Marin Humane Society is a large animal resource facility including an animal shelter and adoption center, pet supply…More store, educational center, and veterinary clinic.</p> <p>The shelter has dogs, cats, barnyard companions, and small companions such as rabbits, reptiles, birds and mice. Its website is updated weekly with detailed information on each animal and interested persons are encouraged to visit the adoption center to meet them.</p> <p>Marin Humane Society also provides services such as animal licensing, lost and found, and access to low-cost clinics.</p>

The creation of Dogbone Meadow in the early 2000s was a labor of love by volunteers led by the late Chuck Deatrick. A…More core group plus folks from the city maintenance staff did all the heavy lifting. The park is part of a larger undeveloped city park called O'Hair Park.</p> <p>A path of woodchips winds around an open grassy area about the size of a football field, and the whole area is surrounded by chain-link fencing. There are several play structures for the dogs, such as hurdles and tubes. Water bowls and poop scoopers are available. Note that there is no bathroom for human beings at the park.</p> <p>Many dog owners walk around the perimeter, sometimes chatting with other dog owners or listening to iPods, while their dogs play off-leash in the center area. Watch out for dogs charging full speed for a ball or flying disc.</p>

The NUSD office at the corner of Grant Avenue and Seventh Street is the home of the superintendent, the business…More division, the human resources division and the instruction division. It has several conference rooms and a main public meeting room and serves as home to Novato Public Access Television.</p> <p>Dr. Jan La Torre-Derby is the superintendent of this district, which oversees the progress of 8,000 students. The district's motto is "Achievement for All ... Our Call to Action." Goals for 2010–2011 included increasing college readiness, improving overall student achievement, addressing fiscal solvency, implementing grants and completing a consolidation study that could result in school closings.</p> <p>The district, which comprises 16 schools, is supported by a nonprofit called School Fuel, a foundation that started in 2003 to supplement funding for the schools. More than $1 million has been donated and many programs and positions have been saved or restored.</p> <p>In September 2010, Derby announced that she would retire at the end of the school year. The NUSD Board of Trustees—Maria Aguila, Debbie Butler, Cindi Clinton, Tom Cooper, Derek Knell, Ross Millerick and Shelly Scott—will be charged with hiring Derby's replacement.</p>

Closely connected with the Novato Youth Center, the Novato Wellness Center was the first wellness center aimed at…More teens ever opened in Novato, starting in 2006. It offers low-cost and sometimes no-cost services ranging from reproductive health, mental health, drug and alcohol counseling, nutrition education and other forms of guidance for teens.</p> <p>The staff is bilingual and bicultural, and all help is provided confidentially. There is a weekly drop-in teen health clinic provided by Marin Community Clinics for kids ages 12-19 who need birth control, STI and pregnancy testing. Youths who drop-in are screened for depression, anxiety, suicide risk and substance use.</p> <p>The center is also home to many other services including Marin County Health & Human Services Women, Infant and Children (WIC) program and DUI programs administered by Bay Area Community Resources.</p> <p>Primary funding is secured through the Novato Youth Center, a nonprofit that has been aiding the community since 1976. Huckleberry Youth Programs are another key supporter. The wellness center is in the Downtown Novato shopping center, just to the left of Lucky supermarket and just to the right of Ideal Stationers.</p>