Earlier this week 140 dogs were rescued from an alleged hoarding situation in Tehachapi. Now Marley’s Mutts is stepping in to help make room for these dogs. Not only is Marley’s Mutts making room for these rescued dogs at shelters around Kern County they are also hoping to create a new type of emergency response team to help in future crisis situations.
“A lot of the adoptable dogs are gonna be pushed out for space which results in euthanasia. So what we are trying to do is showcase a bunch of rescues and get as many rescues out of here as possible,” said Zach Skow, the executive director of Marley’s Mutts. Marley’s Mutts loaded up a van with dogs from Kern County Animal Services Thursday in order to make room for the 140 dogs that were seized Tuesday from an alleged hoarding situation. 69-year-old Allen Lee was arrested in that case.
Skow said he planned to take the dogs to Los Angeles to no kill shelters. He says these hoarding cases are not unusual. “It’s important that people understand about these because they happen all the time,” said Skow. The dogs involved in the alleged hoarding situation are currently not up for adoption due to the ongoing investigation with the owner. Kern County Animal Services say the dogs are also currently under quarantine for a few days until a vet can say they aren’t carrying any diseases.
Skow says that the best action plan to have in place for situations like these is to put together a team that can help in these situations rather than lead to panic last minute. “Develop a canine emergency response team within the community with as many fosters as we can accumulate to be able to respond to things like this in the future,” said Skow. For now Marley’s Mutts is trying to help in any way they can, and urging the community to do the same. “We’re doing the best we can and this is a huge crisis to respond to but as many lives are being saved as humanly possible,” said Skow.
Friday Marley’s Mutts plans to pick up dogs from the Mojave shelter and the City of Bakersfield Animal Care Center in order to make room there as well. If you want to be part of the emergency response team you can fill out foster applications with Marley’s Mutts or Kern County Animal Services.
