Hopalong Volunteer Blog

Friday, February 28, 2014

Super awesome photography opportunity

Super awesome opportunity!

Looking Glass Photo, a local camera store, is hosting a class on taking picture of dogs. They've offered us a spot for free (yay!).

So! I'm looking for someone who a) can attend the class: Thursday, March 27 from 5:00pm until about 7:30pm. b) can make an ongoing commitment to taking pictures of our foster animals. This will mean some traveling to foster homes or making appointments to meet fosters at locations convenient to them or going to mobiles- so some time!

That said, it will be truly awesome AND help our fosters get adopted more quickly! Check out the event.

https://lookingglassphoto.com/classes-phodography-101-%28march-27%29-phodography_march27/dp/17899

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Rainy Wednesday!

I hope you’re enjoying the rain, and the beginning of Spring Training.

Adoption updates: Among others, cats King, Sebastian and Phoebe were adopted and dogs Rascal, Kalpana and Kam were adopted!

Foster Request: I know we sound like a little bit of a broken record, but Janie (pictured) could really use a foster home- she’s been in boarding for two weeks. She’s a rad little dog. We think she’d do fine with dogs with introductions- she’s a little dog and self-respecting little dogs sometimes need to tell other dogs what’s going on. If you have a tolerant dog or know how to do intros or don’t have a dog or aren’t worried, well, Janie needs a foster!

Thank you’s: So, the copier! Thank you everyone involved in this- especially Natalia for finding it and Katie and Roshan for wrangling it all afternoon yesterday. It’s true that it’s not QUITE where it needs to be yet, but I am confident that it will be and really, it’s amazing to be so close.

Volunteer Opportunities: SO MANY! I’ve updated the weekly opportunity blog post here. Thank you everyone for jumping in so much this week- it’s been really great. We still need more handlers for this Saturday and will continue to have handler opportunities three Saturdays a month, so sign up to get your dog fix! There are lots of cat cuddling shifts at PetCo (Alameda) and a few at PetSmart (Pinole). I’ve tentatively scheduled the Thank-A-Thon for Wednesday, March 12^th at the office. If you’re interested and if that date works for you, please let me know!

Thank you, everyone, the animals say meow/woof/whatever!

Best,

Monday, February 24, 2014

Opportunities: February 24th and forward

When: Saturday, March 1st
Where: Pet Food Express in Berkeley (San Pablo and University)
What: 3 handlers, ~~driver to and from the event for dogs (van available!)~~

When: Saturday, March 8th, 10-4
Where: PetCo Unleashed (Lakeshore)
What: 3-4 handlers, 2 coordinators

When: Wednesday, March 5th, 6 pm
Where: the office (RSVP with Lauren)
What: Dog Adoption Application Screening Training

When: Monday, Thursdays anytime (ongoing) and some other shifts during the week
Where: PetCo, Alameda
What: Cat Cuddling at our mobile adoption site in Alameda

When: An evening TBD (probably Wednesday, March 12th)
Where: At the office
What: Thank-a-Thon. We will be calling all donors ($5-$50,000) starting this month on a weekday evening that works for as many volunteers as possible. If you're interested in this, please let me know what weekday is best so we can get started!

When: Sundays, Ongoing (and some other shifts)
Where: Petsmart, Pinole
What: Cat cuddling at our mobile adoption site in Pinole

When: Saturday, March 15t
Where: Pet Food Express in Rockridge
What: 5ish handlers, driver to and from the event for dogs (van available!)

When: ASAP!
Where: Anywhere!
What: Decorate/create some signage for our brand new dog mobile adoption site in Berkeley. We've got the site but we don't have the foot traffic because people don't know we're there. Help us get them there!

When: ASAP
Where: At the office
What: Two strong people to pick up a copier and move it upstairs. My wish has been granted- a mondo copier is ours for the taking IF we can pick it up!

When: Tuesday, March 9th
Where: Office
What: One strong person to come with staff to the White Elephant Sale Warehouse (right around the corner) to help us load up donations!

When: Wednesday, February 26th, 4:30-7:15
Where: Tiburon Lodge, Marin
What: The Tiburon Lodge has invited us to participate in their "Yappy Hour"- a happy hour where people can bring their dogs! We need two people to set up/break down and schmooze.

When: ASAP
Where: Anywhere! (remote)
What: Craigslist updater. Keep our Craigslist postings of animals and opportunities up-to-date. This takes about 15 minutes-1 hour a week. We've got the templates, you fill in the details.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Wednesday! Wednesday!

Hi Everyone, it’s that time!

First, welcome to all the new and new-ish volunteers and fosters! We’ve had an influx of awesome-ness lately, and thank you! Your enthusiasm is really wonderful.

Next, we’ve got a whole bunch of opportunities and chances for you to jump in. You can see them all here with details. They include cat cuddling, posting our adoptable animals on Craigslist, the thank-a-thon I keep talking about, adoption screening and more! Most urgently, we still need 3 dog handlers and a driver for this Saturday’s mobile adoption event at Fenton’s (12-3). We also need two strong people because my wish has finally been granted and we can have a copier if we can move it soon!

I’ve received two requests from the dog side: we’ve been rescuing dogs left and right (awesome!) and need fosters! If you’ve got a spot right now or friends who are interested, holler! Also, if you have a crate or x-pen at home that belongs here, we could really use them back. If you can’t get them here during business hours, let us know and we’ll work something out.

In the good news department, Buddy, our first basset hound that we can remember was adopted this week! This guy was super cute, super big and, well, super loud! Thank you Every Dog for fostering him! Milo, our cat from Hong Kong was also adopted- adult cat adoptions are really wonderful.

Last, facebook group for volunteers and fosters is great- if you still need an invite, please let me know. I love seeing before/after foster pictures, hearing about events, etc!

Thanks again, everyone, for everything!

Opportunities: February 19th and forward!

When: Saturday, February 22nd
Where: Fenton's on Piedmont Avenue
What: 3ish dog handlers, driver to and from the event for dogs (van available!)

When: ASAP
Where: At the office
What: Two strong people to pick up a copier and move it upstairs. My wish has been granted- a mondo copier is ours for the taking IF we can pick it up!

When: Thursdays anytime (ongoing) and some other shifts during the week
Where: PetCo, Alameda
What: Cat Cuddling at our mobile adoption site in Alameda

When: ASAP!
Where: Anywhere!
What: Decorate/create some signage for our brand new dog mobile adoption site in Berkeley. We've got the site but we don't have the foot traffic because people don't know we're there. Help us get them there!

When: An evening TBD
Where: At the office
What: Thank-a-Thon. We will be calling all donors ($5-$50,000) starting this month on a weekday evening that works for as many volunteers as possible. If you're interested in this, please let me know what weekday is best so we can get started!

When: An evening TBD
Where: At the office
What: Dog Adoption Screening Training. We've had lots of interest in learning how to screen dog adoptions and it's time to hold another training. If you're interested, let me know and we'll schedule a date, the sooner the better, as we've got lots of apps coming in!

When: ASAP
Where: Anywhere! (remote)
What: Craigslist updater. Keep our Craigslist postings of animals and opportunities up-to-date. This takes about 15 minutes-1 hour a week. We've got the templates, you fill in the details.

When: Sundays, Ongoing (and some other shifts)
Where: Petsmart, Pinole
What: Cat cuddling at our mobile adoption site in Pinole

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Better Late Than Never, Short and Sweet

All the cliches in one title!

Happy Wednesday, Hopalong fosters and volunteers! I've just got a little Wednesday email for you today!

First, thanks to those who showed up in the rain and slightly icky weather for the event last Saturday, both to socialize and volunteer. You rock! Thanks to Erica M. who's been coming in and doing some quite tedious office work and to Katie S. who has gotten our storage into tip top shape!

Second, we've got a mobile this Saturday and it's going to be busy! We still need handlers and an extra person who is trained to screen/coordinate to help out our main coordinator. Please let me know and check out the other upcoming activities here (there are lots!).

Next, we've got a small "needs assessment" survey going out about the humane education program. It would be *wonderful if you could share this widely (and take it, if you feel like you're invested in community youth in any way). The more people who see it/take it, the better our program will be!

Last, if you haven't already, please let me know if you'd like to join our facebook group for fosters and volunteers. Just let me know what email address to invite you with and I will send you an invite!

Thank you guys, I really love working with you (if I don't tell you that often enough!)- and happy almost Valentine's Day!