Sunday, July 24, 2011

Happy 2nd Birthday, FOTAS

From The Aiken Standard
Submitted Article

To fully appreciate this two-year milestone, go back to the winter of 2008-09 when County Council changed and added representatives on the Aiken County Animal Control Advisory Committee, one of many committees responsible for making policy recommendations to Council.

The change in AC3 membership surfaced the tension between animal control, county government's fundamental obligation to the public and animal advocacy, and the public's concern for how that obligation is executed.

What was apparent was that while the City of Aiken had made some significant advances in both animal control and advocacy in their partnership with the Aiken SPCA, the County Animal Shelter had vanished into the oblivion of inattention. Dogs and cats either picked up or dropped off were being euthanized, with the rate well over 90 percent.

At the urging of the Deputy County Administrator, Todd Glover, FOTAS was formed by three members of the AC3 and incorporated on July 29, 2009. FOTAS' mission is to improve the quality of life for our county shelter animals and to reduce the euthanasia rate by promoting responsible pet adoption and spay/neuter.

Before the advent of FOTAS, there was no practical way for the community to help the shelter financially. Donations would end up in the general fund and require an allocation to be used by the shelter, a cumbersome process at best.

Since FOTAS began and received 501(c) 3 status, more than $123,000 were raised through varied fundraisers. Our volunteers held Applebee's breakfasts, equestrian events, golf tournaments and, most recently, Woofstock Festival. Community groups have raised and donated thousands of dollars, and you can find our envelopes and brochures with merchants around town and the county.

FOTAS has improved quality of life at our community shelter. We have a core of dedicated volunteers who walk the dogs and cuddle the cats, train newcomers and help match the right dog with the right home. FOTAS built C.A.T.S., the cat colony for adoptable cats at the shelter. We funded the repair of the autoclave and purchased two cage banks for post-surgical patients.

FOTAS has also helped expand the foster home roster and continues to invest in medications and supplies for our animals in foster care.

Most importantly, FOTAS has engendered one of the most collaborative and productive relationships between a community and its government, from the officers and shelter staff, through public works, to the Administrator's Office and County Council. Our partnership secured a new round of revenue for capital projects which helps foresee a shelter in which we can all take pride, and an agreement with Council that will fast track the plans for that most essential facility. The county's voucher program for spay/neuter is well established and our adoptions and transfers out of state are slowly growing.

We are just beginning. We need to raise another $20,000 right away and then gear up for the unfunded needs of the new shelter. Join us in making year three the best ever!

FOTAS volunteers work with the Aiken County Animal Shelter, 411 Wire Road. For more information, email info@fotasaiken.org or visit www.fotasaiken.org.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Our County Shelter Represents Us All

Submitted Article

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be measured by the way in which its animals are treated." - Gandhi

And greatness in a person can be measured by their commitment to go to the Aiken County Animal Shelter to walk, comfort, socialize and ultimately rescue our adoptable dogs and cats.

It is very hot (no HVAC) and noisy (no isolation from sound or airborne viruses). The few pens for adoptable dogs (17 total) are packed with as many as can be humanely confined, as are the holding pens, and the overflow pens outside.

Imagine you are one of our heroic volunteers and you witness the following incident:

A man comes into the shelter with a medium-sized nondescript brindle mutt whose teats are low and full. Her tail is wagging, but she is nervous and looking for reassurance with big, brown, soulful eyes. In a separate crate he has six of her tiny fluffy puppies.

"We don't have room," Chief Arthurs explains.

The man is unmoved. This was her fourth litter; he has kept the two pups he wants and doesn't want to deal with it anymore.
"Have you thought about getting her spayed?" you ask. "We have a voucher program you may qualify for."

The man shrugs. "She's a good mother," he said. He's informed that her fate is bleak if he leaves her. He shrugs again, "Whatever happens, happens." He is willing to wait nearly an hour for other dogs to be euthanized to make room for the unwanted pets he is determined to surrender.

The Aiken County Animal Shelter, by mandate, must accept every animal brought to its door by a resident of Aiken County, all of them. It is obligated to keep them for five days, period.

The other day one of our rescue partners came back for the littermates of a pup he had rescued. They had been euthanized for lack of space. He saw three puppies huddled together shivering. They had just been separated from their littermates who were put down for lack of space. Real people, good people, caring people have to make these decisions every day.

"Take it to the County," they say when a pet is unwanted. The county must take it.

Our current shelter was erected 20 years ago to accommodate the county's bare minimum obligation to public safety and the law. Never intended as an adoption center, today the Aiken County Shelter is a shameful blight on our community, despite a staff more caring and dedicated than we have any right to expect.

"What does that have to do with me?" you ask, as a good responsible pet owner or someone without pets. The answer is, if you live in Aiken County, this is your shelter and it represents us all.

What can you do? Volunteer your time. Promote spay/neuter as a personal mission. Become an approved foster home. Hold a fundraiser or write FOTAS a big check and help fast-track our expansion. Ask about donating stock!

FOTAS volunteers work with the Aiken County Animal Shelter, 411 Wire Road, Aiken SC to help the abandoned animals from Aiken and Edgefield Counties in SC. For more information, e-mail info@fotasaiken.org or visit www.fotasaiken.org.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Animal Shelter Needs Space

From North Augusta The Star
By By HALEY HUGHES

The Aiken County Animal Shelter has many needs, its staff and supporters say, but the principal one is space.
The 5,000-square-foot facility has remained largely unchanged since it was built in the 1990s with the capacity to house a maximum of 100 animals. These days, it is typical for the shelter to house up to 200 animals without the benefit of an expansion. And more unwanted animals come in -- be they strays or owner surrenders -- every day. In early May, the shelter reported taking in 50 animals in one day alone.
The sad reality is if an animal isn't adopted, the chances are very likely it will be euthanized. There is simply not enough room to keep for an indeterminate amount of time every cat and dog available for adoption because the shelter takes in so many, according to Animal Control Chief Enforcement Officer Bobby Arthurs. More space would allow the shelter to keep adoptable animals longer.
There is not enough room to adequately separate adoptable animals from those that are sick or vicious and there are no surgical preparation or recovery rooms.
Sixteen kennels are dedicated to adoptable animals. Some are guillotine runs, meaning a door can be lifted to allow dogs access to a covered, outdoor space. The others have no guillotines. The ideal number is two dogs per kennel. More often than not, three or more dogs share one kennel.
The shelter's remaining kennels hold the most recent arrivals. The dogs are kept there for several days while staff monitors their health and temperament before being given the OK to be placed up for adoption.
The $1 million Aiken County Council has agreed to fast track for a new shelter will help address the need for more space.
In exchange, Friends of the Animal Shelter (FOTAS) will pay $100,000 it has raised in private funds for architectural services, which includes a needs analysis. Upon the completion of the needs analysis, FOTAS and the Animal Control Advisory Committee will recommend to Council that either a new shelter be built, the existing one be renovated and expanded or an existing facility be purchased and improved.
"We need an adoption center large enough to house 50 dogs," Arthurs said. "Also, this building needs to be refurbished."
For instance, the wiring is old and the kennel area has no HVAC system, he noted. Cross ventilation is provided only by several industrial fans. The lack of adequate air circulation readily exposes health animals to airborne viruses.
"Whatever we do, I hope we do it soon because it will be a win-win," Arthurs said.
The County will make available the $1 million if a final design is completed before the next round of Capital Projects Sales Tax collections begin. The County will then pay itself back when collections begin some time in 2013.
Should the recommendation be to purchase an existing facility, a distinct possibility will be the SPCA building once the agency moves into its new facility.
"The SPCA approached us almost from the beginning," said Assistant County Administrator Todd Glover. "They have been discussing it with us on and off for several years. There is really a ton of possibilities, but we're limited on our budget. Even then, it (the SPCA site) may not be exactly what we need. But, with our budget, it may be what we have to do."