^ This dog. Hilarious. ^
^ The turtle was adopted that day! Yay, turtle friend! ^
^ Seriously. Too much adorable. This was one of the three litters of puppies at the event. Gahhh. ^
^ The sweetest brindle pitbull pup ever. She spent the entire time either being petted or asleep. ^
^ These pugs were great. I'm not really the biggest fan of the breed, but en masse, they're hysterical. ^
^ The only dog I actually pet that day. It was just SO. HAPPY. I mean, how do you resist that face?!? And it gave doggy kisses, too. ^
Went dog-watching with the parentals {and so Mom could socialize with all the dog people}.
---
Who: The Parentals, Zoe, & I
Where: East Bay SPCA Adopt-a-thon in Jack London Square, Oakland
When: Saturday at 10 AM
The Place: Aaand we're back! Feels like we were just at Jack London Square for a doggy adoption event-- ohwait! That's because Mom got her dates wrong and we were just here. Last week, in fact. Luckily, there was a street/craft fair that day so our trip out to Oakland wasn't in vain.
This time, however, there were dogs EVERYWHERE. And it was GLORIOUS. Jack London Square is normally uber dog-friendly, but this was taking it to a whole new level. I wonder what those people who just showed up to walk around on a Saturday morning thought when they first saw the hordes of dogs and dog people and dog booths. Heh.
SPCA shelters and breed-specific rescue groups from all over the Bay gathered together for this annual event and brought along a bunch of their adoptable friends. Dogs of all shapes, sizes, breeds, ages... basically dogs of all kinds were there. And there were kittens and cats, too, of course.
If you were interested in bunnies, guinea pigs, rats {hey, don't knock it. We've had pet rats and they are the bestest. Super smart, quite friendly, and they fit in your pocket!}, or birds, their rescue groups were giving out more information. And one of the booths even had a rather large turtle, a tarantula, a hermit crab, and several doves. Excellent.
What We Did: Wander. Talk to fellow dog people. Get spoiled and fawned over by all the people manning the pet services booths {thank you especially to Pet Food Express for all the treats and toys, and DogTrekker for the interest in writing an article on East Bay Regional Park's volunteer dogs!}. Other things that happened:
+ As we were walking to the event, a train came by on the railroad that runs parallel to Jack London Square and we had to stop and wait for it to finish. Daddy counted sixty-four cars total {which translates to about a seven-plus-minute wait}. Newly added to the list of things Zoe does not like are train horns. Steam whistles and loud honks are not her thing. Poor dog was shivering like mad at the noise. ):
+ We were asked by several different people if Zoe was up for adoption. Yes, she's beautiful and she was one of the few border collies there, but sorry, folks, she's ours. One lady asked us three times throughout the event if she could adopt our dog, which we thought was a little excessive, until we realized that each time she asked, a different one of us was holding the leash {Daddy, then me, then Mom}. So. But still.
+ Daddy stopped by the Northern California Sled Dog Rescue booth to pet their gorgeous pups, so I started talking with some of the other people at the booth. Since Zoe doesn't like standing still very much, she found a small stick and offered it to one of the people in an effort to get them to play with her. As we left the booth and she grudgingly left the makeshift toy there, one of the huskies who'd been checking her out noticed the saliva-covered stick. Apparently his thought process was "Oh, look! This smells like you had it in your mouth! That means it must be edible! Moohahaha, MINE," and he preceded to put enormous effort into trying to eat the stick. The guy holding the husky's leash started laughing and said, "And that's the difference between border collies and huskies!"
+ There were several litters of puppies there and THEY WERE SO ADORABLE. And while I'm glad they all {yes, ALL} got adopted that day, I can't help but feel a bit apprehensive about letting people take home a puppy as a spur-of-the-moment, look-it's-so-cute decision, especially if they're first time dog owners. There was one family that was cuddling a puppy as Zoe and I walked by, and the two girls were cooing over how soft it was, but recoiled and looked positively horrified that Zoe came within a couple inches of their legs. Uh, honey? My dog is like the least threatening dog out here. If you're freaked out by my small border collie, that puppy isn't for you. Because it's going to grow up to be much, MUCH bigger than my dog. People like that make me nervous for those pups' welfare...
Tips: Just so you know...
+ If you're bringing your own dog to just walk around these types of events, make sure they're decently friendly. And if they're calm around large crowds and lots of unknown dogs, that'd be best, too. Most of the dogs wandering around the booths were really sweet and welcome to petting, but there were a few who had people creating a wide berth around them and giving them the side-eye because they weren't fully under control. You don't want to be That Owner.
+ While there is a pretty good chance that someone nearby will have doggy bags in case your canine has to go {because this is after all a dog-filled event}, it's good etiquette to bring your own. Most veteran dog owners know this already, but just in case you're new to the club... be prepared.
+ If you're one of those super-cautious, my-poor-baby, he/she-is-delicate-and-your-dog-is-going-to-hurt-my-precious-angel dog owners, these kind of events aren't for you. Like I said earlier, dogs are everywhere here and it's in their nature to check each other out a bit. Let them sniff for a couple seconds and then just keep moving. Your dog is socializing. It'll be fine. If you don't over-react, they won't over-react.
Conclusion: This was a great event that found homes for many, many critter friends {you can see the numbers and photos here} and allowed all us pet people to gather and share stories and information. It's got an excited, happy atmosphere and it's a great way to spend a Saturday morning. Knowing my mom, we will most likely be back next year, so come join us!
--
Jack London Square
Oakland, California 94607
When: Saturday at 10 AM
The Place: Aaand we're back! Feels like we were just at Jack London Square for a doggy adoption event-- ohwait! That's because Mom got her dates wrong and we were just here. Last week, in fact. Luckily, there was a street/craft fair that day so our trip out to Oakland wasn't in vain.
This time, however, there were dogs EVERYWHERE. And it was GLORIOUS. Jack London Square is normally uber dog-friendly, but this was taking it to a whole new level. I wonder what those people who just showed up to walk around on a Saturday morning thought when they first saw the hordes of dogs and dog people and dog booths. Heh.
SPCA shelters and breed-specific rescue groups from all over the Bay gathered together for this annual event and brought along a bunch of their adoptable friends. Dogs of all shapes, sizes, breeds, ages... basically dogs of all kinds were there. And there were kittens and cats, too, of course.
If you were interested in bunnies, guinea pigs, rats {hey, don't knock it. We've had pet rats and they are the bestest. Super smart, quite friendly, and they fit in your pocket!}, or birds, their rescue groups were giving out more information. And one of the booths even had a rather large turtle, a tarantula, a hermit crab, and several doves. Excellent.
What We Did: Wander. Talk to fellow dog people. Get spoiled and fawned over by all the people manning the pet services booths {thank you especially to Pet Food Express for all the treats and toys, and DogTrekker for the interest in writing an article on East Bay Regional Park's volunteer dogs!}. Other things that happened:
+ As we were walking to the event, a train came by on the railroad that runs parallel to Jack London Square and we had to stop and wait for it to finish. Daddy counted sixty-four cars total {which translates to about a seven-plus-minute wait}. Newly added to the list of things Zoe does not like are train horns. Steam whistles and loud honks are not her thing. Poor dog was shivering like mad at the noise. ):
+ We were asked by several different people if Zoe was up for adoption. Yes, she's beautiful and she was one of the few border collies there, but sorry, folks, she's ours. One lady asked us three times throughout the event if she could adopt our dog, which we thought was a little excessive, until we realized that each time she asked, a different one of us was holding the leash {Daddy, then me, then Mom}. So. But still.
+ Daddy stopped by the Northern California Sled Dog Rescue booth to pet their gorgeous pups, so I started talking with some of the other people at the booth. Since Zoe doesn't like standing still very much, she found a small stick and offered it to one of the people in an effort to get them to play with her. As we left the booth and she grudgingly left the makeshift toy there, one of the huskies who'd been checking her out noticed the saliva-covered stick. Apparently his thought process was "Oh, look! This smells like you had it in your mouth! That means it must be edible! Moohahaha, MINE," and he preceded to put enormous effort into trying to eat the stick. The guy holding the husky's leash started laughing and said, "And that's the difference between border collies and huskies!"
+ There were several litters of puppies there and THEY WERE SO ADORABLE. And while I'm glad they all {yes, ALL} got adopted that day, I can't help but feel a bit apprehensive about letting people take home a puppy as a spur-of-the-moment, look-it's-so-cute decision, especially if they're first time dog owners. There was one family that was cuddling a puppy as Zoe and I walked by, and the two girls were cooing over how soft it was, but recoiled and looked positively horrified that Zoe came within a couple inches of their legs. Uh, honey? My dog is like the least threatening dog out here. If you're freaked out by my small border collie, that puppy isn't for you. Because it's going to grow up to be much, MUCH bigger than my dog. People like that make me nervous for those pups' welfare...
Tips: Just so you know...
+ If you're bringing your own dog to just walk around these types of events, make sure they're decently friendly. And if they're calm around large crowds and lots of unknown dogs, that'd be best, too. Most of the dogs wandering around the booths were really sweet and welcome to petting, but there were a few who had people creating a wide berth around them and giving them the side-eye because they weren't fully under control. You don't want to be That Owner.
+ While there is a pretty good chance that someone nearby will have doggy bags in case your canine has to go {because this is after all a dog-filled event}, it's good etiquette to bring your own. Most veteran dog owners know this already, but just in case you're new to the club... be prepared.
+ If you're one of those super-cautious, my-poor-baby, he/she-is-delicate-and-your-dog-is-going-to-hurt-my-precious-angel dog owners, these kind of events aren't for you. Like I said earlier, dogs are everywhere here and it's in their nature to check each other out a bit. Let them sniff for a couple seconds and then just keep moving. Your dog is socializing. It'll be fine. If you don't over-react, they won't over-react.
Conclusion: This was a great event that found homes for many, many critter friends {you can see the numbers and photos here} and allowed all us pet people to gather and share stories and information. It's got an excited, happy atmosphere and it's a great way to spend a Saturday morning. Knowing my mom, we will most likely be back next year, so come join us!
--
Jack London Square
Oakland, California 94607
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