In a large field off Renfro Road in northwest Bakersfield, an adorable white dog just sits there, all alone.
"He sits in about the same exact location," says Kelly Oakes, a West High School teacher, who lives nearby. "I just feel like someone's abandoned him." Oakes said she sees the dog each day on her way to work and on her way home.
"I mean, you see strays all the time, but this one is just sitting there and waiting," she said. "It's like it's waiting for its owner to come back."
Oakes says several people have tried to catch the dog, but it runs away. So she says people are leaving it food. Laurie McGinnis dropped off water and food after seeing the dog on her way to Frontier High School.
"It's heartbreaking," McGinnis says. "It's eating road kill, and it's just a little Corgi mix I think, so it's pretty sad. It's got to be someone's dog."
Chuck Nordstrom of the Bakersfield SPCA says this is not an unusual situation around here.
"It happens just way too often in this area and especially as you get up to open areas,” he says. “They do become dumping grounds, unfortunately."
Nordstrom says the dog is homesick and lost.
"The dog is out of its home, out of its environment, it’s scared," he says. "It doesn't know what's going on or where it's at. A lot of times, it may try to go back home, but who knows where the dog came from?"
Oakes and McGinnis say they both have too many pets already and hope someone can take the dog home soon.
"He hasn't allowed anyone to catch him, he's just sitting there," Oakes says. "Most dogs would just go and find somewhere else to go, but he apparently seems to be waiting for something."
If you spot the dog or any stray animal, you can call Kern County Animal Control at 321-3000 or Bakersfield Animal Control at 326-3436.
