Letters to the editor | April 30 edition
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, April 29, 2026
VIPP appreciation
If you’re a youth like me, you may have heard of VIPP, but what do you really know about them? I didn’t know much — just that I got my cat Pumpkin from them — at least until I started a project at school centered on animal welfare. Then I was faced with the question, “What is the current state of animals in your community?” To be honest, I really had no idea until my English teacher suggested I reach out to VIPP. That’s when I decided to get in touch.
All I knew was that they are our local rescue shelter, but they are so much more than that. The more I learned, the more my gratitude for them grew.
VIPP is made up of a passionate team of individuals who devote their time to making sure no pet is left without safety and shelter.
They try their hardest to take in pets no matter the situation and even take in some cases from off-island. An example of this is T-Bone Flapjack, a cat currently at the shelter, who earned his unique name when he was found off-island after getting T-boned by a passing car. A woman who was there at the time immediately brought him to VIPP, and he’s been leading a happy life at VIPP ever since.
VIPP not only provides sheltering, but they also offer spay and neuter services, microchips and AirTags, lost-and-found help, and no-hungry-pet programs, as well as their annual Fur Ball fundraiser.
VIPP has made a significant impact on the lives of our island’s pets. In 1984, when the organization was first established, the population of abandoned animals was sadly much higher than it is on Vashon today. As the organization grew, our animals began to thrive.
VIPP is such a vital part of our Vashon community, making sure animals are placed in caring homes and also providing a financial safety net when island pets face emergencies. It is so inspiring to see how many people work together to protect so many beautiful animals.
Maren Chait, Grade 8
Insurance Almost
In about 1995, my brother’s wife had an operation to remove a brain tumor. The next day his insurance company found a mistake on their insurance application.
They denied coverage. My brother had to cough up what Medicare didn’t cover, about $50,000, every dime he had.
Today I went to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for a friend who has drug insurance.
The pharmacist said her insurance company says the drug is not in their formulary. Once again an insurance company finding a way to duck an obligation. Never fear, the drug was only $7 per pill, almost $200. Reasonable huh.
I still picture Joe Biden at the Democratic Party Presidential Debate saying we shouldn’t have single payer insurance because some people like their insurance and insurance carrier. Man, that jerk could lie. I’ve never met a single soul in my 85 years who had anything good to say about his/her insurance or his/her insurance carrier.
We don’t have insurance in this country. We have what I call “insurance almost.”
Shelley Simon
A Reminder
A reminder of a perspective which seems to have been lost.
From the closing of Jimmy Carter’s acceptance speech of his 2002 Noble Peace Prize for his post-presidential activities:
“War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.”
John Blair
