April's Volunteers of the Month

Rene and Alex

Rene and her daughter Alex have both been volunteering at BACS for six years! Sounds like they should have received a coffee cup or a wristwatch by now. Thanks for all your hard work. We hope you have many more years at BACS.

What do you do when you're not at the shelter?

I retired from the US Postal Service in 2005 where I was a computer programmer/analyst and

database administrator.

Since then I have been volunteering at Thousand Oaks School and King Middle School, with Girl Scouts and at the YEAH (Youth Engagement, Advocacy and Housing) shelter. I am the treasurer for the newly formed FOBACS (Friends of BACS).

My 13 year old daughter Alex and I have been volunteers at BACS for 6 years and have taught the cat care class for 2 years.

Why did you initially decide to volunteer at BACS?

When our Brownie girl scout troop visited the shelter they all wanted to volunteer. At the time they were too young, but as soon as Alex was 8 we started volunteering. I thought it would be a good idea for her to help others. Alex and I are both concerned with animal rights and we could see first hand how homeless animals live and how important it is to help them.

What are your favorite things about volunteering?

Seeing an animal find a forever home, especially if they have been there for a while.

It is very fulfilling to see an excited child go home with their new animal.

It is also great to make new friends with other volunteers and staff, knowing we all have

something in common, helping homeless animals find new homes.

Who are your favorite cats, past and present?

Past:  Mischou, Yoshi, Daicee, Malone, Josie, Ezra, Arizona and others

Present: Dean Martin (Marty), Christy, Frank Sinatra (Franky) all 3 adopted from BACS pictured with Alex and me.

March's Volunteer of the Month

Ashley

We're heading back to the cat room this month to meet another of the devoted feline friends. Thanks for all your hard work at the shelter Ashley!

What do you do when you're not at the shelter?

I work at a local loudspeaker manufacturing company designing sound systems for a variety of spaces. When not at work, I volunteer at BACS as well as a nearby kitten nursery. You can also find me hiking on nearby trails or flying kites at the Berkeley Marina. I also teach the cat class once a month.

Why did you initially decide to volunteer at BACS?

I moved from New York City to Berkley a year ago and wanted to find a way to give back to the community. Both of my amazing cats (Abby and Jasper) were adopted from shelters in New York. I love animals and wanted to help as many as I can. From the minute I walked in to the shelter I could tell it was different from others that I had been to. The staff really love helping animals and made me feel that this was the place for me.

Also, I didn't know anyone when I moved to California so it was a nice way to meet others like me. I have met some incredible people while volunteering and it has become a steady highlight to my busy week.


What are your favorite things about volunteering?

One of my favorite things is watching the cats transform. I seem to have a knack for getting the shy ones to come out of their shell. It is so fulfilling to watch a timid cat that hid all of the time find the perfect home for them. I also love when adopters send photos or give updates of how their new pet is doing. Its always rewarding when a cat finds just the right home for them.

Who are your favorite cats, past and present?

Past: Bebe (below), Annette, Oprah, Liam, and Thaddapus
Present: Waffles, Mike, Rama, Lulu

Time for a BAD RAP class check in

Let's see who is looking good at class...

Nicole has Lali in a pretty good "down", but Lali needs to have a look at Angelika and Bagel's perfect form. But it was only Lali's second class!



Joanne and Ariel are ready for action.



Who is our class valedictorian? It would have to be Humphrey and Shelley. Look at Humphrey's "stay". He's an eye contact machine.



Spuds can be easily distracted, but Caroline has managed to get his attention.



Lisa shows Flora how to take life easy.



David has started working with Breeze. This young pup has a lot of potential!



Jessica keeps Persephone in line.



Cindy and LadyBelle start a "down" competition with DeAnna and Petunia. Hard to tell who is going to win this one! Great to see BACS alumni Howard in the background. He is at class with his adopters nearly every week.



Great to see these dogs out brushing up on their basics. Spectators welcome!

February's Volunteer of the Month

Pat

Pat already has my dream job - retiree! She doesn't seem to be taking life easy though. We're lucky she has time for the shelter, with all of these non-dog activities she's involved in.

Thanks for being such a great volunteer Pat!

Why did you initially decide to volunteer at BACS?

As a long-time Berkeley resident, about two years ago I was thrilled to discover there is such a thriving volunteer program at the animal shelter. How could I have missed hearing about it? I signed up right away, for I knew I could join the group and provide much needed exercise and attention to the dogs, as well as get my "dog fix." I miss having a dog. I still have very fond memories of Cocoa, the shelter dog who grew up with our children, and of the family dog when I was a child. But now we have no family dog at home, only "grand dogs" and neighbor dogs – not enough. Plus, we are out of town so often that it doesn't seem right to have a dog right now.

I also knew BACS would be a great place to volunteer when I learned about the shelter's success rate in finding homes for the animals, especially since it is a city-operated shelter that has to take in all animals that come to it.

Pat and Lady Belle



What are your favorite things about volunteering?

Some of my friends have asked me how could I want to volunteer in an animal shelter. It must be such a depressing place, such a heartbreaking experience, they say. But I tell them how much I like the experience: I love working with the dogs that arrive at the shelter and seeing the positive changes as the dogs evolve. So many of them are frightened, overwhelmed, under-nourished, and poorly socialized. Thanks to the caring and expert work of the staff and volunteers, almost all of the dogs become adoptable and find homes or are adopted by our rescue partners. I love being a part of that process and seeing those successes.

I also appreciate that the staff and volunteers are so friendly and helpful – and have a sense of humor.

Who are your favorite dogs, past and present?

Currently: Latif, Bettina, Simone, Bernie, Monty, Marty

Latif



Past: Raven; Sade, Zack and their brother (what transformations!), "The Berries" (there were four of them, Blue Berry, Straw Berry, etc.), Claudia, Godiva, Cola and Oreo (loved their January blog; so happy they're now in foster homes)

Sade



What do you do when you're not at the shelter?

- Retired!
- Family (husband, children and grandchildren)
- Former board member or current supporter of several community organizations, including Crisis Support Services, Luna Kids Dance, Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, Berkeley Rep, city and neighborhood earthquake preparedness groups
- Travel, foreign and domestic, including Berkeley's amazing Berkeley Tuolumne Camp, our family's tradition for four decades.
- Current member of the board of trustees for Oberlin College and Crounse Corporation, a privatie company based in Paducah, KY, my hometown.

Pat with Latif and Zack

January's Volunteer of the Month

Sasha

Sasha brings her whole family to volunteer at BACS - proving what a great family activity volunteering can be. She's also "ze ar-TEEST" behind the wonderful portraits of adopted BACS dogs.

What do you do when you're not at the shelter?

I work as a full-time online media artist in Emeryville. I love to spend my spare time with my family – in fact, sometimes all four of us (my husband, 2 kids and myself) visit BACS animals. My kids enjoy the time they spend there, my daughter recently told me that she want to be a veterinarian and help abandoned dogs and cats. I do some occasional volunteer work at my kids’ school, as well. Among my interests are travel, reading, oriental cultures, foreign languages, dog training, digital art, fostering dogs for some rescue organization, singing, Japanese animation, skiing... and many, many more.

Why did you initially decide to volunteer at BACS?

A bit over a year ago I’ve started looking for a dog that would get along well with our cat (adopted from Martinez Animal Shelter). I never had a dog in my life, by the way. Since the Berkeley shelter was the closest to my work, it was the first one I visited. I spent there about 30 minutes and walked away with the schedule of classes for prospect volunteers.

What are your favorite things about volunteering?

Seeing “Adopted” mark next to the dog or cat photo at BACS Facebook page!

It still amazes me, how our love and attention turn shy, fearful or hard-to-control animals into wonderful companions.

I learn a lot from animals and people at BACS. In fact, when I first got there I did not even know how to put a harness on a dog. I am still having a hard time with that, but getting better, I hope!

Who are your favorite dogs, past and present?

My favorite one was, is and always will be Leonard, Chihuahua and some small terrier mix, the first one I walked. He was the main reason why I came to shelter five times a week for the three months that he was there.

Sasha's portrait of Leonard



Thus a bond that cannot be broken easily was created, I am truly attached to this place now! I still tend to spend more time with smaller dogs that you can could hold in your arms or on your lap. Vinnie, Geoffrey, Raven, Quigley, Hollis, Marla, Herman, Zack, Shirley – what a year! Out of bigger ones my favorite are Godiva, Blake, Sweet Pea and Prudence.

Sasha's portrait of Godiva

The BACS Blog Interview: Cola and Oreo

These litter mates have spent too much of their young lives at BACS. But they are both friendly, fun, attentive dogs which means that they get lots of walks from volunteers. The BACS blog was lucky to corral them long enough to get an interview.

BACS Blog: Now that I’ve got you both in front of me, I have to admit that it is really hard to tell you two apart.

Cola: Well, I’m Cola.



Oreo: And I’m Oreo.



BB: Thanks, that was really super-helpful.

Cola: In my opinion, the easy way to tell us apart is that one of us is just a little bit cuter than the other

Oreo: But Cola won’t tell me which one it is

Cola: Keep thinking about it.

BB: All right, we’re not trying to start any sibling rivalries today. Surely there must be a way to tell you apart.

Oreo: Well, Rachana takes me to BAD RAP class.


Cola: And Shannon takes me. So that’s a good way to tell who is who.



BB: BAD RAP class? You guys are pretty young for that, aren’t you? I didn’t think it was for puppies.

Cola: Who you calling a puppy? We’re coming up pretty mature. Just look at Oreo in class last week. Pretty good, huh?



BB: Not bad, Oreo.

Oreo: Well it looks easy, but doing a good down-stay with all those other dogs around is really hard for a friendly guy like me.

BB: Looks like you guys are coming right along.

Cola: We’re getting there. We really are different dogs. People think we’re exactly alike because we’re litter mates, but we’re actually a lot different.

BB: Really? What is your favorite food?

Cola: Kibble

Oreo: I’d also have to go with kibble.

BB: Favorite drinks?

Cola: I like water.

Oreo: LOVE water!



BB: Favorite dog at the shelter?

Cola: Oreo.

Oreo: Probably Cola.

BB: Guys, this is some really insightful stuff.

Oreo: Well, we’re still young! We haven’t seen too much of the outside world yet.

BB: What’s the holdup for getting into a home?

Cola: We’ve been wondering about that ourselves. I think it was those Simpsons puppies a few months ago. Remember Mr. Burns, Marge, and the rest of that litter? That was a lot of puppies up for adoption. They probably temporarily fulfilled the puppy demand. We’re hoping to catch the post-Christmas wave.



Oreo: Yeah, we're not giving up. Did you hear that we were made an appearance at Sports Basement in Walnut Creek last weekend? Looking good and representing the shelter!



BB: Well good luck guys, I’m sure something will work out soon for you.

Cola: Spread the word!