When people talk about our chronic dog and cat overpopulation problem, they usually focus on the overwhelming numbers – and rightfully so. Millions of pets lose their lives each year because people don’t spay/neuter their animals.
Stray dog Thaddeus arrived at the shelter with a gunshot wound so severe, his right back leg was turned to powder and had to be amputated.
In fact, the Aiken County Animal Shelter (ACAS) takes in approximately 125 unwanted animals per week during the summer months. When you do the math, the total number of animals coming into the shelter is staggering and the only solution to the problem is spaying and neutering your pets.
It’s really easy and inexpensive to get your pets fixed now, thanks to the County’s spay/neuter voucher program and FOTAS’s Fix-a-Pet program. The SPCA Albrecht Center clinic and participating local veterinarians accept these vouchers, available at the County Shelter, which reduces the cost of fixing your pet to $15 or less.
Wagener, a young stray cat arrived at the shelter in severe pain because her birth canal was too small, and she couldn’t deliver her kittens. She was saved but some of her babies died inside her.
FOTAS and the County also offer a Trap, Neuter & Return (TNR) program for feral and community cats that is helping to reduce feline overpopulation in the area. Cats must be brought to the shelter in a trap, which you can borrow from the ACAS. Trapped cats can be brought to the shelter at 333 Wire Road in Aiken on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday mornings at 8 a.m. and picked up later the same day. Call the ACAS for more information, (803) 642-1537.
Last year, Aiken County and FOTAS paid for the spay/neuter of 1,287 pets owned by citizens in financial need and 1,099 community/feral cats.
Yellow Retriever Angeline and her starving puppies were brought to the ACAS by an animal control officer. The mama dog was suffering and freezing to keep her puppies alive. Exhausted and ribs visible, Angeline was afraid of human touch but she and her pups are now recovering with the care of FOTAS foster volunteers.
February is National Spay/Neuter Awareness Month, an ideal time to encourage people to have their pets sterilized before the spring and summer months, when there is a rampant overproduction of puppies and kittens. It’s also a time to recognize one other aspect of this issue: needless suffering. These animals not only are filling our shelters but when wandering on their own, searching for mates and food, they also can face horrible and painful consequences.
So, we’re asking you to help us do better this year. Let’s spread the word about the importance of spay/neuter to our family, friends, acquaintances and even strangers.
Also, please join us in thanking the folks who are helping to fight this animal overpopulation battle. We thank the Aiken County Council for its support of the vital Spay/neuter voucher program; Code Enforcement Director Paige Bayne for the awesome management of the County Spay/Neuter voucher program; The ACAS vet clinic for their TNR work; and our FOTAS TNR veterinarian partners, Aiken Animal Hospital, Aiken Veterinary Clinic, Silver Bluff Veterinary Clinic and Veterinary Services of Aiken.
Their lives are in our hands.
— By Bob Gordon, FOTAS Communications Director
By the Numbers
So far this month (Feb 1-15), the Aiken County Shelter has taken in 176 strays and surrendered pets.
Pets of the Week
REESE
Catahoula Leopard dog mix, male, 1 year old, 57 pounds – $35
WILLY
Domestic shorthair cat, male, 3 years old, 12 pounds – $10
