Friends of OAS

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Michelle Dunn (left) with Archie (formerly Yin Yang) and Susan Reale with Chipper (formerly Kuro)

Local Woman Submits Adoption Story to Win $50,000 Grant For Friends of Oakland Animal Services

After submitting her story to the Petco Foundation Holiday Wishes campaign, Sue Reale of Oakland, Calif. won Friends of Oakland Animal Services a $50,000 grant that is part of the Petco Foundation’s Holiday Wishes campaign. This year, the Petco Foundation will deliver a total of $765,000 in grant awards during Holiday Wishes celebrations from now until December 20 – including one $100,000 grand prize, and a series of finalist awards ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 to support the tremendous lifesaving efforts carried out by these deserving organizations year-round.

Sue’s essay focuses on how she found a complete stranger to donate a kidney since she was in need of a transplant. Soon after Sue’s transplant surgery, she adopted her dog Chipper from Oakland Animal Services. Her donor ended up adopting Chipper’s sibling Archie. The final twist to the story, the dogs were born on the same day as the transplant. Today, the foursome spread the word about saving lives through kidney donation and pet adoption. You can read Sue’s complete story here and here.

The Petco Foundation invites all animal lovers to play a role in making Holiday Wishes come true. From now until December 20, 2017, fans can read all finalist stories and vote for their favorites to win the “People’s Choice Award.” The five organizations with the most votes will receive additional funding ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 to support their lifesaving work. Results of the “People’s Choice Award” will be revealed before Christmas.

To vote for Sue’s story and give FOAS a chance to win an additional $25K, follow these steps:

1. Visit the Holiday Wishes People’s Choice Award page
2. Scroll down to the Oakland Animal Services submission (the submissions are listed alphabetically by organization).
3.  Select Oakland Animal Services. NOTE: If you click “read more,” it takes you away from the voting page. To vote, just click the picture so the box turns yellow).
4. Keep scrolling down to the bottom of the page.
5. Click submit at the bottom of the page.

About the Petco Foundation

At the Petco Foundation, we believe that every animal deserves to live its best life. Since 1999, we’ve invested more than $200 million in lifesaving animal welfare work to make that happen. With our more than 4,000 animal welfare partners, we inspire and empower communities to make a difference by investing in adoption and medical care programs, spay and neuter services, pet cancer research, service and therapy animals, and numerous other lifesaving initiatives. Through our Think Adoption First program, we partner with Petco stores and animal welfare organizations across the country to increase pet adoptions. So far, we’ve helped more than 5.5 million pets find their new loving families, and we’re just getting started. Visit petcofoundation.org to learn more about how you can get involved.

Michelle Dunn (left) with Archie (formerly Yin Yang) and Susan Reale with Chipper (formerly Kuro). Photo by Soulful Pet Photography

The Friends of Oakland Animal Services has been chosen to receive a Petco Foundation Holiday Wishes grant, and possibly more, with a vote from you! Vote for Oakland Animal Services in the People’s Choice competition through December 20 for a chance to help grant us up to $25,000 in additional lifesaving dollars.

****VOTE HERE****

“My kidney donor saved my life. In turn, we saved the lives of two puppies who have created even more of a forever bond between us.” Those words and this incredible story, submitted by our adopter, Sue Reale, earned us much needed funding to help us continue to serve Oakland’s residents and pets.

Now it’s your turn to grant Holiday Wishes!

Read the original story here

****VOTE HERE****

Each year, our shelter takes in thousands of homeless dogs, puppies, cats and kittens. To help reduce the overpopulation of pets in Oakland, Friends of Oakland Animal Services (FOAS) has launched a FREE spay/neuter program for dogs and cats (including feral cats). The program is open to residents of Oakland, CA.

The first FREE pet fix day will be on December 7. FOAS will be providing transportation round-trip from the the meeting point at OAS to the Fix Our Ferals surgery center in Richmond. Space is limited, and YOU MUST HAVE A CONFIRMED APPOINTMENT with us to participate.

This free service includes sterilization surgery, core vaccinations, microchipping and routine flea treatment. Here are the details:

** YOU MUST HAVE A CONFIRMED APPOINTMENT TO PARTICIPATE **

• To participate, complete this online form, and we will contact you if we are able to accommodate your pets:
• Your animal must be dropped off with FOAS staff, in the parking lot at Oakland Animal Services, 1101 29th Ave, between 6-7am on December 7.
• You must pick up your animal the same day, between 5:30 and 7:00pm. Animals not picked up will be considered abandoned, and impounded at the shelter. Fees may apply to redeem your pet.
• The program is open to dogs and cats, including feral cats, belonging to an Oakland resident. Minimum weight is 3 pounds. Maximum weight for this event is 60 pounds due to transport limitations.

Contact with any questions or for more info.

We have more in store for 2018! Stay informed about our spay/neuter program and other FOAS news by subscribing to our email newsletter.