BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — At an August Bakersfield City Council meeting, Bobby Miller — founder of SOS Dog Rescue — raised alarm over the lack of funding in next year’s proposed city budget for spay and neuter programs.
“There’s no money set aside for this at all,” Miller told councilmembers. “I’ve got a waitlist of a thousand people. Sixty people are lined up for every clinic — like tomorrow, I’m running one. The need is really there.”
With resources dwindling, Miller made one clear request to the city: match the $100,000 his organization is prepared to contribute to continue operating the SNIP Bus mobile clinics.
“SOS Dog Rescue has agreed to match them with $100,000,” Miller said.
Since launching, SOS Dog Rescue has helped spay and neuter more than 25,000 animals — a major factor in reducing Bakersfield’s stray population. But without continued funding, Miller warns, that progress could stall.
Now, the city appears to be listening. According to city staff, a recommendation is in the works for Bakersfield to contribute a matching $100,000 to support the program. That proposal will go before the City Council for approval in an upcoming meeting.
Miller says the funding would make a significant impact.
“That funding would let us run almost two clinics a month — each one fixing between 40 to 60 animals,” he said. “That’s when we’ll start seeing shelter intake numbers drop.”
The cost of spaying or neutering a pet can range from $400 to $1,000 — a price tag many families in neighborhoods like Oildale and East Bakersfield simply can’t afford. Miller believes expanding access to low-cost services is the most effective way to tackle the stray animal crisis.
“I think mass spay and neuter — low cost — is one of the only ways we’re gonna get out of this crisis,” he said.
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