It was a gorgeous fall day at the HSVC and a perfect day for an Animal Reading Friends (ARF) event. The Turtle Conservancy and the Ventura County Library helped the shelter celebrate National Book Month and shared more information about our wildlife turtle friends. There were turtle books, a turtle scavenger hunt and even a colorful turtle craft. It was all very turtle-tastic!

Left: Manci of The Turtle Conservancy poses with HSVC shelter pup Ritz and several turtles. We are excited to share that Ritz found his forever home shortly after this event!

This event brought many families to participate in our first ARF reading event. Attendees were also invited to win a prize by spinning the wheel and answering a question about animals. In addition to some HSVC swag prizes, those that registered online and attended the event, received a free book, donated by Tails That Teach. The cats, kittens and puppies interacted with the attendees from 10:30-12:30pm and by the end of the event the animals were all sleepy and content with their interactions. What a great way to socialize with the shelter animals and welcome the community back to the shelter to relaunch our ARF program! A big thanks to our staff, community partners, volunteers and community members for making this a huge successful event.  

The HSVC welcomes ARF members to the shelter, located at 402 Bryant St. in Ojai, CA, every Wednesday and Saturday from 10:30 am - 12:30 pm. Stop by with your favorite books to read to the animals, get your "library card" punched, and get closer to earning ARF prizes!

If your organization is interested in partnering with the HSVC for an educational event, please contact me, Angie Sagliani, Humane Educator, via email at [email protected] or call 805-364-1350.