Azul has been adopted

Yet another loooooong-term shelter resident is packing his bags.

Azul has moved on to a good home, he will be missed at the shelter but after ten months in a kennel I don't think he is too sorry to go!

We might still see Azul at BAD RAP class, his new owners are planning on trying to bring him so he can continue his training. It's unlikely they will be able to replicate my fierce demanding approach, which makes Sgt Hartman from Full Metal Jacket seem like a teddy bear.


As a matter of fact, look at this outrageous update I just received from Peg and Claudia, his adopters:

"We have just brought Azul home, after a stroll at the Berkeley Marina. He's happily lying on his comforter, chewing on a Nylabone, on a tie down with us in the dining room."

What! Going soft on Private Azul already???? Get that dog doing some left hand turns and down-stays, on the double. HUP HUP HUP!!!



Good luck Azul! Don't be a stranger!



As for me, some other unlucky dog better be ready to get with the program. Martino? Faye? Guero? Radar? MOVE IT MOVE IT MOVE IT!!!

Call for Bios

If you have a special experience with a dog and would like to write about it so that it can be used in the dog's bio, please do so, and then send it to me. I try to get to know all the dogs so I can write accurate bios, but it is not easy to find that special something in one or two walks with every dog. As you have probably observed, some of the bios are more passionate than others-- it is because something about that dog has moved me deeply. I know others have that experience, too; if we could get those authentic moments incorporated into the bios, I think we would have some awesome copy to accompany Rob's great photos.

Please send to: oaklandres@yahoo.com.

Thanks!

Bay to Barkers 2010

Look out folks, we have not one, not two, but four K-9 Olympians in the house! Today was Bay to Barkers 2010 - a fundraiser for BEBHS - and BACS not only had a booth there but was also well represented by four wonderful 'competitors' - Guero, Murphy, Bobo, and Fendi (as well as BACS alumna, Pachanga).

Great dogs with great handlers!

There were 12 events - a one mile-ish walk around the Albany Bulb and 11 games. The games were lots of fun for the dogs. We got to sample various agility obstacles, try our paws at a rally course, bob for hot dogs (Murphy very cleverly drank all the water to retrieve the hot dog, Pachanga dunked her nose very tentatively a couple times before committing to the full dunk, and Bobo just went for it). Other games included the tennis ball catch (this was not Guero's specialty - he repeatedly let it bounce off him before committing to getting the ball), and recall through distractions (turns out Murphy is very food motivated, she stalled at the bag of treats, and Guero thought a rawhide ring was pretty cool to stop his mad dash for, Bobo was decidedly unimpressed with the distractions and the recall).

You'll note that Fendi hasn't been mentioned. Well, she had the honourable duty of greeting people at our booth, which she did with style and grace!

Who could resist stopping by with this little lady looking their way?

By the end of the day, we had lots of tired pooches (and we finally paused to get some pics). They were all fantastically behaved, even amongst some serious crowds of people and dogs. They did us proud so stop by their kennels (esp. with a treat) and have a look at their ribbons, their K9 Olympian certificates are on their way!

Two big dogs having a rest on one blanket...

So little Bobo can stay sound asleep on his, and under yet another
(he got a little chilly in the wind)!

"Forget everyone else, gimme the treat, gimme, gimme, come on.....pleeeease"

A happy ending for Scaredy Sasha

Volunteers may remember Sasha, a dog who turned up at the shelter last winter and was extremely scared and tentative in her kennel.



She was fostered by the shelter’s longtime partner, trainer Kathy Kear. A few weeks after going home with Kathy, Sasha made an appearance at one of Kathy's training classes. She looked like a different dog - much more confident and happy.

Kathy eventually hooked up Sasha with a permanent home. Here is an update from Kathy along with an 'after' picture:

Sasha was a scared worried girl in the shelter, not letting anyone touch her and hiding in the corner. I finally got her to let me leash her, took her out of her cage and she never looked back! She stayed with me for 3 weeks and learned from my other dogs how to be a dog! She blossomed with patience and gentle calm energy. Jennifer from San Francisco saw her on Craig's List and came to visit her one evening. She had just lost her wonderful Sharpei mix, Scout, yet was ready to open her heart again. Sasha was tentative at the first meeting- taking treats but staying close to me....In a few days, Sasha went home with Jennifer. They are now the best of friends. Sasha goes to work with Jennifer and she is the office dog that everyone must stop and say hi to. She has a pack of dog friends that she meets weekly at the beach, and most of all she has a warm loving home with Jennifer where she knows she will be forever loved and nurtured."



Thanks for the update Kathy, and it’s great to see that yet another shelter dog has wound up in a great situation!

Open House day at BAD RAP class - this Sunday

Ladies and gentlemen,

I have an exciting announcement about a once-in-a-lifetime event (actually that just means this is the first time it's happened, but hopefully it can become a regular thing)

Pit bulls have been in the news lately for both good and bad reasons, and our friends over at BAD RAP have been dealing with a big uptick in public interest about the dogs. They have worked with BACS to turn this week's regular pit ed class (Sunday, August 1, from 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM) into more of a show and tell session for the interested public.

We'll still have the normal class, but there will be some added attractions. BAD RAP volunteers will be on hand to answer any questions about adopting or volunteering. They'll also bring their famous Barn Puppies for some eye candy. We're hoping to draw a good crowd to watch some of our star BACS pitties strut their stuff. I'm also trying to convince Tim and Donna to serve mimosas and set up a waffle/omelet station, we'll see if that idea goes anywhere.

If you'd like to ask any questions about the pit ed program, adoption in general, or if you'd just like to see the BACS dogs in action, please do stop by. And pass the word on. My parents are visiting from Ohio and they will be there, so surely you can drag your sorry self to Berkeley. The class/open house is in the big parking lot next to the northern boundary of Aquatic Park, just a few hundred feet from the shelter. Look for the blimp and the ESPN crew.

Feel free to cheer for your favorite BACS pittie as he/she completes the drills. Whoever can start a decent version of The Wave will have the inside track on being August's Volunteer of the Month!

What's Going on with VPA??

Many of us check the status of our favorite BACS dogs by logging onto http://www.virtualpetadoptions.com/. However, there has been a change in the set-up of the website, so that you can no longer click onto a particular shelter and find the kennel inventory of cats and dogs. Instead, you enter a bunch of different parameters and dogs from all over the Bay Area, including those from obscure rescue groups. Where are the Berkeley dogs??

Thanks to Rob, shelter photographer, who saved this link, you can go right to our dogs and cats :

http://www.virtualpetadoptions.com/adoptapet/pets_search_results.asp?ShelterId=30&PetTypeid=-1&petageid=0&PetSexid=0&PetSizeid=0&imageField.x=37&imageField.y=14, You may want to bookmark it as a favorite so that you can check on our dogs and cats in an instant.

In the meantime, if you want to voice your opinion about the changes, you can contact the webmaster, Shani at mailto:atsrussell@petfoodexpress.com.