This one's for the dog's

Together with Anacapa Dental Arts Institute

Rediscover your perfect smile. We specialize in prosthodontic care to help you achieve a smile that is both functional and beautiful.

“Because of the dog’s joyfulness our own is increased, it is no small gift ”
– Mary Oliver

Ventura County neighbors, thank you for joining us this week. This week’s wave is dedicated to man’s best friend. Our canine companions, the goodest boys and girls. The only mammal in your life that never talks back, never has a bad day, and is always happy to see you. This one is for the dogs! 🐕 🐩

This week, The Neighborly Wave will cover:

• Ventura County Animal Shelter news, and places to adopt.

• Real estate news brought to you by The L Cee Group

• Local Events + places to take your pooch.

• Seargent Stubby

• Local News

• Weather

Animal Shelters & adoption information

Ventura County Animal Services has issued a critical press release. They are currently experiencing unprecedented overcrowding. The Camarillo shelter is at 140% capacity. The adoption boom experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought joy to nearly 1 in 5 households, is long gone. Animal Shelters around the country are now overwhelmed with animals. Now would be a great time if you’ve ever considered getting a family pet. I am incredibly biased in my opinion of pet adoption and dog ownership, so allow me to share a few positive statistics associated with pet ownership.

• Dog ownership is associated with a 24% reduction in all-cause mortality

• Interacting with dogs increases oxytocin and reduces stress

• Dogs encourage you to move. Dog owners walk 3x as much as non-dog owners.

There are several local options for pet adoption. All of the groups listed below also accept volunteer help. If you want to get more daily steps in, consider volunteering to help walk dogs. 🦮.

HSVC offers low-cost spay & neuter services, as well as low-cost rabies vaccines for cats & dogs.

 https://www.hsvc.org/

Paw Works is a non-profit organization with which I have worked closely. They focus on abandoned animals and often rescue pregnant mothers or mothers with litters of pups. They also have a pet hospital in Thousand Oaks.

VCAS is extremely overcrowded. They have facilities in Camarillo & Simi Valley. Please check their website to view photos of all available animals. ADOPTION FEES ARE CURRENTLY BEING WAIVED UNTIL SUNDAY AUGUST 18th

S.P.A.R.C. is a no-kill shelter located in Santa Paula. They were founded in 2011. You can view photos of all available cats & dogs on their website.

Your local real estate report is brought to you by
The L Cee Group 

Local Events

Thousand Oaks:

Saturday August 17, Comedian Mark Normand performs at Fred Kavli Theater @ BofA Performing Arts Center https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0B006089FF6127D0

Sunday August 18th, 9am Piazza Gran Turismo @ The Lakes in Thousand Oaks. This is a FREE event. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/piazza-granturismo-tickets-772610788667?aff=erelexpmlt

Places to take your pup:

Wildwood Regional Park. 928 Avenida De Los Arboles. There are numerous trails, at various degrees of difficulty. Dogs are welcome off-leash.

Conejo Creek Dog Park 1350 Avenida de las Flores. This dog park has both turf and sand. It can get really hot during the day, so be sure to take water.

Tarantula Hill Brewery 244 Thousand Oaks Blvd. Tarantula Hill has two dog-friendly patios and a dairy-free dog ice cream.

Oxnard:

Thursday, August 15th. 6:30 - 8 pm Rock the Collection Summer Concerts with Bruno & the Hooligans. Show is FREE. Please bring blankets, and lawn chairs. 2751 Parkview Court Oxnard CA 93036

Friday, August 16th. 6 pm. Summer Concert Series at Heritage Square with Los Cool Arrows. There are multiple ticket options, including FREE tickets, as well as VIP tables. https://heritagesquareoxnard.com/concerts/

Friday, August 16-18 Alice’s Enchanted Market. This is an Alice in Wonderland-themed market with food vendors, crafts, and eye-pleasing illusions. https://visitoxnard.com/events/alices-enchanted-market/

Places to take your pup: The City of Oxnard has 3 official off-leash dog parks and several dog-friendly restaurants.

Campus Park on the corner of 5th and H Street. Jax’s Windrow Dog Park located at 3052 North Ventura Rd. Rudy’s Dog Park in College Park 3200 South Rose Ave.

Hollywood Beach & Silverstrand Beach are dog-friendly before 9 am and after 5pm.

Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar Lazy Dog has a dog menu, a beautiful outdoor patio, and two happy hours per day. It is located at The Collection. 568 Town Center Drive. Oxnard CA 93036

Santa Paula:

Saturday August 17th 11 am- 2 pm DeColores Event: With Musician & Anthropologist Dr. Jose Cuellar. @ Blanchard Community Library. The event is FREE, light refreshments will be served. 119 North 8th St. Santa Paula 93060

Places to take your pup

Steckel Park Dogs are required to be on a leash at this beautiful park surrounded by mountains, avocado orchards, and citrus groves

Ventura:

If you’ve spent time in Ventura, you already know how dog-friendly it is. Dogs can be seen walking down Main St. with their owners, chasing birds on the beach, panting along the trails of Arroyo Verde, chasing balls at Cemetery Memorial Park, or chilling on the patio of countless restaurants and breweries.

Dogs are welcome at the following beaches:

Surfer’s Point at Seaside Park (located near the pier & Fairgrounds) Harbor Cove Beach (1998 Spinakker Dr. Ventura) Marina Park Beach. (2950 Pierpont Blvd) Oil Piers Beach. (PCH and Mobil Pier Rd)

Camarillo:

The 43rd annual Wings Over Camarillo Air Show. Gates open at 9am. This is a ticketed event

Places to take the pups:

Springville Park 801 Via Zamora, Camarillo CA 93010. Springville Park is a 5-acre park with tennis courts, walking paths, benches, and a very large dog park. The dog park has plenty of grass and is divided into two sides, allowing large play areas for both large and small dogs.

Like most of the cities in the county, Camarillo has several restaurants with dog-friendly patios. My favorites are listed here:

BLVD Burger in Old Town Camarillo. 2145 Ventura Blvd Basil & Mint Vietnamese Cafe & Bar. 350 N Lantana St. Suite 7. Latitude 34 660 Ventura Blvd, Suite 100 (Camarillo Outlets)

Simi Valley:

The Simi Valley Acorn has named “eleven” its pet of the week. “Eleven” is a 1-year-old Chihuahua Beagle mix that is currently available for adoption.

The Economic Development Collaborative has 3 events/webinars for which current or aspiring entrepreneurs can register.

Seargent Stubby:

“Pitbulls” haven’t always had a reputation for being aggressive dogs, having locking jaws, or turning on their owners; in fact, they were formerly known as “nanny dogs” because of how gentle they were with children. A common trait of this breed is their loyalty and eagerness to please their owners.

Seargent Stubby’s story is one of incredible bravery and loyalty. Stubby was found wandering around the Yale campus as a stray by Private J Robert Conroy, where American troops were preparing to be shipped off to France. Stubby quickly grew on the troops and became the mascot for the USA’s 102nd Infantry Regiment. The troops couldn’t imagine leaving Stubby behind, so they snuck him onto their ship in an overcoat.

While in France, Stubby was used to boost team morale and was even involved in 4 separate offenses. His keen sense of smell helped warn the troops about mustard gas attacks. On one occasion, Stubby captured a German Soldier, who was trying to scout the American’s position. Stubby chased the German soldier and bit him on the legs, causing him to trip and fall. For capturing a spy, Stubby was promoted to Seargent, making him the first dog to have a rank in the US military. Stubby returned to the States in 1919 as a hero. He marched with troops in several parades, received numerous awards, and got to meet 3 US Presidents (Wilson, Harding, & Coolidge). After an adventurous life, Stubby died peacefully with his owner J Robert Conroy in 1926.

Notable Pit Bull Owners:

Theodore Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Thomas Edison, Laura Ingalls and Wilder, Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Biel, Jon Stewart

Local News:

The Grand Opening for GiGi’s Playhouse, a center that embraces individuals with Down Syndrome, is set for this Saturday, August 17th. The event is open to the public and will take place from 10 am-12pm at 1263 Simi Town Center Way, Simi Valley CA. Gigi’s is the only center of its kind in Ventura & Los Angeles Counties.

We try to keep things positive here at The Neighborly Wave; however, this story is timely and affects us all. The hacker group USDoD claims to have stolen 2.7 Billion records, including Social Security numbers and addresses of every single American. Public advocates suggest operating as if our information has been stolen so that early measures can be taken to prevent Identity Theft. Americans are being advised to put freezes on their credit by contacting the 3 major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. You must contact all 3 entities individually to put freezes on your credit. You can reach them by phone or online.

Equifax: Call 800-349-9960

Experian : Call 888‑397‑3742

TransUnion: Call 888-909-8872

• Southern California has experienced 13 earthquakes measuring 4.0 or greater this year. This past Monday, a 4.4 magnitude quake struck at 12:20 pm and was centered near the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Luckily it did not cause any significant damage; however, it occurred less than a week after a 5.2 magnitude earthquake centered in Bakersfield, CA startled most of California (most smartphones received an emergency notification sent through the Wireless Emergency Alert system, a system similar to Amber Alerts)

• Researchers at the financial services company WalletHub have evaluated community colleges in the country and ranked California Community Colleges as the 17th best overall. According to the report, Maryland is home to the best community colleges in America. The highest-ranked community college in California was Irvine Valley College. The highest-ranked Community College in Ventura County was Moorpark College. Ventura College ranked in the middle of the pack, while Oxnard College ranked near the bottom. 😬

Weather

Oxnard

Ventura

Camarillo

Thousand Oaks

Santa Paula

Simi Valley

Message from the editors:

In case it wasn’t evidently clear, we are dog lovers. 🤗 All of the dogs in the article, except for Seargent Stubby, are current or former pets. Dogs become members of the family, and we treat them as such. Be kind to animals, be kind to your neighbors, and don’t forget to be kind to yourself. If you enjoyed this week's newsletter, consider sharing it with a dog lover.