Help Us Create A More Equitable Health System

We've partnered with The Color of Care documentary from Executive Producer Oprah Winfrey -- streaming now on the Smithsonian Channel. Learn more below and find ways to get involved today.

TAKE ACTION

Read More

Community Animal Network

Cause Area

Animals
Children & Youth
Community
Health & Medicine
Seniors

Location

Foster Animals In Your HomeP.O. Box 8662Newport Beach, CA 92660 United States

Website:

http://communityanimalnetwork.org

Are You an
Organization Admin?

Website:
http://communityanimalnetwork.org

Share

Organization Information

Mission Statement

To provide veterinary medical services for homeless, or "at-risk" shelter dogs and cats; including community outreach programs, spay/ neuter, veterinary medical treatments, procedures and surgeries to facilitate the adoption these animals and to provide the financial resources necessary to support the rescuing of these animals.

Description

Community Animal Network provides veterinary medical services to rescued animals that need to find new homes and was founded in Newport Beach, California, in 1996.

C.A.N. is a community supported with donations that service the needs of shelter animals and abandoned animals that need to find new homes. Our signature community outreach program is our "Pets For Seniors" program that gives mature cats to senior people and provides the veterinary medical for the animals life-time.

Rescue animals are cared for in private homes by the "Good Samaritans" that rescued the abandoned animal, or in foster homes (when available) all lover Orange county.

Community Animal Network shows rescue animals for adoption in the caregiver's homes.

Reviews

by Nancy T. (November 14, 2021)

I began my internship at Community Animal Network’s senior cat sanctuary in 2019 as a college student. I was interested in pursuing a career in veterinary medicine at the time and felt this would be a valuable experience. Through the various daily tasks assigned, I learned many important skills, including, but not limited to, time management, proper sanitation, inventory checks, medication administration, critical care management, euthanasia, and feline grooming. DiAnna’s years of experience and extensive knowledge of animal care can be seen by her dedication and love for every cat that comes through the sanctuary. She was always happy to answer any question or address any concern that I had, whether it was about animals, my career goals, or life in general. DiAnna truly cares for every animal, intern, or volunteer she meets. Even though I am no longer pursuing veterinary medicine, I am so grateful for the 7 months I spent at the sanctuary and the useful skills I developed.

Flag as Inappropriate

by Katherine C. (June 27, 2021)

I am a high school junior who is interested in entering the field of veterinary medicine. Though I had spent five months volunteering at a vet clinic prior to joining Community Animal Network’s "Pre-Vet Internship Program", everything that I have learned here has been invaluable. I’ve learned how to compassionately handle and restrain cats and how to present myself to a vet hospital employer by demonstrating my knowledge of diseases and medicine treatments. Here at CAN, even tasks like cleaning and litter box duties have taught me how to manage time and organize tasks with a team. I know now that under DiAnna's experience and wisdom that I will be able to explain how I am qualified for a position in a clinic after completing this 5-month internship. I am extremely grateful that DiAnna presents the opportunity for high school students to gain hands-on experience with animals because you really cannot find experiences like this anywhere else for people my age.

Flag as Inappropriate

by Abigail L. from Irvine, CA (April 8, 2019)

This volunteer experience ended up being influential in multiple dynamics of life, and I'm so glad I decided to choose this organization to dedicate my time/effort to. Playing with Kitties is the titled role at Community Animal Network, however, you learn so much more from your time in this space. From animal behavior/maintenance, to health education, to life advice, I began getting trained on things I didn't know I needed to know. With the help of Community Animal Network's incredibly influential supervisor, I began as a soon-to-be UCI Psychology graduate, completely unsure of my future, and will be leaving with a mentor that led me to finding happiness in both: my career and social life. With her motivation and wisdom, I now have secured an amazing job after college. I love animals, and although I wasn't interested in veterinary services, this role has had a life-long impact on me. I promise you will not regret learning from a truly caring and determined director!

Flag as Inappropriate

by Benjamin L. (August 28, 2018)

Community Animal Network is an organization truly dedicated to the missions of animal adoption and animal health awareness. Being able to work towards that mission through my volunteer hours made me feel that I was truly making an impact in my community. Beyond this, though, the veterinary program that I was a part of gave me invaluable hands-on experience with the cats. Many veterinary programs for high school and college students restrict the work available to you due to liability issues. However, DiAnna, founder of Community Animal Network, sees a bigger picture and realizes that interactive work is the only way to train the future vets of the world. Of course, the internship program requires extreme dedication and attention to details, but I can say that I feel more prepared for college and vet school because of it. So, if you are a dedicated volunteer aiming to work in the animal health fields, I would highly recommend working for the Community Animal Network.

Flag as Inappropriate

by Kelly T. (August 1, 2018)

I was part of the veterinary internship program for 9 months and I learned so much through DiAnna. I learned how to administer different types of medication (nasally, topically, orally), properly restrain a house cat, and groom (nail trimming, shaving, flea treatment). Working at the sanctuary was a little daunting and tough at first, but with practice you will learn how to manage your time better and multitask. I also loved how DiAnna was very flexible with scheduling because I went to school full-time so this internship is great for students! This experience was very rewarding, knowing that you're making a difference in these animals lives.

Flag as Inappropriate

by Claudia T. (January 24, 2018)

I have been volunteering at Community Animal Network for over a year starting in December 2016. The sanctuary gives hands-on animal care experience. The director teaches how to administer oral and topical medication to cats. I was able to learn how to properly restrain cats thanks to DiAnna. I also learned feline grooming and nail trimming. There were several opportunities for volunteers to visit veterinary clinic. We watched spay and neuter surgeries for 2.5 hours. I had a chance to observe a dental surgery at The Cat Care Clinic. In addition, the cats at the sanctuary are very cute!! They are very sociable, and I am sure you will enjoy being a volunteer there. Last but not the least, the director gives useful insights about resume writing and the importance of the cover letter. She will teach you how to make your resume look professional! We practiced mock interviews to prepare for an actual interview. Thanks to the coordinator DiAnna, I have found a job at a veterinary clinic.

Flag as Inappropriate

by Kelsee T. (January 10, 2018)

I started helping out with the Community Animal Network by working at the adoption events greeting customers and helping with the cages. It wasn't until a year later that I got to become a part of their veterinary internship program. It was a very knowledge experience where I got pill cats, inject insulin, restrain cats, and maintain a kennel. DiAnna was very helpful by teaching me all these skills and just being an amazing advisor and friend. She helped me find a love for cats and inspired me even more to become a veterinarian in the future. I would recommend getting involved with Community Animal Network if you want to gain experience or just help out the community as an animal lover.

Flag as Inappropriate

by Alyssa Y. (March 14, 2017)

Community Animal Network is a very unique animal charity that provides animal care for rescued animals throughout Orange County. For the veterinary assistant internship, I learned many useful skill that I don't think I would have gotten anywhere else. For example, I learned veterinary skills such as certain diseases, how to draw blood, and feline handling. Additionally, I learned about how to observe animal behavior and all of the little, yet important things that go into making an animal comfortable. Furthermore, it was very cool to see how the Community Animal Network helps our community. I got to see the owner, DiAnna, help a soon to be homeless person find local resources to help them guarantee pet care, despite the terrible circumstances.

Flag as Inappropriate

by Caitlin H. (February 22, 2017)

I had the opportunity to volunteer at Community Animal Network’s cat sanctuary over the summer. Caring for the cats there was very rewarding and I was also able to learn a lot. I was able to practice multiple skills including proper handling and restraint, giving different kinds of medications (pills, topicals, and oral liquids) to treat various conditions (including fleas, stomatitis, spinal stenosis, hotspots, and feline acne), and grooming (brushing and nail trims) on the cats. DiAnna is very knowledgable and experienced when it comes to animals, especially cats, so I was able to learn a lot from her. There were also multiple chances to go on mini field trips to some of the cats’ veterinary appointments as well as a spay and neuter clinic. This is a great opportunity to gain hands-on experience caring for cats as well as learn a bit about how an animal rescue is run. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking to get their foot in the door for animal related positions.

Flag as Inappropriate

by Kimberly S. (December 28, 2016)

Working at the cat sanctuary under the Community Animal Network polished my skills and knowledge in caring for cats, both in the medical field, and for their daily care. I worked as a veterinary medical intern for six months with the Community Animal Network's director Diana Pfaff-Martin. While there, I learned, and performed simple veterinary procedures such as giving subcutaneous fluids for dehydrated cats, giving pill medications, topical ointment application for skin cancer in a cat, and insulin injection for diabetic cats. Thanks to Community Animal Network, I was able to land a job, and work as a Veterinary Assistant with one of Orange County's Feline Specialist at the Cat Clinic. The experience, and knowledge that Community Animal Network provides is great, and very useful for people who are wanting to work in the animal field.

Flag as Inappropriate

by Emily V. (September 10, 2016)

Throughout my time volunteering at the sanctuary, I have gained knowledge and experience working with and handling cats. Everyday I learned something new about a medicine or a disease. For example, I was taught how to administer Clavamox, Prednisolone, Profender, Advantage, Metronidazole, and skin cancer treatment. I now know how to give a pill to a cat orally, use a syringe to administer liquid medicine, draw blood to test glucose levels, clip a cat's nails, clean kitty acne, and how to make cats happy by positioning pillows vertically when making a bed. I was taught about different diseases and conditions, the causes of the diseases, and their treatments such as hotspots, flea anemia, stomatitis, forms of spondylosis, and spinal stenosis. I was given the chance to observe veterinary technicians work on multiple cats and observe a spay neuter surgery. I highly recommend this opportunity for someone who is serious about pursuing a future in the field of animal sciences.

Flag as Inappropriate

by Sherri W. from Rancho Santa Margarita, CA (September 8, 2016)

Not as described. Abominable conditions. Run from home. Question authenticity.

Flag as Inappropriate

by Jeffrey N. (August 29, 2016)

The Community Animal Network was a fantastic organization to work with. I came into this internship with zero knowledge of felines and now leave with numerous skills. The things I learned ranged from basic skills, such as cat handling, to advanced skills such as blood drawing. Not only did I learn different skills, I also learned about certain diseases and ways to treat them. DiAnna is basically a fount of knowledge; she taught me many tricks that every cat owners should know: one of which she called "making cats happy" which was to modify certain facets of their environment in order to please the cat to make it the happiest it can be. Although the daily tasks done at the cat sanctuary are hard work, I learned a lot from this internship. Seeing all the cats and getting to know them day in and day out made the work much more enjoyable. All in all, I would definitely recommend this internship to the aspiring vet/animal lover because the knowledge you will gain here is priceless.

Flag as Inappropriate

by Claire B. (June 10, 2016)

On my first day of Volunteering for "The Community Animal Network," it was like no other. DiAnna was all prepared and ready to go with teaching me, about how things work in the sanctuary. One of the very first things that I learned, was how to give pills to cats. DiAnna puts a great deal of emphasis on how to give medication. DiAnna was very hands on, showing me how to open their mouth, where to place the pill inside the cat's mouth, etc. Through all of it, DiAnna was encouraging, telling me it just gets easier with practice. I am actually pretty good at it now! Apart from doing litter boxes and giving pills, I learned a lot of life-saving techniques. At one point, a older cat, Kiki, was in his last few weeks of life. Kiki needed to be given fluids and be forced fed. As a high school student, I had never given a cat fluids. ...continuing....

Flag as Inappropriate

by Mike B. from Santa Ana, CA (May 28, 2015)

I LOVE to help out by volunteering the local community as much as I can. I'm all so looking for unemployment too. Mike Brown 714-454-0663 mdb92833@live.com

Flag as Inappropriate

Report this organization