Almost Eden Rescue

Almost Eden Rescue was founded in 2014 after seeing an astounding need in the Ridgecrest, CA community. Since our inception, we have worked tirelessly to improve the lives of animals in our local area through education, adoption, and transportation to out of area rescues to facilitate adoptions in a more broad environment, given that Ridgecrest is a small community. 

Since our founding, the need of rescues and animal advocates have changed continuously. Despite an ever changing, ever present need for rescue, we have risen to meet each challenge, and our resolve for animal advocacy and desire for improving their quality of life grows with each day. Persistence has allowed us to place countless animals in homes since our founding, but also to vaccinate, microchip, and fix pets for free or low cost, making our reach exponentially larger to support the community pet owners. Almost Eden Rescue is also a founding member of Kern SAFE (Saving Animals From Euthanasia), which has offered us opportunities to help people in Bakersfield and other underserved areas of Kern County with our rescue partners & shelters alike. 

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, one item continues to stand out: WE NEED SPAY AND NEUTER! Many veterinary clinics were closed, mobile and low cost clinics weren't running during the pandemic, and throughout that time, animals continued to breed (apparently, dogs and cats didn't get that 6 feet apart memo). We now have dozens of lost pet posts on Facebook and NextDoor each day, of pets that are found, and never reclaimed; litters of puppies being dumped, cats with seemingly no place to go, creating a nuisance in neighborhoods... and the message is clear... we need to provide resources that will allow for low cost clinics to fix animals in this area of Kern County. There simply are not enough homes for all of them, and adding more to an already small community compounds this issue exponentially. 

Through grant funds, local business donations, anonymous donor funds, and through our fundraising efforts, we have been fortunate to host more low cost clinics than ever before in our area, but the need is still great, and the waiting list for pet owners & animals alike grow daily. 

With our Give Big Kern fundraiser last year, we were able to host one spay and neuter clinic in Ridgecrest, and we were able to fix 54 dogs and cats that live right here in our community! We are hoping to double our impact this year, and host TWO spay and neuter clinics over the summer months, to keep trekking towards our goal of less animals in shelters, and more animals staying safe & loved at home. 

To combat this crisis, we hope that you will support our mission during Give Big Kern, and we thank you for reading our story. We aim to continue making a powerful difference in the lives of people and animals right here in Ridgecrest. 

Who We Are

We operate in Ridgecrest, CA, but our reach extends beyond just our community, though it is our primary focus area. 

Our work goes beyond rescue. We are committed to addressing the root causes of pet overpopulation through community education, low-cost spay and neuter support, vaccination and microchip clinics, and assistance for lost and found pets.  We also provide resources like pet food assistance and emergency response during times of crisis—because helping animals means supporting the people who love them, too. 

Serving a rural and often underserved area, we collaborate with shelters and rescue partners across the region to transport animals to areas where they have a better chance of adoption. Through these partnerships and the dedication of our volunteers, we have helped countless animals find safe, loving forever homes. 

At our core, Almost Eden Rescue is driven by a simple belief: every animal deserves compassion, care, and a place to call home. With the support of our community, we continue to make that vision a reality—one life at a time.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but we think some of these are worthy of more... please check out the gallery below, and see the impact we've made, one pet and one person at a time!