A dog wash fundraiser is scheduled to help puppies and kittens waiting at animal shelters find new homes.

One man who was going to their rescue, picking up dogs and cats at distant “high kill” shelters and bringing them back to the Conejo Valley, has stopped making those trips because of a May 5 burglary at Joshua Pasewaldt’s pet store, Newbury Park Pet Supply.

Burglars stole $5,500 in cash and surveillance equipment, making it impossible for Pasewaldt to continue rescuing animals unless people support a fundraiser, he said.

The burglars left him a typed note “with perfect grammar” the next day, May 6, thanking him for the money and telling him where he could find stolen items the thieves didn’t need, he said.

A shot clinic, a dog wash, puppy and kitten adoptions and pet supply exhibitors will be featured at the fundraiser from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sun., June 27 at 67 N. Reino Road, Newbury Park. Dogs in need of washing must be on a leash.

For more information, call (805) 498-2415.

—Nancy Needham