NJROTC Unit were the Stars of the FOTAS Benefit Breakfast at FATZ

Last Saturday, FOTAS held its fourth annual benefit breakfast, an occasion marked by many firsts.  It was our first-time event with FATZ Café, having outgrown our original partner, Applebee’s. 

We had adoptable animals from our county shelter on site for the first time, thanks to Herbie Brown, our Rescue Waggin.  A cat and two kittens found new homes.  With great community support, we sold more merchandise, and raised more money than any previous benefit breakfast.

And most significantly, we were honored to work side by side with the NJROTC Unit (Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps) from Aiken High.

If you Google “NJROTC,” here’s a bit of what their website will tell you about the program:

The NJROTC accredited curriculum emphasizes citizenship and leadership development, as well as our maritime heritage… seamanship, navigation and meteorology.  Classroom instruction is augmented throughout the year by … community service, academic, athletic, drill and orienteering competitions…, marksmanship sports training, and physical fitness training.

What does the NJROTC program do?

• Promotes Patriotism
• Develops informed and responsible citizens
• Develops respect for constructed authority
• Develops leadership potential
• Promotes high school completion
• Promotes higher education
• Promotes community service
• Develops a high degree of personal honor, self-reliance, individual discipline and leadership…

The service and work ethic s developed in the NJROTC program’s participants were in evidence at the FOTAS breakfast.

Commander Negron is understandably proud of the performance of his young people, and he clearly enjoys his role in their development as the unit’s commander at Aiken High.  He has led both rifle teams and academic teams to win state championships, but last Saturday they were Aiken County Animal Shelter champions.

In selecting rising senior Bobby Arthurs as the unit’s executive officer for 2012-13, Commander Negron said, "This year, he was my go-to guy for all big community service activities, as well being a platoon commander."  No surprise to find young Arthurs leading the unit serving the FOTAS breakfast.

Bobby started his freshman year looking for a way out of gym class, which participation in the NJROTC program affords.  Now he has his eyes on the Marines and the Citadel.

Valery, a rising sophomore, was recruited in the 8^th grade by a couple of High School cadets.  She likes the teamwork, skill building and the way the program gets them involved in serving their community.  She loved fund-raising for the shelter.

Here’s the thing - next year, when we settle in at our brand new, fine and final Aiken County Animal Shelter on its rolling wooded lot, FOTAS  sees an opportunity to do much more than rescue lots and lots of homeless pets. 

We are building a public place that beckons, a place that can deepen the character and enhance the quality of the Aiken County communities it exists to serve.  Animals do make us human.  Humble, practical and creative, our new public shelter will inspire the best in us, much like those magnificent young people with the NJROTC at Aiken High.

  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”

June 11^th thru 17^th

Received:   84 dogs & 19 cats

Adopted:     4 dogs & 13 cats

Euthanized:  33 dogs & 19 cats

 Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week” 

XENA and WEBSTER - darling, inseparable, loving, year-old siblings.  These two are truly better than one!   Half-price at $35 each  

WEBSTER

XENA

 

COCONUT  - Cuddly male kitten who will purr for you.  Yours for 

only $35! 

 

All adoption fees include: Spay/Neuter, heartworm test, all shots, worming, and microchip!

 

 

Together We Can Squeeze a Dream Out of Reality

Last Thursday, in the County Administrator’s conference room, anticipation filled every seat at the large table.  Represented was a full spectrum of stakeholders there to evaluate preliminary concepts for the new Aiken County Animal Shelter from multiple perspectives.

The architects had assimilated data from numerous site visits and meetings with shelter staff, volunteers, County Council and FOTAS representatives.  They had taken into account severe budget constraints as well as the realities of animal numbers, program demands, and the cultural pride of the Aiken County Community. 

They had researched the most cost-effective options in the field of animal holding facilities.   They were armed with the facts: what works; what constitutes a balance of efficiency and effectiveness; and how those options might converge in a wonderfully practical community animal shelter; no doubt, the last one that Aiken County will see in the lifetimes of those present.

Every perspective imaginable was represented around the table.  There were a variety of engineers, lawyers, project managers, public servants, farmers, city folk, dreamers and those with their feet firmly planted on planet Earth, and the architects.

The group addressed a creative challenge: to take all of the images and information, and then endorse a response to the stark choice facing the Aiken County community’s approach to animal control. 

If you look at last month’s figures (“By the Numbers”), the seriousness of this issue is apparent.  With the exception of feral cats, all animals coming into the shelter must be held for five days.  The shelter was designed to hold 100 animals and 623 came in.  With those numbers, humane obligations like segregation for vicious animals or quarantine for sick animals become a sardonic joke.

Therefore, the factors driving the choice of design concept for the new County Animal Shelter were:

·       Will it be able to humanely address the county’s animal control obligations?

·       Can staffing level operate it effectively?

·       Is the design the most efficient to operate (i.e. utilities and work-flow)?

·       Will it enable necessary program support (spay/neuter, foster, transfer, volunteer)?

·       Will the Aiken County Community embrace it and get involved?

·       Can we afford it?

Thirteen people stayed in the room for three hours discussing the alternatives from these perspectives.  The final decision was unanimous, because it was the best decision.  This team, working together, taking a phased approach, can squeeze a dream out of reality.

Established fact says that if you build a basic, humane, public shelter, the animals will be more adoptable and the community will be more involved in their care.

Our new public shelter is blessed with a lovely tree-filled site, big enough for walking trails, park benches and ball-tosses.  Mother Nature will assist with shade, fresh air and sunlight for a variety of spaces in the “Phase I” design.

We will start with the bare essentials and build from there.  One day, the Aiken County Animal Shelter will be a place where all the two- and four-legged creatures that can, leave better than when they arrived.  

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 - May 2012”

Citizen drop-off:  209 cats & 182 dogs

Officer pick-ups:   73 cats & 149 dogs

Adoptions/ Transfers:  26 cats & 35/45 dogs

Euthanized: 294 cats and 264 dogs or 91%!!!

SASHA- gorgeous ragdoll.  Young, spayed and yours for only $35!

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week”  
Half-Price Special goes until July 7^th!

WILMA- 2 yrs. Big, affectionate and a great watch dog!  Half-price at $35! Take her home!

  All adoption fees include: Spay/Neuter, heartworm test, all shots, worming, and microchip!

A Tale of Two Cats and a Breakfast at FATZ

The middle of a ten-acre tree farm, well off the paved road, is the perfect place for a resourceful pair of animal lovers like Don and Fran.  And the animals that need them the most seem to somehow find their way to this unique sanctuary, especially cats.

Anyone who shares their life with an assortment of animals with complicated pasts will recognize the magic and mystery of Fran and Don’s latest experience among their four-legged friends.

The story begins a few months ago with a friendly, semi-feral, charcoal gray tomcat.  He had been captured and confined in a shelter where he contracted a feline upper respiratory infection. 

Had it been the County Shelter, he would have been euthanized.  Instead, he spent six weeks quarantined in a cage.  At the end of his confinement, the gray cat was so traumatized he was deemed unadoptable, so he ended up with Fran and Don.

The gray tom arrived terrified and angry.  He did not fight with the other cats; he hid from them.  He would not allow Don or Fran to touch him.  He hid.  They named him Gray Ghost for the way he would vanish into the bathroom or under the bed.

“Little Mama” cat was another miracle of survival in residence.  She had been abandoned for two weeks with five kittens in a vacated rental the previous summer.  Dehydrated and emaciated, she had given everything she had to her babies, and the vet didn’t think she would make it.  Don and Fran nursed her with the baby food they fed the kittens and she gradually recovered.   

Little Mama, afraid of being shut in the house, preferred living outdoors and coming in if she chose.  Then, when it seemed like she’d stayed out for weeks, one night she came in and stayed all night.

It was during that rare visit, while Fran and her little granddaughter stroked Little Mama, that Fran felt inspired to explain to the cat about Gray Ghost.

“He’s had a rough time,” she said, “He’s still so frightened.  Can you talk to him?  Tell him he’s home now… that he can trust us…”

The next morning, the gray tomcat lay curled in Don’s recliner.  As Fran approached, he was wary but didn’t run.  He let her pet him.  Then he let Don pet him.  During the day, he wandered around the house in the open.  He accepted treats and curled close by Fran in a window seat.  He allowed Don and Fran many more pets.  That night he lay on the sofa next to their granddaughter and rubbed himself into her small hand.  True story.

There are so many beautiful cats and kittens waiting for their own miracle at our County Shelter cat colony, C.A.T.S.  They are half-price, and a pleasure to visit on their screened-in porches. 

On Saturday, the 16^th, FOTAS’ benefit breakfast for our cats at FATZ Café will feature Herbie Brown and adoptable kitties, prizes, and pancakes.  Why not make some half-price magic of your own?  

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

20 dogs and puppies now in foster homes- please considering fostering and help us help more!

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week”

 All Pets Half-Price thru July 7^th!!

LITTLE BUSTER – 2 yrs, 15 lbs. This little guy will fit into any lifestyle.  Wants your love.  Only $35. 

 

 

 

JINX is a 3 year old handsome male kitty. He is neutered and ready for his forever home. $35.

All adoption fees include: Spay/Neuter, heartworm test, all shots, worming, and microchip!

 

So Many Ways to Serve an Extraordinary Community

Last Saturday, a FOTAS contingent of volunteers and seven adoptable dogs waited at the intersection of Sumter and Park while the entire Memorial Day Parade passed by.  It was the official debut of Herbie Brown, our Rescue Waggin’, and we waited to fall in line and bring up the rear of the parade.

FOTAS was honored to be invited to follow such a venerable procession and remember the soldiers’ sacrifices in protecting our communities.

The silver pickup that pulled Herbie Brown was loaned by Justine for the occasion.  The four dog (and one cat) tunes blasting from the truck’s CD player were assembled by Meg and Scott.  “Who Let the Dogs Out..UNH!” 

Two youths, Alexander and Tavian, volunteered to be the FOTAS mascots.  “You ain’t nuttin’ but a hound dog…”  It was too hot for them to wear the paper maché heads, so the boys sported the mascot shirts and held signs advertising “FOTAS’ Breakfast at FATZ for the County Shelter Cats (and Dogs),”  while the mascot heads bobbled on the ends of the cooler handles.  “…You can show me how to walk the dog…”  And the music played on. 

It was hot that afternoon, so the marching dogs (with volunteer) had to be cycled in and out of the air-conditioned cab, and on and off the back of the truck, or carried in arms.  The effort paid off: Meco, Tator-Tot and Wiggles were adopted. 

We still have some kinks to work out in Herbie Brown’s air conditioning, but it will be up and running by June 16^th.  He will be the “Kitty Caboose” at the FOTAS Breakfast at FATZ Café with a load of adoptable kittens and cats.

This is the fourth year that FOTAS will hold a benefit breakfast.  It is the first year at FATZCafé.  We are forever grateful to Applebee’s for their support in the past, but the growing community interest in the annual event demands a bigger venue.  We hope you will come out. 

Tickets are selling fast.  Pick them up at Bone-i-Fide Bakery, Aiken Saddlery, or email us at info@fotasaiken.org and we will see that you get what you need.  We also have no-show donation “bookmarks,” if you want to support the cause, but can’t make the date.  There will be a drawing from the numbers sold for a fun prize.  The winning ticket number will be announced on our website on the 16^th.

What better way to honor our soldiers’ service than to build communities in which we take pride?  FOTAS believes that how we care for our animals is one reflection of those communities.

The county shelter is currently overrun with unwanted litters, with and without their mothers.  The adoption section has been expanded, but there has been a sudden blow to the custodial capabilities with maternity leave and turnover. 

We are recruiting volunteers to help clean the adoption pens between 8 and 10 am.  If you can help in this time of need, please call the shelter: 642-1537.  Your shelter needs you!

  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”

Fairway Horse Transport has transferred over 1,300 Aiken County dogs in 4 years, for free.

The Aiken County Animal Shelter euthanasia rate was 86% in April!

CONGO Adorable and friendly Half Price only $35

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week”  Half-Price Special goes until July 7^th!

 

 

AVIS one of many cats and kittens. Every size age and color. Litters are coming in faster than we can handle!