Berkeley Humane's Bark (& Meow) Around the Block returns to West Berkeley on August 29, running from 10 AM to 4 PM at the shelter's longtime home at 2700 Ninth Street. Admission is free, and organizers expect more than 30 Bay Area shelters and rescue groups to bring hundreds of dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens looking for new homes.
As reported by NBC Bay Area, the fair is part of the national Clear the Shelters initiative and pairs reduced adoption fees with live music, food, local beer, vendors, and family activities, with the goal of helping every participating animal find a family.
Two City Blocks, One Adoption Every Two Minutes
Now in its 14th year, the street fair closes two full blocks around the shelter to traffic, a scale organizers describe as California's largest single-location adoption event, according to EIN Presswire. Based on how last year's event performed, organizers are projecting that a shelter animal will be adopted roughly every two minutes across the six-hour fair, per the same release.
The celebration comes as Berkeley Humane works to rebuild its own aging home. The nonprofit is planning a $15 million, single-story Bay Area Animal Resource Center at the Ninth Street site, replacing a building that has operated with limited capacity since a fire in May 2010, according to Berkeleyside. The planned facility is expected to include a new veterinary hospital and adoption center, per the same report.
A Nonprofit Built From a 1927 Pool Hall
Berkeley Humane's roots go back to 1927, when it was founded as Animal Rescue Haven in a converted West Berkeley pool hall before taking the name Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society in 1957, according to the City of Berkeley. The organization is currently led by Executive Director Jeffrey Zerwekh, who previously served as Chief Operating Officer for the American Red Cross Bay Area before taking the helm of the animal welfare nonprofit, according to MyCritters.
The shelter's work extends well beyond its signature street fair. Its Spay the Bay initiative, created in 2016, offers low-cost spay, neuter, and vaccine services, and the surgical clinic temporarily relocated to Pinole in August 2025 during construction on the main campus, according to Berkeley Humane. This past May, the organization's Champions for Pet Health event provided no-cost vaccinations and microchips to 350 local pet families, aiming to prevent surrenders driven by rising veterinary costs, according to the organization.
Pacific Rescue Flights and a Statewide Shelter Crunch
Berkeley Humane also runs an ongoing transport program that relocates and rehomes pets from overcrowded municipal shelters and wildfire recovery zones in Hawaii, backed by a $25,000 grant from the PEDIGREE Foundation awarded in November 2023. Hoodline previously reported on how the program helped save dozens of Maui wildfire animals who were later showcased at the Berkeley fair.
The event falls under the national Clear the Shelters campaign, created in 2015 by NBCUniversal Local and Telemundo stations, which has facilitated more than 1.2 million pet adoptions and raised over $5 million for participating rescue groups nationwide through mid-2025, according to the San Francisco SPCA. That campaign carries added weight amid a broader crisis: California shelters faced severe overcrowding in 2024, contributing to a 72% year-over-year surge in statewide dog euthanasia as public facilities hit capacity limits, per the San Francisco Public Press.
Nationally, the picture remains strained. Roughly 5.8 million dogs and cats entered U.S. shelters and rescues in 2025, resulting in about 4.2 million adoptions and an estimated 597,000 euthanasias, according to data compiled by the ASPCA. Large dogs in particular are staying in shelters longer than in previous years, the organization notes — a trend that makes free, high-volume events like Berkeley Humane's August fair an increasingly important outlet for local shelters trying to keep pace.
