Gardeners Brighten Animal Shelter
Club lays path, plants flowers - April 26, 2019 - By Anne Kallas - Special to the Acorn
Where visitors to the Ventura County Animal Services shelter in Camarillo once saw a neglected patch of dirt, they are now greeted by a colorful display of pink Martha Washington geraniums alongside pittosporum and irises that line a stone pathway. The transformation came about through the efforts of the Pleasant Valley Garden Club.
During the club's recent garden tour, where they visited each other's gardens before taking part in a group luncheon, club members stopped at the shelter at 600 Aviation Drive to check out the results of their beautification project.
Club president Joyce Klemann said the idea for the project came from a letter they received from a volunteer at the animal shelter.
"The letter stated that a beautified entryway would be more conducive to getting people ready to adopt dogs, cats and other animals when they visit the shelter," Klemann said. "This was a labor of love. We must have had more than a dozen people out here in the rain working on the project. And even with all of the rain we received this past winter, the ground was still so hard I was swinging a pickax to loosen it."
In addition to the new pathway, the area the garden club cleaned up encompasses a feeding ground and shelter for a colony of feral cats that have made their home in front of the facility.
"We had to put in double spigots to provide water for the cats that live here," Klemann said.
The cats that patrol the shelter have been wormed and neutered, received vaccines and had their ears clipped as a way to identify them. The cats hunt the mice and rats attracted to the food for the shelter animals.
The work of the Pleasant Valley Garden Club and other volunteers from the community, who have planted the grounds inside the shelter area, have helped keep the 35-year-old facility from showing its age.
The shelter can house up to 400 animals, with another 400 staying in foster homes until they can be adopted.
The garden club selected the animal shelter for its philanthropic effort because it's a worthy cause that cares for dogs and cats while they find permanent homes, Klemann said, adding that the club members found themselves responding to the many stories taking place at the shelter's entryway.
"One day we were working and we saw a couple bringing in a really, really old dog that they were putting down with much sadness. But we also saw so many happy families bringing out new pets," she said.
The club allocated $750 for the beautification project, but the cost ended up being much less because of donations from area businesses.
Thompson Building Materials offered stone pavers that meander through the gardens, while irrigation supplies were provided by Home Depot. B&B Do-It Center supplied the geraniums and potting soil, and Premier America Credit Union donated $250.
The garden club, which has a roster of 68 people, meets regularly to listen to monthly speakers. The club also offers scholarships and supports area teachers who want to create planting projects for their students.
"We have donated a bench at Camarillo Grove Park. To earn money we decorate pumpkins to sell in the fall filled with succulents and offer live wreaths at Christmas," Klemann said. "All of these ladies love to dig in the dirt and most are retired teachers. There's a lot of socializing too."
Marilyn Brackett of Camarillo said she enjoys the club because "the speakers are so interesting. They cover everything from floral arranging to caring for various rose varieties. We learn about exotic plants, and it's very social."
For information about the animal shelter, programs and pets available for adoption, go online to vcas.us
