COVID-19 Programs and Services Updates

The East Bay SPCA is taking safety precautions to protect and support our community, shelter animals, staff and volunteers. Please direct any questions to info@eastbayspca.org.

The following programs and services are available:

Adoptions

• The East Bay SPCA is closed for regular walk-in adoptions, but it is still possible to adopt a shelter cat or dog at this time. We are facilitating adoptions by appointment. Learn more here >>

Pet Food Pantry

• Pet Food Pantry to help families in need. Find out more >>

Behavior and Training

• Group Dog Training and Private Training are available online and in-person. Private Cat Training is also available online. Find out more >>
• A variety of affordable self-paced On-Demand Cat and Dog Online Courses on common behavior topics.
  Learn more >>

Humane Education

• At home resources for youth. Download here >>
• Shelter Scouts allows youth access to volunteer opportunities and enrichment during and explores different ways that youth can help pets in our community. Find out more >>
• Virtual Programs for schools, scouts, or just for fun! Our 25-25 minute virtual programs include a short education lesson and a virtual animal meet of one of our shelter cats or dogs! Request a program >>

Veterinary Services

• Our full-service Theodore B. Travers Family Veterinary Clinic in Oakland will be open by appointment only. We are unable to accommodate any walk-in visits at this time. Learn more >>
• Spay/Neuter Centers: To see the most up-to-date information, visit this page to find out more >>
• Our Vaccine Clinics are open in Oakland. Find out more >>
• We are experiencing a high volume of client appointment requests at our Full-Service Clinic and Spay/Neuter Surgery Centers. Appointment availability may be limited. 

Foster Inquires

Thank you for your interest in helping the East Bay SPCA by fostering a shelter dog or cat. We are grateful to have received an outpouring of support from existing foster volunteers and candidates to help us with the animals in our shelter. At this time we are in need of foster parents for large dogs and kittens. We will update this page as our needs change, so please check for new foster opportunities. If you would like to be notified of future foster volunteer opportunities, please fill out our application available here and we will send you information on becoming a foster volunteer.

The following programs and services have been temporarily closed:

• Dog Boarding in Dublin

Stray Animals

Found a stray animal in Oakland? Between the hours of 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM every day, Oakland Animal Services can be reached at (510) 535-5602. They will assess your situation to offer help when possible. If you have found a stray, sick or injured animal after hours, Oakland Animal Services has asked that you transport it to the VCA Bay Area Veterinary Specialists & Emergency Hospital or another 24-hour veterinary care facility, if you are able to do so. Alternatively, you can call the police non-emergency line at (510) 777-3333. You must stay on the line to speak with a dispatcher.

Outside of Oakland? Please refer to your local municipal shelter to see how strays are being handled. Learn more here >>

Beginning February 3, 2021, the City of San Leandro will shift its animal shelter services from Fremont to the East Bay SPCA to better serve San Leandro residents. The East Bay SPCA will provide shelter services for strays or lost animals found in San Leandro without appropriate identification at the Oakland Shelter located at 8323 Baldwin Street in Oakland.

Click here to view the lost and found animals held at the East Bay SPCA and how to redeem.

What We Know

This is an evolving, rapidly-changing situation, and as more information becomes available, our approach may change. For more information, the CDC (cdc.gov), WHO (who.int) and World Small Animal Veterinary Association (wsava.org) are reliable sites with up to date information. Here’s what we know so far:

• First, all the animals testing positive are known to or suspected to have contact with infected people. The dogs and domestic cat never exhibited signs of the virus and while one dog died after release from quarantine the others are healthy. Our hearts go out to the family of the dog in Hong Kong as they lost their 17-year-old dog 3 days after release from quarantine due to age related health issues. Tigers at the Bronx Zoo are coughing, and one had a positive COVID19 test. They are responding well to supportive care.
• Idexx Laboratories has tested thousands of cats and dogs and none have tested positive for COVID-19. But can our pets get COVID-19 from us? Possibly. A study by the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has focused on the susceptibility of domestic animals and whether they can infect each other. The study is small, has not been reviewed and results are preliminary but there are some things of which to be aware.
• Cats and ferrets in the study appear more susceptible to COVID-19 and in some cases developed signs of the illness. It is possible that cats and ferrets have receptors for the virus more like our own so may be more likely to catch COVID-19 from us. Dogs appear to be less susceptible. Don’t feel you need to quarantine your dog or cut off contact with your cat. Frolic with your ferret if you are healthy and doing well.
• Testing our pets for COVID-19 is not recommended or available at this time. We currently don’t have evidence our pets can give us COVID-19. Studies of the SARS virus (a virus like that causing COVID-19) did not confirm transmission from pets to humans. If you are immunocompromised, please take precautions recommended by the CDC.
• Vaccinating your dog for coronavirus will not prevent COVID-1. Coronaviruses are a family of viruses affecting different parts of the body in the same way your family may live in different parts of town. You are members of the same family but live your own lives. We have a vaccine against a coronavirus causing mild vomiting and diarrhea in dogs, but it doesn’t provide protection against SAR-CoV-19.

How You Can Help

So many of you have reached out asking how you can help and we thank you for that.

Right now, monetary donations are most needed, as they allow us to quickly meet the most urgent needs. Your support will help care for animals during and after this crisis.

If you would like to donate pet food or other supplies, please visit our Other Ways To Give page for more information and links to our Amazon wish list. We are currently accepting in-kind donations Wednesdays – Sundays from 10:30 AM – 4:30 PM at our Oakland (8323 Baldwin Street, Oakland) and Dublin (4651 Gleason Drive, Dublin) Adoption Centers in a safe, socially distanced, manner. In-kind donations can be placed in our donation bins located outside of the shelter entrance.

Thank you for everything you do to support animals in need, and make our life-saving work possible!

How to Keep Yourself and Your Pets Safe

• Use reliable and up-to-date resources for coronavirus information. The CDC (cdc.gov), WHO (who.int) and World Small Animal Veterinary Association (wsava.org) are good reliable sites.
• If you feel sick in any way, we recommend that you follow the standard isolation recommendations and limit your pet’s close contact with other people.  
• Follow CDC & WHO guidelines. Wash your hands with soap and water for the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice, avoid touching your face, stay home if you are sick, cough or sneeze into your elbow. Wash your hands before and after handling pets.
• Include your pets in your emergency planning. Having two (2) weeks of food and medication on hand will help with natural disasters as well as disease outbreaks.
• Diagnosed with COVID-19? Let your partner care for your friends if you can and if that’s not an option, wear your mask, wash your hands. Consider not letting your animals sleep on the bed with you. It’ll be hard but it is temporary! If you must care for your pet or be around animals while you are sick, wash your hands before and after you interact with pets and wear a facemask.
• If your companion animal has been exposed to someone diagnosed with COVID-19 contact the public health worker involved with the patient’s care. They will contact the state veterinarians and direct your from there. If you are told to bring your pet to your veterinarian call first so they can prepare isolation areas.

If you have questions call your veterinarian and check on the websites listed above.