Positive Cases Among Kern Residents: 307,235
Deaths: 2,609
Recovered and Presumed Recovered Residents: 298,307
Percentage of all cases that are unvaccinated:Â 71.34
Percentage of all hospitalizations that are unvaccinated:Â 83.15
Updated: 2/2/23
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PHOTO GALLERY: Bakersfield Strays: A coalition of local dog advocates
A small coalition of local dog advocates calling themselves Bakersfield Strays distributes more than 2,500 pounds per month of donated dog food across an 80-mile radius around Bakersfield, spending their own money on gasoline and other supplies. But it’s getting harder finding somewhere to house the dogs they rescue.
With shelters brimming and fosters in short supply, the four women who dedicate their time to this cause are searching for short- and long-term solutions.
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Yesenia Giles refills a receptacle set out by volunteers in a rural area between Arvin and Bakersfield. Bakersfield Strays, a new coalition that provides any help they can to dogs in rural areas that have been abandoned.
Bakersfield Strays volunteer Natalie Arakel offers food to a stray puppy found while making rounds to refill food and water at different stations set up by volunteers around rural Bakersfield. The volunteers took the friendly dog and immediately began to post on social media and reach out to friends to try to find a home for it. Otherwise, they will take the puppy to a nearby shelter.
Bakersfield Strays volunteer Natalie Arakel uses a handheld scanner to check for a microchip after finding a puppy wandering around a rural area outside of Bakersfield.
A stray dog sniffs the grounds for treats thrown to him by Bakersfield Strays volunteer Yesenia Giles in an effort to endear the wary dog toward her.
Natalie Arakel refills a water container set out by volunteers with Bakersfield Strays, a new organization that, in partnership with other organizations, works to help dogs that have been dumped in rural areas around Bakersfield.
Bakersfield Strays volunteer Yesenia Giles carries a jug of water into the trunk of her car, which is filled with water, food, blankets and treats she and other volunteers with Bakersfield Strays give to stray dogs in rural areas surrounding Bakersfield.
Sheryl Doeckel took in this stray dog on Christmas Day and named it Hope.
Sheryl Doeckel used roasted tri-tip to attract and snare this stray dog on Christmas Day. She named it Hope.
A hungry stray puppy found by volunteers eats pieces of dog food from the hand of Bakersfield Strays volunteer Natalie Arakel after being picked up during a routine feedings around the rural areas outside of Bakersfield.
Yesenia Giles smiles as she uses a hose a local resident offered for refilling jugs of water before continuing to fill food and water bowls at the various stations set up around the rural area east of Bakersfield.
Bakersfield Strays volunteer Natalie Arakel makes a new friend after finding a stray puppy while refilling food and water at different stations set up by volunteers to help stray and abandoned dogs in rural Bakersfield.
Two volunteers with Bakersfield Strays, Yesenia Giles, left, and Natalie Arakel, stop at one of the feeding locations for stray dogs set up by the organization in the rural areas between Arvin and Bakersfield.
Natalie Arakel adds treats to a box of dog food set out by volunteers with Bakersfield Strays. They try to help dogs that have been abandoned in rural areas around Bakersfield.
Yesenia Giles adds treats to a box of dog food set out by volunteers with Bakersfield Strays. They try to help dogs that have been dumped in rural areas around Bakersfield.
Two volunteers with Bakersfield Strays, Yesenia Giles, left, and Natalie Arakel, refill food and water receptacles at one of the feeding locations for stray dogs set up near an orange grove east of Bakersfield.
Two stray dogs in a rural area east of Bakersfield run along the street as volunteers from Bakersfield Strays call for them after leaving food and fresh water.
