All Kindnesses, Whether they are Large or Small, Count for our County Animal Shelter

Large or Small, All Kindnesses Count for our County Animal Shelter

by Edie Hubler, FOTAS Board of Directors

as seen in the Aiken Standard on Jan. 12, 2014

I’m at a loss for words.  For those of you who know me, you are probably chuckling.  For me to be at a loss for words is a miracle.  But really, I just can’t say enough about you -- the members of the Aiken community.

This past holiday season has reinforced in my mind just how much you, the Aiken community, is embracing your County Animal Shelter (which is currently located at 311Wire Road and soon to relocate to a brand new shelter at 333 Wire Road).   From donations to volunteering to adoptions to running fundraisers to organizing transfers of adoptable animals to shelters up north, FOTAS and the County Shelter couldn’t do it without your support.  

As a member of the board of the Aiken Newcomers’ Club, I am so touched that although earlier in 2013 they purchased a tribute plaque to be placed in the lobby area of the new shelter, once again they generously donated funds for the Spay/Neuter effort spearheaded by FOTAS. 

I attended Carol & Rich Stamm and Dean & Jenny Spiro’s 4th annual New Year’s Day party in Cedar Creek.  The invitation to the party said this:  “No hostess gifts please, but if you must, consider donating to FOTAS or our furry friends at the County Animal Shelter.”  I was overwhelmed when I saw over $200 in monetary donations as well as many bags of food on their front porch.

Beth Barranco’s parents, Connie & Stan Bryant of North Augusta, wanted only gifts for the County Animal Shelter for their Christmas presents.  As you can see from the photo of Connie, Santa listened.  Connie & Stan delivered their “gifts” to the Shelter on Monday, Dec. 30.

This generosity will feed many animals in the Shelter in the months to come.

I staffed the FOTAS table at the 4th Annual FOTAS Hunter Pace fundraiser on Dec. 30.  Hosted by Sarah & Jim Wildasin at their Fox Nation equestrian center in Windsor and organized by Gina Salatino and Melanie Oldham, I marveled as I watched the train of horse trailers pull into the farm and 91 riders embark on the hunter pace course in which jumps were sponsored by local businesses and individuals, as were the bag lunches for the weary riders. The funds raised at this event will go a long way in helping FOTAS meet the needs of the Shelter, find homes for many of its animals, and fund spay/neuter surgeries of pets in Aiken County.

Why are these events and acts of kindness important to celebrate?  Because the Aiken County Animal Shelter is our community shelter – we are all responsible for the fate of the County’s unfortunate animals if we are ever to achieve the FOTAS goal of never having to euthanize another adoptable animal.  

Simply put, without our collective help and generosity, many innocent animals will die needlessly again this year, and the next and the next after that.

Please know that your help and contributions are a godsend.  Together, we can all make a difference.  Contact us at www.FOTASAiken.org or 803-514-4313.

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”

Dec. 30, 2014 - Jan. 4, 2014

15 dogs and 2 cats adopted

Year to Date:  

17 terrific pets adopted

THANK YOU AIKEN COUNTY COMMUNITY!

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week!” 

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

HOWARD   Lab/retriever mix,  male, 

1 yr old, 48 lbs  Only $70 

SIMON  COWELL  Domestic short hair -- male -- 7 yrs old, 10 lbs  Only $35

$10.5K is Symbolic and So Significant for SNAP

by JOYA DISTEFANO

“Hello, I got this number from the sign…”

“My name is… I’m calling about the spaying and neutering…”

“…I signed up and no one has called me yet…”

“…I signed up and now my cat is in heat…”

“Hello, my name is...I have all these cats coming to my house! Can someone help me?...”

These kinds of calls come in day after day from people who need help spaying or neutering their pets, or the community cats they support.  FOTAS has been trying to meet this demand, and still rally the community behind “The Year of the Shelter 2013” and the need for donations to “Fit, Furnish and Finish” our new County Shelter.  Both are essential needs.

Aiken County is building a new Animal Shelter, due to open this winter.  It will be a happy healthy place, appropriate to the current demands on County Animal Services.  But if we do not continue to build on spay/neuter assistance programs, the new shelter can easily deteriorate into a bigger version of the old overcrowding problem and the stress, disease and death that accompany it.

In the spring of 2012, FOTAS entered a walk competition and fundraiser in Columbia and won.  The result was not just nearly 100 free spay neuters for Wagener pets, but the beginning of a major FOTAS initiative called “SNAP,” for Spay/Neuter Assistance Program. 

When the money in Columbia ran out, the old Aiken SPCA, now the Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, stepped in and provided the remaining surgeries on the list with a $15 co-pay.  They understood that FOTAS was currently committed to raising funds for the new shelter.  This was the beginning of a win-win partnership that will be at the heart of the success of both new facilities for the foreseeable future.

FOTAS SNAP is currently working with Aiken County Animal Control, and strategically located towns, to provide targeted spay/neuter assistance.  Already the mayors of Wagener, Burnettown and Windsor are on board, and we look forward to others joining up.  The program offers eligible pet owners a place to enroll, transportation to and from the Albrecht Center’s new high-capacity spay/neuter clinic from targeted sites, and the surgery, rabies vaccine and a micro chip, all for a $20 co-pay.

Here’s where the $10,500 comes in.  The figure represents the average cost to spay and neuter 50 dogs and 50 cats at the Albrecht Center’s high-capacity clinic.  Here’s the grand plan.  Next Saturday, September 21^st the SPCA Albrecht Center is hosting a major fundraiser that offers another opportunity for FOTAS SNAP to compete for funds. Our goal is $10,500! 

The Albrecht Center has agreed to apply every dollar contributed to FOTAS SNAP.  We need your help to reach our $10,500 goal. Every $5, $10, $25 can get us there, if we all chip in. 

Contribute on line to: http://www.crowdrise.com/fotassnap OR

Send a check (must arrive by 9/21 to count) to FOTAS SNAP at P.O. Box 2207 Aiken 29802.

Or, if you are computer-savvy, form your team (UNDER FOTAS, PLEASE) and be a star! 

A retired organizational problem-solver and radical educator, Joya Jiménez DiStefano is an artist, Servant Leader, and co-founder of FOTAS, Inc.

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”

Public Animal Control Numbers

Aiken City & Aiken County FY’13	City of Aiken		Aiken County
	Dogs	Cats	Animals
Impounded	347	236	4,794
RTO*	137	4	219
Transferred/ Adopted	89	58	783/ 798
Euthanized	93	175	3,415

*returned to owner

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week!” 

LITTLE BIT -  7yrs. Male beauty.  Elegant is just the beginning with this guy!  Only $35.    

 

 

PEPPER  – Hound/Lab female 1yr. 44lbs.  Eager, affectionate, intelligent!  Only $70

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