Sunday, July 29, 2012

Lucky Trip Pays His Good Fortune Forward


Pull up to Equine Rescue of Aiken’s barn, and you may be greeted by Trip.  He’s shaped like a pointer only black with brindle and brown lights in his shiny coat.  And it’s not just the tail and grin that welcome you; his entire slender frame wags with excitement.  Trip’s greeting is so enthusiastic that you may not notice that he is missing a leg.
Trip was originally named Trigger.  He arrived as a puppy more than a year ago in a North Augusta neighborhood and soon came to rely on the neighborhood for his care.  When a car mangled his hind leg, Trigger’s owners tried to deny he was theirs, then provided no care.
The neighbor Trigger turned to for help three days later, raw bone protruding from his infected leg, knew she was moving to an apartment, knew her Chihuahuas would hate him, and she spent thousands to save him anyway.  Ultimately, unable to place him, she surrendered him to the Aiken County Shelter.
The FOTAS volunteers adored Trigger.  Why not?  He is affectionate, intelligent, eager to please, and easily one of the happiest dogs alive.
Meanwhile, the mission at Equine Rescue had evolved to encompass rehabilitation.  And under Jim and Debbie’s expansive definitions of care, the mission not only included rescued horses, but puppies, dogs, cats, kittens and people, especially disabled veterans.
Months earlier, Jim had queried FOTAS about a three-legged dog to help with the veterans.  Then there was the injured puppy that needed a leg amputated.  That baby didn’t make it out of surgery.  Then Debbie said no more dogs.  Then their rescue dog named Tilly started showing aggression towards the horses.  And then there was Trigger needing a home. 
FOTAS arranged the swap, Trigger for Tilly, who was transferred up north.  Trigger went to the farm, Jim made a joke (you will have to ask Jim) and “Trigger” became “Trip.”
Jim and Debbie were a bit concerned about how their very insecure Great Dane, Kelso, was going to handle Trip.  Kelso is very attached to Debbie and, therefore, quite protective.  The other eight canine members of the family sniffed Trip’s stump, offered their condolences and moved on.  Kelso decided it was time to have a very best friend and Trip fit the bill. 
When thunder and lightning portend the end of Kelso’s world, he turns to Trip, and Trip to him.
Trip has been at Equine Rescue for about a month now and you would think he founded the program.  His upbeat presence is everywhere: surveying the Shetland ponies learning to trust, supervising the volunteers tacking up to ride, checking that the eleven 5-week-old terrier-mix puppies found in an abandoned house are okay, and assuring that Jim doesn’t need him for something else.
Would you like to help? Trip wants to be certified as a therapy dog.  The puppies all need a home, as do a momma cat and her three kittens (check Equine Rescue of Aiken’s website for pictures).
Please, Support Animal Rescue.
  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 July 16 – 22, 2012       
Received:  93 dogs, 52 cats, 1 chicken, and 1 possum
Adopted:  9 dogs, 6 cats
 Euthanized: 52 dogs and 52 cats

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week”

CAPER – 2 Yrs. Shepherd mix.  He is just as smart as he looks.  Great dog for $35!

CRUNCHER – Baby male tabby.  He will grow up to be the prince of your mansion! $35 

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



Saturday, July 21, 2012

FOTAS Celebrates Our “Animal Nut” and an Adoption Event


Birgit’s Max is 13 years old now and his age marks the time since Birgit began rescuing animals in Aiken County.  Molly’s Militia had Max when Birgit adopted him.  She brought him home to her husband and two other dogs, and then started fostering dogs herself.
Birgit spent eight years fostering dogs for Molly’s.  She fostered adult dogs, and puppies, dogs with behavioral issues, dogs and puppies with health problems.  Some were not adoptable and stayed on; some didn’t make it and broke her heart. 
After eight years Birgit took a badly needed break, but she couldn’t stay away.  When she started fostering again, she would help the SPCA some, but mainly worked with the Aiken County Animal Shelter. 
“My heart has always been with the Aiken County Shelter,” she said, “At times I had as many as 20 dogs!  So when FOTAS started their volunteer program with the County Shelter, it was natural to get on board.”
When asked how many dogs have come through her home, she doesn’t know; she’s lost count.  She had to stop doing the puppies because she could no longer handle the emotional devastation of parvo losses.
But Birgit still specializes in the tough cases: the skinny ones from neglect or abandonment, those heartworm positive, the sick ones, and abuse cases with trust issues.
“Gosh, people aren’t perfect,” she says, “But they expect animals to be.” 
Birgit currently has eight permanent resident dogs, along with horses she doesn’t ride, cats, her foster cases, and a husband who gives her the support she needs to do what she does which is love and care for them all.
“If you have a partner,” she advises, “They have to be supportive or it won’t work.  You really need the support.”
Since joining up with FOTAS three years ago, Birgit has become the captain of the FOTAS adoption events.  Once a month she loads the kennels and crates, table, sign boards, and bin of leashes, treats, bowls, food, water, newspapers, towels and toys, the donation jar, envelopes and brochures into  her truck and heads out to the county shelter. 
She picks the dogs, puppies, cats and/or kittens for the event, loads them and their paperwork, and heads for Petsmart.  By 10am she is set up in the store where she and her assistants will stay until 3pm, hoping for a good home for their charges.
This month, Birgit will be heading a special FOTAS adoption event sponsored by Brusters Ice Cream in front of Publix on Whiskey Road,  July 28th from  11 to 3pm.
Herbie Brown, the FOTAS Rescue Waggin’ will be there with adoptable dogs.  Brusters will pay the adoption fee for the first adoption.  They will also provide a free ice cream cone and “doggie sundae” for every adoption that day.
Come on out.  Learn about volunteering, fostering, adoptions and transfers.  Eat some ice cream.  Meet Birgit, who says of her role in it all, “It’s what I do; it’s part of me.”  She’s a star.  
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”


STRIPE - 1yr, boxer mix.  The volunteers adore this guy!  Your best buddy for $70

 



DELILAH, tortoise tabby & SAMSON, golden boy – 5 yrs.  They love each other and hope to stay together. Only $35

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Fostering Pups is a Fine Family Affair


The Wiseman family: Grant, Heather, and their twins Abby and Audrey, can tell you that a great way to unwind from a tough day is with puppies. 
Heather has an after-work ritual of scooping a ball of fur out of its pen to play or stroking it to sleep in her lap. 
Currently, there are two puppy pens in the sunroom that opens onto a fenced yard.  One of the pens has four seven-week-old, weaned pups.    
These four are the “hobbit” litter: Dobby, Dori, Oliver and Scarlett.  Dobby, the runt, has the face of a quizzical spider monkey.  His foster- family is finally optimistic about Dobby’s prospects for overcoming developmental lag in his motor skills.  Brother Oliver dines on white rice while recovering from a digestive upset.  Fat and playful, Oliver’s tummy troubles don’t seem to slow him down.
In the other puppy pen, a small terrier-mix called Nala scrambles at the sides while we look in.  She has a week’s experience with mothering “Fred,” “George,” and “Ginny,” her three babies named from Harry Potter characters.  Nala displays the nervous insecurity of a new mom made pregnant as a babe herself.  Her three scattered puppies still look like drowned hamsters.
Nala’s babies are the eighth litter in a year that the Wisemans have fostered from the Aiken County Shelter.  The latest two litters were both two days old when they arrived.  The puppies don’t always come that young, but the family has learned a lot over the last year, and they prefer that the puppies come as soon as possible, even if it means having a litter whelped in their home.  They haven’t done that…yet.
“If they spend even a week at the shelter,” Heather says, “We can see the difference.  The puppies take time learning how to trust you.”  She runs her hand along the curved spine of the sleeping shape in her lap.
Why did the Wisemans decide to do it, especially, with young twins and three large permanent dogs of their own? 
It began as an exercise for the twins, now twelve, when they were much younger.  The family fostered one pup at a time then, and the rule still is: if we keep one, we are out of the fostering business.
The job comes with its share of heartache.   A neglected stray’s legacy to her pups can be parvo.  But the occasional struggle to save the ones they can, and even the inevitable losses, have brought surprising gifts.  The family learns and grows closer.  The parents watch their girls deepen as people. 
No matter its fate, each tiny creature is assured a name, and the experience of Love.   All the pups are immortalized on iPads and in photo albums, and most are transferred to exceptional shelters, and adopted to very good homes. 
The Wisemans are deeply committed to fostering service, and recommend others try.  But if you can’t foster puppies, we urge you to donate time, food, toys, and especially old newspapers, for those who do. 
  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”


July 2nd thru 8th

Received:   50 dogs & 28 cats
Adopted:     8 dogs & 3 cats
Euthanized:  20 dogs & 39 cats

 Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week” 

ASTRO & HEIDI – 4 mos. Lab/hound mix.   Brindle female, black male siblings who already walk beautifully on a leash.  $70 each. 
LULU – Domestic short-hair baby.  She’s too cute to be here instead of in your lap.  Only $35! 
 
All adoption fees include: Spay/Neuter, heartworm test, all shots, worming, and microchip!

 

Saturday, July 7, 2012

What Wonderful Wilma Can Teach Us


The FOTAS volunteers and County Shelter staff are pulling for Wilma because she is almost magnificent.
Big, bold, red-gold Wilma came to the shelter as a stray.  That was almost two months ago.  In addition to her seventy pounds, Wilma is young, perhaps two, and part Akita.  Wilma is our story.
On top of Jennifer’s role as FOTAS CEO, she still takes dogs out when there is a lull in volunteer activity at the shelter.  On one of these occasions, Jennifer hooked a leash on the large yellow dog and found herself “water skiing” behind the crazed animal to the exit door.   
It is routine for the FOTAS volunteer coordinators to work with dogs who have never known a leash, or had any human have any consistent expectations for their behavior.  In Wilma’s case, her strength and determination prompted Jennifer to ask the volunteers if Wilma was a problem. 
Given their response, Jennifer called Brad, a professional trainer with Palmetto Dog Club, who went out to the County Shelter to see if he could help.
Brad watched Wilma tow the experienced volunteer, Caroline, toward the door and added a large training chain to the process before leaving the building.  Once outside, when Wilma lunged for another dog, Brad stepped in.
All Wilma knew was, “If you pull me, I pull you,” so Brad made sure she did not pull, even if he had to lift her off her feet to avert traction.  When she tried to jump on him, he corrected her firmly, clearly, and calmly. Pop.
Within minutes, Wilma was looking up at Brad for her next instruction.  After twenty minutes she would heel.  He added super-calm Grover as a walk-along, and after a few pop-corrections Brad had Wilma going for a walk beside another dog.
As he walked with the volunteers, Brad explained how they could continue Wilma’s education.  By the end of their walk when Grover lay down, Wilma lay next to him.  Ultimately, Brad had both dogs with him heeling.  Wilma growled.  Pop.  She stopped.
Brad pressed Wilma really hard.  He pushed her down on the ground.  He was rude to her to see if she would be rude back.  Nothing.
“She’s not mean,” he says, “She just didn’t know anything.  Nothing.  And she has a built-in protective instinct, so with other dogs it’s like she was thinking, I’ll get you before you get me.”
Now Wilma looks for Caroline to come work with her four days a week.  Wilma walked politely past another dog in the hall, and Caroline discovered that Wilma loves to play ball. Given Wilma’s super progress Caroline marvels what could be accomplish if she were schooled every day. 
Wilma is a lot of dog, and she is not for just anyone.  But with the time, the skills, and the dedication to invest in this dog, you will produce a truly magnificent best friend and a devoted protector. 
If you are that special someone, the FOTAS Team wishes you our Wilma to love.  
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 June 25th thru 30th 2012  

Received:  45 dogs and 62 cats
Adopted:  6 dogs and 3 cats
Transferred:  25 dogs (A new record!)
Euthanized:  29 dogs and 53 cats

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week”

 All Pets Half-Price thru July 7th!!

WILMA - 2 yrs, 70 Lbs.  She will remain ½ price because she badly needs a special home! $35 
GROVER – Boxer, 2 yrs.  This sweet gentle boy is eager to please.  Take him home for only $70.

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

 

Sunday, July 1, 2012

How Can We Care for Dogs in This Heat?


Who will defend the well-being of our dogs in this heat?  Few of us enjoy carping at our neighbors or confronting our fellow citizens, but as the temperature soars into triple digits what are the alternatives in some cases?
Here is a sample of stories we receive from people with this very question:
“I was behind a pickup truck today with two guys in the cab.  In the back with no tailgate rode this poor dog panting heavily from the heat, his sides heaving. He struggled for balance while picking up his feet one at a time because the bed of the truck was burning his paws!”

“…I asked [the vendor] about the dog tied out on a chain a couple houses down from her [business].  I explained to her that it is 91 degrees and the dog has a tiny shelter, a small dog house. I’m not sure he can even get in it…”

“At six o’clock last night the temperature had cooled off to about 87 degrees on Colleton Avenue as a man rode by on his bicycle.  A large boxer-type dog was in tow, jogging behind, tongue lolling.  The dog was on a flexi-leash attached to a pinch collar effectively preventing him from chasing a squirrel, or stopping for rest should he need it.  The cyclist rolled on seemingly unaware.”

"A big white truck is parked in full sun outside a local tack shop.  The windows are lowered about four inches with a large dog panting furiously inside.  The day is relatively mild so the owner may be unaware of how quickly the cab heated up."

In each of the incidents cited above, the person either confronted people, or didn’t; reported the situation, or didn’t.  As each event is different, so is each individual who finds her/himself in it. 
Here again is the heat advisory FOTAS posted last June at our Woofstock Festival:

“Please be aware of the impact of heat on your pet.  Dogs do not have the same tolerance for heat as humans and this can be DEADLY.

Signs of your dogs being overheated may include (but not be limited to):

  • Vigorous panting
  • Tacky, dry or dark red gums
  • Thick saliva
  • Disorientation
  • Dizziness
  • Lying (or falling)down and unwilling (or unable) to get up
  • Diarrhea or vomiting…”

Please keep your dogs cool and hydrated.  If they are accustomed to the outdoors, well-ventilated shade and plenty of accessible water will do.  If an animal’s welfare is endangered by abuse or neglect, call animal control or the police if you feel unwilling or unable to address the situation yourself.
For FOTAS, to be a friend of our county shelter means more than a concern for the quality of our public animal control facility; it means fostering an animal welfare ethic throughout our county, one that models, encourages, inspires, or demands responsible relationships with our pets. 
Our concern for the lives that depend on us for their well-being is not just what we do; it is who we are. 
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.fotasaikn.org

Aiken County Animal Shelter:  “By the Numbers”


June 18th thru 24th

Received:   52 dogs & 43 cats
Adopted:     14 dogs & 13 cats
Euthanized:  53 dogs & 50 cats

 Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week”

LAST WEEK! The Half-Price Special goes until July 7th!
TRIGGER – Our 3-legged wonder!   Year old Labrador Retriever who is a perfect love with kids, cats, everyone.  Half-price at $35  
DAY-DAY  - Long hair, green eyes, this guy is gorgeous, affectionate and yours for only $35! 
 
All adoption fees include: Spay/Neuter, heartworm test, all shots, worming, and microchip!