Plans for the New County Shelter Beckon County-wide Involvement

The crowning achievement of the public/private partnership between Aiken County and FOTAS will certainly be the completion of the new Aiken County Animal Shelter planned for next year. 

Three busy years have passed since FOTAS was founded by three women seeking to make a difference in the welfare of thousands of animals received and destroyed each year at the Aiken County Shelter.  The organization’s progress has been huge, a direct result of a magical teamwork that evolved among the players: County and Shelter Staff, Council, FOTAS volunteers, community groups, businesses, and local governments.

What began as an initiative to address dire conditions at our grossly inadequate, understaffed, underfunded shelter, has  become the very essence of what Gandhi meant when he said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” 

Just substitute “county” for “nation” and you capture the spirit of the FOTAS/ Aiken County team.

Last Wednesday, FOTAS volunteers sat down with the architects from Macmillan, Pazdan and Smith to talk about how to convey critical elements of the project to the public.  As the essential needs of this shelter building project take shape, FOTAS and the architects are reaching for broad community support through the Capital Campaign necessary to complete it.

The conversation among those at the table last Wednesday was already well-versed in the barebones, pragmatic obligations of animal control law.  The challenge then became adding principles of responsibility and morality to animal welfare in our public shelter, then creating a facility that could act as a hub for Helping to promote those values throughout the county.  

 The architects’ initial drawings reflected their deep understanding of: the way shelter staff work; the animal control obligations of county government; and, the animal advocacy dreams and desires of FOTAS members.  

First, it will be a humane, healthy environment for homeless animals.  It will be a place where minimal staff can work most effectively and efficiently.  The new shelter will provide access and space appropriate for all the public demands it must accommodate: the animals brought to, developed within, and adopted from it.

Adopting lots of animals into responsible, forever homes requires a place that invites public involvement: volunteers to get the pets ready, and adopters willing to come to their public shelter to look for a pet.  Ultimately, our new shelter will have an open stable-like feel, and multi-purpose indoor and outdoor spaces for fun and productive people-pet interactions. 

Finally, our new Aiken County Shelter will provide a hub for county-wide programs that build commitment to spay/neuter and responsible pet-ownership.

FOTAS is working with the county shelter to improve data-gathering; to assist funding opportunities for future shelter-based programs; to prevent unwanted pets; and, to  give back to the larger community.

The new Aiken County Animal Shelter is a beginning, and it will be a healthy, happy place where no adoptable pet has to go to die, and the heart of a responsible, animal-loving county.

Join us.  There are many ways to help.

Aiken County Animal Shelter:  “By the Numbers”

For August 6 thru 12, 2012

Received:  66 dogs and 51 cats

Adopted:  10 dogs and 2 cats

Put down:  57 dogs and 33 cats

COWBOY – 1 yr. “Singing Chihuahua!”  You sing; he sings.  Cute as a bug for only $35!

 Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week” are HALF PRICE*!

DIABLO – Baby male tabby.  Bold gray stripes and white mittens.  Too cute for only $35. 

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

Thank You, Todd Glover, FOTAS Members and Aiken County Council

This week, in the midst of a season where we strive to remember Peace, Joy, Generosity and Hope for a better tomorrow, FOTAS would like to acknowledge and appreciate our Aiken County Council and one of its exemplary public servants, Todd Glover.

Without Todd Glover there would be no FOTAS;  without FOTAS there would be no community-wide, concerted effort to address the dismal conditions at our county shelter; and without the first class public-private partnership that has emerged between Friends of the Animal Shelter, Inc. and Aiken County Government the miracle of Tuesday night’s decision would never have happened, but it did.

Three years ago Todd Glover saw the opportunity for a nonprofit organization to address the need for animal advocacy in the County Animal Services Department.  He also knew where those interested could find a model for just such a venture.  Three members of the Aiken County Animal Control Advisory Committee (AC3) stepped up to the challenge and FOTAS was born.  Todd Glover continued to work closely with FOTAS building a strong bridge between the County and the community around animal advocacy.

This month Todd is going to leave Aiken County Government for the position of City Manager of North Augusta, a well-deserved career advancement, and one lucky town.

Last June, FOTAS and Aiken County entered into a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding the initial phase and funding for our new shelter.  FOTAS would provide $100k for the architectural and engineering plans if the county would make $1m available in 2012. 

The last half of this year has been full of research, reports, proposals, rebuttals, rejections, and a boatload of frustration for all of us invested in the outcome.  But a wise man once said, “If it was easy, we’d already have done it.”

In any community venture there are always stakeholders, and rarely are their interests totally compatible; “never” may be more accurate.  The new Aiken County Animal Shelter building program is certainly no exception.

Space does not allow us to acknowledge all of the people who pulled off our latest miracle, especially in the last few weeks when it seemed like we not only were going to lose Todd Glover, but that we had hit another impasse with County Council and the additional funding we knew was imperative, but a special nod should go out to Council Chairman, Ronnie Young, Councilwoman Kathy Rawls, Councilman, Charles Barton who know their county, and to Ernie Wolf form the AC3 and FOTAS who is never at a loss for a better idea. 

On Tuesday night, the Aiken county Council gave Todd Glover the perfect going-away gift as they unanimously approved an additional $500,000 to be added to the million already committed for a new county animal shelter.  The additional money puts Aiken County well

within reach of a shelter adequate to our needs and in which we can all take pride. 

Now, for an even Merrier Christmas, why not bring home one of our very special half-price pets?  They’re waiting.

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 Dec. 5th thru 11th    

Dogs taken in: 105

Cats taken in: 40

Dogs adopted: 17

Cats adopted: 8

Dogs euthanized: 66

Cats euthanized: 28

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week” 

STING 

 3yrs. He is such a good boy and would love a forever home for Christmas.  

 ½ PRICE!

ELF 

 Beautiful green-eyed boy offers a big fluffy cuddle.   

Half price thru the holidays.

 

Dog Up for Adoption at Shelter Wins Aiken's Buck-a-Like Contest

From The Aiken Standard
By HALEY HUGHES - Staff writer

Border collie mix Bandit is the winner of the Buck-a-Like contest, which was promoted by the month-long Aiken Wild Read program.

The contest sought a dog who most resembles Buck, the protagonist in Jack London's "Call of the Wild," a domesticated canine who is stolen from his owner and trained as a sled dog. Buck, a St. Bernard/Scots shepherd mix, learns to draw on the primitive instincts of his ancestors to become the dominant dog in the sledding pack. At the end of the book, Buck answers the "call of the wild" by joining a wolf pack.

Bandit was nominated by veterinarian Sybil Davis, who owns Aiken Pet Fitness & Rehabilitation, after she read about the contest.

"Bandit, like Buck, is part herding dog and possibly St. Bernard. He is thick boned, strong, with a wide head and an alert, intelligent expression. He, too, has come on hard times. He is a fun dog who is maintaining his love and trust for people," Davis wrote.

Bandit was picked up as a stray and, as of Friday, was available for adoption at the Aiken County Animal Shelter. He is neutered, vaccinated and micro-chipped.

"He is high-energy, very intelligent," said Friends of the Animal Shelter (FOTAS) Vice President Mary Lou Welch. "He is very representative of all the beautiful dogs out there FOTAS supports."
The winning $50 cash prize was donated to FOTAS, which promotes successful adoptions and spay/neuter, coordinates fundraising and raises awareness for the homeless animals at the Aiken County Animal Shelter.

Bandit's new owners will receive a copy of "Call of the Wild."

"Bandit opens the door for a lot of other animals," said Bobby Arthurs, chief enforcement officer with Aiken County Animal Control.

The Aiken Woman's Club and the Aiken County Public Library partnered with several community leaders and organizations in Aiken Wild Read. Based on the National Endowment for the Arts nationwide program, The Big Read, this month has been full of activities, events, public readings and the Buck-a-Like contest.

Bandit's adoption fee is $35. He walks well on a leash and should be only pet in the household, Arthurs said.

For more information on Bandit, call 642-1537 or visit the shelter at 411 Wire Road. 

With FOTAS, All-Volunteer Means Business

Oh, FOTAS, how far we have come!  In June of 2009 a few of us held a benefit breakfast for the Aiken County Animal Shelter.  We stood in parking lots, sold tickets and made out-of-town friends buy them for bookmarks.  We raised over $2,700, our symbolic beginning. 

Two years later FOTAS, now a 501c3 public charity, committed to raise $100,000 to partner with Aiken County on a badly needed shelter expansion project, a momentous undertaking for all concerned.  The first phase of the comprehensive needs assessment study has been completed and is now under County Council review.   

Concurrent with working on the shelter expansion project, we have ongoing program commitments. Shelter  volunteers see that the dogs get out of their cages at least once a day, six days a week.  The dogs learn that someone cares, to walk on a leash and play well with others.   And our kitties need attention every day, especially afternoons.  Our volunteers also work with local vets and council representatives in the very important work of funding and promoting spay and neuter programs.

In two years FOTAS volunteers saved hundreds of county dogs through our transfer program with northern no-kill shelters.  Each occasion for a transfer requires many volunteer hours finding shelters, assuring dogs are selected, approved, spayed/neutered, fostered, and shipped healthy.

FOTAS’ foster homes offer most abandoned litters of puppies and kittens their only chance to survive the unavoidable contamination and afflictions of shelter life.  We are blessed with too few of these angels-of-mercy and pray for more all the time. 

The money FOTAS raises makes everything else possible.  Every fundraiser is conceived and implemented by volunteers including our signature Woofstock Festival.  Our equestrians hold hunter-paces; our golfers do golf tournaments.  Also, through their good works numerous civic organizations generously make FOTAS their beneficiary on behalf of the Aiken County Shelter. 

We appreciate all the people throughout the county who find our displays or read this newspaper* and send a donation to FOTAS’ P.O. Box 2207, Aiken, 29802.  Now you can even make one-time or monthly donations on our website.

 Being an all volunteer organization, every dollar is spent directly on shelter needs.  Since that first breakfast FOTAS has provided the county shelter with: numerous supplies; shelter and flooring for the overflow pens, a large-dog play area, a unique adoptable cat and kitten facility, post-surgery and cat-intake stainless cage banks, and the committed $100k for the needs analysis and shelter expansion design.  

FOTAS volunteers have also: designed and run our website,  database,  blogs,  broadcast emails, brochures and accounting system.  Volunteers secured our 501c3 status, report to the state and IRS, do the banking and issue honorariums and thank-yous.  And the leadership that keeps it all running is all-volunteer.

FOTAS is a membership organization.  If you care about our county shelter and its animals we hope you will join us.  Make any kind of meaningful contribution and you’re in.

  *The Aiken Standard posts these BLOG post articles each week.

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 October 10th thru 16th     

Dogs taken in: 56

Cats taken in: 40

Total: 96 

Dogs adopted: 15

Cats adopted: 1

 Total: 16

Dogs euthanized: 33

Cats euthanized: 41

Total: 74

Effective Projects Begin with the End in Mind

When you read or hear about “The Shelter,” think, “Aiken County Animal Shelter.”  It is located right next door to the Aiken SPCA on Wire Road.  There is a big beautiful sign at the entrance, donated by a FOTAS member, which belies the fact that the facility tucked out of sight at the end of the gravel driveway is a public embarrassment.

These 5000 square feet on a concrete slab are the sole accommodations for 5,400 unwanted animals in a year, and the employees who work for Aiken County Animal Services must accept them all.

Three years ago more than 95% were euthanized.  As of June 30, 2011, our euthanasia rate was down to 72%.  That’s less than 3,900.  We have accomplished this much progress due to the monumental efforts of a stellar public-private partnership between our FOTAS volunteers, members and Aiken County government.

The heartbreaking reality is that without an adequate facility this may be the best we can do.
 

Of course, extensive affordable spay/neuter is essential to solve this problem.  Numerous ongoing, public and private, educational and subsidy programs are trying to address it from that end.  But, in the mean time, what about the present and foreseeable reality?

Our community shelter was built to house 100 animals more than 20 year ago.  In those same 20 years, Jackson County Oregon, FOTAS’ partnership model, has virtually eliminated the need to euthanize an adoptable pet.  In those same 20 years, shelter management and shelter medicine has made a giant leap forward, because communities realize that their essence is reflected in how they treat their animals.

These innocents, who add so much to so many lives; who are so dependent on us for their well-being, have committed no crime.  They die not because they have failed us, but because we have failed them. 

Studies show that if provided with an adequate shelter environment, community involvement, awareness, and adoptions go up, and intake goes down.

What is a satisfactory shelter environment?  One with adequate space, waste management and healthy air to accommodate requisite length of stay for population demands; one that does not cause the citizens who pay for it to recoil in horror and disgust.  Our shelter is none of the above.  

For a nominal fee this summer, FOTAS retained a nationally recognized shelter expert to do a professional needs-assessment.  Recognizing that funds are severely limited, he evaluated options and made recommendations to County Council.  His report is currently under consideration.

While county government seeks the most efficient and effective ways to fulfill its animal control obligations to the public, FOTAS is stewarding our animal advocacy initiatives. 

It is a good and solid partnership.  While we envision a desirable future for our animals, all our feet are firmly planted in reality.  We are all Aiken County and “The Shelter” is our community shelter.  What we deserve is a healthy, humane, happy environment that one day will never have to euthanize an adoptable pet.  You can help this dream come true.

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 October 3rd thru 9th   

Dogs taken in:  55

Cats taken in:  43

Dogs adopted:  12

Cats adopted:    0

Dogs euthanized:  60

Cats euthanized:   28