While her counterparts on the Seattle City Council were enjoying the Veterans Day holiday — or preparing proposed amendments to the city’s 2025 budget, District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth was coming to the rescue of a neighborhood pooch.
Monday, Hollingworth lent a hand after Seattle Police helped secure a dog seen being beaten over the weekend inside a Capitol Hill apartment building.
“We appreciate CM Joy Hollingsworth stepping in and taking the dog to a veterinarian since animal control is closed today because of the holiday,” a spokesperson for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority tells CHS.
The spokesperson tells CHS the man seen in the video allegedly hurting the animal had been previously arrested before the dog was rescued from the unit Monday.
How Hollingsworth ended up involved in the situation is apparently a tale of social media, politics, and a love for animals.
Sunday, a social media post included video shot by a neighbor of the dog being beaten by a man inside a unit of the 10th Ave E “microhousing” apartment building.
It isn’t clear how Hollingsworth became aware of the issue but the council member was able to contact the building’s owner, the Jengah “Seattle Urban Housing Project” nonprofit that has been trying to sell the property for $6.5 million (PDF) after construction was completed on the development last year.
Hollingsworth’s office hasn’t replied to our inquiry about the situation with most of City Hall shut down for the Veterans Day holiday. KOMO reports Hollingsworth “responded to the facility off 10th and John” after seeing the video. The councilmember reportedly criticized KCRHA for not having “a case worker on site.”
While the 27-room building isn’t owned or operated by the KCRHA, the organization tells CHS it funds individual leases there for formerly homeless clients and says the people living in the building are receiving services.
“Addressing this crisis is challenging and the people experiencing homelessness often have complex needs,” a spokesperson said. “We’re working with individuals to help them to rebuild their lives.”
Hollingsworth, meanwhile, has a busy week ahead securing support for her Capitol Hill public safety line items in the council’s budget balancing package including $100,000 in funding for a new Capitol Hill community safety coordinator position and $150,000 to support a new street Ambassador Program on Capitol Hill.
UPDATE: CHS has learned more about the arrest of the suspect in the case.
SPD says they took the man into custody Saturday night for investigation of animal cruelty after the person who witnessed the situation showed video of the incident to police. In the video, police say the suspect can be seen grabbing the grey pit bull by the neck and strangling and punching it.
Police responded to the apartment building and knocked on the unit’s door. Police say the suspect at first tried to hide in the unit but was convinced to surrender.
Police say the dog was left with the suspect’s girlfriend.
Monday morning, police assisted in the hand over of the dog to Hollingsworth.
The 19-year-old suspect was booked into King County Jail over the weekend and released Monday morning. Charges have not yet been filed in the case.
UPDATE x2: Hollingsworth says a Seattle Fire dispatch to her residence overnight was not due to a dog bite despite one mistaken neighbor’s 911 call.
Hollingsworth told CHS Tuesday the emergency medic dispatch came as she was not feeling well earlier this morning and was concerned about possible drug exposure from the newly rescued pup. The councilmember said the overnight call ended up being related to a previous medical condition and that she and the dog are fine.
Seattle Fire says it treated a female patient at the scene who was in stable condition and did not require transport to the hospital.
As this was happening, Hollingsworth says a 911 caller’s report of a dog bite broadcast on East Precinct police radio was the result of confusion about her condition. SPD says they were told after the neighbor called that the council member had not been bitten and canceled the dispatch of officers to the scene.
After the busy night, Hollingsworth says the dog is now living with a foster family who will help in its rehabilitation.
The council member says she is aware that conservative media is “spinning” the situation as an example of King County Regional Housing Authority failures but said she continues to maintain that the homelessness authority should provide case managers at buildings where its clients are housed and should not be leaning on developers and building managers to do the work.
“They can’t throw the building owner under the bus,” Hollingsworth said.
UPDATE x3: Hollingsworth says you can give to help support the pup here.
$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE THIS SPRING
🌈🐣🌼🌷🌱🌳🌾🍀🍃🦔🐇🐝🐑🌞🌻
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.
Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month -- or choose your level of support 👍
Getting that face time in with dog owners who are voters huh? Eh??? eh??? Good for her. Now help a cat down from a tree?
CM Hollingsworth accomplished more with this rescue than Sawant did in all her CM years running around with a megaphone.
Yes. Sawant’s response would have been like: ” What is a dog?”
You are implying that Joy did this for political reasons. Very cynical of you!
Have you seen the election results? I don’t out it past any body who holds in federal, state or city government to
Motivated. Anyways have fun feeling safe in Seattle these next for years?
🚬😑I should pay more attention. But my point still stands typos and auto correct mistakes aside. It worked for trump!
She’s up for reelection in 3 years, if she even runs.
every Sawantist wants to recall CM Hollingsworth and she just started this year as SCM for D3
“in the council’s budget balancing package including $100,000 in funding for a new Capitol Hill community safety coordinator position”
I wonder which friend gets that gig?
You’re making this up, right? The budget line item is for the department of neighborhoods, who isn’t going to just hire a council member’s friend.
Tim and Butch,
Cynical much? Bottom line: abused dog is in a better place. Problem with that?
It had nothing to do with the dog comment… I think you are a bit touchy over nothing
“Hollingsworth, meanwhile, has a busy week ahead securing support for her Capitol Hill public safety line items in the council’s budget balancing package including $100,000 in funding for a new Capitol Hill community safety coordinator position and $150,000 to support a new street Ambassador Program on Capitol Hill.”
Hollingsworth gets involved to help her developer friends out of a messy situation? She should address her involvement. This story is weird.
Weird why? Please explicate.
Don’t follow. The developer’s responsible for a resident abuse of their dog?
You have got to be kidding. Right? Kidding or just stupid?
I am so happy the dog is safe now. I hope also that larger issues about KCHRA, housing first not working, buying buildings in the most expensive area of Seattle to give a luxury condo to these POSs, and lack of anything more than sporadic monitoring at KCHRA facilities get some attention.
I have an elderly friend at my Ppatch. She lives in affordable housing but her building has filled with drug users and their friends. She is a trooper and always has a positive attitude but I would sure as F prefer, if we’re going to give away luxury condos away to someone, we give it to someone like my ppatch friend.
Housing First is not working. Maybe working somewhere but sure as F noy working in Seattle.
Housing first and harm reduction policies have been the death of Seattle. We should prioritizing mandatory treatment and public safety first. Public housing above a light rail station in the center of the city should be for workforce housing.
There are not the wraparound services promised at these sites and when there’s some staffing it’s usually only during the day. Friends at the new build on Madison have similar issues.
Here! Here! I have been very skeptical that buildings like this (for the formerly homeless) actually provide effective services to their residents. At the very least, there should be a live-in case manager at every one of them, as well as regular specialty interventions for addictions, mental illness, and job training. Anything less than this is just enabling.
A nearby neighbor who has become a good friend lives in one too and they have continuous drug dealing and use going on in the building. The other residents have complained for 2 years and nothing, it wasn’t until a shooting inside and the person was in the hall bleeding that anyone did anything. Just because people are poor they shouldn’t have to live like this. Treatment first then housing with services.
Further, for those who were recently homeless that now have housing, want to give sobriety an honest go, find themselves slipping back into old behavior because they are often surrounded by constant drug use and dealing. Clean living and living next to drug dealers is a tough ask for recovery.
I would say an impossible one. When I went through rehab I had to give up the people I hung out with to stay on track. 39 years now.
“luxury condos”? Micropodments aren’t luxury condos Einstein. They’re shelter – necessary shelter. Quit with the BS.
Definitely NOT luxury condos! But brand new construction (that allows pets) across the street from light rail and a block from the park? That’s pretty fucking sweet deal when many of us are paying $$$ for old moldy apartments!
That’s the point. I agree not luxury condos. I was speaking too generally and I apologize for that.
We probably have a higher number of people 30-65% of Seattle’s AMI who have a harder time finding housing than we do homeless street addicts on the hill. They also should be prioritized over homeless drug addicts.
Totally agree.
Pop quiz: how do you know when someone is a sawant supporter?
A: When they complain about someone saving a dog.
I know that it is sad when your idols betray you, but you will get through it. sawant is a traitor to women and a puppet to her husband.
Touch grass people.
One of the things that concerns me is a couple weeks ago I was walking by this building when I saw an unleashed chihuahua running on the sidewalk, driveway to the next door parking lot, and almost street. I managed to get the dog interested enough that its owner could get it. She also had a large pitbull with her. She thanked me and then went into this building. So presumably there are multiple dogs living in close quarters with someone who is willing to punch and strangle helpless dogs. I’m sickened by this. The guy was already let out of jail. I hope he doesn’t turn his abuse to his girlfriend next. And I hope the other dogs in the building are kept from this guy.