We were thrilled to read in the Aiken Standard the article written by County Council Chairman Gary Bunker sharing the 2026 goals for the Aiken County Council.
We thank the County Council for their great insight and initiative for including the project of the very much needed new Aiken County low cost spay/neuter clinic in the Sales Tax V Capital Projects with collections beginning in May. It is to begin being built later this year. We celebrate the Council’s goal that the personnel required for the planned clinic to be included in the 2027 budget.
We appreciate Aiken County Administrator Brian Sanders’ astute foresight and working with Council in recommending this long-term investment for Aiken County.
The building of the future low cost spay/neuter clinic is very much needed in Aiken County. Intake at the Aiken County Animal shelter is at a record high – last year the shelter’s animal intake was 5,925 dogs and cats which is 28% higher than the average intake of animals during the previous 8 years! This record high intake, with the shelter consistently being at overcapacity, puts the no-kill save rate for every adoptable animal in alarming jeopardy.
It will only get worse with the population explosion in the county resulting from so much growth and development. The intake numbers will continue to increase and the whole system will teeter on the brink of failure. After 8 years of no -kill save rates of every adoptable animal, euthanasia may once again become a necessary tool for animal control.
The best way, with proven success, to reduce the number of animals coming into the shelter is to provide low-cost spay/neutering services to the public. Sadly, there is a critical shortage of these low-cost clinic services in Aiken County.
The proof? On a per-capita basis, the Greenville County Animal Shelter’s high intake rate was identical to Aiken’s. In 2017 Greenville built their own County run low-cost spay/neuter clinic. After only six years, Greenville’s intake numbers decreased by 60% thanks to their spay/neuter clinic. Greenville County Shelter’s success story proves it is possible to reduce the Aiken County Shelter’s intake from a heart-stopping 5,925 animals per year to a manageable 2,370 animals per year.
Design plans for the future Aiken County low cost spay/neuter clinic are underway. When it is completed and running, this will be a win-win for Aiken County, its animal shelter and its unwanted homeless animal population. Their lives are in our hands.
By Jennifer Miller, FOTAS President
