The Community that Cares

The Community that Cares

By Joanna Dunn Samson, FOTAS Board of Directors

as seen in the "Aiken Standard" on 12/29/13

When Amelia Overstreet turned 9, she asked the guests to her birthday party to bring donations for FOTAS and the County Shelter instead of birthday gifts for her.  They responded with enthusiasm, bringing all sorts of pet food, toys, kitty litter and grooming products.

When Amelia and her twin sisters, Sophia and Olivia, delivered this generous bounty to the Aiken County Animal Shelter this month, they were proud and excited.  When asked why she made this noble sacrifice, she said, “I have lots of toys and I wanted the dogs and cats at the shelter to have a lot of toys and food too.”

Amelia’s thoughtful act of generosity is extraordinary, but then again, Amelia and her sisters are children of Aiken, and Aiken is a community of big-hearted folks who love their animals.  

Here are just a few examples of community contributions to the cause during this holiday season:

Sara Wildasin is hosting the 4^th Annual Winter Hunter Pace on December 30 at her 1200-acre farm, Fox Nation for the benefit of FOTAS.

For the second year, Sybil Davis, a local veterinarian, and Brittani Croft, an accomplished photographer, held a Photos for FOTAS fundraiser.

Holly Woltz, also a local veterinarian, delivered boxes full of pet toys, leashes, and blankets solicited from her clients to the shelter.

Kelly Paint and Body on York Street offer car washes in exchange for donations to FOTAS.

Beth Barranco, wife of Aiken Public Safety Chief Charles Barranco, has designated FOTAS as one of the 12 Charities of Christmas on her Facebook page.

HealthSource Chiropractic and Progressive Rehab offered new patients a comprehensive initial visit in exchange for donations to the shelter.

And on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, scores of dedicated volunteers came to the shelter to walk dogs and play with the cats from 8 a.m. – 11 a.m., making it possible for those animals to receive human love and attention on the days when the shelter is closed for the holidays.

The Aiken community’s stunning generosity to FOTAS and the County Shelter has not been limited to special times or holidays. 

Donations to FOTAS in the past year have made it possible for FOTAS to purchase all of the cages, kennels and equipment needs for the new County Shelter scheduled to open in the first quarter of next year.

FOTAS was able to fund the spay/neuter of 388 pets owned by folks in the community.

Through the efforts of our volunteers and foster families and the growth of our adoption and transfer programs, FOTAS helped the County Shelter save and re-home 1581 animals during Fiscal Year 2013.

There is still so much to do.  The County’s intake numbers (almost 4800 in FY2013) are dismal.  Until the overpopulation of dogs and cats is checked through wide-spread acceptance of a robust spay/neuter program, those numbers will remain unacceptably high.

We at FOTAS are grateful and humbled by the continuous commitment of the citizens of Aiken and Aiken County to improve the welfare of the unfortunate animals that end up in the shelter system.  We are also grateful to have developed such a cooperative public/private partnership with the County.

From all of us at FOTAS to all of you, thank you.  We wish you and your families all the best health and happiness in the New Year.

May God bless.

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. 16 - Dec. 21, 2013

 

17 dogs and 11 cats adopted

Year to Date:  

722 terrific pets adopted

THANK YOU AIKEN COUNTY COMMUNITY!

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week!”

Holiday special prices thru Jan. 4 -- Shelter closed Jan. 1

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

WILLIE     American Bulldog/Shepherd mix, male, 2 yrs old, 61 lbs  Only $35

TONYA    Siamese, female, 10 yrs old, 6.8 lbs    Only $20 

No Place Like Home for the Holidays

 

No Place Like Home for the Holidays

by Joanna  Samson, FOTAS Board of Directors

 

Is there anything sadder than being alone on Christmas?  Maybe you’re out of the country, in the service, stuck in an airport.  Maybe your family lives far away and you can’t afford the annual trek.  Maybe you don’t have a family.  Whatever the reason, being alone on a day when it seems like (whether it’s true or not) the rest of the world is luxuriating around a Christmas Tree in front of a fire surrounded by friends and family is down right miserable.

This Christmas season, while the rest of us hustle and bustle to make Christmas special for our own families and loved ones, many adoptable animals will spend their day in a cage in the closed and dark Aiken County Animal Shelter, with no chance of interacting with staff or volunteers the way they do when the shelter is open.

I am the first to admit that I am guilty of rampant anthropomorphism, but the thought of those homeless animals curled up on some ratty blanket in a drab crate awaiting their ultimate fate breaks my heart.  I know intellectually that Christmas has no meaning for an animal, and that animals live in the moment.  If in that moment, they are fed, warm and protected . . . well, that’s a pretty good moment no matter where they are.

But still . . . what if we could make that moment even greater?  What if in addition to basic care, those animals could curl up in a loving home where they can play and be hugged and fussed over (like Woody, a recent Shelter adoptee pictured here with his owner Kayson--she put reindeer ears on Woody) . . . wouldn’t that be a better moment?

We folks at FOTAS and the Aiken County Animal Shelter think so, and we are sponsoring a Holiday Foster Program, where local families can sponsor an adoptable dog or cat for two or three days over Christmas and/or over the New Year’s holiday.    The foster family would pick them up before Christmas or New Years, keep them over the holiday, and return them to the shelter after Christmas or New Years.

I know what you’re thinking.  No, no, no!  I’ll get attached.  I’ll feel guilty taking them back to the shelter. 

I get it – but why not think instead: By giving this dog or cat a bunch of moments full of love and attention, I can override negative experiences with good ones, make the animal happier and thus more adoptable, and increase its likelihood of finding a forever home.

I wish I could remember what wise person said, “The only love I regret is the love I didn’t give,” but isn’t that the truth?  Please consider fostering a shelter animal this holiday season.  Contact the shelter at 803-642-1537 or stop by the shelter at 411 Wire Rd.

If you have been thinking about adopting a pet, now is the time. You would be saving a life as the Shelter’s kennels have become so overcrowded in the past few weeks with so many pets who were abandoned or surrendered.  Through January 4, 2014, the County Shelter adoption fees are reduced to $35/dog and $20/cat.

 

Foster, Adopt, Love and Merry Christmas, one and all.  There’s no place like home!

 

 

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. 9 - Dec. 14, 2013

 

12 dogs and 1 cat adopted

Year to Date:  

694 terrific pets adopted

 

THANK YOU AIKEN COUNTY COMMUNITY!

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week!” Holiday special prices -- Shelter closed Dec. 24, 26 and Jan. 1

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

DUFFY     Lab mix puppy, male, 20 lbs  Only $35 

 

BANFORD   Domestic short hair -- male -- 6 yrs old, 12 lbs  Only $20

 

The Cat House that FOTAS Built

The Cat House that FOTAS Built

By Joanna Dunn Samson, FOTAS Board of Directors

as seen in the "Aiken Standard" on 12-15-12

Ernie Wolf has been a FOTAS volunteer at the Aiken County Animal Shelter since its creation in 2008.  Ernie is a man who loves cats, so he was particularly troubled by the conditions at the shelter for its feline occupants. 

The adoptable cats and kittens were crowded into metal cages stacked against a back wall in an area the size of a closet in the shelter. There was no fresh air, no place to play, no opportunity to go outside.  The noise level and barking inside the shelter compounded the stressful conditions.  Moreover, there was no place for potential adopters to take a cat or kitten out of the cage for a proper introduction.

So when Sandy Larsen, the senior vet tech at the shelter, asked FOTAS to help find a better solution for housing the adoptable felines, Ernie jumped at the opportunity to help FOTAS with the project.

“We can definitely do better,” he said. 

FOTAS set about raising money to pay the cost of the new facility.  Ernie, a retired mechanical and architectural engineer, developed the basic design criteria.

In the new feline shelter the cats would be free to roam in two separate cat colonies.  It would be air conditioned, well ventilated, properly insulated and quiet.  There would be a protected outdoor space for the feline residents to play, climb, stretch out and cat nap in the sun.

Ernie worked with a local contractor to customize a 30’ x 12’ Lark Metal Building at the factory with doors in accordance with FOTAS and the County’s design criteria.  When the manufacturer delivered the specially-designed building to the site, Ernie and other FOTAS volunteers worked with the contractors to hook up the systems, outfit the inside and enclose the outside with appropriate fencing.

The C.A.T.S. (Cats at the Shelter) House opened for business 2010.  The speed and efficiency in which the project moved from concept to completion is a testament to FOTAS’ coordination, planning and fundraising, Ernie’s vision and expertise, and the County’s foresight and willingness to better the living conditions of its feline occupants.

When the new community shelter opens in January, Ernie will oversee the move and installation of the C.A.T.S. House to the new shelter on May Royal Drive on behalf of FOTAS.  There will be a few additional improvements: new metal framing for the outside runs, an overall metal awning for shade, a state of the art ventilation system and well-designed landscaping.

It will be a healthy and peaceful place for the County’s homeless, adoptable cats to wait for their chance to find a loving home.

It is a sad fact that the shelter takes in far more cats than it has space to hold, so If you have been considering adopting a cat, now’s the time.  Through January 4, adoption prices for cats have been reduced to $20. Adoption prices for dogs are only $35.

Want more information about FOTAS volunteer opportunities?  Contact us at www.FOTASAiken.org or call us at 803-514-4313

Ernie Wolf and his cat Murphy:

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. 2 - Dec. 7, 2013

 

13 dogs and 0 cats adopted

Year to Date:  

681 terrific pets adopted

 

THANK YOU AIKEN COUNTY COMMUNITY!

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week!” Christmas special prices thru Jan. 4, 2014

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

KENORA   Shepherd/Lab mix -- female -- 9 mos old, 31.7 lbs  Only $35 

ZACHARY   Domestic short hair -- male -- 3 yrs old, 9.6 lbs  Only $20