Pit Bull Rescue Happens One Very Lucky Dog at a Time

We planned to feature our boy “Shady,” Pet-of-the-Week for January 15^th when he had already been in the shelter for a month.  Now the middle of February, the volunteers who regularly work with our county shelter dogs were getting nervous about Shady’s prospects.

Two weeks after featuring Shady as POTW,  June Bug, another Pit-mix, was up.  Both were brought in as strays; both dogs had been passed over again and again; and, both dogs were beloved by every volunteer who worked with them.

Like too many abandoned dogs needing another chance, June Bug and Shady were additionally handicapped by the excessive number of Pit-mixes who find themselves at our sorely inadequate County Shelter.

SHADY

JUNE BUG

 Problems placing Pit Bulls and Pit-mixes extend well beyond our county.  Even our rescue partners, locally and up north, will often stipulate “No Pit Bulls” in their transfer guidelines.  So these marvelous, affectionate, intelligent creatures languish in an over-crowded facility, stressing our

county staff and worrying the FOTAS volunteers silly.

Sometimes a little magic or a few well-placed miracles happen, often when we need them most.  This time, someone met someone who happened to mention something, and a few calls later we had new rescue partner accessible to our transport angel, Mark.  On February 11^th , 19 Aiken County Shelter dogs went north.  One of them was June Bug. 

Ten days later, our new rescue partner forwarded the following message: 

 I wanted to take a minute to thank you and your amazing staff for all that you do.  We have been visiting the Animal League for over 11 years now.  My first adoption took place in March of 2001… You worked with me and matched me with a Boxer/German Shepherd puppy...Three years ago on St. Patrick’s Day, I fell in love immediately with a Plott Hound/Pit Bull named "Aintso."  Again your staff worked with us to ensure he was a perfect fit...and he was.  Just this past Saturday, after a year of looking for another dog to complete our family, we met "June Bug."  It took us no more than 5 minutes to see she was the missing piece we had been searching for…  We can't thank you enough for loving these dogs until they find forever homes like ours.

 Sincerely,

June Bug’s New Family

Last Thursday another 14 dogs went north to the same rescue.  One was Shady.  Perhaps June Bug’s love story paved the way, or maybe it was this heartfelt plea:

“We would be so grateful if you would please consider taking Shady on the transfer this Thursday as well. You have our word that you will love him as much as we do. All our

volunteers have begged me to ask you to please take this dog…so special and so appreciative of any attention that comes his way…”

County dogs have less than 7 chances in 100 of being saved by a transfer up north.  Most of the dogs put down last week were unwanted, sick puppies.  Please adopt shelter dogs and promote spay/neuter.  

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. 13th thru 19th 2012

Received: 57 dogs and 12 cats

Adoptions: 6 dogs and 4 cats

Euthanized: 54 dogs and 9 cats

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week” 

PORSHA - 4.5 yrs Husky/Basset gal.  

 Love this treasure but lap your fencing.  She prefers company or will dig. $38.

 

BOOTS  – 1 yr. Male. A purr-fect love. $20

 

Espresso, now Bauer, a Love Story

This story began early January in the dirt at the end of a two-foot chain.  The young officer responding to the call scooped the brindle bundle of bones with pleading eyes into his truck.

When the officer delivered the starved creature to the shelter, he insisted that every effort be made to save him. 

They named him Espresso.  He tested negative for heartworm.  Too weak to eat, he was fed a liquid diet, then canned food, before he could eat the kibble.  In less than three weeks he went from 13 to over 38 pounds.

When he made it onto the adoption floor, Espresso became a darling of the FOTAS volunteers; but, even with his survival story, being a pit-mix made him one of way too many of his kind. 

Our love story continues with a couple of remarkable women we’ll call “Carla” and “Erin,” who met last summer through Facebook and a dog who needed a home.  Carla lives with her many dogs, two horses and a husband in Aiken County , but she has worked in rescue for over thirty years across two hemispheres.  Erin, new to rescue, lives with her husband and four dogs in New England. 

“Erin’s Dogs” was founded four years ago following a crisis and the heartbreak resulting from her own ignorance of how to incorporate another rescue dog into her home.  When consulted, the local SPCA’s response was, “Bring the dog in and we’ll temperament test her.  If she fails, she will have to be put down.” Not an option.

With professional affiliates, Erin’s Rescue dedicates itself to the guidance and support families need when looking to successfully adopt a dog.  It addresses three basic concerns: the kind of dog sought; placing the right dog in the right home; and, follow-up after the dogs are placed.  Once an Erin’s Dog, always an Erin’s Dog.

Carla works the Aiken County end of their rescue partnership.  It began last summer when a FOTAS 30-dog transfer to Connecticut fell through and she stepped in with the connection to Erin.  Now Carla volunteers regularly, knows and takes stunning photos of adoptable dogs, pulls, vets and ships many of them to Erin.

Since happenstance put Carla, Erin and FOTAS together in July, over 120 dogs have been rescued and placed in successful, appropriate, supported families as one of “Erin’s Dogs.”

Ultimately, Carla pulled Espresso for Erin’s Dogs, and last Wednesday Espresso went home with his new family.

Erin’s note that accompanied the photo of the event read: “Good Things Happen Because People Make Them Happen. Espresso (now Bauer) is cuddled up with his family. That kid in the middle? Yup. That'd be his best friend.”

Thursday morning , Espresso/Bauer’s new “mom” wrote, “…He had the cutest sad face when our teenager walked out the door for school. This little guy has so much love to give, and we have just as much in return!”

Now the Love Story really begins.

Happy Valentine’s Day from FOTAS! 

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”

Dogs Saved with Rescue Partners in 2011: 

In Aiken County:                75

In South Carolina:              12           

Out-of-State:                    368 (approx.)

TOTAL:                        455

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week” 

WOODY – Chow-shepherd mix, 

1 yr. 42 lbs. Gentle and friendly, a perfect Love for Valentine’s Day. 

HALF PRICE SPECIAL! $35

CHECKERS -

A friendly gal about 1 y ear old and weighing 9.1 lbs. 

Has a beautiful coat and has been spayed. $20!

A New-merical Look at the Aiken County Animal Shelter

In the summer of 2010, when FOTAS added county shelter stories to the Standard’s regular columns, it was suggested that county shelter statistics appear in a side-bar called, “By the Numbers,” serving as a wake-up call to a community largely unaware of the dire circumstances located right next door to the other shelter, Aiken SPCA.

The Numbers, typically the weekly numbers straight from the county shelter records, show how many cats and dogs come into the shelter, the number adopted, and those euthanized.  It is heartbreaking.  People have complained.  Some say they can’t look.  But no one who reads the column can say they had no idea.

In their accountability to the tax-payers, Aiken County amasses a huge amount of data about their operations, and the shelter is no exception.  Since FOTAS began partnering with Aiken County, the figures have taken on new significance.  More than tracking a heartbreaking problem, we can now determine if we are truly making a difference, not just in the heart-warming anecdotal way, but in beginning to get our arms around a problem no community should be willing to tolerate.

The fiscal year for the county begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 each year.  FOTAS operationally began in February, FY09, with a transfer of dogs to Massachusetts. 

Beginning in FY09, with calls received at the shelter (with one phone line and one dispatcher), the change over the last three fiscal years has been minimal.  There were 5,909 in FY09; 5,626 in FY10; and, 5,641 in FY11, averaging by year 468 to 492 calls per month.

Animals received at the shelter: 5,283 in FY09, 5,275 in FY10, and 5,313 in FY11.  These figures are especially frustrating because there are numerous popular and low-cost spay/neuter options, and no-cost programs that are used to the maximum; but at the county shelter no animal can be turned away, and they come.

The picture brightens with a trend in the county’s euthanasia rate, thanks to three programs which rely entirely on FOTAS supporters and the volunteers who work with shelter staff: shelter adoptions, foster care, and the transfer program.

A core group of FOTAS volunteers go regularly to the shelter. The dogs get out of their cages; learn to walk on a leash and simple commands, which makes them much easier to place in forever homes.  The cats teach the humans what they need; they’re cats after all.

The county euthanasia rate for FY09 was over 91% and in FY11 it was under 75%.  This figure derives from the 26% increase in the number of cats and dogs adopted or transferred.  We are growing our transfer program.  In FY11 82% of the dogs transferred were sent to our partners out of state.

Education and aggressive spay/neuter programs are essential.  So is an adequate shelter that keeps our animals healthy and invites more of the community to participate in any way they can. 

You can help.  Donate. Volunteer.  Adopt a shelter pet.  No adoptable animal should have to die.

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”

Animals Received FY11:  5,283

Dogs adopted: 585

Cats adopted: 184

Animals transferred: 322 

Dogs euthanized: 1,974

Cats euthanized: 2,001

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week” 

BUBBA Bull terrier mix. 

An affectionate sweetheart! 18 mos. 47 lbs.  

$70 includes shots, neuter, microchip.

TIGGY 8 years young and sweet as can be!  

 $35.00 and she’s yours to cuddle.