Many of our neighbors are experiencing job and income reduction due to the coronavirus pandemic. During these uncertain times, we believe it’s important to do everything we can to keep pets with their families who may need a hand. So, SFDOG has been operating a pet food pantry — dog and cat food for anyone who needs it — with the Latino Task Force that already distributes (human) food and supplies to 7,000 people a week in the Mission district via the Mission Food Hub. The pet food pantry has been operating since late July 2020. We are the only pet food pantry in the Mission ..read more

    SFDOG is holding a cleanup to pick up icky trash and poop at Fort Funston on Saturday, December 2, 2024. Meetup at 10 am - 12 noon. We'll provide gloves, trowels, and bags. After we tidy up, join us for coffee, juice and donuts – and dog biscuits. Everybody is welcome to join. And, of course, this is a very dog friendly event. We'll meet at the North end of the parking lot. Facebook RSVP: https://fb.me/e/2DrNoC2da   ..read more

  A constant refrain from health officials during the coronavirus stay-at-home order has been for people to get exercise outdoors — while still practicing social (physical) distancing. Dog walking is being encouraged as a means of staying physically and mentally healthy. But the constantly changing status of parks and open space, by multiple agencies, during this time has been confusing. As of today, all Golden Gate National Recreation Area parking lots are closed, but trails and open space areas remain accessible to the public (GGNRA recommends walking or biking into these area ..read more

SFDOG sent this letter to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area: Dear Superintendent Joss, We are writing to request you make every effort to keep the GGNRA in San Francisco – and its parking lots – open and accessible during the shelter-in-place order in the Bay Area. Health officials are encouraging people to exercise outdoors – practicing social distancing – as a means of staying physically and mentally healthy during this trying time. The stay-at-home order states: individuals may leave their residence ... to engage in outdoor activity, provided the individuals comply with the soci ..read more

This article first appeared in the San Francisco Examiner here. Alert animals can detect disease, aid people with various medical conditions If you’ve ever had a dog, you know how much joy they bring. There’s nothing like a wagging tail and happy licks when you return from a hard day at work to make everything seem a little better. But, there’s so much more they do for us. In her new book “Doctor Dogs: How Our Best Friends Are Becoming Our Best Medicine,” San Francisco author Maria Goodavage writes about the many ways that dogs are saving and improving lives through their abilities to detect d ..read more

  Many of our neighbors are experiencing job and income reduction due to the coronavirus pandemic. During these uncertain times, we believe it’s important to do everything we can to keep pets with their families who may need a hand. So, SFDOG has been operating a pet food pantry — dog and cat food for anyone who needs it — with the Latino Task Force that already distributes (human) food and supplies to 7,000 people a week in the Mission district via the Mission Food Hub. The pet food pantry has been operating since late July 2020. We are the only pet food pantry in the Mission ..read more

SFDOG board member Lindsay Kefauver, a longtime dog advocate, has passed away after an illness. Lindsay was one of the core group of people who formed SFDOG and fought so hard in those early years for off-leash opportunities for people with dogs in city parks and the GGNRA. Indeed, Lindsay was one of the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the GGNRA filed in 2000 after GGNRA staff closed part of Fort Funston to dog walking without going through a public process. A judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, forcing the GGNRA to conduct a public notice and comment process over the closure. Unfo ..read more

photo courtesy Nancy McGinnis We’re in serious danger of losing critical access to Upper Douglass Dog Park. A small group of people in the neighborhood adjoining the park is trying to get a change in park hours that would hurt people who work during the day and rely on morning and evening access to walk their dogs.  Last week, Rec & Park went directly to the Park Commission’s Operations Committee with a restrictive proposal, bypassing a requirement to get community input. The committee rejected much of the proposal, but forwarded a recommendation to modify the park hours directly to ..read more

Join SFDOG and friends for an afternoon of food, drink and music—all to raise funds for the pet food pantry at the Mission Food Hub. Pups & Pints Palooza will take place Saturday, April 30, 2-4 pm outside the Mission Food Hub (701 Alabama Street), where volunteers have been distributing free dog and cat food to low-income Mission residents since the earliest days of the pandemic. Our goal is to raise enough money to keep the pet food pantry open through the end of 2022. Bring your dogs and friends (21+). We’ll give you a tour of the Food Hub and introduce the leaders and volunteers who kee ..read more

  Photo by Danielle Revives Our coalition of recreation and dog owners groups has prevailed in a federal lawsuit against the Golden Gate National Recreation Area for not complying with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The lawsuit was filed December 12, 2019 when the GGNRA tried using the proposed 2019 Superintendent’s Compendium to restrict dog walking access in San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo Counties. As part of the FOIA settlement, the GGNRA handed over 1,200 pages of records about dog walking related to the Superintendent’s Compendium and, subsequently, agreed to remove reda ..read more