WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO

We are not a shelter – We rescue FROM shelters. Therefore we do not have a central location where our dogs are homed together. Our dogs are in private fosters homes receiving day to day care by caring volunteers, who teach them to live in a home environment. This also means we do not have an office or regular business hours.

Barks of Love is a CA non-profit organization staffed ENTIRELY by volunteers. We consider ourselves an independent, “grass roots” type of an organization making a difference one dog at a time. Established in 2008 by Ashley Greenspan, we’ve been helping the community save over 300 dogs as of early 2010.

Our goal is to decrease the total number of animals being euthanized each year. We save dogs from many different situations – Mostly, we pull “death row” dogs from local animal shelters.  We provide the daily needed care to keep the dogs safe and happy. 

We keep dogs in our program until we’ve found their “Furever Home”. To do this, we hold weekly adoption events, advertise via our online network, screen applicants, and hold doggie “meet and greets”.

All adoption applicants must be:

-Approved by BOL Staff with a completed Adoption Application 

-21 years of age

-Provide proof of ID

-Consent to a homecheck

-Sign an Adoption Contact

-Make a donation

Adoption donations pay for the time, energy and costs we’ve put into the dogs while in our care, including, but not limited to: food, toys, beds, rehabilitation, grooming, vaccinations, spay or neuter, microchipping, vet evaluation, etc.

 As you can see, all adoption donations go DIRECTLY to rescuing the dogs.

BENEFITS OF ADOPTING FROM BOL:

* Since we visit a variety of animal shelters to rescue dogs, we can be on the lookout for the specific type of animal you are interested in.

* Most of our adoptable animals have been in foster care--in a regular home environment--so we have a good idea of how each of our animals will behave in the real world. We usually know if a dog is housebroken, good with other dogs, good with cats, appropriate for children or not, energy/activity level, and so forth. This makes it easier to match up our dogs with the right home, and easier for you to select the right one.

* Our dogs have already been vet-checked, vaccinated, dewormed, and spayed/neutered before adoption. While no one can guarantee the long-term health of any animal, we do take the time and incur the expense to get basic healthcare and assessments done before our dogs go to permanent homes.

* When you adopt from us, your pet already has close to $300 of care invested in it before you take him/her home! Of course, the tender-loving care they receive from their foster parents, as we prepare them for their new permanent homes, is priceless!

 WHY WE SUPPORT SPAY AND NEUTER

1. There are major health benefits for your male animal companion, too.
Besides preventing unwanted litters, neutering your male dog prevents testicular cancer

2. Your spayed female won't go into heat.
Unspayed female dogs generally have a bloody discharge for about a week, and can conceive for another week or so.

3. Your male dog won't need to roam away from home.
An intact male in search of a mate will do just about anything to get one! And once he's free to roam, he risks injury in traffic and fights with other males.

4. Your pet will be much better behaved.
Neutered cats and dogs focus their attention on their human families. On the other hand, unneutered dogs may mark their territory by spraying strong-smelling urine all over the house. And FYI, a neutered dog protects his home and family just as well as unneutered dog. Many aggression problems can be avoided by early neutering.

5. Spaying or neutering will NOT make your pet fat.
Lack of exercise and overfeeding will cause your pet to pack on the extra pounds—not neutering.

6. Spaying or neutering is highly cost-effective.
The cost of your pet's spay or neuter surgery is a lot less than the cost of having and caring for a litter. It also beats the cost of treatment when your unneutered tom escapes and gets into fights with neighborhood strays…or the cost of cleaning the carpet.

7. It's good for the community.
Stray animals pose real problems in many parts of the country. They can prey on wildlife, cause vehicular accidents, harm children and destroy landscaping.

8. Your pet doesn't need to have a litter for your children to witness the miracle of birth.
Letting your pet produce offspring you have no intention of keeping teaches your children irresponsibility. Anyone who has seen an animal euthanized in a shelter for lack of a home knows the truth behind this dangerous myth. There are countless books and videos available to teach your children about birth in a responsible manner.

9. It packs a powerful punch in the fight against pet overpopulation.
Millions of dogs of all ages and breeds are euthanized annually or suffer as strays. These high numbers are the result of unwanted, unplanned litters that could have been prevented by spaying or neutering.