Pet Adoptions

* In a letter published Oct. 4, Tim Dewar of the Humane Society in Ojai wrote, “The shelter staff encourages everyone who would be a responsible pet owner to consider adopting one of our dogs. . . . “

My husband and I considered just that back in July. Our beloved tyrant, Spike, had died in 1997 from complications of old age. In Ojai we found the perfect puppy--a Chihuahua mix in a litter of five or six. We explained that we live in a condo with a large deck and were immediately told we were not eligible to adopt because we had no yard. We explained that our old dog was a small Pomeranian who thrived without a yard. We found the staff unresponsive to outsiders yet very chummy with the locals. Ultimately, we left empty-handed.

We headed to the animal shelter in Camarillo, where we adopted a beautiful pet. While at Camarillo we saw a woman we had seen earlier at the shelter in Ojai. She said she was recently retired and was looking for a small companion dog but was also turned away because she lived in a condominium.

Later, while discussing pets, one of my students said he and his parents went to the Ojai shelter to adopt a pit bulldog. They were declined (and they have a very nice yard). He believes it was because his family was from Oxnard. (The things kids say. . . .)

C’mon, Mr. Dewar, tell us why a youthful retiree or a middle-aged schoolteacher cannot have five-pound dogs in condominiums, or why a middle-class family with a home and fenced yard can’t bring home a pit bulldog.

CANDIS GILLETT

Oxnard