California

Ventura

Love on a Leash®

The Ventura Chapter was one of the first chapters of Love on a Leash; the exact date is unknown, but it was well before 2000! The chapter coordinates monthly team visits at our local behavioral hospital, several senior living facilities and memory care units, high schools, colleges, elementary schools, local libraries with Paws for Reading programs and four community hospitals in Ventura and Oxnard and the surrounding towns of Ojai, Santa Paula and Santa Barbara; some members visit additional sites independently. The members of the Ventura Chapter especially love being part of the ongoing pet therapy program at Vista Del Mar behavioral hospital, participating in the quarterly wellness days at the University of California, Santa Barbara and expanding our presence at the Ventura County Medical Center so that every patient who wants a pet therapy visit will have on at some point during their hospital stay. The chapter looks forward to hosting some outdoor member socials and to participating in more of our local community events.

Meet Our Leader

Laura Lindsay has been the Ventura chapter leader since February of 2020, coinciding with the arrival of the pandemic. She lives with her partner by the beach in Ventura, next door to her daughter, son-in-law and two youngest granddaughters. Laura is currently certified with Rocket and Winnie, a brother-sister team of very large Standard Poodles. These are Laura's first two certified therapy dogs, a dream she pursued for eight years. Laura is a retired communication professional who worked in the biotech industry in Westchester County, New York. When she is not volunteering with Love on a Leash, or spending time with her four grandchildren, she leads an online support group for parents who have experienced the loss of a child; her certified therapy dogs have been a great support to members of this group. When the weather is warm, Laura can be found in or around the ocean, paddleboarding, swimming, riding her bike on nearby trails, exploring the foothills, or reading a great book from her Little Free Library. Her favorite part about volunteering with Love on a Leash is seeing what an incredible difference our pet therapy teams can make in the lives of those we meet. It's inspirational.