Tag Archives: Fix-a-Pet

Why You Should Spay or Neuter Your Pet

On Wednesday, July 31, 44 animals were surrendered to the Aiken County Animal Shelter between 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., the shelter’s posted intake hours. Forty-four animals in four hours on one day! Do the math, that’s an average of 11 animals per hour for four hours! Shocking. Distressing. Heartbreaking! The vast majority of these […]

FOTAS: Christmas spirit, gratitude and saving animals

Every Sunday, the ‘Aiken Standard’ allows us this space to tell you about the Aiken County Animal Shelter, FOTAS and the plight of the 5000 homeless animals consigned to the Shelter every year, and we are deeply appreciative for that opportunity. Over the years, we have used this column to tell you about initiatives designed […]

Feral kittens and the Good Samaritan

By Joanna Dunn Samson, FOTAS Vice President One morning, you come downstairs to the kitchen, turn on the coffee maker, and open the back door to check the weather. Then you hear it: faint, pitiful mewing sounds coming from the crawl space under the porch. You grab a flashlight and go out to investigate. What […]

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is a time of reflection for those of us at FOTAS—a time to take stock of our blessings; to consider the remarkable progress we and the County have made in making the world a better place for Aiken County’s homeless, abandoned and abused animals; and in particular, to celebrate the many people who have […]

There’s more than one way to adopt a County Shelter cat

By Bob Gordon, FOTAS Director of Communications Cats are fascinating creatures. They entertain us with their acrobatics, keep our homes free of mice with their hunting skills, and head butt us and purr to share their love and happiness. Not to mention they clean and groom themselves, don’t need to be taken for walks and […]

Fix-A-Pet Program provides assistance for spay/neutering surgery

By Bob Gordon, FOTAS Director of Communications While it is impossible to determine exactly how many orphaned dogs and cats live in the United States, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) estimates that for cats alone the number is upwards of 70 million. That figure is staggering but the ASPCA […]

Successful TNR Program Boosted by Local Veterinarians

By Bob Gordon, FOTAS Director of Communications Aiken veterinarians Holly Woltz and Cindy Brown are helping FOTAS with its Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR) program and have already fixed close to 300 community and feral cats for local residents. “I became partners with FOTAS and the County Shelter because I’ve seen the gut-wrenching consequences of cat overpopulation,” said […]

Trap/Neuter/Return: Best Solution for Fixing Community Cat Issues

By Bob Gordon, FOTAS Director of Communications With spring kitten season already upon us, now is a good time to become better aware of the County’s Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR) feral or community cat program. Two months ago, the Aiken County Council County passed a return to field resolution that made TNR a best management practice. TNR […]

FOTAS partnership with PetSmart boosts shelter cat adoptions

By Bob Gordon, FOTAS Communications Director Audie Murphy, Felix, Tiffy, Avalon, Kiki, Pip and Pickles are each in their own cat carrier after being examined, vaccinated, microchipped, and given a final flea treatment. Once the pre-prepared adoption forms and other paperwork is checked over and put into folders by Aiken County Animal Shelter (ACAS) staff […]

FOTAS community: making a difference for homeless animals

21 December 2014 By Joanna D. Samson, FOTAS Director What makes the Aiken County Animal Shelter a true community shelter? It’s not just because it’s owned and operated by a public body and funded through taxpayer dollars. It’s not just because it’s obligated by law to serve all of Aiken County, which is 50 times […]