You might have noticed the dust and commotion going on down in the horse area at the Humane Society of Ventura County this past month. Thanks to the support of several community partners, we have just completed revamping our horse corral to better serve our needs.

During the Thomas Fire, the HSVC took in nearly 80 head of livestock as a sanctuary for those families impacted during the evacuations. This extra load taxed our ability to care for those evacuated as well as the animals we already had at our Shelter. Although we managed without any serious issues, we realized that we could be better prepared and organized in the event we spring into emergency mode again.

To that end, we have completely revamped the two horse pasture areas and horse barn to increase capacity, ease our ability to accommodate a large number of animals in a short period of time and provide the necessary care for all animals regardless of breed.

DTL Excavating provided equipment and staffing to grade the property and rebuild our horse round, Nielsen Sand & Gravel provided the DG (Decomposed Granite) and sand for the horse stalls and horse round, Ojai Lumber Company provided us with lumber to build a temporary hay barn, Fence Factory re-hung the fence along the horse pastures and American Hay & Mercantile provided us corral panels, hay and staffing to help us with the large amount of materials needed to be moved for the project. 

Without the assistance from our community partners, this project would have been cost prohibitive for our Shelter. We rely 100% on financial donations, trusts and grants to operate on a daily basis and in times of dire emergencies like the Thomas Fire. Thank you all for you contributions and support.

We have several projects ongoing at the Shelter at any given time. If you are a local business and have a suggestion about becoming a community partner with the Humane Society of Ventura County, reach out to Greg Cooper, Director of Community Outreach at [email protected]