Category Archives: Adoption

2024, Adoption, FIV positive felines

A trio of fantastic felines

Posted on by Shana Ryberg
Shy Sabrina just needs an adopter with patience and a love for cats.
25
Apr

The Aiken County Animal Shelter has three wonderful indoor-only cats available for adoption – Sabrina, Tom and Yoda – who can’t seem to catch a break.

Sabrina is a velvet black, long-haired cat who loves to be petted but gets scared when you pick her up. This sweet and gentle 3-year-old, 7-pound kitty was brought to the shelter in January because her owner’s landlord changed their policy and no longer allowed pets. Poor Sabrina was terrified and confused when she got here, yet still accepted and enjoyed the attention she received from staff and volunteers. She found a home almost immediately but was returned after a short time because her adopter thought she was hiding under the bed too much. Now two months later, Sabrina is still looking for her forever home.

FIV positive cat Tom is hoping to be adopted soon.
FIV positive cat Tom is hoping to be adopted soon.

Tom is a 4-year-old, 12-pound, gray and white tomcat who arrived at the County Shelter in February as a stray. He is friendly and affectionate but can get a little feisty when he gets overstimulated. Since being moved from his lobby kennel to our indoor/outdoor cat facility, he’s been more lovey-dovey and much happier. Tom deserves a wonderful home with an adopter who knows and loves cats.

FIV positive cat Yoda is hoping to be adopted soon.
FIV positive cat Yoda is hoping to be adopted soon.

Yoda is an 8-pound, light gray and white Tabby who’s cuddly and outgoing. This skinny guy arrived at the shelter in January 2023 as an injured stray. His ears were ravaged by ear mites and he had an open wound on his right ear that had to be surgically repaired. He was adopted and had a real home for a while, but was returned when his adopter moved. Now, cutie Yoda is back at the shelter, waiting for his luck to improve.

One reason Tom and Yoda are still looking for homes might be because they both are FIV positive (FIV+). FIV stands for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, a condition that weakens a cat’s immune system. Misconceptions about the disease persist, but here are the facts:

  • FIV is not as highly contagious as experts once thought. It can only be transmitted to cats through blood transfusions or deep bite wounds. Cats cannot get FIV through casual contact with an FIV + cat. Saliva does not transmit FIV.
  • Most FIV+ cats live long, healthy lives, and many never show any symptoms of the virus. Cats with FIV just need to be kept indoors and fed a balanced, nutritionally complete diet. With proper vet care, FIV+ cats can live as long as their indoor counterparts (13-18 years), and much longer than cats who live outdoors (3-8 years).
    FIV is a species-specific disease. It cannot be transmitted to humans or any other animal.

Despite these reassuring facts, FIV positive cats, like Tom and Yoda, continue to be passed over by potential adopters. However, these loving felines can bring great joy and companionship to the lucky people who adopt them.

If you’re looking to adopt a feline companion, please come see Sabrina, Tom and Yoda. Great news: their adoption fees have all been sponsored! The Aiken County Animal Shelter is located at 333 Wire Road and open Monday through Saturday. For more information, visit fotasaiken.org.

Their lives are in our hands.

By Bob Gordon, FOTAS Communications Director

2024, Adoption, Dogs

County Shelter has dogs of various breeds and personalities

Posted on by Shana Ryberg
Mia
04
Apr

If you are looking for a canine companion, the Aiken County Animal Shelter has a great variety of dogs looking for loving homes. There are strays and surrendered dogs of many different breeds, sizes, colors, shapes and personalities waiting for a path to a better life.

When people visit the County Shelter, they often are surprised to see so many wonderful candidates available for adoption. They are shocked that some of our best looking and well-behaved dogs are strays that nobody came to claim as their own.

“This dog can’t be a stray,” they’ll comment. “How could someone let a dog like this get away?”

Good question. But the reason is simple. Most of the dogs we receive at the shelter did nothing wrong. In the case of strays, their owners either lost track of them or abandoned them. These dogs didn’t end up here because they weren’t pretty enough or couldn’t sit on command. Their owners were having difficulties or exhibiting bad behavior. Not them.

In the case of surrendered pets, these pups are often just victims of circumstance. Their owners suddenly face financial troubles, personal issues, medical obstacles or housing problems. Wonderful pets also are surrendered to the County when their owners pass away.

Top dogs available for adoption
The Shelter currently has a number of outstanding dogs available for adoption, including:

German Shepherd Mia: Friendly German Shepherd Mia is new to the County Animal Shelter, so she is still adjusting to her new surroundings. However, she is doing well and slowly getting to know the staff and volunteers. Mia is one year old, 52 pounds and was brought in as a starving stray.

Chihuahua Chule: Two-year-old, 16-pound Chule is a handsome devil and extremely sweet. He was found as a stray but loves the staff. This boy has a shiny black coat with white markings.

Retriever Heath: Sweet, handsome Heath is 4 years old, 50 pounds and super athletic. The poor guy was found abandoned. Someone tied him to a stop sign and left him. However, he is ready to find a loving forever home. Easily the smartest dog on the adoption floor, Heath is a dog who likes to stay busy and active.

Retriever puppies Don, Prancer and Dasher: These adorable, 3-month-old siblings are black with white markings. They’re about 15 pounds now, so they will be at least 50 pounds when full grown.

German Shorthaired Pointer Martha: This 7-year-old, 63-pound doggo is incredibly sweet and sociable. She’s had a hard life but adores people and gets along with friendly dogs. She walks nicely on a leash and has a soft, tri-color coat.

The County Shelter also has a wonderful Retriever named Enzo; Presley, an awesome Coon Hound; and Macklyn, a handsome brindle Shepherd mix.

Our staff can help you find your match

Our adoption counselors will help you find the right dog for your wants and needs. You don’t need to make an appointment. Just stop by! Dogs and puppies are $35, cats and kittens just $10. All of our adoptable pets are vaccinated, microchipped & fixed. The Aiken County Animal Shelter’s hours are 11:00 to 5:00 Mon. through Fri., 11:00-4:30 on Sat. and closed Sun.

Their lives are in our hands.

By Bob Gordon, FOTAS Communications Director

2024, Adoption, SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media angel saves pets by telling their amazing stories

Posted on by Shana Ryberg
Martha Anne Tudor is a wordsmith with a strong Facebook following whose posts of pets in need usually result in adoptions.
20
Jan

Martha Anne Tudor’s name is mentioned at the Aiken County Animal Shelter each and every day by adopters and volunteers (her fan club).

A gifted writer and true professional, Martha Anne donates her time and talents to us whenever she can. Thanks to her effective social media posts and vast network of Facebook followers, she helps us save countless Aiken County Animal Shelter animals in need each year.

“If it’s true that your calling is where your deep gladness and the world’s deep need meet, then this is mine,” she said.

Martha Anne has a strong Facebook presence. Her page has a following that ranges over continents. She is respected and followed by a network of followers that includes medical professionals, news anchors, writers, rescues, animal advocates and thousands of animal lovers who share her posts. FOTAS checks in with her daily and we ask her to help with specific shelter animals that urgently need homes.

“My specialties are the ‘unadoptables’ — the old, blind, deaf, and amputated with the odds stacked against them,” she said. “But these posts upend those odds, and nearly every longshot I post gets a home. It’s the details of their stories that open hearts and homes.”

When we give Martha Anne homeless pets to promote, she asks me and the staff questions regarding their personality, their health, their ideal home, etc. — and then she eloquently tells their story in Facebook posts. These posts can sometimes receive hundreds upon hundreds of shares.

It is not unusual to get calls and emails from states all over the country from people who want to know more about these pets. Whether they remind them of their own or connect with the picture or the story, her posts usually get a big response.

“Without the soul-stirring photos taken by volunteers and staffers, my posts would never get read,” she said. “But what makes my words leap off the page are the poignant details of each animal’s story. Maybe a starving mama dog was found protecting her puppies in traffic during a storm; or a 10-year-old family pet is shaking and vomiting in his kennel from being disowned; or a kitten with a mangled leg is heard crying by her dead mother.”

Martha Anne’s friendship with FOTAS began in 2016, when she inquired about a County Shelter dog she wished to help: Wink, a one eyed, heartworm positive pooch. Her Facebook post reached a woman in Nantucket who flew to Aiken just to adopt Wink! This successful adoption started a cherished and successful partnership with Martha Anne that has saved many canine and feline lives.

Martha Anne works fulltime and is a devoted mother to two young women, also world changers. She answers Facebook messages day and night from people all over the world in regard to the County Shelter’s pets in need.

“In decades of rescue work, I’ve never known a team that compares to FOTAS,” she said. “There’s no time for conflict or arguments. Everyone focuses on common goals, with respect and regard for each other. The incredible results are testimonials to the teamwork, and I’m honored to be a part of it.”

Their lives are in our hands.

By Kathy Cagle, FOTAS Programs Coordinator

2023, Adoption, Training

SPOT prepares County Shelter dogs for their forever homes

Posted on by Shana Ryberg
FOTAS Volunteer Malia Koelker works with adoptable dog Whiskey as he figures out a brain game puzzle in SPOT class.
12
Jan

Just over two years ago, FOTAS gave me the green light to start the SPOT program at the Aiken County Animal Shelter. SPOT stands for Shelter Pups with Opportunity Training. Sounds pretty vague huh? Honestly, that is because it is; it is designed to increase the opportunity for a dog to get adopted.

The goals of the program are to help the dogs learn how to learn and to address situations that they may face in a new home. We want to start them on the journey of thinking and processing information as a precursor to moving into an adopter’s home, so they are primed with the skills to figure out their new life, new schedule, new commands, new relationships, etc.

To achieve these goals, we do basic obedience work such as sit, down and come, but we also incorporate agility equipment, working around other dogs, trick training, touch work, and brain games.

Each volunteer handler is paired with a dog and that dog is “theirs” to work with until the dog is adopted. SPOT class meets every Saturday from 11am to noon and is a chance for handlers to raise questions or issues that they are having. It is also a chance for the dogs to work on their skills amongst the chaos of other dogs being around.

All dogs wear a Gentle Leader while working; both in class and during the week. This training halter gives the handler more control with an ability to turn the dog’s nose toward them while not restricting the dog in any way. As each dog is at his/her own place along the learning path, everyone works on their own tasks during class. A general principle of “no pain, no fear” governs everything with a liberal application of treats.

We have dogs that come to us at every stage of learning and knowledge. A small minority have been through formal obedience classes before and seem to know everything. Those dogs may end up working on tricks or agility or filling in gaps in their education (can they be touched all over while remaining comfortable, can they remain calm while another dog passes by them?). Other dogs come to us with no knowledge or even trust of humans at all. For them, class may just be sitting off to the side on a leash, near their handler and watching the other dogs, while getting treats. Handlers are taught to watch their dogs and let the dogs tell them what is or is not working for each step of training; an exuberant “Yes!” may be perfect for the happy go lucky dog, but scares the shy dog, so the handler chooses a quiet “good job” instead.

So, yes, the acronym SPOT is vague, but intentionally so. The program is designed to address many aspects of what it takes to get adopted and successfully transition to that new home. And to be fun, always fun!

Their lives are in our hands.

By Jennifer Jotblad, FOTAS Volunteer

2023, abandoned animals, adopter feedback, Adoption

The story of how Groot became a family’s best Buddy

Posted on by Shana Ryberg
Groot (now named Buddy) gets goofy with his new owner, Trish Wilcher.
05
Jan

He arrived at the Aiken County Animal Shelter in mid-June, terrified and confused. Rescued from an abandoned home by a county animal code enforcement officer, the black and white, four-year-old, 45-pound, mixed breed was starving and thirsty. Yet, even in this extremely stressful situation, you could see the sweetness in his eyes.

The shelter staff named him Groot, after the kind and loyal character in the movie, Guardians of the Galaxy. Once Groot realized the staff and volunteers were not going to hurt him, but instead were there to help and comfort him, he became more trusting and sociable.

Group play helps Groot reach his potential

When Groot first joined the shelter’s morning playgroup sessions, he was a bit too sensitive and over assertive with other male dogs. However, within a week, he became comfortable in group play and ultimately became a superstar, greeting newbies and even showing other dogs how to play well with others.

Buddy sleeps soundly in his new forever home.
Buddy sleeps soundly in his new forever home.

Group play enriches our shelter dogs’ quality of life while they wait to be adopted. It provides them with exercise and interaction they can’t get from a simple leash walk. The vigorous play tires them out and reduces their kennel stress.

FOTAS introduced playgroup sessions to the shelter in 2016, when the Dogs Playing for Life (DPFL) organization, led by founder Aimee Sadler, visited the shelter to train the staff and show employees how to run effective playgroups. DPFL helps ensure dogs engage more positively with potential adopters, transition more easily to a new home, and interact appropriately with people and other dogs in the community.

This was certainly true in Groot’s case. Group play gave him confidence, improved his manners and helped him to bloom into a wonderful canine companion.

Finding his forever home

Trish and Max Wilcher adopted Groot on Nov.9, providing him with a loving home he shares with two cats. The couple renamed him Buddy and now consider him a cherished family member.

“We had lost our dog to cancer and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to adopt again,” Trish said. “I was following posts about him on your Facebook page, and then I had the photo of him in the hat with that smile of his on my computer. I knew I wanted him.”

Trish works half days, so when she gets home in the early afternoon, she says he is ready to get out of the house for some exercise.

“Buddy has been great for me,” she said. “He’s brought me energy. He goes running with me and loves to play fetch. When I get home, he says, ‘Mom, we’ve got to get going,’ and then gets me out the door exercising.”

The Wilcher home has two fenced-in yards, where Buddy can play with his toys, watch the squirrels or just lie in the sun. He also enjoys frequent visits from Trish and Max’s grandkids and their Basset Hound.

“When we left the shelter with Buddy, everyone came up to him and hugged and congratulated him for finding a home,” Trish said. “I tell everyone I know that the County Shelter is the place to get a pet. You can feel the love there from the volunteers and staff. Y’all really care about the animals.”

Their lives are in our hands.

By Bob Gordon, FOTAS Communications Director

By the Numbers
In 2023, Aiken County Animal Shelter received more than 4,600 animals and more than 92% were saved. FOTAS, working with the county shelter, saves more animals than any other 501(c)(3) organization in the CSRA. For the past six years, every adoptable animal at the shelter was saved.

2023, adopter feedback, Adoption

Successful adoptions bring joy and save lives

Posted on by Shana Ryberg
Purrfect pair Maverick & Goose
01
Dec

After pets are adopted from the Aiken County Animal Shelter, staff members follow up to see how they are doing in their new homes. Here is some recent feedback from our adopters.

Tulip is a cuddle bug.
Tulip is a cuddle bug.

Jasmine FKA Tulip is spoiled every day
Jasmine aka Tulip is doing very well. She takes her heartworm meds like a champ. She loves to snuggle and doesn’t like storms. Jasmine and her older sister love to play tug of war with their toys. She doesn’t like walking on a leash, but we are working on that. We tell her every day that God brought us to her and that we love her and nothing will happen to her. She’s perfect and getting spoiled every day.
Cora and Mark Carrico

Van the man.
Van the man.

Mixed breed Van is the man
We are in love with Van! He is so sweet. He was timid at first, but he is a wonderful addition to the family. He is such a cuddler and we love it! We are planning to adopt one more. Thank you so much for making the adoption process easy! We have two older Rottweilers, and whenever we stated that, everyone was turned off to letting us adopt. Van and our other two dogs get along well and even play with each other. We love him!
Shannon Dayton

Kitty Maverick is a champion fetcher
Kitten Rusty is now Maverick and Batman is Goose. They adjusted well to our home and have stolen our hearts! It took no time for them to settle in. Both are healthy and very playful. Maverick is a champion at fetch, better than any dog.
Allison Hayes

Bam Bam went on family vacation to Florida

Bam Bam loves his new family.
Bam Bam loves his new family.


Bam Bam’s (now Zeus) fur has grown in and he is so pretty right after a bath. We’re learning together, he has some behavior issues, but I would expect as much from an older dog that maybe wasn’t always treated right. He loves the kids and is super protective of them! He went to Florida with us and did fantastic in the car and at the Airbnb.
Misty Arthur

Pixie (on left) is a cuddle bug
Pixie (on left) is a cuddle bug

She drove from Indiana to adopt little Pixie
I was the crazy lady who drove over 23 hours to and from Indiana to adopt Pixie! We cannot thank you enough for allowing us to adopt our sweet and spicy baby girl. She fit into our household almost immediately! She is still learning that new people are okay and that even the neighbor dog isn’t so bad. We are lucky to have her be a part of our home! We can’t thank you guys enough for doing what you do. You are making a difference!
Megan Alberts

Many more wonderful homeless pets at the County Shelter need a second chance for a good life. Please go to fotasaiken.org to see them or stop by and visit them at 333 Wire Road. During our Empty the Shelters adoption event, which continues through Dec. 16, dogs and pups are just $25, while cats and kittens are only $10. All of our adoptable pets are vaccinated, microchipped & spayed/neutered.

Their lives are in our hands.

By Bob Gordon, FOTAS Communications Director

2023, Adoption, Military Veterans, Veterans

Veterans urged to adopt a pet from ACAS, compliments of FOTAS

Posted on by Shana Ryberg
Young Lorenzo is calm, sweet and loves other dogs.
09
Nov

Today is Veterans Day, a national holiday that honors U.S. veterans for serving and protecting our country.

FOTAS strongly supports our armed forces and recognizes the benefits that veterans and active military personnel can experience from the company of a shelter cat or dog. We launched our Veterans Adoption Program in 2015 that allows U.S veterans and active U.S. military personnel to adopt a dog or cat from the Aiken County Animal Shelter (ACAS) for no charge, year-round. It is our way of showing gratitude to the people who serve our country and make sacrifices to defend our freedoms.

We just wish more veterans would take advantage of this offer. There are so many wonderful dogs and cats at the County Shelter who would make amazing pets for them (or any home), including:

Brolee is playful, cuddly, loves other dogs and will make a fantastic family dog.
Brolee is playful, cuddly, loves other dogs and will make a fantastic family dog.

Brolee. This four-year-old, 61-pound mixed breed is white with soulful blue eyes. He was rescued from a cruelty case but is one of the sweetest dogs at the shelter. Brolee loves other dogs and will make a terrific family pet.

 

Cutie-pie Groot is an active, medium-sized mixed breed who desperately needs a good home.
Cutie-pie Groot is an active, medium-sized mixed breed who desperately needs a good home.

Groot. Cutie-pie Groot has a soft white and black coat and a playful spirit. He is four years old, just 45 pounds and enjoys the company of other dogs. Groot is always up for an adventure.

Harriet & Nessie. This mama Tabby and her kitten are a bonded pair that needs a loving home together. Two-year-old Harriet and her seven-month-old daughter Nessie are housecats who have never been outside but do wonderfully indoors.

Kodak. Calm and cute, two-year-old, brown and white mixed breed Kodak is 50 pounds and adorable.

Kodak is a calm, sweet boy who will make an excellent canine companion.
Kodak is a calm, sweet boy who will make an excellent canine companion.

This poor dog was abandoned on a highway and rescued while dodging speeding cars. He likes other dogs and enjoys cuddling on the couch with volunteers.

Lorenzo. Handsome stray Lorenzo is just one year old and has a gorgeous bronze and white coat. He is 39 pounds, athletic, loves other dogs and walks wonderfully on a leash. This dog is a gem waiting to be discovered.

Reese. Red Retriever mix Reese is high energy, playful and loves other dogs. He is three years old, 53 pounds and enjoys car rides and visits to the park.

This is just a small sampling. There are so many more fabulous pets at the County Shelter in need of loving homes – a list too long to fit in the space allowed for this column.

If you are a veteran or active in the military, please take advantage of your complimentary adoption and help us spread the word about this program. The shelter is at full capacity and there are so many sweet pets desperate to find loving homes.

Their lives are in our hands.
By Bob Gordon, FOTAS Communications Director

By the Numbers
During the month of October, the Aiken County Animal Shelter received 400 Aiken County animals, bringing the total to 4,006 Aiken County animals this year.

2023, adopter feedback, Adoption, Bully Dogs

Beau Roland

Posted on by Shana Ryberg
Beau found his family
03
Nov

I saw Beau’s photo on Instagram, another pit bull in a sea of pitties looking for love. Looking back, I see there was nothing remarkable about his photo, but I felt a deep pull to rescue him. I’ve always been an adoption advocate yet had never had a Pitbull until moving to SC and seeing their numbers in the shelters. Truffles was my first adoptee (a stray momma dog) and it’s because of her that I have fallen especially hard in love with this “breed”. Let me first dismiss the deception. They are not fighters but lovers. (I call them aggressive snugglers) They are fiercely loyal and loving and big couch potatoes, often called, “house hippos”. Once you spend time with this type of dog, you’ll fall in love too.

Beau came into the Aiken County Animal Shelter as a stray, as many do. I surmise he escaped his previous dismal circumstances as he has scarring on his legs and his ears have been chopped. But the scars on his heart healed and his easy-going, chill personality was able to shine through. His favorite activities are daily walks, playing with his girlfriend, a yellow lab named Lucie, and being anywhere with me. All good dog owners love to show off their dogs, but as a pittie mom, I am also passionate about dispelling misconceptions about these dogs, so I bring Beau with me, where appropriate, so more people can meet my canine “good citizen”. With his handsome good looks and affectionate demeanor, Beau’s become my ambassador for pitbulls and he makes friends wherever we go.

Each dog that comes into our lives brings a different kind of love and joy. They are unique in their personalities and the lives they live with us. Having loved and lived with dogs my whole life, I still miss every single one that I have lost. Oh how I loved, Askim, a large shepherd mix who also came from a shelter and whose heart was so big and love so contagious that he became a therapy dog. Together we visited nursing homes, schools, hospitals, and libraries. We met many who wanted to stroke his soft fur and remember their own dogs of days gone by. How rewarding it was and how easily he adapted to his “job” and brought so much joy. Seeing how well suited to therapy work Beau would also be, I registered him with the ATD (Alliance of Therapy Dogs) program and made our “Aiken visitations” official! We can be seen at the usual therapy venues, including funeral homes. There Beau is the first official therapy dog on call for grieving families to benefit from the unconditional love and affection that only a dog can give.

Shelter dogs are a special “breed” and it is true that they know when they have been rescued. What they give back is hard to quantify. How do we measure love? For me it’s with 4 paws.

Written by Debbie Roland, FOTAS Supporter

Adoption, Volunteer

Volunteer Mr. Kennedy inspires new FOTAS program for shelter dogs

Posted on by Shana Ryberg
Volunteer Bob Kennedy sits with timid one-year-old Lucy.
14
Oct

When Mr. Robert (Bob) Kennedy visits the Aiken County Animal Shelter each week, it makes everyone happier. He is a senior citizen who has become a valuable member of our volunteer family.

“His patience and gentleness put the dogs at ease and brings out their affection,” said Volunteer Kari Dawson-Ekeland. “He loves getting them to snuggle with him and most times they are fast asleep when I go check on him. The handful of kibble, water in the bowl and his calm voice all contribute to his positive influence. A shy dog is confident with him, and a silly dog is calm with him.”

Sadly, three years ago Mr. Kennedy’s wife passed away. When he speaks of their life together, it melts your heart. The couple met in seventh grade, married at 20 years old and raised three children together. Mr. Kennedy’s work moved his family around the world from France, Cape Town South Africa, Columbia, Dubai and more! They rescued dogs in other countries, making them part of their family. He talks about the street dogs that he and his wife took in while living in Dubai and brought back to the states with them.

Each dog they owned was different from Great Danes to Shepherds and Labradors. Their last dog, Poppy, just passed away this year. The sadness of losing his wife and his dog led him to helping shelter dogs.

When Mr. Kennedy came to the shelter, he knew he would not be able to walk the dogs. He has trouble at times and uses a walker for balance. The volunteers encouraged him to watch our dog playgroups as a way of getting involved.

However, everyone started to fall in love with Mr. Kennedy and found that he is more valuable with helping the shy, scared, or insecure dogs.  “He is so willing to sit with those dogs that need extra attention while they transition to the shelter,” said Volunteer Valerie Johnson. “It’s clear the difference he has made with many a dog. There is no mistake that he is a wonderful asset to FOTAS. He also leaves with a full heart and big smile with every visit. He is a treasure!”

We are always in need of caring, loving volunteers and we are hoping to expand our volunteer base to include more individuals that may not be physically able to handle the dogs.

If you are not able to walk dogs but you would like to spend time with them, please contact us and we will set up a time for you to come and sit with pets that need extra attention. This program, the “Mr. Kennedy Program,” will be by appointment. This way, we can make sure that an adoption room is open for you to come and spend an hour with a dog or two! Please contact us at fotasaiken.org to learn more. This program is available on weekday mornings between 9:00 and 11:00.

Their lives are in our hands.
By Kathy Cagle, FOTAS Programs Coordinator

Adoption, Home-to-Home adoption program

Need to give up a pet? Try Home to Home

Posted on by Shana Ryberg
07
Oct

This summer, a friend approached me with a problem. He needed to find a new family for a cat that had come into his household. The cat, Simon, belonged to his son, who had recently had a change in his living situation. Simon was a 4-year-old neutered male tabby who was not accustomed to living with other cats. My friend’s resident cats were not happy about their new roommate, and the feeling was mutual. Simon wasn’t getting the attention he desired, either. He needed a different situation.

I told my friend what I tell everyone who asks me about rehoming a pet: Try Home To Home™.  Home to Home is a national website that connects animals needing homes with people seeking pets. There is a local chapter here in Aiken managed by volunteers from Friends of the Animal Shelter (FOTAS). People with an adoptable pet simply write a description and email it along with a picture or two to FOTAS.HOME-HOME.ORG.  FOTAS organizes all the listings before publishing them to their website, and they promote the local Home to Home adoptable animals on their Facebook page. The Aiken County Animal Shelter also keeps an updated book with all the Home to Home listings to show potential adopters who come to the shelter looking for a pet.  People seeking new pets can search the online listings just the way they might look on any pet adoption website. The entire service is free of charge, and there are no rehoming or adoption fees allowed. (Contrary to popular opinion, multiple studies have shown that charging a rehoming fee does not correlate with successful adoption or ensure that the pet is going into a good home.)

I knew about the Home to Home website, and I always thought it would be an excellent way for a pet to find a new family. It would certainly be better than surrendering a pet to the shelter, which is traumatic for the animal and his owners, and is difficult for the shelter too, which should be reserved for animals with no homes at all. But I had no idea if anyone would have any interest in Simon and I was skeptical. It was the height of kitten season and shelters were filled with adorable little fluff balls. Who would want an ordinary middle aged tabby cat who demanded to be the only cat in the home?

But I helped my friend by writing a description and sending in the pictures he gave me. That was on a Thursday. By Saturday, we had our first inquiry. By Tuesday we had three, all from local people who just wanted a nice cat to sit on their laps. The following Sunday, 10 days after I sent in Simon’s information, my friend and his son delivered the cat to his new home. They continued to get updates about him throughout the summer, and all of them, cats and people, are very satisfied. 

I am happy too. I have recommended the Home to Home website many times, but now I know that it really works. Many animal lovers can’t imagine giving up a pet, or act as though anyone who does is acting irresponsibly. But in the real world, there are times when it is better for everyone if an animal moves on to a place where he or she will be happy and loved. Home-to-Home can help that happen. 

Their lives are in our hands.

By Pam Gleason, Editor of The Aiken Horse