BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — From adult dogs to 11-week-old puppies, the City of Bakersfield Animal Shelter does not discriminate when it comes to adopting street dogs into their care. but space is limited And with the facility hosting 300 dogs in a kennel of 175, the shelter is doing more and more things they don’t want to do. which is euthanasia
“This year we sent out more dogs than ever in the past. But the sad thing is The amount we receive is much higher. Although we save more dogs than we ever have, says Josh Proctor, animal behaviorist at Bakersfield Animal Care Center.
According to Proctor, with increasing adoption, The center also saw an increase in owner returns and shipments. He said these efforts stem from adoption fee waivers. This is one strategy used by shelters to reduce the number of animals slaughtered.
“We don’t believe we should charge an adoption fee when a dog is on the euthanasia list. So our dogs were exempt last year,” Proctor said. “We hope to continue to push forward our adoption. And we may waive the adoption fee for the rest of the year.”
Proctor said that although the shelter can accommodate about 300 dogs, they should be under 200. Proctor said there are daily checks to determine which dogs are euthanized.
“We look at dogs who may be sick or not getting better. We examined all dogs showing signs of behavioral problems. We check all of our counts, our reports, to see if any dogs are interested or not. was ignored,” Proctor said.
Proctor adds that the best way to reduce euthanasia rates is by neutering and neutering pets.
Neutering and neutering is something Nick Cullen, Director of Animal Services of Kern County, is also a huge advocate. According to Cullen The County Animal Services euthanizes about 145 animals per month, but that number varies with the number of dogs at the shelter and adoption.
“The influx of animals into shelters That means there’s an influx of animals in the community,” Cullen said. “How can people prevent animals from multiplying in their communities? Sterilize your pet.”
The shelter recently received about $145,000 in grants, Cullen said, with most of the money going to neuter the animals. But they also have other projects underway to address this issue.
“We’re using it to build an offsite adoption team,” Cullen said, “so we have staff adopting pets and taking them out to businesses and locations across the county.”
Overall, both Cullen and Proctor agree that real change can only happen if people are willing to act as responsible pet owners. and is committed to spaying and neutering their dogs and cats.
“We won’t exclude dogs from the euthanasia list if they don’t stop coming in in the first place. So I would recommend to people: get your dog fixed. Reach out and see what you can do,” Proctor said.
Another way Proctor recommends that people help keep healthy animals off the shelter’s euthanasia list is by becoming foster parents. You can find more information on how to apply for the KCAS foster program on the How To Help page of the website.