LAKE ISABELLA CALIF. (KERO) — It’s Give Big Kern and organizations around the county are looking for support. One of them is S.O.S Dog Rescue out of Lake Isabella, and they're holding a spay and neuter clinic to show their impact.
- S.O.S Dog Rescue takes in and rehabilitates dogs in addition to bringing resources to the valley, like Wednesday's low-cost spay and neuter clinic.
- To sign up for the next low-cost spay and neuter clinic you can head to https://www.kernsafe.org/
- Kern County Animals Services took in 652 stray dogs and 445 stray cats in April and 184 dogs and cats were euthanized.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
It’s Give Big Kern and organizations around the county are looking for support - One of those organizations is displaying its impact on Wednesday by holding a spay and neuter clinic and offering free vaccines.
“We plan on doing fifty-two of these this year, a lot of them will be in Bakersfield, but we are guaranteeing that we are going to be up here with four more of these. There will be four more of these within the year,” said S.O.S Rescue Founder Robbie Miller.
S.O.S Dog Rescue partnered with Kern County Animal Services and SNIP Bus to bring a low-cost spay and neuter clinic to the Kern River Valley on Wednesday.
“When you live in some of these small towns the resources are very limited.”
Miller said it’s the goal of S.O.S to not only shelter and rehabilitate dogs, but provide help to existing pet owners. Free parvo and distemper vaccines were also provided.
“It feels good to be able to give people the resources they need to be responsible pet owners.”
Miller says he’s aware of the impact dogs and humans can have on each other.
“When I first got out of prison in 2014, I rescued a dog that had been dropped in the desert and used for target practice, and me and that dog, we were both feral, so we healed together.”
Robbie says the clinic reflects the giving spirit of the community, with Knuckle UP Ministries providing the space for the clinic, and the Dam Korner providing lunch for workers.
In Kern County, there is a need for spay and neuter, which helps lower the amount of stray animals.
“When I drive my local community, it is nothing to see three or four dogs running the streets.”
Kern County Animals Services took in 652 stray dogs and 445 stray cats in April alone. Shelters are overcrowded - as a result 184 dogs and 58 cats were euthanized in April.
Residents Jacob and James, who got their dogs vaccinated, told me that they have supported S.O.S for years now.
“It’s great, cause we don’t get a lot of things up here, so they’re local, they do a lot of things for the community, so we try to give back to them,” said James Brad.
As part of Give Big Kern, S.O.S is holding fundraisers.
“Tonight we are going to have an auction. We have a 10,000 dollar match this year.” Miller said, “There is a tattoo fundraiser, so if someone ever wanted a tattoo and was nervous about getting it, you can put it on me.”
To sign up for a low cost spay and neuter clinic, you can go to kernsafe.org.
“A dog doesn’t try to fix everything, they’re just there for you, and that really helped me on this journey. I've been out, last month, ten years. So if it wasn’t for dogs I don’t know where I would’ve been.”
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