Kern County Animal Services Director Nick Collin said the county is expanding outreach and services in Tehachapi and other rural communities to address rising shelter intakes, with a particular focus on spay/neuter, free vaccine clinics and foster placements.

Collin said the agency operates sheltering and field services across the county, enforces humane and rabies-control laws and runs off-site adoption and vaccination events. "Spay and neuter is a really big part of what we're doing right now," he said, describing mobile and partnered clinics that serve outlying communities where veterinary access is limited.

The county offers periodic free vaccine clinics — including recent events at Meadowbrook Park in Tehachapi — funded in part by a grant from the Petco Love Foundation. Collin said the county posts adoptable animals on social media and runs regular off-site adoption events, often at Tractor Supply and local pet stores such as Canine Creek, so Tehachapi residents do not always need to travel to the county shelter in Bakersfield to adopt.

Why this matters: Kern County spans roughly 8,000 square miles and faces rural access barriers that county officials say contribute to higher rates of stray and abandoned animals. Collin described a multi-pronged approach intended to reduce intake and keep pets with owners: expanded spay/neuter access, vaccine clinics, foster and "Streets of Bakersfield" day-adoption programs, barn/working-cat placements, and emergency veterinary support.

Key details and programs

- Spay and neuter: The county maintains a spay/neuter appointment page (kerncountyanimalservices.org/spayneuter) and partners with mobile providers. Collin said the county sterilized about 750 animals in a recent month and continues to schedule clinics across the county, including Mohave, Inyokern and other outlying communities. For World Spay Day the agency set a goal of sterilizing at least 100 animals; standard drop-off procedures and a $20 fee were described for those clinics.

- Mobile surgery: County clinics are sometimes staffed by a nonprofit mobile team known in the interview as the SNIP bus (Spay Neuter Imperative Project), a separate nonprofit of veterinarians and technicians that travels to communities when funded by the county or local nonprofits.

- Vaccination clinics: The county runs free vaccination events (rabies required by law), offering rabies shots and core vaccines such as parvo and distemper; those clinics have been supported by a Petco Love Foundation grant.

- Adoption and foster programs: Collin said the county took in "just shy of 10,000 dogs" in the last year and has increased efforts to place animals through fosters and community events. The agency runs a "Streets of Bakersfield" program that sends vetted shelter dogs into the community for a day (or short sleepovers) so residents can meet and market animals to potential adopters. Collin said about 1,500 kittens are placed in foster care each year to survive "kitten season."

- Emergency veterinary care vouchers: The county launched an emergency veterinary care voucher program for life-threatening pet emergencies. Collin described an application process that the county reviews in about three to seven days to determine possible assistance and amount; he said the program is intended to help but does not cover full veterinary bills.

- Trap-neuter-return and barn-cat programs: Collin said the county funds a trap-neuter-return program (for Tehachapi residents through a Bakersfield provider, Critters Without Litter) and runs a free barn/working-cat program that places sterilized, unsocialized cats on farms and industrial properties for rodent control.

Partnerships and local nonprofit role

Collin emphasized that county staff work closely with local nonprofits in Tehachapi — including Have A Heart Humane Society, Marley's Mutts and others — and praised long-standing volunteers and organizers. He named Shelley Kitzmiller as the late founder of Have A Heart and described ongoing cooperation with local rescues to place animals and fund mobile clinic visits.

He also cited a local organizer, Gina, who runs Fixing Feral Felines in Tehachapi and has helped sterilize and return thousands of feral cats locally. Critters Without Litter in Bakersfield runs spay/neuter services for feral cats supported by the county.

Shelter pressures and legal context

Collin said shelter intake has risen sharply since 2020, estimating a roughly 75% increase in dogs coming to the county since then and describing January intake as "close to a thousand dogs" and "close to 700 cats"; he reported the shelter and partners saved roughly 85–87% of those January animals through adoptions, transfers and foster care. He noted historical peaks of tens of thousands of annual intakes in the county and described state rabies-control laws that require animal-control facilities to accept stray dogs for public-health reasons, which constrains the county's ability to limit intake.

How residents can help or access services

Collin and hosts outlined several practical channels: follow Kern County Animal Services on social media to learn where adoption teams will be on Fridays–Sundays; sign up for spay/neuter appointments at kerncountyanimalservices.org/spayneuter; inquire about the emergency veterinary voucher program via the county application process; volunteer, foster or host adoption events; and share posts about animals in need to increase visibility.

Collin provided an email contact for community or business partners interested in hosting adoption events: animalservices@kerncounty.com. For Tehachapi-specific volunteer groups, he cited local nonprofits’ websites and social media.

Ending

Collin described a recent coalition called Kern SAFE (Saving Animals From Euthanasia) made up of county and nonprofit partners pooling resources to reduce euthanasia. He said the network of local organizations and volunteers in Tehachapi is a bright spot in the county’s response, but added the work is ongoing as shelter intakes remain high.