One Essential Volunteer Tells Why

Her name is Linda. We like to honor our special volunteers by highlighting them here.  These are Linda’s own words in response to, “Who are you, and why do you do it?”

“I manage the ever-changing FOTAS website and its sidekick, Facebook. I have Marketing background, and have created a few websites in the past, plus I have numerous dogs, cats and equines in a happy jumble. I am disabled so must limit my activities, especially those that require concentration.

I moved south hoping to heal some, better care for myself and not do the volume of volunteer work I did previously while still working. It can be overwhelming, yet the most rewarding experience. Just find a cause that really matters to you.

What is it about the South? I love it here so much and thank God every day I look out my window. I find such peace, happiness and beauty here. Yet, I have never seen such an overwhelming number of abandoned animals, obviously intact or having had several litters of pups. It’s like the Caribbean used to be 20 years ago. FOTAS taught me that Aiken County Animal Shelter alone takes in over 5000 unwanted animals a year!

One encounter with the President of FOTAS and I was hooked by such positivity and willingness to help an anxious soul who had, yet again, found several dogs along the road. Already overwhelmed with animals, what could I do?

The officers of FOTAS have inspired me, I have worked with two regularly, sometimes side-by-side at events. How could I not volunteer when they give countless hours, day and night, dedicated to the abandoned and neglected animals of Aiken County? They will do anything to help save a life. They are intelligent, driven, energetic, and, above all, positive about the changes they can make. They are the women I want to be when I grow up.

Yes, I take care of the website, try to make it easy to follow, hope to encourage people to donate or give of their time. I have set up donate buttons for one-time or monthly donations hoping that people will have $5 or $10 a month deducted automatically from their account dedicated to our new shelter, spay/neuter, transport north.  They can even get a documentary DVD about an Aiken Shelter therapy dog just by donating $10 to FOTAS.

Why do I devote so many hours to this cause? Is it because once I start something I enjoy doing I can’t stop until I get it right? Am I avoiding finishing my taxes or doing housework? I could be reading a book, talking on the phone, checking Facebook, or riding my horse! I do all those things anyway, but when FOTAS calls, I drop everything I can and give my best. My commitment to FOTAS volunteers and our FOTAS community is with me constantly, because there is always the chance, if I do my best, that one more life will be saved.”

Young or old, families or groups, come to the shelter, help at or support an event or volunteer behind the scenes. There is always something to do to make a difference. 

 Please, find your own way to 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”

April 8^th thru 14^th   

Received: 28 dogs and 26 cats

Adopted: 15 dogs and 2 cat

Euthanized:  39 dogs and 21 cats

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week!” 

MUFFIN -  1 yr.  22 lbs.  Silky Terrier mix. Another Sweet, sweet girl!  Only $70

LUCY –  1 yr.  Green-eyed calico.  Soft and sweet for a good lap.  Only $35!

 

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

Repeatedly Homeless, a Shelter Dog Now Helps the Homeless

Everyone was pulling for Porsha.  The poor dog just couldn’t catch a break. 

Originally, she had come in as a stray, an odd looking one at that.  Everything about Porsha said gorgeous husky: the thick coat and full tail, the pointed ears, her intelligent gaze and perpetual grin; everything, that is, but her legs.  The short, slightly splayed legs said her daddy must have been a basset hound.

PORSHA

 Unique, affectionate and intelligent, Porsha was adopted.  A year or so later, her new family surrendered her back to the county shelter.  This time she attracted an elderly woman with a fenced in yard.  Dissatisfied with her new accommodations, Porsha dug her way out under the fence enough times to end up back at the shelter.

Porsha’s fourth home didn’t last an hour.  A woman picked her, paid her fee, and took her home, only to be told by the husband to bring Porsha back to the shelter. 

Poor Porsha.  The staff and volunteers at the Aiken County Shelter began the push.  Last Sunday, she was Pet-of-the-Week for our column.  Early Monday morning Porsha went on TV.  All day long her fans waited for the call to come.  Nothing.

When Porsha started showing signs of Kennel cough, the situation got tense.  Kennel cough is an air-born virus, easily treated like a common cold; however, it can infect an entire kennel population that breathes the same air.  It might have been Porsha’s death sentence. 

Then late Tuesday afternoon, a family from the Garden City Rescue Mission in Augusta came to the shelter.  They were not looking for a dog; they were looking for Porsha.  Keith, husband to Ansley and father to McKensie, 15, and Brant, age 8, had seen Porsha on TV and decided that she was the one.  He wanted her for the 45 to 60 men who come through the shelter every day.

The idea came from a conversation with the psychologist who consults to the program.  It has been found that dogs can help people in distress to open up and trust.  Caring for a dog, a creature totally dependent on humans for their well-being, can lead to the badly needed life management skills that may be absent in the homeless.

Last Tuesday, Porsha went home wagging and grinning with her new guardians to a place where her experiences with homelessness could be an asset.  Porsha had found more than a home; she had a job.

When we called a couple of days later, Porsha was being fed, bathed, and cared for by the men at Garden City Rescue Mission.

“We are already seeing positive results,” Keith said.  His mission started three-and-a-half years ago on the streets of Atlanta.  Now in Augusta, he runs the men’s division downstairs, while his wife oversees the women and children upstairs. And the community has a dog named Porsha.

“This has been an amazing journey,” Keith said.  We know.

“In as much as you have done it unto the least of these…”     

Contribute what you can.

 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 the week Feb. 20th thru 26th 2012

Received: 50 dogs and 19 cats

Adoptions: 13 dogs and 7 cats

Euthanized: 27 dogs and 18 cats

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week” 

SKIPPY-4yr. male tabby with green eyes.   Eager to purr for you! Only $35  

 

BLAKE – 1-2 yr. Sweet, sweet boy

 

$70 includes neuter, microchip and all shots