East Bay Animals

Experts agree that spending time with pets can help lower your blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as promoting exercise and other health benefits. If you are ready to open your heart and home to an animal, there are a wide variety of options available to you in the East Bay. If you are unable to adopt, you can still help needy animals by volunteering with a local shelter or society.

If you'd like to adopt a shelter animal, visit the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society or view the pets online. The Society is the East Bay's oldest no-kill shelter. They can also provide you with information on "Bay to Barkers," the annual summer Dog Walk and Festival, and "Mozart for Mutts & Meows," an evening of music to benefit the animals. Society volunteers keep the animals exercised, socialized, groomed and trained.

Virtual Pet Adoptions connects you with 60 different organizations dedicated to finding a home for every adoptable animal in the Bay Area.

Have you considered adopting a rabbit? The House Rabbit Society provides a wealth of information about diet, toys, finding a vet, etc. They opened their National Rabbit Center in Richmond so you can visit the bunnies in person or browse through online adoption listings. Younger members of your family can be pointed to the kids section of their site, which includes a FAQ for parents.

At craigslist for the East Bay you can find pets for adoption as well as people offering pet-related services such as dog walking and pet-sitting. You can also add you own listing for free or sound off in the pets forum.

If you can't commit to owning a pet, you can become a foster parent for the Berkeley Animal Shelter or volunteer to cuddle cats, walk dogs, groom animals, or reunite lost pets with their owners. Volunteers must be able to work 8 hours a month.

Berkeley Animal Care Services needs volunteers to assist with dog walking, fund raising, office support, mobile adoptions, community outreach, and more. Shelter volunteers also produce a weekly cable TV show on the Berkeley Community Channel showcasing pets available for adoption. In addition to taping the show, volunteers help groom the featured animals.

The East Bay SPCA has a Volunteer Orientation at least once a month. They need help with customer service, animal caretaking (TLC), dog training, administration, finding foster homes, off-site adoptions, special events, and grooming. Also located in Oakland, Hopalong Animal Rescue allows you to adopt or foster dogs and cats. You can also volunteer to assist with their mobile adoptions.

You can donate your car to any of these charities through Cars For Charities or Cars 4 Causes.