Saturday morning began with a fight, outside the front doors of the Kern County Animal Services shelter.
Among them was Jo Kantz, a former doctor and mother of two cats. Kantz said she drove three hours from Solvang, a city northwest of Santa Barbara, to find a replacement for two dogs she’s lost since March.
“We were devastated,” Kantz said of the last dog, a 14-week-old puppy named Coco. “We had her for two weeks of her 14 weeks of life. But she won our hearts.”
With a list of ID numbers, she whittled down a dozen dogs to three, two of which she ended up taking home that day. “I just hope to see if they can get along,” Kantz said.
On Saturday, more than 150 animal shelters across the state reduced adoption fees and strengthened incentives as part of California’s first Adopt-a-Pet Day.
At the city shelter on Fruitvale Avenue, Megan Clark, a senior KCAS worker, looked hopeful.
“It’s a little hot (outside), but it’s a nice day and a lot of people stopped by,” Clark said.
Organized by CalAnimals, which represents about 200 shelters across California, the event raised $500,000 with help from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the San Francisco SPCA to provide free adoptions and associated fees.
Immunizations, neutering and microchips were also provided free of charge.
“But if we have to, we will pay more and we are happy to do so,” said ASPCA CEO Matthew Bershadker. “Frankly, nothing would make me happier than having to hand out more grants to support saving more lives.”
This comes as California and the country are at “an inflection point,” Bershadker said, as shelters are routinely over capacity by “50, 100, 200%.”
Across the country, more dogs are entering shelters than leaving, according to a recent report from Shelter Animals Count, a national nonprofit that tracks numbers across the country. Between 2021 and 2023, the rate almost doubled, going from 5.6% to 10%, in the first six months of each year.
In Kern, the municipal shelter has operated at triple its capacity for the past two years. On Saturday, it had 321 dogs and 56 cats, and an average of 25 to 30 dogs arriving per day. Many are pregnant. Many are puppies, left in a box with holes on the side of the road. Many are older, larger and therefore less likely to be adopted. Some are injured or mentally unstable.
With a new shelter still years away, the current location – a converted former brake shop – has basic needs but operates on an ad hoc basis with cramped quarters that workers outgrow every day.
Organizers set a statewide goal of 2,024 adoptions for the event, according to CalAnimals CEO Jill Tucker, to address the “tremendous pressures due to overcrowded conditions as the number of animals entering shelters is outpacing those leaving ”.
But despite the morning crowd at the Kern County Animal Services shelter, adopters dwindled by midday, much to the dismay of staff. At first, senior team member Taylor Meade said he hoped to double the 17 to 21 adoptions that occur in a day. But hours later, he said he would be satisfied if they finished on equal footing.
“It’s really hard to figure out what works,” Meade said, listing several promotions they run that result in different results. “But I think every adoption is a win.”
