Man Donates House to Humane Society

A Camarillo man has made a $250,000 donation to the Humane Society of Ventura County.

The society will receive the money in the form of a trust deed on a Camarillo home when the property is paid off in about two years, said donor William Derrick, a retired real estate investor.

Tim Dewar, Humane Society spokesman, said the money will go toward general operating expenses.

Derrick said he made the donation because he loves animals and admired the society’s operations, especially when a friend adopted a dog from the organization’s Ojai shelter.

“It’s a great thing to be supported,” he said.

The nonprofit organization relies on donations, fund-raising events and proceeds from its Ventura thrift store to run its shelter. About 60 dogs and 30 cats come through the facility each month, Dewar said.

Construction will start soon on a 4,000-square-foot expansion, which will enlarge the shelter’s spay and neuter clinic and create a multipurpose room, important during natural disasters, since the shelter is a drop-off point for evacuees’ animals, Dewar said.

Volunteers are also in the process of constructing a “cat haven,” a room full of pillows and beanbag chairs to house cats up for adoption. When complete, it will have a cat door to an outside run. The haven, made mostly with donated materials, replaces the cages that cats were kept in until recently.