Ways to Help
How to Help Oakland Animal Services
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1) Volunteer
You can apply to volunteer at Oakland Animal Services. The main role of OAS volunteers is to help visitors meet animals for adoption and look for their lost animals. Volunteers also spend quality time with shelter animals. To volunteer, you need to:
__Be over 18 years of age
__Commit to volunteering at least 2 hours a week on a regular schedule for at least 6 months during the hours when we are open to the public
__Enjoy working with the public and have excellent customer service skills
__Be selected to join the program
To apply, attend an Oakland Animal Services “Open House” and you then will learn more about OAS and determine if it is the right match for your volunteering needs.
2) Donate
The nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, Friends of Oakland Animal Services, raises funds to support programs that improve the quality of life for animals at Oakland Animal Services. Donation opportunities:
Sponsor an Animal. Are you unable to adopt an animal, but want to help one find a home? Adoption fee sponsorship may be the way to go. For $35, you can sponsor a rabbit or cat, for $50 a pair of rabbits, and for $135 a dog. Your donation covers spay/neuter, microchip, and adoption fees to help the animal of your choice find a loving home. You can sponsor either a type of animal (dog, cat, or rabbit), in which case our dedicated shelter volunteers will select a deserving animal in need of promotion; or a specific animal chosen from our many adoptable animals. This will help many of our animals get adopted more quickly! Donate here.
If the sponsored animal is not adopted from our shelter for any reason, your donation will help pay for other shelter animals’ medical expenses and/or quality-of-life improvements.
Donate Items: We can always use a wide range of items at Oakland Animal Services, including towels, blankets and toys. See our wish list .
3) Adopt
Consider bringing one of our shelter animals into your family!
4) Foster
We work with a wide variety of nonprofit organizations to place animals that need more care than we can provide at OAS. You can contact one of these agencies to inquire about fostering an animal or litter of animals! Examples of groups include Cat Town, East Bay SPCA, Hopalong Animal Rescue, SFSPCA, Muttville, Dusty Paws…
5) Tell Your Friends about OAS!
We can always use help getting the word out about OAS. Talk us up on Yelp, Facebook, and other places to encourage people to come see the shelter and get involved. Thank you!
