This is Kemo – he’s an absolute “love-bug” who adores belly rubs and people attention. A special difference about Kemo – he’s completely blind. We don’t know how he became blind but he doesn’t let it slow him down. He does need a “guide-person” in his life who will help him navigate his surroundings and help prevent him from bumping into everything. In exchange, he’ll provide a huge amount of gratitude and love! Read more about Kemo here.
News
Going the Extra Mile for Small Dogs
IF A JOURNEY of a thousand miles begins with a single step, for 50+ small dogs from Oakland Animal Services, a road trip of over 650 miles will begin tonight (April 23rd) with many helping hands as a dedicated team of OAS volunteers and staff pack the pooches up for an overnight odyssey to new homes in Boise, Idaho!
Why the doggy drive? California shelters, including Oakland Animal Services, have been overwhelmed with surrendered small dogs whose owners initially adopted, bought or bred them, thanks in large part to the recent popular frenzy for the critters caused by celebs like Paris Hilton and her ‘purse pup’, and movies like Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Owners tire of the dogs, or realize they require more care than expected, and turn the dogs in to the shelter – where policy is to accept all animals from Oakland.
OAS receives 14-15 dogs a day and 5-6 of these are small dogs!
Shelter director Megan Webb, working with Animal Care Coordinator Martha Cline and staff, has worked tirelessly to find cooperating shelters across the nation who can re-home these little lovers in areas of the country where the small dogs are more in demand. Since January, the shelter has cooperated with like organizations in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado (an airlift covered by NBC’s Nightline News) to place over 130 dogs.
Tonight’s lucky canines are headed to the Humane Society of Boise, Idaho – and are being driven on their 13-hour trek by OAS volunteer hubby & wife team Enjel and Jeff. Beginning at 10 PM, the pups will be watered, pottied, labeled and crated … and are expected to arrive at their destination on Saturday afternoon.
Update 4/24/10: We did it! We got all 50 dogs into crates and packed them up into the van! Thank you to Martha and all of the volunteers who worked so hard to make it happen, volunteers Enjel and Jeff for driving them to Idaho, and to Friends of Oakland Animal Services for covering the cost of the trip. If you’re interesting in donating to future trips, visit Friends of Oakland Animal Services.
Pit Bull 101 on Saturday!
Come to the shelter on Saturday May 29th at 2 p.m.
to hear a 45 minute lecture followed by Q&A and a free handout.
The class will be taught by Our Pack.
Topics include:
– Having a successful relationship with your dog.
– Pit bulls and other pets.
– Dog parks.
– Meeting new dogs.
People only – NO DOGS PLEASE !
How Did She Survive?
“Angel”, a brown and white pit bull, was rescued by one of our Animal Control Officers after a terrifying ordeal. Her owner was homeless and living in his non-driveable truck with Angel. Apparently, the truck was stolen, towed onto the train tracks and left there with Angel inside! A train plowed into the truck – demolishing it into twisted metal. Angel was found laying on the tracks – injured, in shock but alive! When you see the photos of the aftermath, it is hard to imagine how she wasn’t killed. The veterinarian on examination thought Angel had a broken jaw, a broken pelvis and a very damaged ear. However, we sent her to VCA Veterinary Clinic in Oakland for X-rays and lots of care and attention. Miraculously, they found that Angel didn’t have one broken bone! She is still sore and bruised but doing better every day!
Angel’s owner lost his “home” and everything he had in the crash- except Angel. We are coordinating with an organization called Feeding Pets of the Homeless who knew Angel and her owner before the accident. They state that her owner took incredible care of Angel. We will be releasing Angel into their care to transfer to a veterinary hospital while she continues to receive pain management and while they help her owner to find a new place to live where he can be reunited with Angel.
OAS Works Closely with Transfer Partners
Oakland Animal Services works closely with other rescue organization to rescue dogs, cats and rabbits Oakland Animal Services takes in more stray, abandoned, abused, and surrendered dogs, cats and rabbits than we could ever place in homes through our adoption program alone. We, therefore, depend on our partnerships with local community groups, such as East Bay SPCA, Berkeley Humane Society, Hopalong Animal Rescue, and SaveaBunny, to help us find homes for many of these animals. These groups regularly take momma dogs and cats with their babies and orphaned puppies and kittens that we receive into their foster programs and dogs and cats into their adoption centers. We thank them for all of their help!
(Our transfer partners help us place many dogs/cats from our program. For example, this is Goldie – a dog that OAS rescued from neglect on January 6, 2010. She was waiting to be adopted at our facility until March 28, 2010 – almost three months – when EBSPCA came and transferred her into their adoption program. This change of scenary will be great for her and give her a new chance to be adopted!)
Just a few of our Transfer Partners:
Hopalong Animal Rescue
47 Little Dogs to Arizona/New Mexico
We are getting stray and surrendered small dogs into the Shelter in much larger numbers than ever before! Only a few years ago, OAS would only have about 5 to 10 small dogs in the Shelter! Today, we had close to 80 small dogs!. We have partnered with Shelters in other parts of the country that do not have many small dogs but lots of people who want to adopt them!
We sent 47 small dogs to shelters to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona and Watermelon Ranch in New Mexico this evening. Thank you to the two volunteers who drove the dogs to Arizona, all of the volunteers and staff who helped organize and prepare for this trip. and Friends of Oakland Animal Services for paying all the expenses associated with getting the dogs there!
http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=12199631
Thank you to everyone who helped with the 23 Pit bulls!
Last week, Oakland Animal Services seized 23 pit bulls from Oakland resident, Calvin Brown. We had to make room for these dogs in our Shelter which is constantly at maximum capacity. This daunting task was doable because of the immediate support offered by local organizations: East Bay SPCA, Berkeley Animal Care and Control, Berkeley Humane Society and German Shepherd Rescue of Northern California. These groups immediately came forward and offered their assistance. They took multiple dogs from our Shelter into their program to help make room for these 23 pit bulls.
Our Shelter veterinarian, Dr. Jyothi Robertson, examined each of the pit bulls and made detailed notes on their medical condition, including congenital abnormalities, limb injuries and severe manage. These notes will be utilized in the case against Brown. BAD RAP, a nationally recognized pit bull rescue organization, then assisted us in evaluating each of the dogs to determine their temperament and the chance for successful placement in a home. BAD RAP and Our Pack Pit Bull Rescue took a total of five of the dogs into their respective foster programs to begin to rehabilitate them from their horrible pasts.
We thank all of these groups and individuals for helping us to successfully handle this very serious case.
(Thank you to BAD RAP for this photo of one of our favorite dogs from the siezure. She’s a real affectionate, loving, wiggle butt who literally smiles to say hello! This beautiful girl is getting a new life courtesy of BAD RAP! Thank you!)
OAS Impounds 23 Dogs
Oakland Animal Services impounded 23 pit bulls today from an East Oakland home. This was one of the largest seizures of dogs in Oakland in years. The pit bulls were chained up or packed inside small crates in a tiny shed. Many of the dogs were covered in their own feces and urine. OAS, a part of the Oakland Police Department, is in the process of investigating the case to bring to the District Attorney.
http://www.ktvu.com/news/22861688/detail.html
Man Charged with Two Felony Counts of Animal Abuse
The Alameda County District Attorney’s office charged Charles Black with two felony counts of animal abuse. Black is accused of beating a dog on June 30, 2009 and again on February 19, 2010. Both instances were captured on video by concerned neighbors and submitted it to the Oakland Police Department.
On 19 February 2010, neighbors witnessed a man beating a dog with an ax on the balcony of an apartment on E. 17th St. The suspect, later identified as Charles Black, was yelling at the dog and striking him with the ax causing the dog to scream in pain. The witnesses videotaped the scene and called the police. OPD and Oakland Housing Authority made entry into the apartment and, after a struggle, arrested Charles Black. Police collected a bloodied ax and crowbar from the apartment. They transported the dog, an approximately 2 year old, male pit bull mix to a veterinary clinic and then to Oakland Animal Services. The dog suffered from contusions, several lacerations and intense fear of people.
The dog, apparently named “Blueberry”, is being housed in a quiet room at Oakland Animal Services to recover. He is learning to trust people and even to play ball. OAS is working to find an adopter for “Blueberry”. This person will need be experienced with dogs and be willing to work to increase “Blueberry’s” confidence.
Quiet Time for Shelter Dogs
The shelter can be a busy, loud place for a dog. This can be especially true for dogs who have been rescued from living in a backyard on a chain. These dogs have often lived in virtual isolation their entire lives. They then come to the Shelter and can be overwhelmed by new sites, sounds, smells and other stimuli. It is important that these dogs have a place where they can go where it is quiet and they can get used to the feeling of being inside a home. Friends of Oakland Animal Services recently purchased a trailer that BAD RAP had brought to the Shelter for this purpose. FOAS has made it possible for us to continue to make this space available for volunteers to have quiet time with Shelter dogs. Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped clean and decorate this space!