Tag Archives: Dr. Lisa Levy

Adoption, Cats, Dogs, Donate, Foster, FOTAS, Spay/Neuter, Transfer, Volunteer

An open Christmas letter from FOTAS

Posted on by Angel Hartline
22
Dec

By Joanna D. Samson, FOTAS Vice President

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 to save the lives of more animals and to report on our progress. We have written about the special people who have made a difference in the lives of the Shelter animals, and we have showcased particular dogs or cats who had captured our hearts and needed a little extra “ink” to find them that perfect home.

This Christmas Sunday, however, we are not going to use this space to report or convince or to ask you for help; instead, we are simply going to thank you … all of you:

Chairman Ronnie Young and the County Council, County Administrator Clay Killian and Assistant County Administrator Brian Sanders for being responsive and responsible public partners;

Councilwoman Kathy Rawls, who always believed in our mission and helped us build the successful public/private partnership between the County and FOTAS from the ground up;

Paige Bayne, Director of Aiken County Code Enforcement, and the beloved Bobby Arthurs, Chief Animal Control Officer and Shelter Manager, who directly oversee and manage the Shelter operations with kind, thoughtful and dedicated attention to the welfare of the animals;

The County Shelter staff—the intake administrators, adoption coordinators, vet techs, kennel techs and custodians—who make certain that all of those animals are properly documented and cared for with compassion and efficiency;

Dr. Lisa Levy, the Shelter Vet, whose medical prowess and big heart has saved the lives of hundreds of animals who arrive at the Shelter abused, mangled and injured, giving them a second chance;

The FOTAS volunteers, who work on bookkeeping, social media, special fundraising events, and FOTAS Fix-a-Pet; who organize and work on special fundraising and on-site events; who foster mamma dogs and cats and all their progeny, who care for animals designated for transfer; who shuffle animals to off-site adoption events; who walk the dogs, love up the cats, work with play groups, and show animals to potential adopters—the dramatic and steady increase in the Shelter’s live release rate since 2009 is directly related to their efforts; and

Last but not least, you, the Aiken community, who year after year have supported our efforts with enthusiasm and generosity, who have adopted your pets from the thousands of deserving animals who end up in the Shelter through no fault of their own, and who are working to end the excessive population of homeless animals by spaying and neutering your animals—you have designated the Shelter as your community shelter, and we could not be prouder.

The Board of Directors of FOTAS—Jennifer Miller, Mary Lou Welch, Edythe Hubler, Frank Townsend, Dr. Charlie Timmerman, Caroline Simonson, Ellie Joos, Ellen Priest, Grant and Heather Wiseman, Shanna Ryberg and myself—and FOTAS Program Director Kathy Jacobs wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.

Their lives are in our hands.

 

Caroline Simonson, FOTAS volunteer, holding Becker
Caroline Simonson, FOTAS volunteer, holding Becker

 

Kathy Jacobs, FOTAS Programs Manager and volunteer, and Susi Cohen, FOTAS volunteer and Palmetto Dog Club President
Kathy Jacobs, FOTAS Programs Manager and volunteer, and Susi Cohen, FOTAS volunteer and Palmetto Dog Club President
Hope (since adopted) enjoyed a reading session (at the Dog Ears Reading Program) with a young participant and FOTAS volunteer Karen.
Hope (since adopted) enjoyed a reading session (at the Dog Ears Reading Program) with a young participant and FOTAS volunteer Karen.
Adoption, Dogs, Donate, Foster, FOTAS, Uncategorized, Volunteer

Miles to go before we sleep

Posted on by Angel Hartline
20
Oct

By Joanna D. Samson, V.P. of FOTAS

On Sunday morning, Sept. 2 the sun broke through the clouds, adding heat to an already steamy morning. I arrived at the Aiken County Animal Shelter to help walk dogs, and I was delighted to see so many volunteers at work. There were dogs on leashes, dogs in the play yards, and dogs lying in the grass, soaking up the sun while their handlers chat. A young couple laughs while they take out their fifth dog. Enduring friendships are forged when folks come together for a common purpose.

I leashed up Jed and Geovana. These two young littermates were picked up as strays, painfully thin, hungry, thirsty, hot and frightened. Little Jed had an embedded collar around his neck that had to be surgically removed by Dr. Levy, the Shelter’s veterinarian. The two are recovering nicely. Geovana is shy, a little distrustful of humans, but who can blame her? Jed, on the other hand, is all play with a devilish twinkle in his eye.

I stopped at the bench behind the paddocks. With a little coaxing, Geovana crawled into my lap for a belly rub, while Jed wrestled with a pine cone on the ground.

The Shelter is a cheerful place. There are grassy play yards, dotted with cheerful umbrellas to provide shade for animals and people. The kennels are spacious and clean, allowing the dogs to either bask in the morning sun or retreat into the cool climate-controlled interior.

Thanks to the thoughtful and creative management of Bobby Arthurs and the oversight of Paige Bayne, the Shelter is once again open for adoptions on Saturday; volunteers are permitted to walk the dogs on Sundays; new programs, like the play groups for dogs, have been implemented to promote the quality of life, and thus the adoptability, of the dogs. On-site activities draw more people to the Shelter every week. There is a heightened, almost seamless, sense of shared mission and cooperation between staff and volunteers.

Adoptions are up.

Transfers are up, thanks to the tireless and exhausting efforts of FOTAS.

Yet despite all of our proactive efforts to care for these animals and to support the spay/neuter of community cats and pets for citizens in need (no one dedicates more resources to spay/neuter than FOTAS and the County combined), intake at the Shelter remains alarmingly, shockingly high.

And it will remain that way as long as people continue to do things like drop off 3 mommas and 18 puppies in one tub (yes, that happened!) The owner couldn’t be bothered to spay his dogs, and then couldn’t be bothered to take care of those 18 little lives born because of his irresponsible carelessness.

Instead, he dumped the cost and the heartbreak of that on the rest of us.

Here are the cold, hard facts: until every citizen does the right thing and fixes their pet, some adoptable pets will be at risk for euthanasia. That stinks.

Geovana licks my hand. Jed pounces on my shoe. “You two will be just fine,” I say, giving them both a hug. “I promise.”

It’s a promise I know we can keep for now.

Their lives are in our hands.

 

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Adoption, Dogs, FOTAS

Ox-a big black dog with a big soft heart

Posted on by Angel Hartline
06
May

By Joanna D. Samson, FOTAS Vice President

His name is Ox, well, because he is big as an ox. He has a big, sleek muscular body; a great big ol’ head; and a big twinkle in his big golden eyes. When he’s happy (which is just about all the time) he has a big goofy smile with a big goofy tongue that hangs out of the side of his mouth.

Our buddy Ox does everything in a big way. He waits patiently (okay, maybe “patiently” is stretching it a teeny bit) for his walk and his time in the play yard, where he tears around in a fit of joy, romping with his friends, checking in with the handler in the yard for a quick scratch behind the ears, chasing his best pal Russell at a speed that defies his 60 pounds of muscle, stopping for a little splash in the pool, and doing his canine duty to greet newcomers to the yard with a sniff, a lick and a mad wiggle that says “No worries here, friend, just lots and lots of fun!”

You see, Ox has a big presence and an even bigger personality – he exudes good will from every pore. Yet Ox, like so many of his brethren at the Aiken County Animal Shelter, has been betrayed by the human race. Ox was dumped by his owner in a rural area east of Aiken. He spent his days roaming the streets and scrounging for food. Whenever a car passed, Ox would perk up and run to the road, tail wagging frantically, like he was thinking “Maybe it’s my human! I knew they’d come back for me.”

But of course, they didn’t. A kind local family took him in, had him fixed through FOTAS Fix-a-Pet, and tried to find him a home. They were unable to do so, and eventually they surrendered Ox to the County Shelter with a heavy heart.

An examination by the Shelter veterinarian, Dr. Lisa Levy, revealed that Ox is heartworm positive. But he was sweet and willing and otherwise healthy, so FOTAS paid for his heartworm treatment. He was moved to the adoption floor the same week that FOTAS and the Shelter implemented canine play groups in the yard as a way to socialize the dogs, allow them to blow off some steam and relieve the stress of confinement.

Ox’s transformation in play group has been nothing short of amazing. In two short weeks, he has gone from a dog climbing out of his skin with desperate, pent-up energy to a happy, affectionate dog who plays all morning with robust abandonment and then trots calmly back to his kennel for a nap.

Ox needs a home. This 2 year-old bundle of love with the big personality and the big smile has an even bigger heart. He needs someone to love and someplace to play. He’s great with kids and other dogs.

Please don’t wait – claim our big boy for your own. Maybe you can be that person in the car Ox has been waiting for so long.

His life is in our hands.

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Above:  Ox, Ellie Joos, the FOTAS On-Site Events Coordinator, and Emily Heath take a break in the play yard.

Adoption, Dogs, FOTAS, Heartworms

Heartworm Positive Dogs Can Be Great, Longtime Companions

Posted on by Angel Hartline
09
Feb

By Bob Gordon, FOTAS Communications Director

Most everyone knows heartworms are a threat to dogs, especially in the warm climate of the South. But what many people might not realize is that heartworm disease is seldom a death sentence. In fact, dogs with this condition can live happy, high quality lives as long as they are given appropriate care.

Of course, it is much easier (and cheaper) to stop this mosquito-borne illness in its tracks by giving your dog a preventative medication. But if a canine is unlucky enough to get heartworms because he is a stray or his prior owner didn’t provide a preventative, there are effective treatments available.

These heartworm positive (HW+) dogs are not contagious and only in the most severe cases do they show any symptoms. So, as long as their condition is managed properly and not critical, they can make wonderful, long-term companions.

Annie, a Hound mix, is a prime example of this phenomenon. Though she tested positive for heartworms upon arrival at the Aiken County Animal Shelter (ACAS), the young dog was quickly put on two weeks of doxycycline pills, a drug that weakens the heartworm, followed by a strict regimen of heartworm preventative. The preventative allows the worms to die off at a slow rate and prevent the dog from getting any new heartworms. FOTAS pays for the initial medication and six months of the preventative for all HW+ dogs adopted at the ACAS.

Matt Cummins, who adopted Annie and lives in Graniteville with his wife and young daughter, said Annie has as much energy as any other two-year-old dog and is the most loving pet he’s ever had.

Shuli is another HW+ Shelter dog that is doing well at her new home. Adopted by Keelin Redmond of Aiken in October, the 4-year-old, blonde Terrier mix was also put on the “slow kill” treatment of doxycycline, followed by a heartworm preventative. Keelin, a local veterinarian, said she fell in love with Shuli before she found out about her condition. However, she is thrilled to have her.

“If I had let it [the heartworm infection] put me off adopting Shuli, I would have missed out on one of the best things to ever happen to me,” she said.

Other HW+ dogs recently adopted from the Shelter include Bailey, a black Lab mix, and Mason, a Bassett mix. Both are doing great in their new homes.

To encourage the adoption of HW+ dogs, FOTAS and the ACAS are featuring a Valentine’s Day special in which the adoption fee for HW+ dogs is just $14. This special will continue through Feb. 15.

“Adopting one of these dogs is a commitment of giving medication regularly and we recommend people follow up with their veterinarians for continued monitoring,” said Dr. Levy, the County Shelter’s veterinarian. Dr. Levy herself has two rescue dogs that were HW+ when she adopted them. One is now 13 years old and the other 10 – and both are doing great.

To learn more about FOTAS, The Valentine’s HW+ Dog Adoption Special and heartworm prevention/treatment, please go to www.fotasaiken.org.

Their lives are in our hands…

Adoption, Cats, Dogs, News

The extra mile

Posted on by Angel Hartline
12
Jun

18 January 2015

The extra mile

By Joanna Dunn Samson, FOTAS Director

In late November, a tired and emaciated Pomeranian was picked up on the side of the road by a good Samaritan and turned into the Aiken County Animal Shelter. The tiny black dog was scrawny and frightened; her coat matted and crusted with dirt. She was examined by Dr. Levy, the Shelter Vet, and in addition to being malnourished, dirty and generally roughed up from her experience as a stray, several of her back teeth were broken.

Plus, she was no spring chicken – at least 10 by Dr. Levy’s calculations – making her medical prognosis and ultimate adoptability even more uncertain.

Betty Erickson and Sandy Larsen, the two experienced staff on duty, cleaned and fed her before setting her up on a soft blanket in a kennel in the medical suite. She was warm and safe.

The plight of the little dog plagued Betty. The dog was too sweet, too trusting and too old to have been on her own very long – she must have been someone’s pet. So Betty checked the online lost and found websites for the local area.

She hit pay dirt on AikenPetsReunited.com, where she discovered a notice for a lost black Pomeranian named Tori who had been missing since late September. Squinting at the tiny image on the screen, Betty thought, “Yeah, add a little weight and a shiny coat, that could be Tori!”

Betty called the owner’s number and left a message on voice mail. When she hadn’t heard back by closing time, she called again. This time, a breathless Darlene Tarvin answered the phone.

“I was so excited,” says Darlene, “I just knew it had to be my Tori! I had been frantic with worry for two months.”

The next morning, Darlene and her husband Charles were at the door when the shelter opened, and to everyone’s delight and relief, Darlene was reunited with her beloved Tori. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Tori was lucky, not every story ends this well, but it’s not for lack of trying. The amazing shelter staff and FOTAS volunteers always go that extra mile.

Whether it’s Betty making calls on behalf of one little lost dog, or Sandy Larsen organizing a pre-dawn pickup to feature adoptable animals on the local news at 6 a.m., or Annette Van Der Walt, the shelter adoption coordinator, giving up a day off (without pay) during the busy holiday season, or FOTAS volunteers like Girl and Caroline Conger taking shelter dogs to a special event on a rainy Saturday, or Ray Eckenrode fostering a hard–to-place dog whose time is running out, or Toni and Gary Urben mounting special appeals to the Aiken equestrian community to find a deserving dog a home – the amount of effort expended to place these unfortunate animals is nothing short of breathtaking.

And here’s the good news – it’s working. Last month a record number of animals, 262 to be exact, were adopted from or transferred out of the shelter, thanks in large measure to the success of our heartworm positive, transfer, foster and off-site adoption programs and the depth of commitment by staff and volunteers.

Back at the Tarvin home, the amazing little Tori (who, as it turns out, is actually 14) is safe and sound and dearly loved.

“She’s been my constant companion since she was 6-weeks-old,” says Darlene, “I was heartbroken when she was lost, but my kids, my grandkids, my husband – we never stopped searching. I never gave up hope.” She pauses. “It’s a miracle.”

Yes, it is – a miracle made possible by love, resolve and commitment.

BY THE NUMBERS

December stats 2014

Total dogs and cats received – 458

Total dogs and cats adopted/transferred –  262

Totals dogs and cats euthanized – 184

Percent euthanized- 41%

PETS OF THE WEEK

SARA    Female, retriever mix, 1 years old, 44 lbs — $70

ANJA    Female, tortoiseshell, 3 years old, 8.3 lbs — $35

Adoption, Dogs, News, Volunteers

You Can’t Keep a Good Dog Down

Posted on by Angel Hartline
12
Jun

12 October 2014

YOU CAN'T KEEP A GOOD DOG DOWN

By Joanna Dunn Samson, FOTAS Director

The little, red dachshund had been hit by a car. By the time Animal Control picked him up from the ditch beside the road, he was virtually comatose. His mouth and muzzle were misshapen and swollen, and his front right leg looked broken.

As it turns out, his leg was badly sprained, and his lower teeth were impaled in the soft tissue of the mouth from the impact. Over the next week, the Shelter staff administered sedatives, antibiotics and love. Day-by-day, he got better. Catherine Chadwick, the daughter of Shelter manager Martha Chadwick, named him Don Juan because he is such a loving little guy.

Enrique Vazquez is a Viet Nam veteran who lives in an apartment and walks with a cane. In recent months, Enrique has suffered a devastating family loss and the loss of his adored Boston Terrier.

Enrique told Jerry Lyda at Veteran’s K9 Solutions he was ready for another dog. On Monday morning, Jerry’s son, Jay, a trainer who works weekly with FOTAS volunteers, took Enrique to the Shelter to interview some prospects.

When Enrique met Don Juan, who had been moved to the adoption floor just minutes before Enrique and Jay arrived, it was love at first sight.

“Don Juan made a beeline for Enrique,” says Jay, “wagging his tail furiously. He jumped into his arms, rolled over and closed his eyes in ecstasy. Enrique couldn’t stop laughing.”

Volunteers and staff at the shelter rejoiced when Enrique took Don Juan home.

Then there’s Trinity, a young black lab mix with white markings, who was a victim of shocking abuse.

Picked up as a stray by Animal Control with a collar embedded in her neck, her back leg was severed below the knee with a bone protruding from mangled flesh.

Yet despite all the physical abuse meted out by humans and the obvious pain of her injuries, Trinity was not aggressive or threatening.

“She would lie quietly in her crate,” says Sandy Larsen, the Shelter’s senior vet tech. “Whenever someone stopped to check on her, she would wag her tail hopefully. I knew she was a special dog.”

So special, in fact, that she captured the heart of Dr. Lisa Levy, a veterinarian at Silver Bluff Animal Hospital who works with the shelter animals.  Dr. Levy appealed to her partners to allow her to properly amputate Trinity’s leg at the hospital gratis.

They agreed, and Dr. Levy operated immediately. By the end of the week, Trinity was back at the shelter. When she was able to walk on her own, FOTAS called on one of their most experienced volunteers, Sylvia Igoe, to foster Trinity until they found her a home.

“I was reluctant at first,” says Sylvia, “she seemed so hopelessly damaged. But I was touched by her willingness, so I agreed.”

Within 48 hours, Trinity went from cowering and shaking in her crate to totally bonding with Sylvia’s children, Isabelle and Sean, and her pack of four dogs, ranging from her big German Shepherd, Sam, to little Chi-Chi, a beloved Shelter alumni.

“Trinity is oblivious to her own disability. She runs and plays with my dogs with complete abandon. I came home the other day,” says Sylvia, “to find her happily sunning herself on a chaise lounge in the yard in the middle of my four dogs.”

“She is a rock star.”

These are stories of tragedy, resilience, forgiveness and love.

Despite their injuries and heartbreak, Enrique and Don Juan found each other. Two veterans of tragedy slowed down by age and disability – a perfect match.

Trinity teaches us about toughness of spirit and the healing powers of love. In two weeks, Trinity will leave Sylvia and go home with Dr. Levy, who just could not let her go.

The angels have been working overtime.

SPECIAL ADOPTION PROGRAM AT THE SHELTER:

SILVER PAWS & SENIORS — half price adoption special for adopters over 60 who adopt dog/cat 6+ yrs — $35/dogs — $17 cats

PETS OF THE WEEK

MAMA CASS   female, American bulldog, 6 months old, 30 lbs — $70.00

TASHA   female, Calico, 1 yr old,  6 1/2 lbs   — $35.00