Tag Archives: HOME TO HOME PROGRAM

2022, animal care education, Bully Dogs, County Animal Control, County animal laws, County tethering ordinance, Dogs, FOTAS, News

County Animal Shelter is a resource, not just a destination

Posted on by Bob Gordon
24
Jan

Most people only think of the Aiken County Animal Shelter as a place to bring lost or unwanted pets for rehoming. But it is much more than that. Through its partnership with FOTAS, the shelter provides community outreach programs that help people and their pets, and works to prevent dogs and cats from ever having to be surrendered and put in its kennels.

The shelter’s first drive-thru food drive event helped community members in need feed their pets

In fact, we just hosted our first pet food assistance drive-thru event last Saturday. Local residents in need of food for their dogs and cats were invited to drive up to the shelter, where FOTAS volunteers placed bags and cans of pet food in the trunks of their cars. This event helped folks in financial need feed their pets and avoid surrendering them to the shelter during tough economic times. More such events are planned for the future. Thankfully, many generous people donate pet food to the shelter specifically for folks in financial need.

Another program FOTAS and the County Shelter provide to the community is Fido Off-the-Chain, which provides humane runners and tethering for people who don’t have fenced-in yards. When County Animal Code Enforcement officers visit homes where dogs are chained or tethered with limited mobility, they often provide runners that keep the dogs contained in the yard but allow them to run and play while ensuring their tether doesn’t get wrapped around a tree, post or other object.

“We’re not just working in the community,” said County Animal Code Enforcement Officer Rod Burks. “It’s our community, too. We love the animals, so it’s important for us to provide solutions and educate people about local regulations and responsible pet ownership.” FOTAS purchases these runners, and more are needed all the time.

FOTAS’s Home to Home program is another resource that helps county residents keep their pets out of the shelter’s kennels. It is provided for people to use free of charge – a marketing tool designed for pet owners who need to rehome their pet but do not want their dog or cat to endure the stress of being surrendered to the shelter. With Home to Home, residents can promote their pets on the FOTAS website and Facebook page and communicate with prospective adopters to find new homes for their animals safely and conveniently.

Rod Burks hugs shelter dog his crew rescued.

Programs like these, and others, help our community members and their pets in need. They also keep pets out of the shelter, where a surrendered dog or cat can sometimes endure emotional stress or even shut down. We will continue to develop community outreach programs that further establish the County Shelter as a helpful resource rather than just a destination for unwanted pets.

The shelter is currently full. We have wonderful pets who desperately need loving homes. So, please visit the Aiken County Animal Shelter, 333 Wire Road, and visit our homeless dogs and cats. To see all the pets available, go to FOTASAiken.org. Dogs are $35 and cats and kittens are only $10.

Their lives are in our hands.

— By Bob Gordon, FOTAS Communications Director

2020, Adoption, Cats, Dogs, FOTAS, Home-to-Home adoption program, News, SELECTING A PET, SOCIAL MEDIA

‘Home to Home’ Proves to be a Successful Resource for Adopting Out Pets

Posted on by Bob Gordon
31
Oct

We’re about a year and a half into the inception of our Home to Home program, which is free to use. Home to Home is a better way for rehoming your pet from one home to another. It frees up space in shelters for homeless animals and is much less stressful on the pets and owners. A pet is rehomed directly from one home to another, never going into a shelter.

All of the pets posted on Home to Home are promoted on the FOTAS Facebook page.

We’ve had 525 listings (some with multiple animals in them) and 322 (61%) have found new homes using the website service. Another 70 animals have been surrendered and 98 owners failed to respond to follow up requests. We currently have 38 animals looking for homes. As with the shelter, if an animal is an inside animal who is housebroken, spayed or neutered, and has some training, the better the odds of adoption.

Barry and Bailey are Cockatiels rehomed through the FOTAS Home to Home website.

The vast majority of owners are either being forced to give up an animal due to their own illness, living circumstances that have changed, or they find their family can’t give them the time they need and deserve. All want the best for the animal and work hard to make sure the new home is a good fit before finalizing the rehoming. They ask questions of the adopters, and some even visit the new home to make sure they have a fenced yard or other needs the pet requires.

Grant and Heather Wiseman are amazing pet owners. They and their daughters have fostered too many litters of puppies to count, as well as adult dogs. Both Grant and Heather serve on the FOTAS board. When their daughters went to college, the Wisemans decided to rehome their cockatiels to a home with owners who had more time to spend with them. They went online, uploaded some information and a photo of Barry and Bailey and the next day the birds were in their new home where they are enjoying more attention. Heather said the process was incredibly easy and fast.

Diego relaxes in his forever home with the Wiseman family

When the Wisemans were looking for a new dog just in time for Grant’s birthday, they once again went to Home to Home. They found the perfect new pet in Diego. The owner came to their home with Diego to make sure they had a fenced-in yard and to make sure he got along with their other dogs. Heather said, “We loved the fact that he never had to go through the trauma of multiple kennels or homes before he was with us. Especially because he gets carsick!” Diego loves his new home and the Wisemans love him.

Recently our Home to Home program was nationally recognized as one of the best examples of a Shelter doing the Home to Home Program right. We’ve worked hard to make Home to Home one more resource to keep animals out of the Shelter and in loving homes. And isn’t that what we all want? You can find out more about Home to Home at fotas.home-home.org.

Their lives are in our hands.

–– By Ellen Priest, FOTAS Board Member and Home-to-Home Coordinator

2020, coronavirus crisis, Dogs, FOTAS, Home-to-Home adoption program, News

Home to Home Program more critical than ever during coronavirus crisis and kennel enclosure project

Posted on by Bob Gordon
01
Jun

These are strange times we are all living in, with organizations adjusting to uncharted waters — and the Aiken County Animal Shelter is no exception. Adoptions are by appointment, taking place outside and paperwork is completed curbside.

Animal enforcement officers are bringing in strays and we are urging owner surrenders to take place through our Home to Home program. Using a special website, this program allows citizens to rehome their pets directly from their homes, avoiding the stress of their pets having to go to a kennel in the shelter. It is free to use and free to adopt.

In just 16 months, well over 200 pets have been placed through the FOTAS Home to Home program. Citizens adopt out pets directly from their homes.

As our Home to Home Program enters its 16th month in Aiken County, its value continues to grow. During these hard times, we have had some wonderful success stories. A recent one that touched my heart was Cooper, a 13-year-old Cairn Terrier whose owner died. When his owner was in the hospital and nursing home, his mother regularly took Cooper in. But after her son passed, she could no longer take care of the senior canine.

The owner’s sister, Debra Foutch, placed Cooper on Home to Home, hoping the right loving person would come forward and adopt him. You could tell this was heartbreaking for a family who only wanted the best for this sweet dog. She wrote a wonderful write-up to let potential owners know about Cooper’s journey. I placed him on Home to Home and on FOTAS’s Facebook page, where thousands of followers saw the post. Hours later, I received an email from Debra that Cooper had found a good home. Debra said, “I’m sure my brother is smiling down from heaven knowing Cooper has a new forever home.” I am sure he is too, Debra.

Cooper, a senior Terrier who found a new home through the FOTAS Home to Home website.

In the coming months, Home to Home will become an even more vital tool for owner surrenders. The Aiken County Animal Shelter will be enclosing our rear intake kennels during the months of June-August, as part of the Capital Project Sales Tax funding. During severe weather, the animals in these kennels have little protection from rain, wind, severe cold, or intense heat. We are thrilled that these 30 kennels will be enclosed by the end of the summer, but that is 30 intake kennels we will not be able to use during that time, limiting our intake of animals.

We encourage owners who need to surrender an animal to consider using Home to Home. This program is a much kinder way to rehome pets, who are often traumatized by being surrendered into noisy kennels and unfamiliar surroundings. We have found loving homes for over 230 animals in a little over a year, without using shelter resources.

And if you are looking for a new pet, besides checking the listing of animals available at the shelter, check those available at fotas.home-home.org. Any questions about using the program, please email ellencpriest@gmail.com . As always, thank you for your support of the Aiken County Animal Shelter.

Their lives are in our hands.

— By Ellen Priest, FOTAS Board Member and Home to Home Coordinator

2020, Adoption, Cats, Dogs, FOTAS, Home-to-Home adoption program, kennel stress, News, SELECTING A PET

Successful Home to Home Program Marks Its One-Year Anniversary

Posted on by Bob Gordon
03
Mar

FOTAS’ Home to Home program celebrated its one-year anniversary this month. In that first year, we’ve had 177 animals successfully rehomed using the program. That is 177 dogs and cats who were not surrendered to the Aiken County Animal Shelter (ACAS), but instead were able to go directly from one home to another.

Lab mix Chevelle was adopted through the FOTAS Home to Home Program.

There are many advantages to the program: it is much easier on a pet to go directly to another loving home, rather than being surrendered to the Shelter, which can be incredibly stressful to an animal; owners can choose the right new owners for their pet using this method; and these direct Home to Home adoptions mean more resources are available for strays brought into the shelter.

There are a number of reasons why a dog or cat needs to be rehomed. Owners may face financial problems, forcing them to move into apartments that will not allow pets. Elderly owners may need to move to assisted living or nursing homes and be unable to keep their pets. Owners active in the military may be facing upcoming deployment leaving the country and need to find a home for their pet.

One thing all these owners have in common is wanting a better life for their pet. They realize that they are no longer able to provide the loving home that their pet deserves.

Home to Home leverages the power of social media and the FOTAS Facebook page.

So, what can you expect if you place your pet on Home to Home? You go to Fotas.Home-Home.org, and click on “Rehome your pet,” upload a photo and enter some information regarding your pet, including age and breed, and what makes your pet special. I will take that information to create a profile on Home to Home, and post to FOTAS’ Facebook page with over 11,000 followers. You will receive an email verifying your pet has been placed and to watch your email for prospective owners who may be interested. I also include some tips for finding the right new home.

If you are looking for a new pet, in addition to visiting the ACAS, take a look at the pets available on this site. Home to Home is free to use and free to adopt.

In the last ten years, FOTAS has been instrumental in taking the ACAS from a 10% save rate to an over 90% save rate, where we achieved our goal in saving every adoptable animal the past two years and are working hard this year to achieve it again.

The Home to Home Program allows County citizens to adopt out their pets without surrendering them to the Animal Shelter.

There are many tools we use to do this: adoptions to loving homes; transfers to shelter rescue partners in other states with great spay and neuter programs and adopters for homeless pets; spay and neuter Fido Fixer events; Trap Neuter Release (TNR) programs for community cats; Dogs off the Chain programs; and now Home to Home.

We’ll continue to look for ways to save our County’s pets because their lives are in our hands.

–By Ellen Priest, FOTAS Board Member and Home-to-Home Coordinator

PETS OF THE WEEK

FREDDY: Mixed breed, male, 8 years old, black w/white, 40 pounds – $35

RIKER: Domestic shorthair, male, 1 year old, Tabby, 10 pounds – $10

2019, Adoption, Chained dogs, Dogs, FOTAS, Home-to-Home adoption program, News, surrendered pets

Home to Home Program Successful, 100 Plus Pets Already Adopted

Posted on by Bob Gordon
07
Oct

In the seven months since FOTAS started our Home to Home Program, we have found homes for more than 110 animals.

That is 110 dogs and cats that did not come through the Aiken County Animal Shelter’s doors. That’s 110 animals who went from a loving home that could no longer provide for them or keep them, to a loving home that could. Had those animals come to the Shelter instead, they would have suffered a much different experience.

The Home to Home program is a new adoption option that also helps animals avoid the fear and stress of facing a shelter environment.

Odds are they would have ultimately found another loving home, because our save rate is now consistently over 90 percent, but before that happened, they would have been kept in an unfamiliar cage, frightened by other barking and noisy animals. Chances are they would have cowered when potential adopters came by. They may have greeted them, or they may have refused to come forward and reduced their own chances of adoption. The shelter volunteers would come every day to walk dogs and play with cats, and some lucky few will spend time in a foster home, but as they say there’s nothing like home – your own home.

Home to Home is free to use, free to adopt and we’ve had some wonderful success stories. One such story featured Dirty, a poor German shorthair chained to a tree and abandoned when her owner moved away. Rescued by some kind neighbors, Dirty found a wonderful new home two hours after being posted on FOTAS’ Facebook page and on the Home to Home site. Her horrible plight touched a kind woman’s soul. Pictures the next day showed Dirty living the life she should have always had, stretched out on a porch and asleep on a couch. Hopefully, soon her previous circumstances will be like a bad dream.


Dirty, a dog chained to a tree and rescued by good Samaritans, found a forever home within hours of being posted on the FOTAS Facebook page and Home to Home website.

Owners may be forced to give up their pet due to a move, facing a severe illness, or a death in the family. There have been owners that ultimately decide their family may not be the right home for their pet because they don’t have the time to spend with them that the animal deserves.

A month after posting the animal, I follow up with the owners to see if they’ve found a new home and those that have not are re-posted. Sometimes the second time is truly the charm and someone new sees the post and responds.

Not all animals are adopted and some ultimately end up being surrendered to the shelter. However, every animal kept out of the shelter is not only saved from that stressful situation, but also frees up space for a stray or abused animal without another choice.

Dirty relaxes in her new forever home.

There are many reasons a family may choose to give up an animal, but most who ultimately want the best for their pets find the Home to Home program a welcome relief. I’ve had some heartwarming thank you notes from owners so happy to see their pet go to a home more suited for their needs. To see available pets for adoption, please go to fotas.home-home.org.

Their lives are in our hands.

— By Ellen Priest, FOTAS Board Member and Home to Home Coordinator