Paws and Pivot

805 Living Summer 2020, Paws and Pivot story by Leslie Dinaberg. Photos by Victoria Pearson.

805 Living Summer 2020, Paws and Pivot story by Leslie Dinaberg. Photos by Victoria Pearson.

After its closure during the COVID-19-related stay-at-home order, the Humane Society of Ventura County (hsvc.org) recently re-opened for pet adoptions. “We have room for three appointments per day,” says director of community outreach Greg Cooper. “We have stopped the intake of adoptable animals since the start of the pandemic, so our on-site population is way down,” he says.

Thanks to the power of social media and photographer Victoria Pearson’s Instagram pet portraits (@victoriapearsonphotographer; see a sampling above), Cooper says, “engagement on our feeds has increased by close to double since the pandemic began. People show a great deal of interest if they can see what the dog, cat, horse, or pig looks like before coming up for a visit at our shelter.”

He also credits the contributions of volunteers. “The work they produce is stellar,” he says. “We consider ourselves lucky to have access to such a great resource.”

805 Living Summer 2020, cover art by John Galan.

805 Living Summer 2020, cover art by John Galan.

This story was originally published in the summer 2020 issue of 805 Living. Click here to read it as it appeared in print.