Giving Tuesday Marley's Mutts Fundraiser

There is a crisis for dogs in Kern County and there is a crisis at Marley’s Mutts.

 

Over the last two days alone, 116 dogs entered our county shelter system. That is 116 lives suddenly needing care, space, safety, and a chance. And the heartbreaking truth is that there is no longer enough space. The shelter is already at maximum capacity, with over 300 dogs in their care, causing them to have to put dogs in pop up crates until kennels become open. When shelters have no space, dogs are euthanized. Not because they are broken or unworthy, not because the shelter wants to euthanize dogs, but because there is simply no space, and too many stray and abandoned dogs in need. 

 

Since 2009, Marley’s Mutts has saved more than 7,500 dogs. This year alone, we have pulled 1,141 at-risk dogs out of an overwhelmed system. But even as we celebrate these lives saved, the crisis grows around us. Shelters are bursting. Stray dogs continue to pour in from orchards, fields, highways, neighborhoods, and rural roads. Every day we’re reminded of how many dog's still need us. And we are struggling too.

 

Like many of you, we are facing rising costs in food, veterinary care, utilities, and essential supplies. We have reduced our staff to the bare minimum, yet the work has not slowed. Our Dog Advocates show up every day with compassion and grit—feeding, walking, comforting, and healing each dog who depends on them. They are the heartbeat of this rescue, creating a safe place where frightened dogs can decompress and start to thrive.

 

Kern County is a beautiful place. But that beauty has another side—vast open land where dogs are abandoned in orchards, fields, and rural roads. Many of the dogs in our care today came from those very places. Others came directly from Kern County Animal Control and the Bakersfield City Shelter, with a majority being dogs who were next on the euthanasia list simply due to lack of space. In the last few weeks alone, we welcomed multiple dogs who would not be alive today without intervention.

 

We are on a mission to save lives, but we cannot keep going without help.

Every single dollar matters.
Every dollar feeds a dog, rescues a dog, heals a dog, and gives a dog a future.

 

If you believe in our rescue, if you believe in second chances, if you believe that no dog should die simply because there was no space for them—please donate today.

 

Your support keeps our mission alive.
Your support helps us to continue saving lives and making a difference for at-risk dogs in our community.

Thank you for standing with us.