From The Aiken Standard
Submitted article
It all began in July of 2009, when Seth, then 10, was perusing the Help Wanted section of the Classifieds.
"I want to do this," he declares unequivocally. The Aiken County Animal Shelter was looking for volunteers.
"I'd seen the ads," mom, Susan admits, "But I knew enough to stay away. You know you want to take them all home." But Seth really wanted to volunteer, and his older brother, Alex, wanted to volunteer. So one day they went to the Aiken County Animal Shelter where they walked dogs, played with dogs and discovered that whoever had been trying to help the county shelter keep a presence on Petfinder.com was no longer there.Petfinder is a national website. "The virtual home of 348,867 adoptable pets from 13,557 adoption groups," declares its homepage.
The Aiken County Animal Shelter is one of those groups. To use the service, organizations have to have photos and profiles for each of the adoptable animals it wants to list. That's where Susan and her boys entered the picture.
"My husband had just bought me a digital camera, and I love playing on the computer," Susan explained as if it were meant to be.
In the beginning, they were at the shelter just about every day. "It kind of became an obsession," she recalls. "Seth would beeline it for the cats, and Alex would help me with the dogs. We try to get three good shots: one standing, one sitting and one of their face." She tries to give each homeless animal the best possible chance on virtual display.
To access Petfinder on the Internet and the dog or cat options at the Aiken County Animal Shelter, visit www.petfinder.com and fill in the information about city, state and shelter; or visit www.fotasaiken.org and click on "adopt me" to view county pets hoping for a forever home. More than likely, the helping hands in the photos of the animals are either those of Alex or Seth.
Seth is the cat man. On the three or four days a week he and his mom are at the shelter, you can find him in C.A.T.S., the new cat shelter. "Seth loves the cat house," Susan said. Since he's been volunteering, he's already brought home one kitten, Zoe, a cat whose head he swears changes shape depending on her mood. "Sometimes it's round, and sometimes it's kinda pointy," he said, like he is describing something quite special.
Alex, now a junior at Aiken High, runs cross-country, so no surprise that his pick from the shelter was a high-energy chocolate Lab named Coco who just might one day be a running buddy. Alex's schedule this year limits him to Saturdays at the shelter. And he is there every Saturday, helping his photographer mom get just the right shot for each lucky dog or cat whose profile, composed with loving care, will be posted on Petfinder.com.
FOTAS Volunteers work with the Aiken County Animal Shelter, 411 Wire Road. For more information, e-mail info@fotasaiken.org or visit www.fotasaiken.org.
Submitted article
It all began in July of 2009, when Seth, then 10, was perusing the Help Wanted section of the Classifieds.
"I want to do this," he declares unequivocally. The Aiken County Animal Shelter was looking for volunteers.
"I'd seen the ads," mom, Susan admits, "But I knew enough to stay away. You know you want to take them all home." But Seth really wanted to volunteer, and his older brother, Alex, wanted to volunteer. So one day they went to the Aiken County Animal Shelter where they walked dogs, played with dogs and discovered that whoever had been trying to help the county shelter keep a presence on Petfinder.com was no longer there.Petfinder is a national website. "The virtual home of 348,867 adoptable pets from 13,557 adoption groups," declares its homepage.
The Aiken County Animal Shelter is one of those groups. To use the service, organizations have to have photos and profiles for each of the adoptable animals it wants to list. That's where Susan and her boys entered the picture.
"My husband had just bought me a digital camera, and I love playing on the computer," Susan explained as if it were meant to be.
In the beginning, they were at the shelter just about every day. "It kind of became an obsession," she recalls. "Seth would beeline it for the cats, and Alex would help me with the dogs. We try to get three good shots: one standing, one sitting and one of their face." She tries to give each homeless animal the best possible chance on virtual display.
To access Petfinder on the Internet and the dog or cat options at the Aiken County Animal Shelter, visit www.petfinder.com and fill in the information about city, state and shelter; or visit www.fotasaiken.org and click on "adopt me" to view county pets hoping for a forever home. More than likely, the helping hands in the photos of the animals are either those of Alex or Seth.
Seth is the cat man. On the three or four days a week he and his mom are at the shelter, you can find him in C.A.T.S., the new cat shelter. "Seth loves the cat house," Susan said. Since he's been volunteering, he's already brought home one kitten, Zoe, a cat whose head he swears changes shape depending on her mood. "Sometimes it's round, and sometimes it's kinda pointy," he said, like he is describing something quite special.
Alex, now a junior at Aiken High, runs cross-country, so no surprise that his pick from the shelter was a high-energy chocolate Lab named Coco who just might one day be a running buddy. Alex's schedule this year limits him to Saturdays at the shelter. And he is there every Saturday, helping his photographer mom get just the right shot for each lucky dog or cat whose profile, composed with loving care, will be posted on Petfinder.com.
FOTAS Volunteers work with the Aiken County Animal Shelter, 411 Wire Road. For more information, e-mail info@fotasaiken.org or visit www.fotasaiken.org.
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