With the anticipation of a rainstorm, many individuals began to worry about the German Shepherd, now named Champ, that had been spotted on campus. He had made CSU Bakersfield his home since the month of November during the fall semester. Assistant Vice President of HR, Lori Blodorn, stated her own personal motivation for catching him was the anticipated weather forecast, which included high winds and heavy rain.
Although the University Police Department and Animal Control had tried to catch him multiple times, it was not until Blodorn and Officer Carla Martinez worked together, that he was successfully caught on Dec. 13, 2021. Officer Martinez shared they did not have a plan and just winged it as he followed them across campus into the enclosed area behind the Dore Theatre, where she was able to shut the door while Lori got him into a leash.
Because Lori and Carla had brought him food and water in the days prior, it was easier for them to work together in catching him to relocate him to a sheltered place away from the storm.
Lori stated, “I actually came over [the Sunday] before to campus and I found out where he was sleeping and I kind of spent my afternoon there.”

Lori wrote two emails both asking for assistance in finding him a foster home and an update on how he was adjusting to being indoors and away from campus. No further information was shared as the semester came to an end.
She shared that a lot of people were interested in him but none of them followed through, and it made more sense for her to continue fostering him. Because he was very skittish, and there was no way of knowing how he would react around other dogs, he was crate trained in a separate room and did not meet her other dogs until two weeks had passed. After introducing her other dogs one by one, she stated,
“I took him on a pack walk with Bella, my female [dog], and they were walking. We were doing just fine and all of a sudden Champ went down into place… you know that bow, and I was like oh my gosh.”
After some time with a trainer and adapting to Lori’s other dogs, Blodorn stated about Champ,
“We did everything right, we took him down to the shelter, we’re looking for a chip, and we actually legally adopted him out of the shelter.”
In fact, she stated she has redirected and encouraged those who have offered financial help for Champ to extend their support to our animal shelters because they are overflowing, and there are a lot of unwanted dogs just sitting in the shelters that need homes.
In an email Lori wrote, Feb. 1, 2022, became Champ’s official “gotcha” adoption day.

Photos provided by Officer Carla Martinez