Oakland’s Dog Town: A New Approach to Fostering

OAS’s Dog Town mission is to focus on dogs who need extra attention.

Long before the pandemic’s stay-at-home orders triggered the huge demand for foster dogs, Oakland Animal Services (OAS) had developed plans to create a new foster dog program called Dog Town. Modeled in part after Cat Town, Oakland’s innovative rescue for cats previously considered unadoptable, Dog Town has as its mission to focus on dogs who need extra attention to address behavioral issues or medical conditions before they can be adopted, as well as to support end-of-life fostering for dogs who need a peaceful place to spend their last days.  

The cornerstone of OAS’s Dog Town foster program is a unique support network designed to make fostering accessible to anyone, even those not working from home. While COVID-19 restrictions have put some of these components on hold, the program provides: 

• Training and behavior support, including private virtual sessions with a certified professional dog trainer, general obedience training, and Canine Good Citizen classes. 

• Socialization activities, including dog playgroups at the shelter and pack walks at various public parks and other venues. 

• Adoption support, including adoption events, social media promotion, and professional photographs and videos. 

• Foster “pods,” consisting of volunteers who assist fosters with dog walking, transporting dogs to events or appointments, emergency/short-term fostering, training support, and social gatherings. 

 Dog Town already has produced phenomenal results. Since the inception of the COVID-limited program in January 2020, over 425 dogs have been placed in foster homes and subsequently adopted (including some foster fails!), transferred to a partner organization, or, in the case of one hospice dog, peacefully euthanized while surrounded by his loving foster family and OAS staff. 

Some notable Dog Town foster pups have included: 

Smokey

• Smokey, an eight-year-old surrendered Pit Bull who was extremely stressed in the kennel, displaying manic behavior over toys and bedding, and leash reactivity toward other dogs. While at OAS, Smokey was moved from a kennel to a separate private room to reduce his stress levels, and a group of volunteers was assigned to spend time just hanging out with Smokey to lessen his anxiety. After several months and a few unsuccessful foster attempts, Smokey finally went to foster with a family who worked on his behavior with OAS’s behavior and veterinary teams. They ultimately ended up falling in love and adopting him. 

Joy

• Joy, an anxious six-year-old German Shepherd mix with separation distress behaviors, was in foster care for six weeks before finding her forever home. Like many German Shepherds, sensitive Joy would have had a very difficult time had she remained in the shelter while waiting for the right home. In her foster home, her foster dad was able to build her confidence and acclimate her - with the support of the OAS team - to staying home alone for increasingly longer time periods. The OAS Dog Town team created a video highlighting Joy’s playful nature, and Joy's foster dad found her adoptive family by posting photos of her on Reddit. 

Gracie

• Gracie, a shut-down Terrier mix, was terrified of the leash and of people. After three weeks in foster care, Gracie’s sweet, playful spirit came through, and she - now known as Maggy -  was adopted by a wonderful family experienced with shy dogs.

Bumper

• Bumper was a sweet Pit Bull who loved playing fetch. He had multiple masses over his entire body and lived out his final months in a loving hospice home. His foster family and devoted OAS fans were by his side as Bumper was peacefully set free.  

 The most crucial factor in the success of the Dog Town program is the willingness of caring humans to take on the responsibility of a foster dog, an investment repaid many times over by the priceless feeling they get when their foster is adopted into a forever home. As the pandemic subsides and businesses begin to reopen, the Dog Town support network will become even more critical to  maintaining safe foster homes in which our shelter dogs can thrive.

 Dog Town currently has over 20 dogs in foster care. The OAS team conducts daily assessments of the dogs at the shelter to determine who would most benefit from time in a foster home, and the foster team then reaches out to the foster community to find placements for these dogs. A current list of dogs in need of foster care is available on our website at oaklandanimalservices.org/foster-needed.

 The Dog Town foster program has the generous support of the Friends of Oakland Animal Services nonprofit, which supports the operations of Oakland's municipal shelter.

To learn more about fostering for Oakland Animal Services, visit: oaklandanimalservices.org/how-to-help/fostering-animals.