Greetings from the Berkeley Humane Society (BHS), where not only do we look darned good for being almost 90 years old – we are feeling great, too! We are proud of being one of the hardest working and most compassionate dog and cat adoption and foster organizations in the Bay Area.
Last year alone we exceeded our goal of placing more than 900 animals into loving homes – the most in one year in our entire history – and our almost 300 volunteers and dedicated staff show no signs of slowing down.
Berkeley Humane has a unique and focused approach to saving lives throughout the Bay Area. Our care teams create the most loving and stress-free environment possible to meet the physical and emotional needs of each and every dog and cat in our care. We have a well-established, in-house veterinary hospital which affords us the opportunity to take in animals that would otherwise face an uncertain future in more minimally-resourced municipal animal shelters. Even after our little furry buddies are adopted, we schedule free veterinary follow-up appointments and provide unlimited post-adoption support to ensure that healthy relationships are formed from day one.
We actually provide an adoption guarantee for all animals that come into our care, so no matter how long it takes, every adoptable dog and cat at BHS finds a home. Most of our furry friends find love quickly – our average length-of-stay is one of the lowest in the Bay Area.
Every so often, though, when a pooch or kitty is having trouble finding that loving home, we like to think outside the box and get creative to find the right match. We share amazing photographs and adorable videos to help animals find loving homes, and we bring them to life with detailed and thoughtful descriptions of each individual dog and cat.
Much of this is achieved thanks to the help of our wonderful foster parents. The foster program is so strong, in fact, that we are able to house most of our animals with foster parents while they’re waiting to find homes, where they are more relaxed, get comfortable with home living, and enjoy a relationship of love and trust with someone who cares deeply for them. It’s an essential aspect of our life-saving work, and we are very grateful for the love, comfort, and enrichment our foster parents provide to the animals who need it most.
Like most other animal welfare agencies, Berkeley Humane is a completely independent nonprofit. We are not affiliated with, nor do we receive regular funding from, any national animal welfare organization or any federal, state, or local government agency. We are able to accomplish our goals thanks in large part to kind supporters who make monetary donations. Some of them make their donations in person so they can see our facility, meet our animals, and observe our programs firsthand. Again, we are grateful for the financial support of the many animal lovers committed to making our work possible.
Berkeley Humane provides many benefits to the community beyond our direct work with shelter animals. We conduct a variety of behavior and training classes, provide spay/neuter services, and offer medical and food assistance to low-income clients and their pets. The needs are great, especially this time of year and during these tough economic times. Please visit our website at berkeleyhumane.org to learn how you can adopt, foster, volunteer, and donate!
Emily Lines is the Marketing and Individual Giving Manager at the Berkeley Humane Society. She completed her MS in Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University in 2013, where she managed a national study on adoption retention of pets. Emily and her husband share their home in San Francisco with two loving and goofy rescue dogs.
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Main article photo by: Rebecca Schwartz
