Oakland Animal Services: Rescue - Adopt - Educate

Sometimes it takes a village to raise…..a cat.  Or at least provide it with the care it needs.   This was the case with our sweet girl Madori.

After being dumped on shelter grounds, then spending six months at OAS, Madori left the shelter on Friday for a foster home.  Her situation is a great example of our partnership with Cat Town, a local non-profit dedicated to helping cats from OAS that need extra care and attention.  It also highlights our amazing supporter, Friends of Oakland Animal Services(FOAS). In addition to needing placement in a foster home, Madori has a strange skin condition and is being seen by a dermatologist after having undergone other diagnostics, all thanks to the generous support of FOAS.

Thank you Cat Town for reducing her stress and putting her in a quiet, loving home.  Thank you FOAS for all your support in helping this girl get healthy.  We couldn’t do it without partners like these!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 at 4:33 pm and is filed under Success Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Oakland Animal Services and Our Pack Pit Bull Rescue is offering a Pit Bull 101 class.  Join us on Saturday January 21st, at 12pm to learn from the experts at Our Pack. All your basic questions about pit bull behavior and ownership will be answered!

Please RSVP to Stephanie@ourpack.org

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 at 7:44 pm and is filed under Success Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Ellabean came to us last week in very poor condition.  When we took her in, she was barely moving and not responsive to touch.  We tested the dog for Parvovirus, but when the test came up negative, we had her x-rayed to determine what other injuries might be causing the state she was in.  Ellabean’s x-rays were made possible because of the donations made to our non-profit, Friends of Oakland Animal Services.

It was found that little Ellabean had a broken pelvis and spine and several puncture wounds.  We kept Ellabean here at the shelter while we contacted a few rescue groups.  Luckily, our friends at German Shepherd Rescue of Northern California were willing to take Ellabean into their program.  Her injuries were severe but because she had such a sweet disposition, GSR opted to have spinal surgery performed.  Ellabean now has pins in her spine to keep it in place as she heals.  Amazingly enough, these pins are designed to be adjusted on a weekly basis to adapt to her rapid growth from puppy to full sized dog. Her foster family reports that she is doing very well and was alert, happy and wagging her tail the day after surgery.  It is suspected that Ellabean was attacked by a raccoon, given the nature of her injuries.   We are excited for her full recovery.  For more updates on Ella, follow German Shepherd Rescue of Northern California on Facebook.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 28th, 2011 at 5:10 pm and is filed under Success Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Last month,  we rescued a family of dogs from an abandoned home in Oakland.   Mama and Papa dog along with a litter of puppies were severely neglected and emaciated.  We guessed that the puppies were probably 6-7 weeks old and at that age, a normal, healthy 7 week old puppy like these should weigh around 10 pounds.  These puppies weighed in at only 2 pounds each.  Despite their terrible condition, all the dogs were friendly and very social.  We immediately began contacting partner groups to see if there was a group who could take the puppies into a home and get them back to a normal, healthy happy size.   Pound Puppy Rescue stepped up to the task and has cared for these dogs as they have slowly made a come back.  The foster parents for these pups call them the “Christmas Cookie” litter.    As you can see, the puppies are healthy and sweet little pups, now at a regular size like they should be!

We are so thankful to Pound Puppy Rescue for helping us with this situation and giving these puppies a home to thrive in.    We can’t care for the animal population in Oakland alone, we are so thankful to our partner groups for sharing the load of taking care of Oakland’s animals!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 21st, 2011 at 7:23 pm and is filed under Success Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

We have are lucky to have thriving adoption programs here at OAS for cats, rabbits and dogs that come to our facility.   With a volunteer force of over 150 volunteers and many dedicated staff, we are able to care for, socialize and adopt dozens of animals each week.  However, we often get many more animals into our facility than we are able to adopt out on our own.  Luckily, we have great partner animal organizations in the community that take many of our animals to their adoption programs.  Because we have such a strong community of organizations committed to animals, we are able to care for and adopt many many more animals than we would be able to on our own.

These win-win situations create the most positive result in a climate where spaying and neutering does not happen as regularly as it needs to.   It is important to remember spaying and neutering is the  most important measure that can be taken to prevent an overabundance of animals looking for homes.  There are many options for spay and neuter in our community. For more information, check out the Berkeley Humane Society or East Bay SPCA .

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 14th, 2011 at 8:13 pm and is filed under Success Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

We told Moo’s adoption story a few months back, his travel to Southern California and his new family’s excitement at finding a second great dog at OAS.  You can read the full story here.

We are happy to report that Moo’s adopters contacted us to say he has been quite the energetic rascal but with doggie play groups and plenty of outside romps, Moo is becoming star of his obedience class.  This is clearly a dog with personality!

Moo is a great example of many of the amazing, spirited dogs we have here at OAS.  We are so happy he found his perfect home.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 3rd, 2011 at 6:17 pm and is filed under Success Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

This past weekend, a citizen brought in a tiny, chihuahua puppy to Oakland Animal Services. She had purchased the puppy on a street corner. She soon realized the pup appeared to be sick since it was acting lethargic. She brought the puppy to us and we informed her that the less than one pound puppy was only about 3 weeks old, too young to be separated from her mother. In California, it is illegal to sell puppies less than eight weeks of age. And, beginning January 1, 2012, it will be illegal to sell animals on street corners or temporary retail venues. Later that day, a woman brought in a puppy she found wondering around outside of Target – all by itself. This one appeared to be the sibling of the one from earlier since it was the same size and breed. We reunited these puppies and Animal Control Officer Frede is fostering them and nursing them back to health. She has named them Laney and Tarjay.

This is a good reminder that adoption is always preferable to purchasing animals.  With an adoption agency, you know the animal is healthy and behaviorally sound, ready to become a great pet for you and your family.  At OAS, each animal that stays with us is given its proper vaccinations and veterinary care while it is here.  There are many homeless animals at shelters like OAS just waiting for good homes!

This story also points to one of the reasons for the serious dog overpopulation problem in Oakland. People attempt to make “quick” money by selling adorable, tiny puppies who are unaltered and people purchase them without considering the long term investment in time and money they will need to make to care for these dogs. Spay and neuter and adopt from a shelter!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 16th, 2011 at 5:20 pm and is filed under Success Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

A few months ago, this sweet girl came to us as a stray.  A very sweet older dog,  aptly named her Betty White.  Upon exam, we discovered that Betty had a severe case of oronasal fistulas;  her teeth were so rotten they had caused decay through her gums into her nasal cavity.

We called on our friends at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine to see if they might be able to help.    For over 5 years, OAS and UC Davis have worked together closely.    OAS  has benefited through regular spay and neuter surgeries, cardiology consults and reccommendations when we are faced with severe or chronic illness and disease.  With Betty White, UC Davis performed surgery to fix her fistula problem as well as performed a full dental treatment, pulling all her decayed teeth and leaving her in great shape for the years ahead.

Betty White is now successfully recovering in a foster home with plans to be adopted shortly.    Thank you UC Davis!

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 23rd, 2011 at 1:04 pm and is filed under Success Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Sometimes going home takes a little patience, a good bit of time and a whole lot of luck. And that’s what Koki – a four-year-old poodle mix – had this past weekend.

The charming little dog had been visiting with her owner’s parents in Oakland when she was believed to have been stolen from their fenced yard. Stephanie, who got the year-old dog from a friend who was allergic to her, spent two months checking shelters and calling the microchip company where Koki was registered, but no luck. That was in January 2009!

Stephanie, who lives in San Jose, was heartbroken and never got another dog. Then this past Saturday she received a call from Oakland Animal Services: A dog with a microchip (a small tracking device the size of a grain of rice that is implanted in the animal’s shoulder area) that was registered to her had turned up at the shelter.  The now four-year-old dog was scruffy and dirty and covered in fleas. But that didn’t dampen the reunion – Mom and pooch were excited to see one another. The poodle’s little tail did not stop wagging. “Our first stop is going to be Pet Food Express, to wash her and take care of the fleas,” Stephanie said.

This story is a great reminder of how important it is to microchip your companion animals. Collars with tags on them can fall off or be removed, but the microchip – providing it’s registered and the contact information is kept current – will always be there. Sometimes that “miracle” will happen: A missing furry family member will be found and the owner can be contacted and reunited with the lost loved one, just as happened to Stephanie and Koki.

We’ll never know where Koki spent the past 2.5 years, but her next stop will be home – at last!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 11th, 2011 at 8:11 pm and is filed under Success Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.