Record adoptions at Bark & Meow Around the Block 2015

The Third Annual Bark (& Meow) Around the Block on August 15th was a phenomenal, record-breaking success.

Twenty Bay Area rescue groups joined together at Berkeley Humane to "Clear the Shelters" with support from NBC Bay Area. This is the first year that Bark (& Meow) has partnered with NBC's Clear the Shelters event, which helped over 17,000 animals get adopted nationwide.

We were so happy to see so many community members join us for food, drink, dancing, raffle drawings, games, and (of course) meeting adoptable dogs, cats, rabbits, and birds.

Bark & Meow Around the Block captured hearts online as well as in person: Cute Overload chose us at their ResQte of the Week! Check out their photos and videos of the event!

Berkeley Humane alone facilitated 48 adoptions, breaking our own record of the highest number of adoptions to take place within six hours.

Picture by Berkeley Humane Adoption Specialist Krista May Carpenetti

Across all rescue groups, 135 animals went home with delighted adopters. That total smashes last year's record!

 

Enthusiastic thanks go out to the event's committee members, whose tireless efforts since spring brought about this successful event:

• Event Chair: Catherine Culhane
• Logistic Chair: Rosemary Dutra
• Adoptions Chair: Erin Chandler
• Marketing Chair: Melissa Mangini
• Hoopla Chair: John Culhane
• Raffle Chair: Emily Murphy
• Sponsorship Chairs: Amy Ertekin & Tatiana Ware
• Volunteer Chair: Jin Yoo

 

Sponsors also helped make the event sing, from advertising to prize donations.

• NBC Bay Area
• Whole Foods Market
• Pet Food Express
• Berkeley Police Association
• Berkeley Dog & Cat Services
• SnapLogic
• Alpha Dog Marketing
• The Rare Barrel
• Lions Club
• Kruse Plumbing
• Kaiser Permanente Thrive
• Rosemary Dutra, Intero Real Estate
• Monty Lee, EA
• Celery Design Collaborative
• DogTrekker.com
• Berkeley Chamber of Commerce

We'd particularly like to thank the Berkeley Lions Club who, in addition to being a sponsor, arrived early in the morning to offer hours of back-breaking labor to set up the event.

 

Thanks again to the volunteers and community members who joined us on Saturday. Berkeley Humane works every day to support and provide animal welfare resources to the community, and Saturday was a great reminder of how the community supports us, too.

See you next year at Bark (& Meow) Around the Block!

Bark & Meow Around the Block is tomorrow!

SAT. AUGUST 15, 10AM - 4PM
NINTH & CARLETON STREETS, BERKELEY
Open to the public. Free to attend.

• Adoptable Animals
  Dogs, puppies, cats, kittens, bunnies, and birds!
• Great Food & Beer
  Grilled Cheez Guy, Fist of Flour pizza, Whole Foods serving sandwich wraps, Skylite Snowballs, The Mead Kitchen, Green Flash, and Lagunitas.
• Games & Activities 
  Bouncy house, face painting, toy making, caricature portraits, hacky-sack toss, fortune telling, dress-up photobooth, and more!
• Live music
  The 415s will be jamming!
• Fantastic Raffle Prizes
  Plenty of chances to win all kinds of raffle prizes! There's something for everyone.
• Fun Products
  From eco-friendly stuffable pet beds, to vitamin gravy, to cupcakes and treats for pups, it's time to pamper your pooch with these goodies!
• Dog-Friendly
  Well-behaved and harnessed dogs welcome! In fact, we'll have plenty of yummy dog biscuits, water bowls, and even activities—including hotdog bobbing and a rally course—to entertain your pooch.

So many adoptable animals at Bark & Meow Around the Block, Aug. 15!

Bark & Meow Around the Block is Saturday, August 15! Mark your calendars!

Thinking of adopting an animal this summer? Then definitely join us for Bark (& Meow) Around the Block where you'll get to meet a lot of wonderful animals from Berkeley Humane and many of our great partners including Adopt a Doggie, Animal Rescue Recon, Inc., Bee Holistic Cat Rescue and Care, Berkeley Animal Care Services, Bitten By A Kitten Rescue, EBARR - East Bay Animal Rescue & Refuge, Goldie and Papis' Animal Rescue, Hayward Animal Services, Hopalong and Second Chance Animal Rescue, The Milo Foundation, Rocket Dog Rescue, Umbrella of Hope, Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue.

  This free-to-attend event is several amazing things all in one:

• An adopt-a-thon that'll help many animals find loving homes,
• A family-friendly street fair that'll bring together the community,
• And a fundraiser that'll help save the lives of East Bay dogs and cats!

Special thanks to our sponsors for making this event possible: Pet Food Express, Whole Foods Market Gilman, Berkeley Police Association, NBC Bay Area, Berkeley Dog & Cat Hospital / Special Veterinary Services, SnapLogic, Alpha Dog Marketing, The Rare Barrel, Berkeley Lions Club, L.J. Kruse Plumbing, Heating and Cooling, Celery Design Collaborative, DogTrekker, and Berkeley Chamber.

 Photographs by Diane Walsh, Jodie Howard, and Sara Anooshfar.

Get Involved at Bark (& Meow) Around the Block!

Bark (& Meow) Around the Block is Berkeley Humane's annual street fair and adopt-a-thon – and it's just around the (calendar) block!

This fun summer event gets people and their pets outdoors with live entertainment, food and drink, kids' games, raffle prizes – and of course the chance to meet your potential new family member. This year we're partnering with over a dozen rescue organizations to hopefully top last year's 45 (!) Bark Around the Block adoptions!

To make this year a barking (& meowing) success, we need 100 volunteers to help with setup, raffle activity sales, activity booths, and more:

When: Saturday, August 15 

Requirements: Able to stand for 3+ hours with short breaks, friendly and outgoing demeanor

Check out last year's photo album to see what's in store! Contact Volunteer Manager Jenn Suzuki with your availability for August 15th (e.g. "Available 12-4 pm") at jsuzuki@berkeleyhumane.org to get involved.

Adopting that many cats and dogs in one day doesn't happen on its own, so many thanks goes to Berkeley Humane's volunteer crew in advance. Almost as popular as the loving animals the Berkeley Humane Society places is our highly coveted series of volunteer orientations! Volunteer orientations introduce you not only to Berkeley Humane's practices, but also our history and philosophies. With so many kindhearted members in Berkeley Humane's community, our volunteer orientations are often booked months in advance, but Bark (& Meow) Around the Block is a rare opportunity to lend your time in-person without necessarily waiting for an orientation opening.

At the very least, we hope to see you there on August 15th – mark your calendars and invite your friends!

Win big at Bark (& Meow) Around the Block!

Bark (& Meow) Around the Block, Berkeley Humane’s annual street fair and adopt-a-thon, may be a month away but we’re already preparing extraordinary raffle prizes for some lucky winners.

For only $5 a ticket (or $20 for five tickets), participants have a chance to win up to $1,300 in prizes! 

Pet prizes include a puppy starter kit, two nights at Wags Hotel’s Ultra Suite, and a shopping spree for earth-friendly toys and treats.

People prizes include a Literary Mystery package from Dark Carnival Books, beauty services from Keter Salon or White Rose Skin Care, cruises on the Bay, a Berkeley wine, bed, and breakfast package, and even a luxury night in Napa valley with free wine.

That’s just the start! Many more prizes await and we’re bound to add more as the event draws closer.

One of the greatest prizes might be the new pet you adopt. Berkeley Humane partners with 20 animal rescue organizations to bring a huge variety of adoptable animals to Bark (& Meow) Around the Block.

Join us on Saturday, August 15 for live music, family-friendly games & activities, food, drink, pets, and prizes!

Bark (& Meow) Around the Block 2014

Let's start off with the most important result of Bark (& Meow) Around the Block 2014, namely this:

A total of 45 wonderful animals from Berkeley Humane found new homes! Awesome, right?

They're not the only ones that got new homes either. The dozen of other rescue organizations present were all very well visited too. Obviously the puppy pens were a great attraction, but many of the adult pooches also got their share of interest.

The public introduction of the Mobile Adoption Center—which is a great asset in helping Berkeley Humane fulfill it's mission of finding good homes for homeless animals—was a huge success. The Mobile Adoption Center housed many kittens, which were all adopted within a matter of hours!

Not the least part of the festivities was the Hero Walk Around the Block, which took place before the start of the adoption and street fair event. It was held to help raise funds to sponsor the waiving of adoption fees for qualified homes.

And let's not forget the participants and the people! The main attractions for many were the animals, but with a variety of foods and lovely music, as well as informative stands and booths supporting good causes, those who weren't in the market for a new furry friend were equally well served. Bouncy Castles, Lollipop Grabs and an agility course were also vital elements of entertainment for those who had brought along their own children and pets. In all, we can safely conclude that Bark (& Meow) Around the Block 2014 was a resounding success!

Berkeley Humane would like to extend a huge thank you to our sponsors, volunteers, participants, and everyone who helped make Bark (& Meow) Around the Block, 2014 a beautiful, meaningful and successful event!  It was so inspiring and so much fun to celebrate our love of animals with our community members. We can't wait to see you at our next event!

All photo's used in this post were taken by our talented photgraphers: Diane Walsh, Jodie Howard, and Sara Anooshfar. Thank you so much for recording this event!

Are you ready for Bark (& Meow) Around the Block?

Our 2nd annual Bark (& Meow) Around the Block is right around the corner! On September 21st Berkeley Humane will host an adopt-a-thon and street fair, full of food and fun, music and games, free dog and cat adoptions from Berkeley Humane, as well as many other critters from local rescues!

Starting time for the event is 11AM, and we won't stop until 4 PM. The event is family friendly and pets are welcome, so if you have a party animal or a cool cat you'd love to bring, this is your event. Do make sure you have them on a leash!

If you're looking to adopt a dog or cat, Berkeley Humane will offer free adoptions that day to qualified adopters! There will also be a dozen other adoption agencies who'll bring their animals for you to meet, greet and adopt. Many vendors of all kinds will also be there, so you can pamper your animal and yourself. If the pet cuddling and fun activities wear you out, you can plop down for a beer and some tasty food and enjoy the live music and entertainment.

Going the extra mile

Bark (& Meow) Around the Block also has a fundraising component and you can participate! Go here to sign up for the HERO Walk Around The Block, where you (and your dog, cat or kid) can leisurely walk around Berkeley Humane's city block, to help support our free adoptions during the adopt-a-thon.  The HERO Walk will take place right before the street fair opens, so you can help us fundraise and not miss out of any of the fun.

No matter what you choose to do, we look forward to welcoming you at Bark (& Meow) Around the Block!