Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) Day Camps
As of 2023, per the website: "Our youth programs for children are currently on hiatus. We look forward to bringing humane education back soon to give kids the opportunity to interact with animals and learn compassion, respect, and responsibility."
Parent Q&A
Parent Reviews
Parents, please Sign in to post a review on this page.If you're open to going to Walnut Creek, ARF has a free monthly drop-in program that sounds like a great option for your daughter. Here are the details from ARF's website:
Animal Tales
Thursday, November 21
9:00 – 9:45am
Monthly on the third Thursday
Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF)
2890 Mitchell Dr, Walnut Creek, CA 94598, USA
Animal Tales is a free program for kids Pre-K and younger where your child can learn about the magic of animals and shelter life from a young age, forming a permanent love for animals.
Join us on the third Thursday of every month from 9 am to 9:45 am for an exciting morning of free play in the Learning Center's Vet Clinic and Pet Store, animal storybook time, and meet & greet with a member of ARF's canine outreach team, the Pet Hug Pack!
No registration necessary
Donations are always welcome, but not required for participation. Children must be supervised at all times - ARF staff is not responsible for supervising the children.
My daughter had an ARF party at that age and loved it. ARF is in Walnut Creek.
Both the East Bay SPCA in Oakland and ARF in Walnut Creek have summer camps for kids of all ages. I used to work at ARF and can say that the humane Ed and kid’s programs are excellent. I hear good things about the SPCA camps too.
Teens can volunteer at ARF in Walnut Creek. My son does. They have to go through an application and interview process and receive training. Its been good for him so far, we are about 6 months in.
Archived Q&A and Reviews
May 2010
RE: Animal-related camp or volunteer option
Try Camp ARF at Tony LaRussa's Animal Rescue Foundation. You can find more information about the camps at www.arf.net. Happy ARF'er
Dec 2009
ARF in Walnut Creek has excellent camps for kids with a focus on animals. I believe animals (dogs/cats) join them on a regular basis. There is even dog training for the older ones. You may also try Lindsay Wildlife in Walnut Creek. Not sure of camps. lindsey
April 2003
Congratulations on your new dog! I highly recommend the dog training classes at Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek. It would even be worth the drive if you live in Oakland/Berkeley. Here is the link to the info on the website. http://www.arf.net/Resources/training/description.html I am a volunteer and have gone through the class with some ARF dogs and was really impressed with the trainer, Jennifer, and her techniques. She uses positive reinforcement only, gentle leaders are used, no prong collars or choke chains. And she encourages the entire family to participate, especially the kids. If the drive is too far, I would suggest calling anyway for a referral to another trainer in your area. Good luck!
I don't know about ARF, but the East Bay SPCA in Oakland does them. We had my daughter's 8th there and the kids loved it.
We had my daughters 9th birthday party at ARF a couple of years ago. It was quite well done, a party room with host, tour of the facility, meet and greet with adoptable dog, and craft time making enrichment toys for the cats. A mix of our Walnut Creek and Richmond friends came. Parents who are animal lovers said they wanted to stay for the tour of the non public areas and it was pretty awesome to see the operating room of the vet. Another option is the animal theme party at the Lawrence hall of science. We did that for 10th birthday. Lots of different types of critters, and admission for the day. The Walnut Creek folks made the drive out for that. Happy planning!