By Joanna Dunn Samson, FOTAS Director

“No matter how dark the night, morning always comes. And our journey begins anew.”

Anonymous

Harley graduated from the School of Hard Knocks. A bull terrier cross with a dark brindle coat and a white chest, Harley spent most of his short unhappy life in the yard of a house full of crack addicts and drunks. He was abused, malnourished and had never been to a veterinarian. He survived by keeping his head down and steering clear of trouble.

A kindly neighbor took pity on Harley and fed and cared for him whenever he could, but he did not have the wherewithal to care for him on a permanent basis. Eventually another neighbor called County Animal Control because Harley was scrounging for food in neighborhood trashcans.

I was surprised to hear how easy it was for the Animal Control officer to catch Harley – his experience with the human race had been, for the most part, miserable. Yet Harley never showed an ounce of aggression. He came to the officer quietly and jumped willingly into the truck.

The FOTAS volunteers and staff at the Aiken County Animal Shelter were impressed with Harley’s kind nature, especially in light of his appalling physical condition. He was scrawny and showed scars of repeated physical abuse. Fortunately, a full examination by Dr. Levy revealed that other than testing positive for early stage heartworm disease (which was 100% treatable), there was nothing wrong with Harley that couldn’t be cured with love, consistent care and a good diet.

FOTAS volunteers were so taken with Harley that they called upon Toni and Gary Urben, one of their most experienced foster families, to care for Harley at their home until he could be appropriately placed. The Urbens agreed, and in short order, Toni was in love.

“I’ve fostered a lot of dogs over the years,” said Toni, “and I never, ever had a dog this special, this kind. He listened; he sat at my feet; he walked at my side. He is an extraordinary dog. We desperately wanted to keep him, but we just couldn’t. It was killing me.”

“But I knew one thing: Harley was not leaving us until he had the perfect home.”

And so it was. After a week or so of appeals to the Aiken community, John and Lisa Mitchell responded to an email sent out to the Aiken Hounds membership. The Mitchells drove over to the Urben’s house to meet Harley, and they, too, were hopelessly smitten by his quiet good nature. Harley was going home with them.

And so he did. In fact, Harley bonded with their son and became a beloved member of

the family so quickly, they couldn’t bear to part with him over the holidays. So they packed Harley into the car and headed west to California to visit their children and grandchildren for Christmas. Harley goes where they go. Period.

Harley is an extraordinary soul. We can learn much from Harley about hardship, forgiveness and love, qualities we mere mortals strive for but rarely accomplish with such perfect grace as this remarkable dog.

There is a remarkable, perfect dog or cat waiting for you at the Aiken County Animal Shelter.  Please don’t wait: their lives are in our hands.

Happy New Year and God Bless from all of us in the FOTAS community.

By Joanna Dunn Samson, FOTAS Director

I was snoozing in the sun after breakfast in my outdoor kennel when I heard a door open. I cocked my head. Could it be my friend Ellie coming to take me for my morning walk? It was! I could tell by the squeak of her shoes on the floor, particularly on that one side.  Is that one of my very favorite sounds in the world? You bet, because Ellie is one of my very favorite people. Champion ear-scratcher, that Ellie.

I jumped up and gave myself a gigantic shake  – no sleeping on the job for this guy. What job, I’m not sure, something to do with Christmas and fostering.  Christmas I know about, it’s my very favorite holiday, but fostering? No clue, really, but if it involves Christmas, hey, I’m in.

I wanted to show Ellie I’m always ready for action. I squeezed through the door to my inside kennel to sit in perfect attention, because that’s what a good dog does, and Ellie always tells me I’m a good dog.

All us dogs here at the Aiken County Animal Shelter are working hard with our volunteers to be the very best dogs so we can spend Christmas with a family, in a home, rather than here in the shelter. Don’t get me wrong, the shelter is a great place thanks to Ellie and my pals, Angus and Buster and Amber and Fluffy, but there aren’t any kids to play with, or cookie crumbs to clean off the floor, or treats hanging in a sock above the fireplace – all things that make Christmas second to none among holidays, in my experience, except for maybe Thanksgiving on account of that exciting incident with the turkey carcass when I was a puppy, but that’s old news now.

“Zeus,” said Ellie, reaching for the leash clipped to the kennel door “look at you! What a good boy you are.” Music to my ears; I’m top-notch in the good boy category. I demonstrate my very best whole body wag, the one that starts with my tail, moves through my body and ends at my head – a specialty of mine.

Did I pant with excitement? Of course! Did I drool? Just the tiniest bit, not worth mentioning, really.

Ellie and I went for a walk around the property, me doing my best leash walking ever despite all the smells and all the action in the play yard.  I see my pal Angus playing in the yard with . . . Whoa! Is that Buster? It is! What a sight! Buster is a handsome fellow, a little smaller than me, but when he came to the shelter, he was terrified of everyone. Now look at him; those volunteers are the greatest.

Ellie and I took a break on the bench out front next to the parking lot.  My pals Amber and Fluffy stopped by with their volunteers, so we had a fast little romp-around. I was delighted to meet a sweet little blond girl walking into the shelter with her mother – that’s always occasion for the whole-body wag.

After all the excitement died down, I laid my head on Ellie’s lap for a nice head scratch, right behind the ears. Did I mention Ellie’s a champion ear-scratcher? After awhile, I lay down on the grass, sun on my face, and watched the cars go by.

As I dozed off, I had one of my very best thoughts: just maybe one of those cars will take me home for Christmas.

Take advantage of the Holiday Adoption Special: $35 for dogs and $10 for cats, or call the Shelter to learn how you can foster Zeus and his friends this Christmas season.

Their lives are in our hands.

By Joanna Dunn Samson, FOTAS Director

When Daisy Walker first laid eyes on a handsome, six-year old, tri-colored hound crossbreed named Gaige at the Aiken County Animal Shelter, she fell in love.

“He looked up at me with those eyes and wagged his tail, and I said to my son, ‘This is the one!’” says Daisy.

And so he was. Daisy adopted Gaige, and now he is her constant companion. He sleeps with her. He protects her. He even talks to her.

“He’s my baby. He talks to me when he wants something, like ice in his bowl – he loves ice in his bowl!” says Daisy, laughing with delight. “I’ve never had a dog like this.”

That’s how Daisy and Gaige became the first seniors to take advantage of the Silver Paws program developed by FOTAS and the County, which pairs senior citizens and senior dogs or cats for half-price – all the time.

Senior Paws and other programs like Fall in Love, Nine Lives for Nine Dollars, Back in Black, regular half-price specials and the lowest standard adoption fees in Aiken have boosted adoption numbers to all time highs, making a lot of folks and a lot of animals, like Daisy and Gaige, very happy in the process.

The FOTAS On-Site Event Coordinator, Ellie Joos, organizes events designed to help people become more educated pet owners.  Events such as H.E.L.P. (How to Enjoy Living with a Puppy), a session for puppies and their owners led by Dr. Holly Woltz and Dr. Sybil Davis, and the Dog Ears Reading and Listening Program (a joint effort with the Aiken County Regional Library System), which helps young children hone their reading skills by reading to shelter dogs who love the attention, have been well attended.

FOTAS has organized and provided training sessions for FOTAS volunteers and staff by professional trainers like Jay Lyda of Veteran K9 Solutions and Susi Cohen of the Palmetto Dog Club to teach shelter dogs basic obedience skills, which also makes them more adoptable. (By the way, Jay and Susi offer a free training session for new adopted dog owners.)

With the help of the trainers and through Urgent Appeals made through the FOTAS communication networks, long-term canine shelter residents whose times were running out – dogs like Luci, Olivia and Andrew – have found homes as service dogs and beloved pets.

Then there’s the FOTAS Heartworm Positive (HWP) Program, which gives dogs who test positive for heartworms but are not sick, a chance to be adopted.  FOTAS partners with local vets and pays for 30 days of heartworm treatment meds and 6 months of heartworm prevention to anyone who adopts a HWP dog.

Bella, an 8 year-old Chihuahua, was the first HWP dog adopted from the shelter.

“Bella is wonderful,” says Manuella Kowitt, “and very healthy for an older dog – you’d never suspect she is HWP. Since I have to give her heartworm prevention medicine anyway, she’s been no extra trouble at all.”

All this work and special programming is paying off.

“In August and September, 610 dogs and cats were adopted or transferred to no-kill facilities,” says Jennifer Miller, President of FOTAS. “As of October 1st, FOTAS Fix-a-Pet and Lenny’s Brigade have funded 350 spay/neuters of pets and community cats. We couldn’t be more pleased.”

The outpouring of community support in terms of time, money and service have made a real difference in the lives of and outcomes for the thousands of homeless County animals.

Please help us continue our work. Their lives are in our hands.

PETS OF THE WEEK

TALLY     Female, hound — 2 years old — 40 lbs — $70

BECKY      Female, tabby — 4 mos old — $10