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Over a dozen puppies are already getting a new lease on life thanks to the generosity of a special donation, in honor of a very special shelter dog. This month, Claire Kilpatrick made a generous donation to Friends of Oakland Animal Services in honor of her late Collie, Mickey, to establish Mickey’s Medical Fund, an emergency medical fund for shelter animals at Oakland Animal Services. Mickey was adopted by Kilpatrick in July 2008. He passed away in 2015.

Oakland Animal Services has received a large number of stray puppies with parvovirus over the past several months. (Canine parvovirus is a highly contagious viral disease that can produce a life-threatening illness – it can affect all dogs, but unvaccinated dogs and puppies younger than four months old are the most at risk.) Previously, the shelter would immediately euthanize puppies with parvo but under the shelter’s new leadership and with the support of generous donors, OAS is now trying to treat many of these puppies. But treatment is not cheap – costs can run as high as $3000 per puppy. The most recent crew of “parvo puppies” are currently thriving in foster homes, well on their way to making full recoveries, and many will be available for adoption soon. Here are just a few of their photos:

And there are many more animals in need – cats in need of dental extractions or with leg injuries, lovely dogs with major orthopedic needs or in need of tumor removal, rabbits who require attention of small animal veterinary specialists, and more. “The reality of running an open-admission public shelter is that pets often come in with serious, but treatable illnesses,” explains Director Rebecca Katz. “Whenever possible, we try and treat these animals so they can recover and find new homes.” Oakland Animal Services receives city funding but with so many other municipal agencies and competing needs in the city of Oakland, the agency is left with less than what it needs to operate at the level the community demands. Friends of Oakland Animal Services and donors such as Ms. Kilpatrick ensure that the shelter can enrich the animals’ daily lives in the shelter and go beyond that to save those animals that were traditionally deemed unsaveable.

Director Katz encourages members of the public to follow in Kilpatrick’s footsteps and make a donation to help support the emergency and special medical care of shelter pets in need:  https://www.oaklandanimalservices.org/donate and check the box to direct your donation to Mickey’s Medical Fund.

Members of the public are also encouraged to consider being “foster parents” to a puppy recovering from parvo or mange (no significant risk to adult dogs in the home) or a cat recovering from surgery or any one of the many animals in need of a little extra TLC. More information about the dog foster program is available at: http://www.palseastbay.org/oas-foster.html or contact accatoas@gmail.com to become a foster home.

Friends of Oakland Animal Services is asking for the public’s help to save the life of a special puppy and others like him. Frodo, a Border Terrier, contracted parvovirus (parvo), a highly contagious and often fatal illness in puppies.

Historically, the city’s public shelter has not treated the disease, which can be cured with intensive vet care provided in isolation from the rest of the shelter population, but now that policy is changing. Under the shelter’s new director, Rebecca Katz, some puppies with a fighting chance will receive the extensive and expensive veterinary care required to treat parvo.

Frodo was adopted the last weekend in May, during Maddie’s Pet Adoption Days, a special program that pays adoption fees and gives further financial support to shelters. The pup’s adopters had been eager to take him home, but while he was waiting to get neutered, he contracted Parvo from another dog. Unsure if he would survive and uncertain about the cost of treatment, his owners surrendered him back to the shelter.

Approximately 6,000 animals come through Oakland Animal Services’ doors every year, and the shelter’s veterinary staff provides the best medical care possible for them in the shelter’s facility. However, the city’s general fund budget won’t cover those with severe injuries or with illness that require extensive treatment. For those special cases, OAS seeks support from Friends of Oakland Animal Services, the shelter’s nonprofit partner, to provide care through local veterinary hospitals.

Now Friends of Oakland Animal Services (FOAS) is calling on the public to help making saving these puppies possible. “The public can make a donation to our emergency medical fund, specifically to help Frodo and other puppies like him,” says FOAS board member Emily Fox. The treatment for parvo often can run up to $5000 per pet.

Shelter director Rebecca Katz says, “We think treating the animals that have a decent prognosis is absolutely the right thing to do. Just look at this puppy. He deserves a fighting chance at life.”

The public is encouraged to donate to Friends of Oakland Animals Services’ Emergency Medical Fund at https://www.crowdrise.com/foasemergencymedicalfund/fundraiser/friendsoftheoaklanda

No adoption fee for most dogs, cats, and rabbits throughout June

Starting June 6 through the end of the month, Oakland Animal Services is waiving adoption fees on all of the shelter’s longer term residents, including dogs, cats, and rabbits. For a list of adoptable animals, including those who have no adoption fee, please visit http://oaklandanimalservices.org/adopt/animal-list/.

“Sometimes adoptions are free but we know the love shelter pets provide is priceless,” says shelter director Rebecca Katz.

Standard adoption procedures apply. Visit http://oaklandanimalservices.org/adopt/how-to-adopt/ for more information.