What Does Thankful Mean?

Nine dogs were gathered in a large sunlit room on Thanksgiving Day:  Ziggy, a big black Labrador; Zoe Peach, also Lab, yellow and huge; Percy a chubby panda; Pippi, nervous-nellie of poodle extraction; Peedee, a ditch-dog, one blue, one brown eye, and peanut brown coat full of dinks and scars; Rudy, blond shaggy sheepdog; then the babies, three-legged Nemo and Dora the intrepid Beagle, both four months old and rambunctious; and finally, old man Snoopy, one day out of the shelter with dreams of a forever home.

The dogs’ human guardians had taken them for a good run and gone to the Thanksgiving Day Blessing for another special pack of canines with an important job in that very sacred place called Hitchcock Woods. 

Ziggy started it when he gave a big rumbling sigh as he stretched long on the bed and said, “I wonder what it all means, thanks-giving?  Or Blessing?”

Zoe, too lazy to lift her head, her stomach full of breakfast and no treats in the offing, just heaved a big bored sigh, as if to say, “Who cares?”

Eight years earlier, Ziggy, then Zoe, had come as tiny puppies straight from their mothers to the home they now shared.  But the other seven dogs all looked at Ziggy in wonder, then at each other with knowing.

Pippi and Percy were thinking of how they had been left outdoors until their coats matted and bleached in the southern heat holding fleas and filth next to their tormented skin. 

“I give thanks for the groomer, even if she makes me smell funny.  A good roll takes care of that!” Pippi said, she and Percy trying to forget the meaning of neglect. 

“You would have to know what real hunger is,” said Peedee.  He had been found in the road, all eyes, bones and vermin.  The hair had never returned to the places where the ticks had been detached.  He had to learn how to eat like a dog who could count on another meal.

“I remember the way her eyes lit up when she saw me in the shelter cage,” mused Rudy, a dreamy romantic.  “The concrete tormented my bad hips.  Now blessed means a good doctor.”

“Me, too!” cried Nemo.  A birth defect had deprived him of a left foreleg. “I give thanks for being special and blessed with all the help I needed.”  

“I almost died!” squealed Dora, who had been a tiny sick orphan abandoned at the shelter, passed into foster care, then severely injured.  Her battle with pneumonia had lasted more than a month.

Snoopy was quiet.  He had just been brought from the shelter the day before.  He knew the softness of the bed.  The food was plentiful and good.  It was quiet.  He could go out whenever  he needed.  The smell of the Woods still filled his brain. 

“Thanksgiving means being grateful for this home,” he told Ziggy, “And I pray you never lose it.  It is you all who are blessed.”

FOTAS Volunteers work with the AIKEN COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER, 411 Wire Road.  For more information, contact “info@fotasaiken.org” or visit FOTAS on line at www.fotasaiken.org

Aiken County Animal Shelter:  “By the Numbers”

For Nov. 14th thru 20th    

Dogs taken in: 58

Cats taken in: 19

Dogs adopted: 12

Cats adopted: 2

Dogs euthanized: 22

Cats euthanized: 18

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week”

SNOW – What a perfect addition to the holidays.  Snow!  Only $20 and he’s yours!

JEWEL – 6 YRS.  A blue-and-brown-eyed special pet who had to be left behind in a move.  Please give her back a loving home.

 

FOTAS at Applebee’s is More than Breakfast

Sometimes bad breaks are the best indicator of how good things truly are. Here’s how FOTAS’  4^th Annual Applebee’s Benefit Breakfast started out.

The dishwasher had broken down the night before and three sinks of tepid water: one detergent, one disinfectant, one rinse, waited for the volunteer who was to assure clean utensils and plates for all 250 breakfasts we hoped to turn out. 

We knew from experience that Applebee’s could not produce coffee in the volume that our patronage required, but when a well-meaning volunteer said that she had a “big” coffee urn, no one thought to clarify what she meant by “big.”  For a family of four, her urn was big.

We had a new manager running the show who had done exactly one of these events before.  He was congenial as he poured batter on the grill, making up breakfast plates with an easy confidence: scoop of scrambled eggs, two strips of bacon, and two generous pancakes.  He even told the volunteer who knew we would get slammed at about 8:45 to relax and enjoy herself, like he had everything under control.

Applebee’s provided the food, facilities, and 2.5 people who worked the restaurant business for a living, and they don’t normally serve breakfast.  Of the 15 FOTAS volunteers who showed up to set up tables, scoop butter, make coffee, pour syrup, bus tables, take tickets, sell tickets, sell hats, shirts and really cool bumper stickers that  read, “My Dog Digs Aiken,” serve hundreds of breakfasts, and wash the dishes, one was a restaurant professional.  Thank God.

The dishwasher repair guy showed up and got the machine working.  The young manager learned to take help where it was offered.  When the crowd arrived, the customers learned to yield to the big picture as they waited, and waited, and waited for what is, in all honesty a mediocre breakfast as breakfasts go, but the genesis for such a grand, special occasion.

We estimated that between 200 and 250 people would come out.  We served 285 breakfasts that morning.  By 10 o’clock we were out of food.  It was fantastic.

We owe a debt of gratitude to every single person who bought our tickets, came and waited to eat, who helped to plan and execute the event, who promoted it as something worth supporting, and to Applebee’s, who have opened their kitchen and their restaurant to us for four years and helped us build a following.

This year, we want to give special recognition to two of our hunt clubs, Aiken Hounds and Why Worry Hounds.  Saturday morning hunts have their own rituals and customs, and these clubs modified theirs to come out in support of the FOTAS breakfast.

The group from Philanthropic Educational Opportunities (P.E.O.) sought us out to reserve their usual long table and they kept their members cycling through all morning.

We mobilized our Aiken community around a cause, made the best use of resources, and addressed the need.  Let’s apply this gift to our County Shelter.

FOTAS Volunteers work with the AIKEN COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER, 411 Wire Road.  For more information, contact “info@fotasaiken.org” or visit FOTAS on line at  www.fotasaiken.org

Aiken County Animal Shelter:  “By the Numbers”

For Nov. 7th thru 13th    

Dogs taken in: 71

Cats taken in: 18

Dogs adopted: 16

Cats adopted: 3

Dogs euthanized: 36

Cats euthanized: 8

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week” 

SNOOPY

HEFTY

 

Like the Blind Men and the Elephant

There is an old teaching tale about four blind men who encountered an elephant.  The first blind man clasped the elephant’s trunk and declared, “Why an elephant is just like a fire hose!”

The second blind man, running his hands around the elephant’s leg said, “How wrong you are!  An elephant is just like a tree!”

“Fools!” exclaimed the third blind man patting his hands along the animal’s broad side, “An elephant is very like a wall.”

And of course the blind man holding the tail was absolutely certain that an elephant was best compared to a rope.

This allegory offers a perspective on the problems of animal control, animal welfare, and animal advocacy in Aiken County.  This is not to suggest that we are blind to the issues, but that our convictions about solutions are determined by where we focus our attention.

No one can deny that uncontrolled and irresponsible breeding is the primary source of thousands of unwanted dogs and cats who arrive at the Aiken County Animal Shelter every year.  It makes an aggressive spay/neuter program seem the obvious solution. 

An unaltered pair of dogs can produce more than 67,000 offspring in 6 years and for cats the numbers more than double.  This suggests that spay/neuter, though absolutely essential, is far from sufficient to handle our overpopulation problems.  The unwanted litters of puppies and kittens, with and without their mothers, will arrive at our county shelter into the foreseeable future.  To give any of them a chance at a good life, we have to keep them healthy; our current facility’s holding area cannot.

Economic downturns can cause surges in intake for our County Animal Services.  Witness the young man who’d lost his job and had to leave the area suddenly.  He sobbed as he surrendered his dogs; one he’d had since he was a child.  Shouldn’t we be able to assure beloved pets a better chance for a new home?  But adoption space is so limited.

FOTAS is proud of the public/private partnership that defines our relationship with Aiken County Government, Public Works and Animal Services.  Together we have forged an incredible team.  To reduce intake we subsidize and promote spay/neuter throughout the county.  To promote adoptions we recruit volunteers to work with the shelter animals and match them with the right homes.  Together we identify and approve foster homes for kittens and puppies.  We hold community events to raise money and educate the public about the need for all of the above.

FOTAS and Aiken County are working together to provide the public and our animals with an adequate shelter.  If we get it right, with aggressive spay/neuter, it should be the last county shelter we’ll need.  Long term we will reduce intake.  Short term we will increase adoptions from an attractive humane environment.

We need foster homes.  We need volunteers.  We need money.  We needn’t argue about the elephant; but if he’s homeless, we need to provide him the best care we can.

FOTAS Volunteers work with the AIKEN COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER, 411 Wire Road.  For more information, contact “info@fotasaiken.org” or visit FOTAS on line at www.fotasaiken.org.

Aiken County Animal Shelter:  “By the Numbers”

For October 31st thru Nov. 6th    

Dogs taken in: 48

Cats taken in: 22

Dogs adopted: 7

Cats adopted: 1

Dogs euthanized: 65

Cats euthanized: 50

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week”

HAPPY – Border Collie mix. 6yrs

LUCKY- Young adult

   Gentle, intelligent, ready to go for a run! Only $35!

                                                                           Big green eyes and lots of love.  Ready to go home. Only $35 

What Does Fall Steeplechase Tell Us About Aiken?

The volunteers who set up the site that evening fended off pessimism about the next day’s weather: a front was bringing clouds, rain, and muscular chilly winds.  That the sun visited, and the wind only teased, felt like a special blessing on Aiken’s Fall Steeplechase.

FOTAS was honored to be among the many  nonprofits at the event who serve the Aiken Community.  We pulled out all stops to make our presence entertaining and informative for all who stopped by.

The stars of our attraction were the six dogs available for adoption: Luke, Zoe, Zena , Alf, Boots and Roxie.  Volunteers were assisted by Serteens to showcase the examples of the great dogs available at our County Shelter.  As each dog delighted another family, played with a child, or wooed a young couple, we prayed that it might find its forever home.  Those dogs were super ambassadors for way too many adoptable dogs and cats left behind.

Tiny tots passing by found a line-up of stick ponies hitched on the rail waiting for an opportunity for a romp or a race.  Bigger kids showed their skill at the bean bag toss loaned and supervised by Larry who awarded tiny gold and silver trophy cups to the contestants.

Under the tent we offered Halloween candy, FOTAS T-shirts, hats, and our special new bumper stickers that proclaim, “My Dog Digs Aiken.”  Halloween is over, but we still have shirts, hats and bumper stickers.  The shirts will be reduced through the holidays.  Contact us for more info.

Steeplechase is one of Aiken’s signature events for fall and spring.  Fall Steeplechase, though smaller than the Spring, offers all the splendor and excitement of horses and horse races, carriage parades, big hats, tailgate parties and a grand celebration of a community that loves and appreciates its animals.  The 2011 event was no exception.

If you missed it, we have been blessed with another exceptional volunteer who went home and put together a couple of upbeat videos that tell it all.  The videos are on our website under “News and Events” and on YouTube, “Aiken Fall Steeplechase.”  Thank you, Linda! (View Video Here)

But we need to go beyond the day to see the true significance of this event for our cause and our community.  For instance, in the week since Steeplechase one individual brought in 19 dogs, all of them sick with parvo, a deadly virus.  On another day the same week, another 24 dogs were surrendered by citizens.

Over 20 years ago our shelter was built to hold 100 dogs for up to five days.  If 43 dogs are surrendered in two days it pushes a doubly overcrowded facility to euthanize in one week almost as many dogs as it was originally intended to hold.  And forget keeping them healthy.  

As Steeplechase reflects our relationship with our animals, so does the Aiken County Animal Shelter.  It begs the question, who are we going to be? 

Join us.  More than sun and gentle winds will bless your work. 

Aiken County Animal Shelter:  “By the Numbers”

For October 24th thru 31st     

Dogs taken in: 77

Cats taken in: 36

Dogs adopted: 10

Cats adopted: 1

Dogs euthanized: 87

Cats euthanized: 52

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week” 

 

EARL – Young adult yellow tabby.   

Purrfect companion who doesn’t need to be walked!

ZENA – 2 yrs. Shepherd-Chow mix. 

A pleasure to leash walk and a heart of gold.