Friends of Oakland Animal Services will be doing a very special Giving Tuesday campaign, for one of the highest impact programs we’ve ever funded. Your gift can help create happier, healthier lives for Oakland’s animals. Join FOAS on Giving Tuesday!
No Place Like Home photo contest, enter now!
Calling all pet owners of really, really ridiculously good looking animals!
Today marks the first day of the annual Friends of Oakland Animal Shelter Photo Contest! This year’s theme is “No Place Like Home” and the FOAS team is looking for folks to upload a photo that shows why there is no place better than being at home with their pet.
Vote online for your favorite photo submission(s) at $1 per vote (multiple votes are highly encouraged!) and at the end the animals with the most votes will be featured in the the 2022 FOAS calendar for the entire world to enjoy! 🤩 Vote dollars will be donated to FOAS to continue all the amazing work they do for our animal community. Voting ends Sept 14 and the calendar will be available for purchase mid-November.
Cat Foster and Working Cat Program Coordinator for hire!
The Friends of Oakland Animal Services seeks a full-time Cat Program Associate to coordinate two popular programs at Oakland Animal Services: the kitten foster program and Cats on Patrol to relocate community cats.
FOAS seeks qualified Executive Director
The Board of Directors of Friends of Oakland Animal Services (FOAS) seeks a leader with a demonstrated commitment to progressive animal welfare. This position is ideal for someone who thrives in a small organization experiencing a period of new growth and is able to guide the organization to its next level of excellence. The executive director will work closely with the director of Oakland Animal Services (OAS) to raise essential funding to support existing programs at the shelter and in the community, grow our financial resources, and increase our visibility to the public.
Seeking Dog Foster Coordinator / Animal Transfer Coordinator
The Friends of Oakland Animal Services (FOAS) is hiring for a position that combines two half-time roles. The Transfer Coordinator facilitates transfers from Oakland Animal Services (OAS), the city’s only open-admission shelter, to nonprofit adoption partners and other outside agencies. This person will oversee the OAS transfer program to include cultivating relations with partner shelters, selecting appropriate animals for transfer and maintaining communication internally and externally about animals being transferred.
The Dog Foster Coordinator is one of two employees responsible to place dogs in foster homes and provide necessary support to foster volunteers. Both roles focus primarily on large dogs who aren’t doing well in a stressful shelter environment, requiring experience working with dogs with behavioral challenges.
Join us for our next kitten adoption event
Our next kitten adoption event will take place at Pet Food Express at 5108 Broadway in Rockridge. Details here.
Share your Love Story — and help win $100,000 for OAS!
From longer walks to cozier naps and all the magical moments in between, we know that pets change our lives for the better. Share how the love of your adopted OAS pet has changed your life to help give Oakland Animal Services the chance at a $100,000 grant award from Petco Love and BOBS from Skechers. Submit your story by Sept. 20, 10:00 am (PDT) at petcolove.org/lovestory.
Winning Love Stories will earn grant awards of up to $100,000 PLUS winning adopters will receive a Petco shopping spree and BOBS from Skechers shoes!
Love Stories should focus on the ways your OAS pet has changed your life for the better. Each submission is limited to 500 words or less and must include four supporting photos: one photo of your pet by him/herself, one photo of you or your family with your pet and two additional photos that help illustrate your story. You may also submit an optional video to further illustrate your Love Story.
Visit petcolove.org/lovestory to read winning entries from prior years for inspiration. Remember, good stories will show how the love of your pet has changed YOUR life! OAS has had two winners (Julianne and Samson, and Sue, Chipper, and Archie) in recent years–you could be next!
How to Enter:
When completing your application, be sure to select “Oakland Animal Services” from the drop-down menu so that we can verify your adoption and your Love Story can qualify for a grant award. You can find us by searching for our name in the drop-down menu on the application.
Below is all of the information you’ll need from us to complete your application:
- Organization Name: Oakland Animal Services
- Organization Tax ID Number: 94-6000384
- Organization Email Address (person who can verify your adoption): info@oaklandsanimals.org
- Organization Phone Number: (510) 535-5602
Winning Love Stories will be announced during the holiday season. Finalists will receive a Petco shopping spree up to $1,000 and BOBS from Skechers shoes and the organization they adopted from will receive a grant award up to $100,000! For more information, visit petcolove.org/lovestory and join the conversation on social media using #PetcoLoveStory.
Second annual “bad art” fundraiser brings in over $17K for FOAS!
The Friends of Oakland Animal Services (FOAS) held their second annual bad art fundraiser and raised over $17K for the animals of Oakland! Talent was not guaranteed for these pet portraits but there was plenty of creativity and fun. FOAS received over 400 requests for portraits, some from as far as New York and the UK, with over 70 artists volunteering their time and talent, or lack thereof :-).
Thank you to all the artists who contributed, the volunteers who coordinated the efforts, and to all the donors for their support. We hope you are enjoying your portraits.
Below are the majority of this year’s unique pet portraits:
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”2″ display=”basic_thumbnail”]Participating artists: Ann Barnett, Claire Beitcher, Colleen Bell, Tuli Bennett-Bose and roommates, Sarah Bhaskaran, Bailey Bonds, Maggie Bradshaw, Julianne Chai, Mary Cochran, Genevieve Contraux, Jeff Cortez, Jen Cowitz, Mike Cunniff, Danya Darrington, Kate Dobbins, Evelyn Dykstra and Richard Olmsted, Sylvia Fajen, Laine Fast, Mika Fisher, Rachael Fishman, Lila Fortner, Susan Furukawa, Serina Garst, Llana Giovara, Carolyn Gregg, Peter Grube, Kieran Guckian, Delphina Han, Clare Marie Hart-Slattery, Christina Heller, Devin Jacobsen, Hannah Jo, Shannon Juhnke, Karen Keith, Erin Kripke, Julia LaChica, Nancy Larsen, Fred LeBlanc, Sue Levin, Wenny Lo, Pat Luchak, Ana McCormick, Morgan McGuire, Tom McGuire, Kelda McKinney, Meghan McLean, Catie Nagel, Suhasiny Naik, Tran Nguyen, Celena Peet, Justin Pelkowski, Hector Perez and Family, Rachel Perloff, Nora Potts, Leanne Rinne, Kristen Roberts, Trish Roque, Tucker Russell, Janet Shaver, Judy Smith, Megan Sullivan, Jack Vu, Dave Waclo, Steve Wakefield, Jen Whitney and daughter, Suzanne Yee, Rachel Zak and Family, Jennifer Zhou
FOAS, OAS and other shelters support EBRPD draft policy on free-roaming cats
Picture courtesy of Oakland Wiki
[Quick links to letters of support from: FOAS and Shelter Directors]
Things are looking up for East Bay cats! You might recall the outcry this past December when it came to light that the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) was routinely shooting cats living in the parks, many presumably abandoned there by their owners. Friends of Oakland Animal Services (FOAS), along with a coalition of the East Bay’s municipal shelters, including Oakland Animal Services (OAS), joined many others in decrying this cruel practice and offering support with humane alternatives.
On Thursday, February 25, the EBRPD Natural Resources Committee will hold a meeting during which they will recommend a new policy regarding free-roaming cats, emphasizing work with local municipal shelters, including Oakland Animal Services, to humanely trap and remove cats from sensitive habitats and education measures to prevent abandonment of cats at regional parks.
FOAS has sent a letter of support of this draft policy, along with OAS and the coalition of East Bay Animal Agencies. You can read the full text of their letters below.
FOAS Letter of Support
Subject: FOAS supports EBRPD draft policy on free-roaming cats and abandoned pets
To: The Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District
Colin Coffey
Ellen Corbett
Elizabeth Echols
Beverly Lane
Dee Rosario
Dennis Waespi
Ayn Wieskamp
We, the Board of the Friends of Oakland Animal Services (FOAS), are writing in support of the EBRPD draft policy to be considered at the February 25 committee meeting regarding free-roaming cats and abandoned pets on park property. In the letter we sent in December we asked that EBRPD commit to ending lethal removal, collaborate with experts at local shelters and animal organizations, and educate the public to discourage the abandonment of pets on park property.
While lethal removal has not been banned, we are encouraged that the emphasis of the proposed policy is on preventing the need to use lethal methods through a comprehensive and multi-faceted strategy. We are heartened to learn that the Park District has been collaborating with local municipal shelters, including Oakland Animal Services, and that these partnerships will be incorporated into operating agreements for long-term management. We are also pleased that EBRPD proposes to commit resources to educate the public on pet abandonment through enhanced signage, informational campaigns, and community outreach.
FOAS continues to offer a collaborative partnership to enable the EBRPD to adhere to humane policies regarding free-roaming cats and abandoned pets.
To this end, please contact us any time:
Friends of Oakland Animal Services Board of Directors:
Lindsay Dadko
Emily Derenthal
Emily Fox
Erin Patch
Ken Robinson
Trish Roque
Yvonne Tsang
East Bay Shelters’ Letter of Support
Note: this letter is in PDF and is 3 pages long. The letter may be downloaded here.
CatPolicyAnimalShelterSupport