Playa Vista PetSpace hosts puppy yoga fundraisers for adoptable animals

Wallis Annenberg PetSpace is using puppy yoga as a straight fundraising tool, with every ticket aimed at its Extraordinary Care Fund, which covers animals from California shelters and rescues that are not yet adoptable because of advanced medical conditions. At $30 plus fees a seat, the class gives attendees a low-cost wellness outing while sending money toward treatment that can change whether a dog gets a future at all.

The next sessions are set for April 18 and May 2 in Playa Vista, inside the Wag Center 1 community room. PetSpace is keeping the setup tight: guests must bring their own mats, personal pets are not allowed, attendance is limited to adults 18 and older, and participants are asked to arrive 15 minutes early so the class can start on time. That kind of structure matters. Puppy yoga works best when it is treated like a class first and a pet-meet-and-greet second, with clear boundaries that keep the room calmer for the dogs and less chaotic for the humans.

The instructor, Jayde Barber, is a good fit for that balance. PetSpace lists her as the teacher, and her background includes 200-hour yoga teacher training at Tree Yoga Cooperative, along with work in mental health and peer support, especially with homeless and underserved youth. Barber describes her approach as accessible and trauma-informed, and says the one-hour session moves from restorative poses into warming and strengthening flows before coming back down again. That matters here, because puppy yoga can tip into pure novelty if the class is not designed carefully. A one-hour format, an indoor room, and an adult-only roster all point to a setup meant to keep the puppies from getting overwhelmed.

The welfare question is the real one, and PetSpace is answering it by tying the event to a concrete rescue use case instead of just selling a cute photo op. If the class sells out, the money goes directly to animals with medical barriers that would otherwise keep them waiting in shelters longer than healthy pets. That is the most defensible version of puppy yoga: some socialization for the pups, some breath work and movement for people, and a funding stream that reaches the animals most likely to be overlooked.

PetSpace’s broader mission helps explain why this fits. The organization describes itself as a community space with an interactive pet-adoption area, an education center, and a leadership institute, and it is also promoting a Paws & Punchlines comedy fundraiser on April 29. The puppy yoga sessions sit neatly inside that larger event calendar, but the main appeal is still practical. When the class is run with this much control, it looks less like hype and more like a small, workable way to turn lifestyle interest into real care.