News
Fire Update: One Month Later
June 24, 2010The Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society wanted to provide you with an update on our progress, as it is truly evident you care as much as we do about our organization, shelter animals and future. It has been a month since areas of our facility burned down in the early hours of May 20, 2010. Here's our most recent status:
Staff has moved into a more permanent, but temporary, office in the old Scharffenberger building on Heinz Street in Berkeley. It is located three blocks from the shelter. We had been working from Fliqz, a Board member's business, since the fire. Medical staff continues to work out of a donated space at Berkeley Animal Care Services (BACS) and Berkeley Dog and Cat Hospital to provide medical care and perform spay/neuter surgeries on the shelter animals still in our care. Shelter staff has been supporting administrative staff in all areas, from processing donations, to foster coordination, animal transportation and facilitating adoption events.
While our computers and servers were being cleaned after sustaining smoke damage, we had to find alternative ways to manage our day-to-day operations. Many staff members found themselves working out of multiple sites on a daily basis to ensure we were able to attend to both our shelter animals and medical responsibilities. This has obviously not been an easy situation, but we are all committed and dedicated to caring and ensuring the best for all our shelter animals.
BEBHS staff members medically cleared many of our shelter animals so they could be made available for adoption at the Maddie's Matchmaker Adoptathon, which occurred on June 12 and 13. BACS graciously offered to share their adoption space with us, so we held a joint adoption event. This ultimately helped 33 of our shelter animals to find permanent homes! Our other shelter animals are receiving a lot of love and attention in foster homes until our next mobile event. Please check our website for updates on where to go for our next mobile adoption.
Over the past month, BEBHS staff and board members have also been working on short and long-term plans. Our short-term plan has been outlined above. We continue to discuss our long-term strategy and will share our plans as we know more. We are focused on identifying a strategy that will allow us to rebuild a facility that will serve the needs of the animals in our community. Please know that your support matters a great deal to us, and we will continue to keep you apprised of our status as we move forward.
On another note, we continue to be in constant communication with the White Family, the tenants in the apartment adjacent to our facility, as they too were displaced from their home on May 20, 2010. Recently, they found a new residence in Berkeley for their family, which includes their Pit-bull mix, Baby, and three snakes. You can visit their website for more information on their current status.
Breaking News: Shelter Fire
May 20, 2010In the early morning of May 20, a major fire destroyed a large section of our shelter. We lost our entire cat sheltering area as well as laundry facilities and offices. We are currently without water, electricity and phone service.
We lost 15 of our beautiful cats that were ready for adoption but all the dogs survived and are being cared for in our kennels and at a veterinary emergency service.
Our most immediate needs are:
Monetary donations.Any amount you can donate will make a difference.You canhelp us three ways:
- Online - press any DONATE button on the website
- By phone - (510) 845-7735, ext 204.
- Mail donations to: BEBHS, 2700 9th St, Berkeley, CA 94710
Foster Homes for dogs and cats. Please Contact: foster@berkeleyhumane.org
if you have temporary space for a dog or cat.
Volunteers: In the immediate future, we will have major cleaning and repair tasks as well as animal care. Please contact: volunteer@berkeleyhumane.org if you can spare some time to help once the tasks are organized.
We will post updates of our needs on the website as we assess the situation.
We want to get back to helping the community with homeless pets just as we have done since 1927. We desperately need your help in thiscrisis, especially with donations, to get usgoing again. We can only do it with your help.
