Shelter Scouts

Calico Crew is an exciting new program for 8-11 year olds at East Bay SPCA! The modules of the program will cover various animal related topics in a fun and interactive learning environment. Since this program takes place onsite at our shelter locations, we will be sure to include a safe, hands-on animal interaction each session.

Modules are held for 1.5 hours. The cost is $50/student/module. This fee helps to cover the cost of staff supervision during the program as well as program supplies. Limited financial assistance through scholarships is available for qualified applicants.

Youth should enroll based on their age on the first day of the module they are registering for. All program hours are eligible to be signed off as service hours. Participants are welcome to sign up for multiple modules, as each has different content, activities, and animals.

Participants must attend the “All About East Bay SPCA” module before they can enroll in others!

While all activities will be centered around helping the shelter and the animals in our care, participants should not expect to spend the full time with shelter animals. In order to make sure our animal-loving participants still get the animal time we know they love, we will plan to include a minimum of one animal socialization session per day. As an animal shelter is a very dynamic environment, the planned daily activities are always subject to change based on the needs of our staff and shelter animals.

The Spring 2025 Session will offer three modules, with more to come for the Summer/Fall Sessions!

Module 1: All About East Bay SPCA- PARTICIPANTS MUST COMPLETE THIS MODULE BEFORE MOVING ON TO OTHERS

Get to know East Bay SPCA! Go on a behind the scenes tour and learn about the role we play in the animal welfare community. Activities may cover topics like shelter pathways, adoption matching, shelter myths vs. facts, and more!

Module 2: All About Dogs

As the name suggests, this session is about everything DOGS! Activities will touch on topics ranging from dog body language, how to safely meet a new dog, breed identification, enrichment, positive reinforcement training, and more!

Module 3: All About Cats

You didn’t think we’d forget about our furry feline friends, did you? This session is about everything CATS! Activities will touch on topics ranging from cat body language, how to safely meet a new cat, breed identification, enrichment, community cats, and more!

Sample Agenda

10 mins: Walk in Activity (self-led) ex. creating enrichment

25 mins: Activity 1 (Adoption Match Game, Community Cats PSA posters, Doggy DNA game)

30 mins: Animal Socialization (meet and greet)

25 mins: Activity 2 (Shelter Pathways game, Shelter Scavenger Hunt, Adoption Ads)

The Rover Recruits program explores different ways youth can help animals in our community. Depending on their age, participants will explore the world of animal welfare through shelter tasks, educational activities, creating enrichment, animal socialization, and more!. Some examples of potential projects include making dog treats, assisting with shelter laundry, creating adoption posters, preparing for upcoming East Bay SPCA programs or events, making cat toys, assisting with shelter clean-up, providing attention for the animals in our care, etc. This program is supervised by our Humane Education staff, so there is no need for parents/guardians to be present.

Rover Recruits is open to youth ages 12-17. Sessions are held for 2 hours once per week, for three weeks. The cost is $100/student/3-week session. This fee helps to cover the cost of staff supervision during the program as well as program supplies. Limited financial assistance through scholarships is available for qualified applicants.

Youth should enroll based on their age on the first day of the session they are registering for. All program hours are eligible to be signed off as service hours. Participants are welcome to sign up for multiple 3-week sessions, as each session has different content, activities, and animals.

While all activities will be centered around helping the shelter and the animals in our care, participants should not expect to spend the full session with the shelter animals. In order to make sure our animal-loving participants still get the dog and cat time we know they love, we will plan to include a minimum of one animal socialization session per day. As an animal shelter is a very dynamic environment, the planned daily tasks are always subject to change based on the needs of our staff and shelter animals.

For cancellations made 7 days or more prior to the program’s start date, we can provide you with refund minus a $25 administrative fee to your credit card or check.For any COVID related cancellations– due either to potential or confirmed symptoms or exposure isolation– we can provided you with full credit to your East Bay SPCA registration account balance, which can be used at a later date to either reschedule the same program or to sign up for future education programs such as our Animal Camps.

Please note, we cannot accommodate any makeup sessions. Transferring sessions due to illness cancellations is subject to availability.