Greetings from Volunteer Engagement! January 28, 2026

Hello Volunteers,

If you’re at the shelter this week, you’ve probably seen a lot of extra vehicles in the parking lot, representing shelters and animal services organizations from around the state! It’s because we’re hosting the California Animal Law Enforcement Academy on our Novato campus, alongside San Diego Humane Society and the California Animal Welfare Association. The Academy is an 80-hour program that runs January 26 –  February 6, 2026. The Academy provides training in California animal laws AND animal care; this course satisfies the requirements mandated by section 14502 of the California Corporations Code for appointment and reappointment as a Humane Officer, or Health and Safety Code 26222 for requirements to become a Certified Animal Control Officer (CACO). If you see our visiting instructors or students around campus, please feel free to say hello!  

Shelter update: We currently have 199 animals in our collective care. 100 are at our Novato campus, including 17 dogs, 2 puppies, 55 cats, 4 kittens, 5 rabbits, 7 guinea pigs, 3 rodents, 2 reptiles, 3 birds and 2 fowl. 19 animals are in our Oakland office; 11 are at Kitty Corner and the Woodlands stores; and 69 are in foster homes.

Adoption update: There’s nothing quite like a Wednesday! We hope everyone had a beautiful week, now let’s get even more animals adopted this week! 💪 #adoptdontshop! Here’s the adoption slideshow and Adoption Report for your viewing and reading pleasure!

Hopalong happenings! It’s that time of year when colds and flu spread quickly and our Saturday mobile event coordinator was not immune to being hit. When she had to call out sick last minute, we asked our remaining event volunteers if they would be willing to step up. And like the true champs that they are, they all rose to the challenge! Mike is a new coordinator, but Jessica was able to come and guide him through the adoption processes. Krystyna offered to help drive the animals to and from the event and arrived early to set up pens before the event started. The remaining crew, Amanda, Brooke, and Shana, brought the energy and helped guide potential adopters to the right dog. It was truly a team effort and we are so grateful that they all rallied together to run this event. Bonus: all the dogs that at the adoption event were adopted! Thank you all for stepping up in this challenging moment. 

Volunteer High Five to the Dominican University Lacrosse team! A huge shout out to 13 members of the Dominican University Women’s Lacrosse team for spending an afternoon volunteering with us! They were tasked with doing a deep-clean of our Behavior & Training pavilion. In an average week, we host over 50 dog training classes in the pavilion. That’s a lot of dog drool and dog fur and dog treats scattered around the building and in and around all the equipment. But this team of teams was up for the challenge: they moved everything out of the pavilion, scrubbed all the crates & equipment, vacuumed, swept, and generally put a shine on the much-used pavilion, all while smiling and laughing their way through the hard work! We so appreciate all of their efforts, and mostly the joy and camaraderie they  brought to the cleaning and scrubbing tasks! The Pavilion hasn’t been thoroughly cleaned in years! Huge kudos to the Dominican Lacrosse team for making this happen. ~ Candace Alexander (Volunteer Engagement) and Marisa Walker (B&T)

Kennel quilt donations: A few days ago, we started receiving package after package of little quilts. We didn’t know who was sending them to us. Turns out that Petfinder has partnered with Kennel Quilts and volunteers across the country to provide these adorable bits of comfort to the animals in our care. And boy are they delivering! Each package comes with a little note of appreciation for the work that we do and many are signed by both the humans and the fur kids that “helped” to make the quilts. These packages have been arriving from all over the United States: Friday Harbor, WA, Decatur, GA, Rio Vista, CA, Schertz, TX, Duncanville, TX, Olympia, WA, Bloomington, MN, Bastian, VA, Shreveport, LA, Denham Springs, LA, Gig Harbor, WA, Kalamazoo, MI, Encampment, WY, South Fulton, TN … just to name a few! A huge thank you to all the wonderful quilters who’ve brought a little color and joy to the shelter! (Pictured here is Pippa, Adoption Counselor Michelle’s pup, posing with just some of the quilts we’ve received so far.)

Tails of Marin: Our pets rely on us to take care of them when they’re sick or injured. But if we’re not prepared, panic and confusion can hinder our ability to act appropriately when they need us most. The best way to increase your chances of responding quickly and calmly is to familiarize yourself with basic pet first aid techniques. Get more info in this week’s Tails of Marin article: “In case of emergency – The importance of learning CPR, pet first aid.” 

Volunteer High Five to Mailing Volunteers: From time to time, our development team has a BIG mailing and they ask for some volunteer help. Such a request was made a few weeks ago, and to our good fortune, three volunteers stepped-up to stuff, label, and seal over 800 envelopes! Thank you Christine Maimon-Duclos, Valerie Radloff, and Mary Nicolini for taking the time from your busy schedules to dedicate to this task! You are so appreciated :). ~ Candace Alexander (Volunteer Engagement) and Kyndra Kennedy (Annual Giving & Donor Relations Officer)

Animal Advocacy Day: Since its founding in 1907, Marin Humane has been a leading voice when it comes to advocating for animals. It’s something ingrained in our DNA. We keep our finger on the pulse of important issues, collaborate with other advocates, lend our voice when needed, and lobby for change. Please consider joining us for Animal Advocacy Day in Sacramento on Tuesday, March 3rd from9am-4pm. Animal Advocacy Day brings together passionate advocates, state lawmakers, and animal welfare leaders from across California for a powerful day of action at the State Capitol. Together, we raise awareness about legislative efforts to address our state’s most urgent challenges to pet owners and shelters, including access-to-care barriers and the ongoing veterinary shortage. This lobby day is a wonderful chance to be with others who are willing to, as a group, encourage our legislators to support our animal welfare bills, learn about the issues being supported and meet with the staff and/or elected officials in our state capitol. Please let me know if you’d like to join us and we’ll get you more details, including carpooling options to Sacramento!

Hope you’re having a wonderful week,

Candace