Our New County Shelter is Only a Beginning

Let’s start with our vision: Our new Aiken County Animal Shelter will be a happy healthy place where no adoptable pet has to go to die.  Our current facility was never intended for such a lofty mission.  It was erected in 1990 for the disposal of unwanted animals, and as recently as 2008 the euthanasia rate for its residents was 98%.

Over the last decade, the yearly animal intake has fluctuated between a little less than 5,000 and 6,149 (FY05). The current shelter was intended to house 100 animals at any given time.  When over 160 animals come through the door in a week (like last week), that old building was obsolete about the time it opened its doors. We cannot let that happen again.

Working with County Shelter staff, FOTAS has growing adoption program, supported by a few amazingly dedicated volunteers, and foster-care and transfer programs.  Together they have almost tripled the number of animals saved, but these programs cannot save all the animals that deserve to go on living, not even close.

The new shelter was carefully designed for the current reality, but neither will a building be a solution for irresponsible pet ownership and its fallout, wanton breeding of unwanted litters. 

Our new shelter is designed to attract community involvement, but not to incent additional dumping of throw-away pets.  If it fails to inspire collective values for responsible pet ownership, it will become a costlier, prettier disaster than the one we already have.  So what can we do?

The first, most obvious and easiest remedy is to have our pets spayed and neutered.  Once perceived as a costly intrusion into the laws of nature, it is now readily available to every pet owner, regardless of income; and, it known to be healthier for the community and the animals who cannot, and should not, breed.

Just this year, the SPCA Albrecht Center opened its new clinic with nearly limitless capacity for county-wide needs. Coincident with this resource, FOTAS began our Spay/Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP).  SNAP works with areas targeted by County Animal Control to identify, enroll, subsidize, and transport animals to the SPCA facility.  SNAP includes Lenny’s Brigade, which helps residents with “community cats,” feral cat colonies that can easily breed out of control.

The County Voucher Program is offered to those who qualify and want to choose their own participating vet.  Finally, CSRA Life Saver (csralifesaver.com) has two low-cost pet clinics in North Augusta and in Graniteville, next to the Bark Mart.

How can you help, even if you do not need these services?  Tell someone who does.  Let FOTAS or County Animal Services know and we will get the information where it is needed:

Aiken County Animal Services: 642-1537  SPCA Albrecht Center: 648-6863       

FOTAS SNAP: 634-0564 (temp)

Lenny’s Brigade Hot Line:  507-6315

CSRA Life Saver: 979-7268 or 215-0559

Working together on behalf of our animals we can realize the dream, a laudable measure of who we are as a communi

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 15^th thru 19^th, 2013

Brought in:  94 dogs and 59 cats!!

Adopted:  8 dogs and 5 cats 

Put down:    57 dogs and 55 cats!

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week!” 

SPARKLE – Adult tabby.  Sedate and affectionate.  She is a purr-fect lady!  Only $35

 

TIGER – 1.5 yrs.  51 lbs.  Brindle-Lab mix.  Bright beauty.  A joy of a dog.  Only $38!

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

Happy 4th Birthday FOTAS

We keep coming back to what Gandhi said: "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."  What about a large rural county; can they be judged as well?  Four years ago this week, Friends of the Animal Shelter, Inc. was created to confront that very question.  How great can a home community be when it is handling thousands of its unwanted animals like refuse?

FOTAS started in 2009 raising money and making upgrades to the existing facility: a roof and floor for the overflow pens, a large dog play yard, a lovely adoptable cat house, laundry equipment, grooming tub, stainless cage banks for surgery patients.  We established a volunteer program, a foster care program, and a transfer program.  We helped Aiken County residents confront the dirty secret that well over 5,000 animals, most of which were adoptable pets, were arriving at the county shelter annually and almost all of them were dying there.  But with all the work that went into our current county animal control facility, everyone who actually went there knew the upgrades were mostly lipstick on a pig.  Aiken County needed, and justly deserved, a new county animal shelter.   

FOTAS, since its inception, has seen itself as an ally and partner of county government.  Animal control is a public obligation, a component of health and safety; animal welfare and advocacy is not. A community has to determine who they want to be, how they want to operate in and on the world in terms of its relationship to the innocents and dependents within it.  FOTAS has given animal advocates in our community a voice and the resources to leverage that voice.  And God smiled upon that effort by providing a team of county employees, elected officials, and shelter staff to join forces with the will of the Aiken County community, and to chart the way to a brand new Aiken County Animal Shelter, along with the programs to support its success.

FOTAS paid for the study to determine the appropriate course to an adequate county shelter.  When it was determined that a new shelter was the only effective and efficient way forward, FOTAS paid $125,000 for the architectural and engineering plans.  This was 25% more than the original figure agreed upon.  The county found the perfect piece of property on the corner of May Royal and Wire Road, and on March 3rd of this year we broke ground with a high-spirited ceremony.  The building is expected to be completed by the end of the year.  FOTAS has undertaken the responsibility to "Fit, Furnish and Finish" the facility.  The Fit, FURnish and Finish fundraising campaign is underway, and there are numerous opportunities to participate and to contribute.  For more complete information, contact FOTAS or go to the website.

We can be excited about our new building, but FOTAS also realizes that a building alone is not the answer.  Without a cultural shift to make responsible pet owners part of the fabric of our community, no building will ever be large enough.  To that end, FOTAS established the Spay Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) one year ago.   SNAP now partners with the County Voucher Program and the SPCA Albrecht Center and hundreds of dogs and cats have been fixed, meaning literally thousands fewer unwanted animals. 

We have so much to be grateful for in the last four years, and as FOTAS begins its 5th year, so much to look forward to.  This time next year, our new County Shelter will be humming.  We hope to encourage more and more community pride and involvement.  Our vision is that no adoptable pet will have to die there.  FOTAS is one reflection of Aiken County's moral progress - and its greatness.  Join us.  Please help. We still have a long way to go.

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”

The WEEK of July 8th thru 14^th ‘13

Brought in:  73 dogs and 44 cats!!

Adopted:  17 dogs and 1 cat 

Put down:   43 dogs and 36 cats!

Aiken County Shelter  “Pets of the Week”

SISSY  – Hound mix. 1.5 yrs.   A sweet, playful forever friend!  Yours for only $70

 

DALE – Tabby kitten. He is adorable! Your new baby for only $35

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

Buddy is One Lucky Mutt

Buddy was the kind of dog that gets passed up at any shelter.  A medium-sized hound-pitt-who-knows-what mix, Buddy was high energy and untrained on a leash.  The volunteers tend to wait and hope someone else takes these cases out.

Buddy’s break came because he was “housebroken.”  Sandra stood outside his clean cage and looked at Buddy who looked back at her as if to say, “I’m good; I’m really trying; just give me a chance.”  She leashed him up.  Buddy dragged her out to a spot where he balanced on three legs and peed and peed and peed.  Sandra felt sorry for him.

The next time Sandra tells Buddy, “This time we are going to the play yard first.”  She watched Buddy run three fast laps, go to the gate, and look at her.  She leashed Buddy up and they go for a walk.  This became their routine: Buddy waits for the leash, goes out and relieves himself, three laps in the play yard, and a walk up the trail. Buddy became Sandra’s project.

BUDDY

A month goes by and Buddy is still at the shelter.  They neuter him and give him another 30 days.  Sandra has grown fond of Buddy and urges the Shelter staff to take him on TV.  Monday, May 6^th, Buddy goes on TV.  No one calls.

Meanwhile, across the river, a man called James lost three dogs with the end of a relationship. His co-worker knows James is rattling around in an empty house and altered life.  She sees Buddy on TV.  She tells James.  She shows James the TV clip.  She reminds James. James is still thinking about it.  She takes James to the Aiken County Shelter that following Saturday.

Sandra was there when the party arrived and asked for Buddy.  She was breathless with her urgency.

Sandra says it was love at first sight between the man and the dog.   James describes a more considered interaction in the play yard.  His co-worker offered that she’d brought a sheet for the back seat, should James decide to take Buddy home.

James stroked Buddy’s head, ruffled his neck and said, “You’re not staying here any longer, Bud; I’m taking you home.”  Tears welled in Sandra’s eyes.  She knew that Buddy didn’t have much longer. 

Sandra had grown attached to Buddy and gave her contact information to James, suggesting he might call, or send a picture for the bulletin board.

As weeks went by, Sandra was at least relieved that Buddy was not returned.  Then she got the call.  On Saturday, July 6, James and Buddy came for a visit.  They arrived before the shelter opened.

Buddy gets groomed; Buddy goes to dog parks and plays well with other dogs.  Buddy has a whole house to share with James, who keeps saying, “This dog is a blessing in my life.” He means it.

Sandra looked down at Buddy looking up at James. “The dog was actually smiling,” she says, “He got the perfect home.”

Find your blessing at the 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”

July 1^st thru 7^th, 2013

Brought in:  88 dogs and 40 cats!!

Adopted:  11 dogs and 2 cats 

Put down:    48 dogs and 40 cats!

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week!” 

 

 

 

GEORGETTE – Adult calico.  Affectionate and unique.  She is a purr-fect pet!  Only $35

 

KYRA – 9 mos. 33 lbs.  Shepherd/hound mix.  Playful and bright as a new penny. Only $70

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

Marie, Dixie, Sophie and Benjamin are Waiting

The coloring around Benjamin’s nose looks like a valentine melting over his lips. He has tawny patches over both eyes that spread speckles across floppy ears.  His gaze is kind and direct.  His time ran out at the County Shelter and coincidence saved him.  Large lovable dogs are often not so lucky.  Why?

BENJAMIN

  Suppose you go to the Aiken County Shelter determined to rescue a dog as a new pet.  Proceeding through the cramped hallway serving as a “lobby,” you enter the “adoption section,” distinguished from the rest of the decrepit building by chain link gates. 

All the dogs are barking.  Every caged face pleads, “Pick me!”  Some have a sense of urgency that causes them to jump against the cage.  You feel somewhat overwhelmed; you gravitate to puppies or smaller dogs, assuming they will be less trouble, easier to manage.  This is not necessarily the case.  They all need training.

The County Shelter is blessed with a few regular FOTAS volunteers who work with the dogs to get them ready for a successful adoption.  Some volunteers work until every dog gets out, four mornings a week.  They take the wild ones, the cowering ones, the ones who have to be carried out of the building, and turn them into enjoyable companions.

Without volunteer help, these animals would remain caged, get depressed, lose weight, and act crazed or horrified should anyone show any interest, never mind try to walk them on a leash.

The volunteers learn each dog’s temperament; they teach them good behavior; they bond with them, and develop fervent hopes for the animal’s future in a loving, forever home.

As dogs’ like these time draws to a close, the shelter staff pulls out all the stops getting them in front of the public.  They take them on TV.  They feature them in the paper.

So it is with Sophie, the shepherd lab, whose time is running out, and is now half price; or Dixie, the precious boxer mix; or Marie, featured for the first time this week, who looks so much like Benjamin’s sister, a large, lovable lab/hound. 

 

DIXIE

DIXIE

Everyone who worked with Benjamin, including his current foster-mom, say he is a model pet.  He is crate-trained, gets along with other dogs, and would even work in an apartment.  “He is very much and inside dog,” she says.   

Her pictures of Benjamin are on FOTAS Facebook page (www.facebook.com/FotasAiken) and FOTAS website (www.fotasaiken.org).  His foster mom welcomes any serious caller interested in giving Benjamin a permanent loving home (706-231-4399).

Summer is always a slow time for adoptions.  To make matters worse, the unwanted litters keep coming in and, appallingly, many people surrender the family pet to an overwhelmed shelter so they can vacation without making pet-care arrangements. 

You can help in so many ways: rescue responsibly, volunteer, and donate. 

Consider this: two dogs are easier than one; dogs help us get exercise; a dog is God’s antidepressant; a big dog is more of all of the above.  Please help.

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”

The WEEK of June 24^th thru 30^th ‘13

Brought in:  86 dogs and 76 cats!!

Adopted:  5 dogs and 28 cats! 
Put down:    59 dogs and 65 cats!

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week!” 

 

MARIE – 3 yrs.  42 lbs.  A sweetheart of a dog. She is on sale! $35

SOPHIE – 1.5 yr. 72 lb. shepherd/lab mix.  This dog is a doll!  Time is up.  Half-price $35

INGA is approx. 8 months old She has been on the floor the longest now. She is happy and out going, looking for a forever home

 

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