Thanks to you for all of the fine work that you do and I totally agree that the rest of the County could learn a thing or tow form we Tehachapians!  The THS does a wonderful job in helping people get their companion animals fixed, especially people who couldn't afford to spay and neuter and wouldn't and/or couldn't do it otherwise. That's why STOP got started-to pick up the pieces at the other end of the spectrum-to get our own private shelter here-hopefully with a vet suite built in, and a vet who is willing to do low-cost spay/neuter surgeries right there at the shelter-without people having to go to Fresno, or Bakersfield or Lancaster/Palmdale! The THS and STOP CAN make this a reality-if we work together and the people in Tehachapi support our efforts!!

I have a large dog mutt rescue here and almost all of my animals get spayed or neutered before leaving. Large dogs cost more and I don't get a lot of financial help.  Since it takes so long to get an appointment here in Tehachapi, I take a lot of my large dogs elsewhere, because I can't afford to keep them for the 1-2 months while I wait and even then it costs me mor ethan the $125 adoption fee.  If we had a subsidized program here, it would help me get more dogs out of shelters, fix more strays..instead of banging my head against the wall to save 100 dogs a year, while Kern County euthanizes that same amount in two days time!  Wake up people, don't stand for our elected Board of Supervisors sitting there doing nothing but continuing this issue. Over two years and the Animal Control Commisison keeps having meetings and the Supervisors don't vote!!

The state took a dive on AB1634 (all they are doing now is doubling fees, no requirement for fix anything!) and we are NOT going to get any help from them. On August 26th, the BOS is again hearing this issue. DEMAND that they pass something-ANYTHING that requires people to spay and neuter their pets. Demand that they use some of the 1-2 MILLION (yes, million!) dollars spent every year to house and then euthanize our pets on spay/neuter programs instead!  Our local Surpevisor Don Maben, who is not running again, is AGAINST Mandatory Spay/Neuter. Tell him to step up to the plate and do something now, before another 50,000 animals die needlessly before his term ends.  He should be ashamed.

Okay, I have to calm down now. Thanks, THS, for blogging on this-let's get a dialogue going and lets make a change-for the better! 

Dogmomma at Canine Canyon Ranch

You're mixing your topics: low cost S/N and Mandatory S/N.  Every dog and cat club or organization in Kern County is supportive of low-cost S/N.  People are getting their pets sterilized.  Tehachapi Vet does 55 S/N per month.  The vets in Bakersfield do about 3 S/N per day, multiply that by 75 vets.  These are being done at full cost or with vouchers, but even with a voucher a 50-pound dog costs $200 to spay.  The people who can afford it are getting it done.  Making it mandatory will not make money fall from the sky. 

On another subject, does anyone know if the two dogs along 202 were taken away Sunday?  Members of Tehachapi Mtn Dog Fanciers contacted the sheriff about them.  The situation became critical Sunday afernoon.

I don't have an answer about the fate of the dogs on 202, but I did see two policeman talking with a woman in the front yard about 3:30pm on Sunday when I passed by.

The dogs were still there today (Tuesday) when I drove home about 5:00 pm... there was a puddle of water near their area.   I hope it was just a puddle and not their drinking water.   I couldn't stop or slow down due to traffic, but they were in the shade because it was late afternoon.