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Animal rescue coalition hopes to bring awareness to the problem of dog dumping with 'aggressive' billboards

Bakersfield Strays, a coalition of animal rescues, organized the billboards because they're tired of seeing dogs dumped, abused, and abandoned.
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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Dumping equals death.

That’s how Bakersfield animal welfare organization Bakersfield Strays describes the growing issue of dog dumping in Kern County. It’s a slogan you may see now on some billboards while driving around town, along with some other similarly eye-catching phrases and graphics.

Bakersfield Strays, a coalition of animal rescues including the Southern California Pomeranian Rescue, Shelter Transport Animal Rescue Team, and Rescuing Abandoned Dogs, organized the billboards.

“We are trying to spread awareness to what’s going on in the county, the ongoing dumping of animals,” said Bakersfield Strays member Yesenia Giles.

In addition to “Dumping equals Death,” billboards reading “Euthanized for Space,” “No One Cares,” and “Kern County - Hell for dogs” started running on a couple Bakersfield billboards starting in late October. The billboards will be up for 12 weeks until January 22, 2023.

With those slogans, some drivers might think the billboards are too distressing or too aggressive. Bakersfield Strays member Sheryl Doeckel says that’s the point.

“We meant for it to be aggressive. We need to be aggressive because the crisis is at the breaking point right now,” said Doeckel.

Doeckel is a member of Rescuing Abandoned Dogs, and has gone out to where dogs are routinely dumped to trap and rescue them. Gina Rolow, the founder of Rescuing Abandoned Dogs, says it’s something the group is seeing more and more often.

“It’s dump and go. We see it all the time,” said Rolow. “Thrown out of the window, babies, puppies, pregnant moms.”

Bakersfield Strays member Melissa Hutton hopes the billboards will stir the same kind of emotional response she has when she finds dogs that have been dumped.

“The billboards we really tried to appeal on an emotional level because we see this every day when we go out to feed the dogs,” said Hutton. “The abandoned dogs, we see the abused dogs, we see dogs that have been thrown out of windows, been put into bags… dead dogs in pet food bags.”

The billboards, which run in both English and Spanish, are in multiple places around Bakersfield, including Highways 58 and 99, as well as the intersection of California Avenue and Oak Street.

The billboards had to go through an approval process with Sun Outdoor Advertising to make sure they were appropriate, but still packed a punch.

“We kind of want them to be aggressive,” said Giles. “Because we were kind of tired of it. Not ‘kind of.’ We are tired of it.”

“People say you can’t save every dog,” said Rolow. “Well, I think we can. If we have spay and neuter programs, which this is what we are doing this for, to bring awareness to everybody, why can’t we save every dog?”

According to the City of Bakersfield website, vouchers worth $40 dollars are available for Bakersfield residents to put towards the cost of a dog spay or neuter procedure at Critters Without Litters.

If you would like to help the dog rescues, donate food for the animals, or see dogs available for adoption, visit the Bakersfield Strays website.