PALS clinics were started with one main purpose – to prevent Parvovirus. After watching multiple litters of puppies get surrendered to OAS during the Summer of 2015, for a disease that was preventable with proper vaccination, the Director at the time Rebecca Katz introduced us to Jill Posener of Paw Fund. Paw Fund had been holding Free Vaccine and Wellness Clinics in Berkeley for over a year and agreed to mentor us. The first PALS clinic was held at OAS on Sunday, Nov 18TH, 2015.
PALS clinics were immediately successful, with well over 100 people / families, many with multiple pets, coming to each clinic right from the very first one. While we saw a reduction in parvo the following Spring/Summer of 2016, we still saw more puppies and litters than we had hoped to coming in with parvo. We wanted to look into where these pets were coming from exactly, thinking we just needed to possibly flyer more. Asking more direct questions brought us to High Street in East Oakland and Wood St in West Oakland. That was the beginning of PALS Homeless Outreach.
PALS Clinics are held every four weeks, rain or shine adjacent Ira Jinkins Community Center in East Oakland. The four week schedule is to best maintain the vaccination schedules of puppies and kittens. We also provide Rabies Vaccines, Flea Treatment, Dewormer, as well as referrals for needed veterinary appointments and spay / neuter assistance.
PALS relies on Generous Community Donations to operate. We have been able to keep our clinics Free, we have never charged for vaccines, and it is our hope to continue offering Free Services for as long as we possibly can.