Laine Fast

Itay Hod of CBS News Bay Area reports on Oakland Animal Services and the pigeon rescue organization Palomacy to find homes for pet pigeons with an unusual approach.

Under general supervision, the Dog Foster Program Assistant works in close collaboration with the two Dog Foster Program Coordinators to support a foster program for primarily large dogs and puppies from Oakland Animal Services (OAS).

With typically over 50% of OAS dogs in foster care, the Dog Foster Program Assistant will play an important role in getting dogs out of the shelter and supporting the volunteers who foster them. Since OAS launched the foster program in 2020, it has helped OAS increase the live release rate for dogs from 84% in 2020 to over 94% today.

The ideal candidate will be highly organized, flexible and able to work well in a fast-paced team environment. The schedule will include some evening and weekend hours.

Through support from Friends of Oakland Animal Services (FOAS), OAS has created an Outcome Team, made up of the Foster, Adoption, Transfer and Behavior Coordinators, as well as a Dog Playgroup Coordinator, to focus on placing animals and reducing length of stay.

More information, including compensation and qualifications, can be found linked here and detailed below.

Under general supervision, this role is responsible for providing oversight and support to the members of the Outcome Team, made up of approximately 13 employees of Friends of Oakland Animal Services (FOAS) who work at Oakland Animal Services (OAS), including the Foster, Adoption, Transfer and Behavior Coordinators, who focus on animal lifesaving and reducing length of stay. This is a new position at OAS.

The Outcome Team Manager will work directly for the OAS Director or designee, focusing on three primary areas: (1) providing supervision and support to Outcome Team staff; (2) serving as a liaison to FOAS administrative staff; and (3) providing guidance and leadership to help grow and strengthen lifesaving programs to help people keep their pets and save shelter animals.

The ideal candidate will be passionate about working in an under resourced municipal shelter and helping hard-to-place shelter animals. They will have significant familiarity with model programs for engaging the community to support animal lifesaving. They will have excellent emotional intelligence and experience building successful teams. They will be highly organized, flexible and able to work well in a fast-paced team environment.

In recent years, OAS has introduced equity focused shelter-intake and community-serving programs, such as providing access to veterinary care, to help keep animals with their families. Through support from Friends of Oakland Animal Services, OAS has created an Outcome Team, made up of the Foster, Adoption, Transfer and Behavior Coordinators, to focus on placing animals and reducing length of stay. Through the introduction of these programs, OAS now has robust community, foster and adoption programs, leading to a live release rate over 93%.

More information, including compensation and qualifications, can be found linked here and detailed below.

Under general supervision, this position may be held by one or more part-time contractors (working up to a total of 32 hours/week), for the following three functional areas: (1) Behavior evaluations; (2) behavior modification for shelter and foster dogs; and (3) behavioral support for fosters and adopters. The selected individual(s) will work on-site at Oakland Animal Services (OAS), the city’s only open-admission shelter. All roles focus primarily on large dogs who aren’t doing well in a stressful shelter environment, requiring experience working with dogs with behavioral challenges. All work in close coordination with shelter management, the Animal Care Supervisor, Animal Care staff, and the Foster, Adoption, and Transfer Coordinators and volunteers.

The ideal candidate with have a passion for working in an under resourced municipal shelter and helping the hardest-to-place dogs. They will be highly organized, flexible and able to work well in a fast-paced team environment.

OAS has introduced equity focused shelter-intake and community-serving programs, such as providing access to veterinary care, to help keep animals with their families. Through support from Friends of Oakland Animal Services (FOAS), OAS has created an Outcome Team, made up of the Foster, Adoption, and Transfer Coordinators, and dog playgroups, to focus on hard-to-place animals and reduce length of stay.

More information, including compensation and qualifications, can be found linked here and detailed below.

FOAS Dog Behavior Coordinator Job Desc_2025.

The Friends of Oakland Animal Services (FOAS) is hiring for a Bilingual Adoption Coordinator (Spanish/English). Under general supervision, this role is responsible for facilitating on-site and off-site adoptions for animals from Oakland Animal Services (OAS), especially for dogs. The person in this role will have a primary focus on removing barriers for potential adopters who are low-income or have no or limited English proficiency, particularly for people who speak Spanish, as well as other non-English speakers.

Since 2020, OAS has focused on improving the experience of potential adopters, and increasing lifesaving, by making the process more welcoming and accessible, and by focusing on matchmaking. The adoption rate for dogs and cats has tripled since that time.

The ideal candidate will be highly organized, flexible and able to work well in a fast-paced team environment. The Bilingual Adoption Coordinator will work as part of a three-person adoption team and will work in close collaboration with the OAS Volunteer Coordinator.

For more details, including compensation, click here.