What County Shelter Volunteers Get for Their Time

“I’ll do anything; just don’t ask me to go to the shelter,” say most of the dog and cat lovers who want to support the Aiken County Shelter and volunteer with FOTAS. 

Of course it’s heartbreaking.  You walk in and all those eyes are watching you, following you.  “Please, please, please pick me,” pray those eyes amidst a cacophony of barking.  If you love dogs (of course you do; you are there), you want to be the answer to those prayers, and you can’t.

It is much the same in the cat house, you sit and the cats come purring, eager for a neck rub, a fanny scratch, a cuddle.  You watch them cavort and compete for your attention and think how lovely it would be to do this from your own sofa, but you can’t.  So you plead, “Don’t make me go to the shelter. I can’t.”

So what would you get, if you could and you did?  There are some very special people who do go, regularly.  Four days a week, every week, some FOTAS volunteers are at the shelter walking dogs on leashes, teaching them manners and simple commands, or just how to trust that someone cares.  Others go twice a

week and stay until every adoptable dog has been taken out of its cage.  Even once a week makes a difference.

Caroline recalls intending to volunteer one day a week and for two-and-a-half years she has gone four days, every week.  Why?  She says it is so rewarding to make a difference in so many lives.  She loves seeing the dogs get a new home.  She loves helping with the transfers to our northern rescue partners.  She loves helping the new volunteers learn the ropes.  “People should come and find out they can do it, Caroline says, “Don’t get discouraged; the dogs can sense it, and some are already so scared.”

Jim and his wife, Carol, joined Sybil Davis’s “Walk a Hound, Lose a Pound” program at the shelter.  Sybil taught them when the dog pulls on the leash, to just stop; don’t let them pull you.  They learn.  Carol walks the smaller dogs and leaves happy, in a dirty shirt, knees covered in dog hair.  With or without Carol, Jim stays until all the dogs have gotten out.

Denise and Sandra spend four days a week with the dogs. “It’s a calling,” says Denise, “You have to have a passion for it.  If a dog is sick, we notice.  If I miss a day, I want to know what happened at the shelter.  It’s where my heart is.”

“I was an RN for 40 years,” says Sandra, “I like nurturing, but there were days when I didn’t want to go work.  I never feel that way about going to the shelter.  I think of that special one who is waiting for me.  I love dog kisses and the dirty shirts!”

Why not try it?  You will find love at the Aiken County Shelter, and may help others find love, too.  Until April 7^th, all dogs and cats are half price. 

  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 the Week of March 12th thru 18th 2012

Received: 73 dogs and 25 cats

Adoptions:  9 dogs and 3 cats

Euthanized:  30 dogs and 14 cats

BRUNSON 1 yr 27 lbs Darling $35 includes shots,microchip, neuter

“Pets of the Week” Spring Adoption Special ½ Price!

MANDY Petite Precious Calico 1/2 price $20!

FOTAS and Aiken County Determine The New Animal Shelter Site

Let’s start with basic terms.  First, “Animal Control” is the jurisdiction’s obligation to protect the public from the nuisance, disease and danger of unwanted, mostly domestic animals.  Statutes regarding Animal Welfare make legal determinations about animal cruelty resulting from neglect or abuse.  Animal Advocacy, by contrast, assumes that animals’ well-being is the collective moral obligation of the community in which they reside.

Once understood, we can see these terms in operation.  Built to house 100 animals over 20 years ago, the current county shelter ‘s primary if not sole purpose was to serve the county’s animal control obligation.  Quickly the demand on the facility rose to over 200 unwanted animals, brought in by officers or surrendered by citizens, who wait 5 days for someone to claim them.  Before FOTAS, over 90% were euthanized, bagged up, and shipped to the landfill.

This 5,000 square foot facility, with no lobby, no quarantine area or infirmary, no surgical facility, no kitchen or break room, no cat area, no

HVAC, serves all 110 square miles of Aiken County, minus the cities of Aiken and North Augusta with their own animal control.  The facility never pretended to address community concerns about animal welfare or animal advocacy, nor can it effectively address the 5,400 unwanted animals that continue to arrive each year.

FOTAS and the County have been working together for nearly two years to determine the best way to provide our Animal Services Department and our community with an adequate animal shelter.  Plans are finally under way as our euthanasia rate balks above 70%.

Last month County Council designated 4.4 acres of county-owned land as the site for a new Aiken County Animal Shelter.  The lovely parcel sits on the southwest corner of May Royal and Wire Road. 

The May Royal parcel was one of four potential sites considered: a shell and 5 acres in the Willow Run Industrial Park for $695k; the current Aiken SPCA for $650k; and, the current county shelter site.

FOTAS contracted a nationally recognized shelter expert to evaluate all of the options for the county.  His assessment concluded that the most cost-effective option to provide an adequate shelter, one that could serve our county population, was to build new on county-owned land.

Last week, a committee of FOTAS and County representatives interviewed four finalists in a search for shelter design experts.   In accordance with the MOU signed last June, FOTAS will pay for the shovel-ready design, and no public funds will be spent until site work begins, if the county moves expeditiously. 

Aiken County is already seeking ways to optimize its contractor services for the shelter project as it advances our new county complex; for instance, there is saleable timber on both sites.

This innovative public-private partnership will set new standards for merging animal control, welfare and advocacy in programs for and by our animal-loving county.  This is our one opportunity to get this right, and if we do, it will serve us all well for decades into the future.  

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”

Yearly Adoptions July 2006 to June 2011

Adoptions	Cats	Dogs	Total
FY07	88	366	454
FY08	95	546	641
FY09	163	467	630
FY10	185	530	715
FY11	142	620	762

“Pets of the Week” Spring Adoption Special ½ Price!

MIA – 3.5 YRS.   

Save this sweetheart! Only $20

ANGEL 1yr. 50 lbs. 

 $35 includes shots, microchip & spay

Save April 13th and 14th for Community Rescue and Improve our Community

How can we improve our community?  Try joining a few hundred fellow citizens at a grand film party on April 13 or at a huge dog festival the following day.

On Friday, 13 April, FOTAS’ rescue partner, Equine Rescue of Aiken, will be hosting two viewings of the Sundance Film Festival’s award-winning documentary, “Buck” at Aiken Center for the Arts.

The film’s subject, Buck Brannaman, is a horse whisperer, said to be the inspiration for the main character in the book, The Horse Whisperer.  "Horses… fill in places we're not capable of filling ourselves,” he says, “They've given people a new hope, a new lease on life…"  That is, if they have the chance.

Spread across 80 acres of rolling hills, Haven Hills Farm is the home of Equine Rescue since 2006, and dedicated to providing a safe haven for horses, and more recently dogs and puppies, who have been victims of abuse, neglect or abandonment.  Once rehabilitated, responsible forever homes are sought for those who are

eligible. The rest live out their days at Haven Hills.

Equine Rescue takes the horses from Aiken City and County animal control.  Often the least adoptable and most expensive cases, according to the philosophy of Equine Rescue, “They still need a chance.” 

So do many of the people who come to the Rescue, like those doing community service,  veterans needing to heal, passionate volunteers, or even the bereft widower who recalls the solace of equus and being useful.

Feed and hay alone cost Equine Rescue nearly $2,300 a week.  Add routine care: vet, dental, farrier, then emergency vet services, meds, fly spray, grooming supplies, halters and lead lines, and there is an opportunity.  We get to give back to the animals that give our Aiken County community so much, our horses.

On April 13^th, the afternoon showing of “Buck” is complimentary, including popcorn, with the opportunity to donate to Equine Rescue.  The evening show will host a party with wine, sumptuous hors d’oeuvres, dessert, and a silent auction, all for $20, and more opportunities to donate to a wonderful program.  Check their website for more info: www.aikenequinerescue.com.

From now until that auspicious Friday, FOTAS will also be recruiting for “Team FOTAS Aiken.” If our team is one of the  “Top 5” rescues participating in Pawmetto Lifeline’s amazing festival, “Bark to the Park,” we can win thousands of dollars in essential  free spay/neuter services for our Aiken County voucher program. 

Bark to the Park is a blast for dog lovers, but if you’d rather not have that much fun you can be

a “virtual” participant and still help us win.  (Click here to join TEAM “FOTASAIKEN COUNTY”)

For those focused on animal welfare, the ways we can improve our community are simple: Rescue to adequate facilities; Adopt to responsible homes; and, Educate the community to prevent the neglect and abuse that often comes from unwanted animals.  The answers are simple to articulate, but costly to implement.  Join us by contributing what you 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 the MONTH of FEBRUARY 2012

Animals Received:  315  

Returned to Owners: 22 (7%)

Adoptions:  50 dogs and 20 cats

Transfers:  68 (7 to SPCA)

Euthanized:  205 (65%)

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week” 

RANGER

2yrs.  60 lbs.  Walks well on a leash and wants to be your new best friend.

MOLLY

1yr.  Gorgeous, purr-fect gal! $20

 

 

 

Repeatedly Homeless, a Shelter Dog Now Helps the Homeless

Everyone was pulling for Porsha.  The poor dog just couldn’t catch a break. 

Originally, she had come in as a stray, an odd looking one at that.  Everything about Porsha said gorgeous husky: the thick coat and full tail, the pointed ears, her intelligent gaze and perpetual grin; everything, that is, but her legs.  The short, slightly splayed legs said her daddy must have been a basset hound.

PORSHA

 Unique, affectionate and intelligent, Porsha was adopted.  A year or so later, her new family surrendered her back to the county shelter.  This time she attracted an elderly woman with a fenced in yard.  Dissatisfied with her new accommodations, Porsha dug her way out under the fence enough times to end up back at the shelter.

Porsha’s fourth home didn’t last an hour.  A woman picked her, paid her fee, and took her home, only to be told by the husband to bring Porsha back to the shelter. 

Poor Porsha.  The staff and volunteers at the Aiken County Shelter began the push.  Last Sunday, she was Pet-of-the-Week for our column.  Early Monday morning Porsha went on TV.  All day long her fans waited for the call to come.  Nothing.

When Porsha started showing signs of Kennel cough, the situation got tense.  Kennel cough is an air-born virus, easily treated like a common cold; however, it can infect an entire kennel population that breathes the same air.  It might have been Porsha’s death sentence. 

Then late Tuesday afternoon, a family from the Garden City Rescue Mission in Augusta came to the shelter.  They were not looking for a dog; they were looking for Porsha.  Keith, husband to Ansley and father to McKensie, 15, and Brant, age 8, had seen Porsha on TV and decided that she was the one.  He wanted her for the 45 to 60 men who come through the shelter every day.

The idea came from a conversation with the psychologist who consults to the program.  It has been found that dogs can help people in distress to open up and trust.  Caring for a dog, a creature totally dependent on humans for their well-being, can lead to the badly needed life management skills that may be absent in the homeless.

Last Tuesday, Porsha went home wagging and grinning with her new guardians to a place where her experiences with homelessness could be an asset.  Porsha had found more than a home; she had a job.

When we called a couple of days later, Porsha was being fed, bathed, and cared for by the men at Garden City Rescue Mission.

“We are already seeing positive results,” Keith said.  His mission started three-and-a-half years ago on the streets of Atlanta.  Now in Augusta, he runs the men’s division downstairs, while his wife oversees the women and children upstairs. And the community has a dog named Porsha.

“This has been an amazing journey,” Keith said.  We know.

“In as much as you have done it unto the least of these…”     

Contribute what you 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 the week Feb. 20th thru 26th 2012

Received: 50 dogs and 19 cats

Adoptions: 13 dogs and 7 cats

Euthanized: 27 dogs and 18 cats

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week” 

SKIPPY-4yr. male tabby with green eyes.   Eager to purr for you! Only $35  

 

BLAKE – 1-2 yr. Sweet, sweet boy

 

$70 includes neuter, microchip and all shots

 

 

 

Pit Bull Rescue Happens One Very Lucky Dog at a Time

We planned to feature our boy “Shady,” Pet-of-the-Week for January 15^th when he had already been in the shelter for a month.  Now the middle of February, the volunteers who regularly work with our county shelter dogs were getting nervous about Shady’s prospects.

Two weeks after featuring Shady as POTW,  June Bug, another Pit-mix, was up.  Both were brought in as strays; both dogs had been passed over again and again; and, both dogs were beloved by every volunteer who worked with them.

Like too many abandoned dogs needing another chance, June Bug and Shady were additionally handicapped by the excessive number of Pit-mixes who find themselves at our sorely inadequate County Shelter.

SHADY

JUNE BUG

 Problems placing Pit Bulls and Pit-mixes extend well beyond our county.  Even our rescue partners, locally and up north, will often stipulate “No Pit Bulls” in their transfer guidelines.  So these marvelous, affectionate, intelligent creatures languish in an over-crowded facility, stressing our

county staff and worrying the FOTAS volunteers silly.

Sometimes a little magic or a few well-placed miracles happen, often when we need them most.  This time, someone met someone who happened to mention something, and a few calls later we had new rescue partner accessible to our transport angel, Mark.  On February 11^th , 19 Aiken County Shelter dogs went north.  One of them was June Bug. 

Ten days later, our new rescue partner forwarded the following message: 

 I wanted to take a minute to thank you and your amazing staff for all that you do.  We have been visiting the Animal League for over 11 years now.  My first adoption took place in March of 2001… You worked with me and matched me with a Boxer/German Shepherd puppy...Three years ago on St. Patrick’s Day, I fell in love immediately with a Plott Hound/Pit Bull named "Aintso."  Again your staff worked with us to ensure he was a perfect fit...and he was.  Just this past Saturday, after a year of looking for another dog to complete our family, we met "June Bug."  It took us no more than 5 minutes to see she was the missing piece we had been searching for…  We can't thank you enough for loving these dogs until they find forever homes like ours.

 Sincerely,

June Bug’s New Family

Last Thursday another 14 dogs went north to the same rescue.  One was Shady.  Perhaps June Bug’s love story paved the way, or maybe it was this heartfelt plea:

“We would be so grateful if you would please consider taking Shady on the transfer this Thursday as well. You have our word that you will love him as much as we do. All our

volunteers have begged me to ask you to please take this dog…so special and so appreciative of any attention that comes his way…”

County dogs have less than 7 chances in 100 of being saved by a transfer up north.  Most of the dogs put down last week were unwanted, sick puppies.  Please adopt shelter dogs and promote spay/neuter.  

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 the week Feb. 13th thru 19th 2012

Received: 57 dogs and 12 cats

Adoptions: 6 dogs and 4 cats

Euthanized: 54 dogs and 9 cats

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week” 

PORSHA - 4.5 yrs Husky/Basset gal.  

 Love this treasure but lap your fencing.  She prefers company or will dig. $38.

 

BOOTS  – 1 yr. Male. A purr-fect love. $20