News

They just don’t come any cuter than this.  Although these dogs look like they are twins, they are really just the best of friends.  Hudson was adopted from OAS 2 years ago and was recently surrendered by his owner.  Both are amazing dogs looking for amazing families to adopt them.  Both animals are spayed/neutered and ready to go with you today!

We had an incredible weekend participating in the second annual Maddie’s Matchmaker Adoptathon! We adopted 93 dogs and 73 cats to loving, qualified homes in just two days! List of adopted animals here.  And, the Maddie’s Foundation will donate over $100,000 to Oakland Animal Services to help support our work to adopt animals and improve the quality of life of animals at the shelter. We have a lot of people to thank for their hard work.

Maddie’s Foundation:

Of course, we want to thank Maddie’s Foundation for creating and supporting the Adoptathon — inspiring more than 70 organizations across Alameda and Contra Costa counties to go above and beyond what they thought was ever possible.  Last year, we adopted 133 dogs/cats at the Adoptathon, a number we could have never expected, and then this year we adopted 166! We are inspired to see how we can increase our adoptions daily.

Our Wonderful Staff, Mentors, and Volunteers:
This event took weeks of planning and preparation by staff and volunteers.The animals had to be prepared for adoption, including temperament tested, spayed/neutered, photographed, groomed and their information uploaded to our website. Our PR committee and volunteers worked on getting the word out about the event. They put together a spreadsheet together of all of the animals and their medical needs which Roger Davies then converted into an incredibly useful website that showed and tweeted all of the animals adopted in real time! And, of course, during the days of the event, staff and volunteers helped citizens find their perfect animal, educated them on their new animal’s needs, and helped them complete all of the paperwork to finalize their adoption. What a team!

See video of staff and volunteers:  http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150267807487664&oid=119220341425722&comments

 Woof Doggy Day Care and Hotel
Woof was a huge part of the event’s success. Jacque Preble, the Owner of Woof, opened up her boarding facility to hold dogs and cats for the event so they could be close to the Stoneridge Shopping Center to be shown at the Maddie’s site location and Woof served as a site for the event too! We had many dogs and cats adopted out of these locations. They also groomed many of these dogs.  Thank you to all of Woof’s staff for volunteering to help at the event and taking care of our animals during their stay!  You guys are amazing!

Happy Hound Daycare
Thank you to Happy Hound for donating their time to groom and beautify so many of our dogs before the event.  This definitely helped them get adopted!  Thank you to all of the volunteers who drove them to and from Happy Hound for their spa sessions.

There are so many more people and groups to thank….we thank all of you!!!

5/15/11 An Email from a Citizen:

 I’d like to share our wonderful experience with Officer Strong and 3 other members of your team. The professionalism and care and concern for the dog’s well being and comfort were amazing. Despite your limited staffing and heavy demands, the thorough attention and follow up phone calls – especially today’s (Sunday morning) call from Officer Strong with news of the dog being reunited with the owners – were outstanding.

The Story of the Dog Under Their Porch

Cleo was adopted from the East Bay SPCA one year and two days ago.  She had just begun settling into her new home near Skyline and bonding with her new human companions when something spooked her and she took off.  Her family searched and searched for her.  They even put out items of their son’s clothing -hoping the scent would bring her back.  No sign of her. 

Oakland Animal Services’ received a call of a stray dog near Broadway.  We put out a dog trap and we were called when a dog was caught. It was Cleo!  Animal Control Officers Pan and Ayala coaxed Cleo out of the trap and got her onto a leash.  They were suprised to learn she had a microchip when they scanned her.  They called the owners who couldn’t believe she had been found.  It was exactly one year ago today that she disappeared.  Once again, this story reminds us of the power of the microchip!

This little black-tailed deer fawn was found by citizens in the middle of a street in Oakland.  She was dazed and her mother was no where to be found.  They called us and an Animal Control Officer picked her up and brought her to the Shelter for evaluation.  We decided to transfer her to Lindsay Wildlife Center in Walnut Creek where she could receive additional care.  We prepared her for the trip by giving her fluids, warming her up and giving her medicine to calm her – deer can die simply from fright so this was an important step.  We hope the little deer does well!

This is the season for baby fawn.  Here is some information from Yggdrasil Wildlife Center about helping fawn:

I found a baby deer (fawn). What do I do?

* The mother only comes to feed the young two or three times a day. Otherwise, the young fawns are left alone while their mother is out searching for food to make more milk. Even if you are watching carefully, you may not see the mother return to her young. Do not assume the baby(s) are orphaned simply because you do not see the mother! Fawns will wander a bit. When the mother returns to the area, she calls to her young and they come to nurse.

If a fawn is seen lying upright, eyes wide open, but flattened to the ground, do not touch it. This is a fawn’s camouflage position. It blends with its surroundings. When it is picked up it will hold its legs tight against its body with its head forward. Its legs are not broken. Sometimes the fawn allows its body to become limp and dangle in your hands. Put it down, walk away and leave it alone. This fawn is too small to follow the doe for the long distance she must travel to find enough food to make milk for her baby. A doe may leave her baby alone for up to 6 hours at a time in her search to find food. Doe’s milk is very rich and will sustain the fawn for the many hours it spends alone. The doe will return only when there are no humans nearby. Do not sit and wait for her to return. If you have removed the fawn from its resting spot take it back at once and walk away. The doe will be searching for her fawn.

* Deer are extremely high-stress animals; they can die from fear. Petting the fawn, talking to it, holding it, does not comfort it. This is a wild animal. Human voices, odor and touch only add to the stress and will cause additional harm besides the illness or injury. When a fawn seems calm it may be in shock.

If a fawn is obviously ill, lying on its side, kicking, crying – pick it up and place it in a quiet place. A light cloth placed over the animal’s head will sometimes calm it. Keep it away from pets and all human activity.  If the weather is cold, a blanket may be placed over its body to keep it from becoming chilled. In hot weather a cool location, out of drafts, and call your local wildlife center.

*Deer have sensitive digestive tracts. DO NOT FEED THE FAWN ANYTHING other than water. Baby formula, cow’s milk, feed store mixes, pet store domestic animal formulas, soy products – will cause scouring, dehydration and death. CALL A WILDLIFE CENTER at once for help.  Yggdrasil = 510-421-YUWR,  Linday Wildlife = 925-935-1978  or Wild Rescue = 831.429.2323

Reunited 5/5/11:  The little poodle “Blue” was reunited with his family yesterday after he had been lost for over 2 years!  We were able to reunite him because of his microchip!  Thank you to ACA Pi for beautifying him before his big visit with his family – he was pretty dirty when he first came in!

See video of reunion here.  Thank you to Enjel for the video!

Photos of Blue when he came in:

This little old adorable poodle was brought in as a stray today. Thankfully, he had a microchip! Animal Control Officer Strong called the phone number from the microchip company and the woman who answered couldn’t believe that she was calling about her dog.  She proceeded to tell Strong that they had lost the dog two years ago from her home in Rio Linda, California! He was 9 years old then and he’s now 11. He’s covered in dirt and terribly matted. Who knows what adventures he’s been through during the last 2 years or how he made it to Oakland.  His owners are driving to Oakland tomorrow to see him for the first time in years!

Not only was this poodle found today, but we also impounded this black and white pit bull with a microchip.  Her microchip led Animal Control Officer Leo Ayala to contact the dog’s owner in Sacramento.  She’s been searching for her dog all over Sacramento since Friday.  She has no idea how her dog got to Oakland and she would have never found her if her dog was not microchipped.

We also got in a lost kitty today with a microchip. Her microchip leads back to Hawaii! Sadly, when Animal Control Officer Elena Hocking tried to call the phone number it was out of order. She will send a letter to the address in hopes that the owner still lives there or has had their mail forwarded to their new home.  It is always very sad for us when we get an animal with a microchip but the owner hasn’t updated the information in the microchip company’s database. Please make sure to call your animal’s microchip company regularly to make sure the contact information is right!

How to update your pet’s microchip:  Every microchip is issued by a specific company – such as Home Again, 24 Hour Pet Watch, Trovan, etc.  This company keeps a database of the microchip number which links to the owner’s pet information.  The microchip only contains the microchip number – not the pet’s information.  So, it is critical to update the microchip company anytime your contact information changes.  To find out what company to contact, you can look at the paperwork you received when your pet was microchipped or you can go to any animal shelter or veterinary clinic to have your pet scanned.  Each microchip company has unique microchip numbers.  You can put the microchip number into this online form which will tell you the name/contact information for the microchip company.

We microchip Oakland animals for $10!  Please spay and neuter and microchip your animals!

We offer basic obedience classes for Oakland residents with their own dog, adopters of OAS dogs, and OAS volunteers working with OAS dogs. You must have a city of Oakland dog license for your dog (unless you are an OAS adopter or volunteer who is not an Oakland resident).  Dogs must be 6 months or older. We have a limit of 15 dogs or fewer and classes run for about an hour. The classes are free, though we do appreciate the donation of items for the shelter when you come such as bedding or large black kongs. Dog volunteers can attend class and work with shelter dogs or their own. Dogs must have on a regular flat collar with license, body harness, “Gentle Leader,” prong collar, or other head halter.  If your dog is out of control in class or aggressive, you may be asked to not participate.

Classes are held at Oakland Animal Services at 1101 29th Ave on our beautiful grass lawn. Our volunteer instructors are friendly and supportive, and will work with you one-on-one as needed.

Thank you to Alex Sanchez for teaching these classes and to Pat for helping out!  They are great for the public, our volunteers and our dogs!

A video clip of a class on 4/30/11.  We use our beautiful lawn area for classes.  Alex is fun, positive and supportive of both the handlers and the dogs!