Rattlesnake Mountain Gang Rescue (Dog)

Local residents know the many benefits of living in the beautiful Snoqualmie Valley. Unfortunately, most of us know there are downsides too. Two of these disadvantages are lost and abandoned dogs.

Many selfless locals spend a good chunk of their summer weekends trying to help out-of-town locals who for one reason or another have lost their dogs while hiking our local trails. It is a sometimes heartbreaking task that few choose to take on and even fewer do as their life’s work. This is the story of someone who does just that and recently saved the lives of four young dogs.

Friday August 20^eDepartment of Natural Resources (MNR) employee Shannon Eggers went to open MNR’s door on Winery Road as part of her job. That morning she discovered four young mixed breed dogs and a bag of dog food poured out near the door.

Eggers called Animal Control who set up a trap and posted signs warning hikers and cyclists to stay away from dogs. Since dogs were charging people in a way that could be considered aggressive, Animal Control called on Jim Branson to Useless Bay Animal Sanctuary.

If you are new to Useless Bay Sanctuary and Jim Branson, you should, as he and his non-profit organization are of tremendous help and blessing to the pet community in the Puget Sound area. .

Founded in 2013, Useless Bay Sanctuary is a team of rescuers passionate about helping lost dogs. They help dogs that other people have trouble capturing. Their mission is to help stray dogs that may not match the tools and resources of traditional animal shelters and rescues.

Animal Control named Branson because he has experience and tools specific to hard-to-catch dogs. The rescue also has the option of persisting in helping a dog that may not fall within the skill or competence of other rescues and shelters. It is a 501c3 non-profit charitable organization.

It was named Useless Bay after the bay on Whidbey Island, not deep enough for large ships. One person’s uselessness is another person’s treasure. The dogs they rescue may have been deemed unnecessary by someone, but they find a place where they are treasured members of the family.

Branson and his volunteers arrived at the door and started with Calming signals, a series of postures and facial expressions that dogs use to calm themselves down in potentially dangerous situations. The four dogs barked at him, but he just relaxed and didn’t respond.

Branson said, “I could see they were just puppies, getting mad at each other, and not a serious threat. I threw them treats. I made eye contact and then looked away. I turned my body to the side and let them come behind me and examine me. Then I sat down with my legs spread in front of me to show them that I wasn’t going to stand up quickly or make sudden movements towards them.

The purpose of this first evening was to gain their confidence so that they could try different methods of containment. The sanctuary has a large trap, 10ft by 5ft, which Branson would have liked to use, but it was currently being used for a different mission for two dogs in Gig Harbor. So he just sat down and made friends while messaging people about different entrapment situations they could try. He and the volunteers tried to lead them to open vehicles, hoping they would jump in, but it didn’t work.

On Saturday he arrived as early as possible and continued to build trust with them. Now named Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael, aka The Rattlesnake Mountain Gang, the dogs seemed happy to see him, especially Raphael. James spent the morning with the four dogs but soon had to leave to take care of his own dogs.

He received a message that a car had crashed in the woods right in front of the DNR gate on his way back. When he arrived, a tow truck came to pull the car out of the woods. The tow truck driver asked about the dogs and James mentioned that they were looking for something like a horse trailer with a wide opening and a low floor he could drive the dogs into. He happened to have a horse trailer that they could use. After towing the car, he returned with the horse trailer.

Even though the dogs were very interested in the smells of the horse trailer, after several unsuccessful attempts to lead and coax the dogs into the trailer with little luck, the group decided to just let the dogs rest and try a different approach the next day.

The horse trailer was left overnight, but wildlife cameras showed the dogs no longer approached the trailer, even in the stillness of the night. So, on Sunday, Branson started building confidence again and worked on a plan to set up a 10-by-10-foot enclosure to attract them. A volunteer went to Tractor Supply in Monroe and got a large dog pen. They set it up, and the dogs weren’t too suspicious of it.

Unfortunately, as they were about to take them there, someone arrived with the intention of taking a dog or two. The person was very disruptive and did not listen to the group explain that they had been working to trap them for three days, thus building confidence over time. This person upset the dogs and created a huge stir, not leaving until the police were called.

Two of the dogs rushed into the enclosure they had set up during the pandemonium, and a volunteer closed the door. They had Raphael and Leonard contained! But Michelangelo and Donatello were still at large. Branson was able to sit down and let Donatello walk over to him, and after a while he was able to put a slippery leash on the dog.

Managing to get Donatello into the enclosure, only Michelangelo was left out, but he was still suspicious after his previous experience in the horse trailer. The three dogs inside the pen were placed in kennels, so they were safely confined, and Michelangelo could be with them if he wanted.

At this point, Branson pulled Valentino, his own dog, out of the car. The four dogs were very excited by his presence, and as the three dogs in the kennel barked at Valentino, Michelangelo approached to be with his pack to bark with them.

A volunteer closed the door behind Michelangelo after he entered because he was distracted, barking with his brothers. Another volunteer ran to his house and got a fourth crate, and they were all contained! They were then loaded into vehicles and taken to the King County Refuge in Kent.

This story is one of many that I have personally seen online about Jim Branson and his wonderful organization. From 2008 to 2016, James Branson and Kelsy the Black Lab helped locate lost dogs and cats in the Puget Sound area. He volunteered for the Missing Pet Partnership for four years before training Three Retrievers Lost Pet Rescue in 2012. Kelsy was a scent bitch and she usually followed the scent trails of lost dogs, sometimes cats. Kelsy searched for 8 years, until she died of cancer at the age of 11.

Valentino, born in 2016, has become the leading scent sled dog since 2018. James Branson is a Certified Missing Animal Response Technician trained by the Missing Pet Partnership. Branson wrote manuals on Finding Lost Dogs and Cats, which you can order or download immediately from Amazon.com.

Says Lily Burns (UBS volunteer and one of the administrators of the Lost Dogs of King County WA Facebook group), “Jim stands for Lost Dogs and Useless Bay Sanctuary. His dedication is almost unimaginable until we witness it day in and day out. The work he and the volunteers do across Useless Bay Sanctuary for stray and hard-to-catch dogs is simply phenomenal. I am constantly inspired by his expertise, patience and the countless hours he devotes to saving a single dog, nonetheless a pack of four large breed puppies that have been abandoned by their own humans. The stories are endless, as is the devotion behind them.

Please consider make a donation at or volunteering for Useless Bay Pet Sanctuary. Neither of us knows when we might need Jim and Tino’s services, and we need more people (dogs are people too!) Like them in the world.

Thank you, Jim and Tino (and volunteers LaVonne Finnerud, Shannon Eggers, Judy Cecil, Janelle Logan, Brenda Jorgensen, Lily Burns), for all you do!

Related