," he said. "Pit bulls are great dogs, loyal. They are strong, but a dog is a dog, and they need to be brought up with rules and boundaries."

Dougherty said she was sold on Grommett when she viewed his picture and video on the Petfinder site.

Said Dougherty, “I originally wanted something small and cute, girly I guess, like a Shih Tzu, Pomeranian, or Chihuahua.”

Animals First Foundation is throwing a silent auction and raffle Aug. 9 at Vino Bello Wine Shop and Wine Bar in Burien and is always looking for donations and foster care.