Celebrities join local shelter to advocate for pet adoptions

Celebrities on Wednesday joined with Ventura County Animal Services in Camarillo to advocate for pet adoptions.

With the help of "That's So Raven" TV star Orlando Brown, "True Blood" actress Michelle Forbes, former Playboy playmate Devin Devasquez, the surfing dog Ricochet and animal advocate Kim Sill of the Heigl Foundation, the county animal shelter hopes to send a message about the importance of adopting animals, neutering pets and reducing euthanasia.

The shelter also is participating in an American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals competition. The shelter is competing against 49 others nationwide to get animals adopted or returned to their owners, with the overall goal of reducing euthanasia.

The celebrities are appearing in public service announcements aiming to save animal lives and will return Aug. 6 to Camarillo, when residents can adopt pets from the shelter at a discount.

Brown, recently named national ambassador for the American Humane Association, has gone to different shelters to promote pet adoptions.

Forbes, a lifelong animal advocate, said it is important to help the shelter improve and give animals a chance to find new homes.

Devasquez, a playmate in the 1980s, said she was thrilled about participating in the campaign. "We have to keep the pet population down," she said.

In her public service announcement, she stressed the importance of spaying or neutering rabbits, because they reproduce usually once a month.

The public service announcements will be broadcast on YouTube, Facebook and other social media sites. Organizers said they hope to raise enough money to have the announcements air on television, too.

Sill is a member of D Cups Saving Tea Cups, an organization working to save animals through fundraisers and public awareness. She said she hopes to help turn the Camarillo shelter into a "no-kill facility."

Animal Services Director Monica Nolan said about 23 percent of animals at the shelter are returned to their owners and the rest are put up for adoption.

"With the help of the celebrities, we hope to get exposure and let people know that animals need a home," Nolan said.

The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals competition will run from Monday to Oct. 31. The grand prize will be $100,000. The Camarillo shelter's goal is to save more than 1,700 animal lives.