Tag Archives: Dog Ears

Adoption, Cats, Dogs, Foster, Volunteer

Labor of love, Part 3: You can make a difference

Posted on by Angel Hartline
05
Jan

By Joanna D. Samson, FOTAS Vice President

Here’s what I know about you: you have a big heart and you love animals (or you wouldn’t be reading this article). You probably have pets at home – maybe a dog or cat or two or more – and those pets bring you and your family great joy and lots of laughs. You are sickened that almost 5000 abandoned and abused animals pass through the Aiken County Animal Shelter each year, and you wonder: how can this happen in this community you love and call home?

And although you are relieved that a record number of shelter animals were saved last year (almost 3000) thanks to the combined efforts of FOTAS, the County and the community, you are profoundly saddened that another 1900 had to be euthanized, either because they were irreparably damaged emotionally and/or physically by the cruelty or neglect of other humans or because we just couldn’t find them homes fast enough.

You want to do something that matters, but what?

Here are some ideas to think about.

  • You can volunteer at the shelter, where you can work with the animals or help at the desk. You can commit to any amount of time that makes sense in your life – there is no amount too small. You can maybe set aside Tuesday afternoon? Great. Only have an hour on Thursday morning? Also great. The FOTAS volunteer program is structured on blocks of time committed by people like you – just tell us what you would like to do and how much time you can reliably commit. We’ll make it happen.
  • You can foster dogs for a short period of time that have been approved for transfer to a sister no-kill agency in other parts of the country, which allows the dogs to decompress from the stress of shelter life beforehand and creates much needed space on the adoption floor for a dogpat with evie tues dec 29th from intake. Or, you can foster mama dogs and/or their puppies until they are old enough to be transferred or adopted. All you need is a safe, protected place in your home or your garage or barn to house the animals. FOTAS even pays for food and medical supplies, if necessary.
  • You can adopt your next pet from the County Shelter. That’s huge. Unlike other private no-kill shelters, the County Shelter does not have the luxury, space or resources to hold their animals for a long time: it is an open admissions shelter, required by law to take all animals. At the no-kill shelter, the animals can stay until someone comes to adopt them. At the County shelter, the animals are  at risk unless they can be transferred or adopted out quickly.
  • Or you can donate to FOTAS. We will use that money to improve the quality of life for the animals at the shelter, pay the costs associated with transfer, or attack the problem at its source through the FOTAS Fix-a-Pet program or its Lenny’s Brigade for community cats.

Contact us today at volunteer@aiken.org or at (803) 514-4313. Your help makes the difference between life and death for these unfortunate animals.

God Bless and Happy New Year.

Adoption, Cats, Dogs, Fundraisers, News, Volunteers

FOTAS community: making a difference for homeless animals

Posted on by Angel Hartline
12
Jun

21 December 2014

FOTAS Community: making a difference for homeless animals

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 larger than the City of Aiken (1071 square miles versus 21) and serves a population almost 5 times larger than the City’s.  It’s also not just because the County shelter is legally obligated to accept and care for all County strays, all County and City owner-surrenders – a whopping average intake of 400 dogs and cats per month.

Those are the legal technicalities that define the basic nature of the County shelter, but to me, it is a community shelter because the Aiken community itself has claimed the County shelter as its own. It is the heart that makes the shelter tick, the force that breathes life into the daunting task of caring for thousands of homeless and abandoned animals every year.

That’s why the Friends of the Aiken County Animal Shelter (FOTAS) was created in 2009 – to marshal the private resources of the Aiken community to supplement and support the County shelter’s limited budgetary and operational needs.

FOTAS formed an army of committed community volunteers, who perform the jobs equivalent of 9-10 paid staff positions. Volunteers organize, coordinate and implement transfers to no-kill sister agencies in other parts of the country, on-site events such as Woofstock, the Dog Ears Reading Program, puppy socials and off-site adoption events. They recruit and support local citizens to privately foster animals in their homes.FOTAS volunteers developed and manage a website and social media to keep the community informed. They create and run fundraising community events like Play Fore the Dogs, Broadway Sings for the Pets, and the FOTAS Hunter Pace. They coordinate spay/neuter services through FOTAS Fix-a-Pet and Lenny’s Brigade. They love-up the cats and walk the dogs at the shelter 6 days a week and on holidays. They work with and train difficult-to-place dogs. They write thank-you notes, make phone calls, keep the books and greet visitors at the shelter.Because FOTAS is an all-volunteer organization funded solely by private donations, virtually every dollar contributed to FOTAS is used to improve the lives of and outcomes for the County’s homeless animals.

In addition to funding improvements to the shelter itself (play yards with appropriate drainage and irrigation, a separate feline facility with a hot water heater, stainless steel kennels with guillotine doors, surgical equipment, etc.), FOTAS dollars also fund essential needs (heartworm medicine, flea and tick treatments, toys, leashes, collars, supplies for foster families, vet clinics for pets and citizens in need, an off-site adoption van and the like) and the programmatic costs of transfer and spay/neuter.

Here’s the good news: all this effort and support is making a difference.

In the last 23 months, FOTAS organized and funded the spay/neuter surgeries of 859 dogs and cats and transferred 1339 dogs to sister agencies. As of the end of November, there has been a 14% reduction in shelter intake and a 43% increase in adoptions and transfers over 2013. The average monthly euthanasia rate has dropped from 90+% in pre-FOTAS years to 55%. That’s huge.

This Christmas, make your holiday gifts count: donate to FOTAS to save a life in honor of your family and friends. A $45 gift will fix a pet cat and $80 a dog. A $75 gift will treat a heartworm positive dog. A $90 gift will help FOTAS fund the transfer of an animal to a no-kill facility and a forever home.

Seriously, does Dad really need a new tie? Call us at 803-514-4313 or email us at info@angelhartlinedesigns.com to discuss the possibilities.

And don’t forget to take advantage of our special Holiday adoption rates until January 3rd ($35 for dogs and $10 for cats).

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and God Bless you and your family.

BY THE NUMBERS

January 2013 through November 2014:

1339 dogs/cats— FOTAS worked with the Shelter and transferred these animals to partner rescues/shelters ( this is in ADDITION to local adoptions from the County Shelter )

876 pets & community cats were spayed/neutered, organized and paid for by FOTAS ( this is in ADDITION to those animals spayed/neutered through the County’s voucher program )

 

 

Adoption, Dogs, Events, Volunteer

CHILDREN AND DOGS, READING TOGETHER

Posted on by Angel Hartline
12
Jun

31 August 2014

CHILDREN AND DOGS, READING TOGETHER

By Ellie Joos, FOTAS On-Site Program Coordinator 

A serious child sits on the kennel floor with a book in his hands, and a floppy-eared puppy sits attentively by his side with a look on its face that says, “Tell me a story, I’m all ears.”

This will be the happy scene on Wednesday, September 3, 2014, at the Aiken County Animal Shelter when FOTAS, in proud partnership with the ABBE Regional Library System, launches the “Dog Ears” reading program.

Like many shelters and libraries nationwide, the Shelter and the County Library recognize the joy and magic that happens when eager children read out loud to shelter animals who crave and need loving human attention.

What a fabulous idea!

Dog Ear-type reading programs have been studied by several prominent veterinary schools, including the University of California Davis’ School of Veterinary Medicine and the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.

UC Davis reported that reading fluency improved as much as 30%, with 75% of the parents reporting that their children read aloud more frequently and with greater confidence.

The Cummings School compared reading programs where children read to dogs with reading programs where children read to people.

And guess what?  The Cummings study concluded that children who read to dogs gained in reading ability and had a more positive attitude toward reading all together, and that the children who read to people showed no significant improvement in ability or attitude.

How can we explain that?

Animals make wonderful reading companions. They listen attentively, allowing the child to read at his or her own pace and in their own words.  As a result, kids improve their reading skills in a non-judgmental, stress-free environment.

And, as the child is learning and building self-esteem, the shelter dogs and cats bask in the sounds of a sweet, soothing voice.  The experience calms and relaxes the animals, making them a more adoptable prospect.

How cool is that?

The first “Dog Ears” reading session will take place from 1pm to 3pm at the County Shelter at 333 Wire Road.

Jennie Beck, the Children’s Services Coordinator from the ABBE Regional Library System, will train FOTAS volunteers to serve as reading assistants for the children during each 20 minute reading session.

Children age 5 and over are invited to attend. They will be given a choice of age-appropriate books selected by Jennie and her staff to read to one of the dogs or cats living in the Shelter.

Then each child will sit with a volunteer companion and his or her selected animal companion at a designated quiet spot on the grounds of the Shelter.

This first session does not require advance registration.

The “Dog Ears” reading program is one of several new on-site events that are taking place at the shelter and coordinated by FOTAS volunteers with support from the new shelter manager, Martha Chadwick, and her staff.

There are so many loving and lovely adoptable animals at the County Shelter that need love, attention and most of all, a new place to call home.

Events like the Dog Ears reading program, birthday parties, doggie reunions, and other programs now in the planning stages are bringing together the County Shelter, other County agencies and the community to give these animals a second chance.

For further information about “Dog Ears” or other events, please contact 803-514-4313   or    info@FOTASAiken.org

 

NIKKI    American Bulldog, female, 10 mos., 39 lbs — $70

HECTOR   Domestic short hair, male, 3 yrs, 11 lbs — $35