OUR VIEW: Outside help made all the difference
Our community owes a debt of gratitude to the volunteers and animal welfare groups, both local and from around the nation, that have coordinated care for the more than 200 animals found at a makeshift rescue shelter in Rosamond on Jan. 6.
When the animals were first discovered -- about 165 dogs, and a smattering of cats, ducks, chickens, horses and a pig -- the outlook was grim. The man running a private pet rescue faced eviction and became overwhelmed by the number of animals he'd taken in. The animals were deprived of food and water. Many were sickly, injured and more than a dozen required emergency medical treatment when they were found.
The volume of animals was too great to send to local shelters so a temporary holding area was made for them at the Kern County Fairgrounds. Immediately, a coalition including Kern County Animal Control, the Humane Society of the United States, the Bakersfield Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and individual volunteers collected food and supplies and provided veterinary care. They also coordinated with other welfare and adoption agencies around the state to shuttle animals to other locales where they could be adopted more quickly. As they worked, rescued dogs gave birth to 18 to 20 puppies over the course of three weeks.
As of Thursday, just 85 animals remained at the temporary shelter and only one dog was euthanized in the whole ordeal, due to a viral infection.
One volunteer, Lynn Frischmann, drove in from Santa Cruz to take dogs to rescue groups located in her area. It was her fourth trip to Bakersfield in a year to help. She plans to come back again this weekend.
County animal care workers have also put in tireless efforts. Sally Breyer and Angela Stevens traveled to Burbank last Saturday to drop off animals and collect supplies, then left for San Francisco early Monday morning to drop off more animals.
The Humane Society flew in a specialized crisis care team, which has overseen efforts at the fairgrounds.
In a county already struggling with animal overpopulation, it was hard to imagine what kind of second chance these animals would get. It seemed highly likely they could face the same fate as the nearly 19,000 animals euthanized in Kern each year. But the coordination among animal rescue groups has been impressive, and the willingness of shelters outside Kern to take in our animals has been inspiring.
Kern County could not have handled this problem alone. But thanks to the outside help, these animals will get the meaningful second chance they deserve.
