Saluting the Dogs of War

Afghanistan is no place for dogs. Shunned as unclean in the regional interpretation of Islam, they live a precarious existence as strays and often are shot for target practice, used … Continued  Read more.

Keeping Dogs With Their Families

The economy is taking a dire toll on families, and unprecedented numbers of dogs are ending up in shelters and rescues as a result. All too often, abandonment is the result of the dog developing a medical issue and the financially strapped owner being told that the only option for treatment, when one exists at all, is surrendering the dog. When the dog has otherwise been well cared for and the fa  Read more.

Doris Day Animal Foundation

When it comes to pop tunes, the legendary Doris Day's signature song may be "Que Sera, Sera." When it comes to animal welfare, Ms. Day has never been one to leave it to chance. Any critter lucky enough to have enjoyed the hospitality of the Cypress Inn, which she's co-owned for over two decades, can attest to its world-class pet-friendliness. Through her charitable work, most rec  Read more.

Pug Sunday in Chico

Part gathering, part rescue, Pug Sunday in Chico got its start in 2001 when local pug lover Sandi Castellano, who'd heard about the famed Pug Sunday in Alta Plaza in San Francisco, got together with another pug owner in the area and decided to see if there was any interest in a similar gathering. The first event drew 14 pugs and their owners; the second, a month later, brought in 45 pugs and   Read more.

Berkeley East Bay Humane Society

Funded entirely by donations, the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society has been helping dogs, cats, rabbits, birds and other critters in need, since 1927—as well as offering an acclaimed dog training program and other services. All that seemed doomed in 2010 when a devastating fire struck the shelter. But overwhelming support from volunteers, donors and the community, as most dramatically seen   Read more.

Valley Humane Society

Founded in 1987 by a dedicated group of volunteers in the Tri-Valley area, Valley Humane Society in Pleasanton has rescued thousands of dogs and cats who otherwise would have met an untimely death in the East Bay's overcrowded shelters.  Read more.

NorCal Aussie Rescue

Since its founding in 2003, NorCal Aussie Rescue has found loving, forever homes for over 1,000 purebred Australian Shepherds of all ages. The rescue's hillside sanctuary in Grass Valley offers a haven for as many as 30 dogs at a time. As for the reasons these very popular dogs end up in rescue?  Read more.

Homeward Bound

Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue provides a safe place for goldens (pedigreed or not) to land when they find themselves in dire straits˜winding up in shelters, for example, or in a situation where their  owners no longer are able to care for them. Homeward Bound rescues the old and ill as well as the young and bouncy, and provides all in its care with necessary medical treatment.   Read more.

High Sierra Animal Rescue

Founded in 1999, High Sierra Animal Rescue's mission is to rescue homeless, adoptable pets—mainly dogs but some cats—and to provide them with the care they need until they can be placed in permanent, loving homes. To date the organization has rescued more than 3,000 animals.  Its key focus is managing the local animal population through aggressive spay and neuter programs, hu  Read more.

Butte Humane Society

Since 1911, Chico's Butte Humane Society, one of the county's oldest nonprofit agencies, has been coming to the aid of animals in need, helping the lost and abandoned find new homes, and also helping prevent future problems through public education and promotion of compassion and responsible stewardship. Recently BHS opened a low-cost spay and neuter clinic to help the local community comb  Read more.

NorCal Boxer Rescue

NorCal Boxer Rescue's dedicated network of volunteers takes in boxers who land in shelters throughout California, as well as those whose owners can no longer care for them. Loving foster homes offer a safe haven where these dogs receive the veterinary care, vaccinations and TLC they need while they're waiting to be matched with their perfect forever families.  Read more.

Haven Humane Society

Haven Humane Society has served Northern California's Redding area since 1952, caring for homeless, unwanted and neglected pets. Its main goal has been to find them forever homes through public adoptions and animal rescue groups, but its spay-neuter clinics and innovative programs such as Camp Love-a-Pet, which teaches local young people to care for and train shelter animals, help in many othe  Read more.

Pets Unlimited

Since 1947, Pets Unlimited has been helping animals in need in San Francisco. Today its 24-hour-a-day veterinary hospital helps fund its rescue work as well as healing the city's dogs and cats.  Read more.

Maddie’s Matchmaker Adoptathon

After last year's hugely successful debut, in which almost 2,000 East Bay shelter dogs and cats found loving homes, Maddie's Adoptathon 2011 is happening June 4-5 at locations throughout Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. The goal is to double the joy this year.  Read more.

Annie’s Blankets

Annie's Blankets collects used blankets, towels and beddings to keep dogs and cats in shelters, vet clinics, and wildlife rehabilitation centers throughout the South Bay comfortable during their stay.  Read more.

Animal Friends Rescue Project

Pacific Grove's Animal Friends Rescue Project has been saving lives since 1998, not only through its own adoption program but by transporting dogs and cats from overcrowded shelters to safe havens.  Read more.

Humane Society for Inland Mendocino County

At its shelter in Redwood Valley, the Humane Society for Inland Mendocino County offers a safe haven for dogs and cats who find themselves in trouble.  Read more.

Northern California Sled Dog Rescue (NORSLED)

NorSled (Northern California Sled Dog Rescue) is an all-volunteer non-profit that rescues, rehabilitates and finds homes for huskies, Malamutes, Samoyeds and mixes of these breeds found in shelters across Northern California, and … Continued  Read more.

Sacramento Independent Animal Rescuers

In 2001, Carrie Moore pulled a doomed dog she called Nevada from the Sacramento city shelter and ultimately found a home for him with a dog park buddy. "I started … Continued  Read more.

Pet Rescue: Marin Humane

Founded in 1907, the Marin Humane Society looks out for the animals of Marin County—wild and domestic—with dozens of innovative, nationally known programs. The organization also is charged with enforcing local and … Continued  Read more.

Nike Animal Rescue Foundation

Twenty-six years ago next February, a South Bay woman found a white German Shepherd in a ditch with a litter of puppies – and a bullet in her jaw. The … Continued  Read more.

Smiley Dog Rescue

Since 2000, lucky dogs on their last day in Bay Area shelters have found a safe place to land at Smiley Dog Rescue. Among them–our own past cover boy Rowdy. … Continued  Read more.

East Bay Animal Rescue and Refuge

Founded in 2008, East Bay Animal Rescue and Refuge (EBARR) comes to the aid of both dogs and cats. In addition to rescuing animals from the Pinole and Martinez shelters, EBARR is one of the few rescues that will also accept dogs and cats in need directly from the community if they have foster homes available, and will work in a proactive manner with people who need to rehome their pets so they d  Read more.

To The Rescue

As a faithful reader of DogTrekker, the newsletter, you know that we are passionate about supporting shelters and rescue organizations throughout Northern California. In addition to visibility in the newsletter, … Continued  Read more.

American Brittany Rescue

American Brittany Rescue is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization formed in 1991 and now placing more than 1,000 Brittanys every year in the United States and Canada. Its mission is to take in stray, abandoned, surrendered and shelter Britts, provide them with foster care, health and temperament screening, and place them in loving homes. The Brittany is an active, playful and intelligent   Read more.

Great Dane Rescue of Northern California

Photo by Paparazzi Ratzfatzzi.

Great Dane Rescue of Northern California stands ready to act as a safety net for these lovable giants, whether it's a matter of landing in a shelter, developing medical issues because their people don't understand large-breed nutritional issues, or ending up in some other fix.  Read more.

Hopalong & Second Chance Rescue

Started in 1993 by a dedicated volunteer at the Oakland animal shelter, Hopalong Animal Rescue has been driven from the beginning by a strong commitment to animal welfare through community … Continued  Read more.

Northern California Family Dog Rescue

Angela Padilla started Northern California Family Dog Rescue last year after working for a while with another San Francisco rescue and growing frustrated at the plight of local families who, … Continued  Read more.

ARF

Between its founder’s successful baseball career, his high-profile lifesaving work and the star-studded benefit galas, Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation doesn’t need much introduction to Bay Area dog folks. … Continued  Read more.

Lily’s Legacy

Photo by Lily’s Legacy.

When Alice Mayn, a longtime foster for NorCal Golden Retriever Rescue, got word that a 12-year-old golden in ill health had been picked up wandering the streets of Santa Rosa, she rushed   Read more.

Saluting Canine Commitment

Many wineries welcome dogs on their premises, but for some, the canine connection runs especially deep. Rescue organizations and shelters, both private and public, depend on fund-raisers and donations to … Continued  Read more.

BADRAP

Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls (BADRAP) has been working for over a decade to help the bully breeds when they landed, as they all too often did, in shelters, but the rescue came to national prominence for its role in saving the canine victims of Michael Vick's horrific abuse, as documented in Jim Gorant's bestselling book The Lost Dogs. In addition to rescuing hundreds o  Read more.

East Bay Treats

If you live in the Bay Area, you don't have to go far to access some of the 1,150 miles of trails at your doorstep in the 65 parks comprising the nation's largest regional parks system. Only a small percentage of the East Bay Regional Park District's 100,000 acres is off-limits to dogs, so when it comes to places to roam with Rover, this patchwork of open space in Alameda and Contra Co  Read more.

Golden Gate Labrador Retriever Rescue

Photo by Anil Sharma.

There's a reason Labrador retrievers are the most popular dog breed in America. You probably have met many representatives of this gentle, intelligent, family-loving breed, or even or been loved by one.  Read more.

Golden State Greyhound Adoption

Photo by Tonia Kraakman.

Golden State Greyhound Adoption places retired racing greyhounds in adoptive homes in the San Francisco Bay Area, the greater Sacramento area and beyond.  Read more.