If you are looking to adopt a dog but maybe do not want to go down to a shelter then today is your lucky day.
For many people, it can be uncomfortable adopting a dog from an animal shelter, so the Kern County Animal Services will be bringing some dogs with them this weekend to two locations holding adoption events.
“This Saturday we will be at the Tractor Supply on Calloway from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and then on Sunday we will be at the Grocery Outlet in Rosamond, California, and we are going to bring some adoptable pets,” said Director of Kern County Animal Services Nick Cullen.
Nick Cullen The Director of Kern County Animal Services, acknowledges the difficulty of getting people to adopt at the shelter as the loud setting and seeing so many dogs can be overwhelming, but the goal is for the shelters to be empty and that is why they have expanded their services to accommodate the community.
“We try to have off-site adoption opportunities every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We try to be throughout the county because the reason is we know that not everybody in the community is entirely comfortable with adopting from an animal shelter,” said Cullen.
Cullen says it is unfortunate as all the shelters in Kern County are currently at capacity.
“Packed you know beyond capacity. You know I wish that I could say that this is a new development. It’s not. Our shelter specifically has been beyond capacity for more years than I can remember,” said Cullen.
But the adoption events have been productive in getting people to adopt, and Stephanie Frank a volunteer at the shelter says it could not be done without the support of the community.
“We’re trying to make Kern County a no kill county and we can’t do that without the public's participation in either adopting or fostering or just taking initiative and helping out,” says volunteer Stephanie Frank.
Frank says having adoption events outside the shelter helps get more dogs adopted because it gives people more options and convenience.
“Not everybody can come in during the week. You know people have jobs or whatever else going on and taking out to where the public is makes it much more effective you get to see people in different areas of their life or just closer to home,” says Frank.
Cullen acknowledges that bad weather could have also had an impact on the shelters being full.
Adoption fees are set at $20 and all dogs that will be available for adoption have been vaccinated.
Cullen says there is only one requirement from the person adopting.
“You’re promising to give these animals a good loving home. That you could understand that these are shelter pets, and what that means is that sometimes you know shelter animals. It's a stressful environment in the shelter and they need time to decompress in your home," said Cullen.
