We are so grateful to all that share our posts on Facebook and Instagram.
The majority of our adoptions are thanks to social media. The downside, people can be really mean!
For example, we posted a video of a dog being given a squirt of canned spray cheese. Ok, so is it the healthiest – No. The angry comments were just ridiculous about how cruel we are, the sodium content, we are disgusting, “Plz stop poisoning him. Someone save him, plz!”.
We always try and take the high road and respond, ‘Thanks for caring!’ but what we really want to say is, ‘Hello? This dog was just saved after being chained to a tree for the past six years, skeletal and ravaged by fleas. Pretty sure the cheese spray isn’t going to hurt him.” Thankfully we don’t react to negativity. When you see what we see every day, you try and focus on the positive.
We posted a video of two dogs playing in separate play yards through a fence in the rain. Man, that one got a lot of hate! We had to take down the post! Not only were we accused of hating dogs, we were accused of leaving dogs in the mud and rain, no shelter and we didn’t let dogs play together. Ugh.
Here is the truth. Dogs have to do their business, rain or shine. Our dedicated volunteers and staff walk the dogs in all conditions. Some dogs won’t ‘go’ on leash so we put them in play yards. We do whatever we can to help them. We took a video on a rainy day of two dogs romping in the rain, happy to play next to each other. It was really cute! We would have really appreciated an appropriate comment of, “Awe, thanks for taking care of the homeless pets in the elements. They look happy and relaxed.”
Recently we were criticized by so many because we posted a video of puppies sleeping in the kennel in the sun. Wow, people went crazy! We had so many comments about how cruel we are for not providing beds for the puppies. What people don’t see is the inside of their kennels with beds, blankets and toys. We have kennels that provide indoor and outdoor exposure, some dogs really do like to lay in the sun on cool concrete.
All I am saying is PLEASE, before accusing us of being cruel, maybe look at the bigger picture.
The Aiken County Animal Shelter receives five thousand dogs and cats a year. These are pets that were discarded, dumped, abandoned in homes, left on highway exits, tied to trees, uncared for and unloved. Our shelter staff comes in seven days a week. They clean kennels all day long, they provide clean bedding, safe toys and giant bowls of food. The kennel technicians even take note on what dogs need wet food due to having filed down teeth. They feed the emaciated pets multiple feedings of high protein food.
Our FOTAS volunteers come to the shelter every day, rain or shine. They come on holidays too! Our volunteers not only walk dogs, cuddle cats, but they make dog toys, they donate pet food, they bring love and comfort to the discarded pets of Aiken County.
Next time you are quick to post a harshly written comment, maybe take a minute and think, how is this helping the pets? How about you come and volunteer with us? Maybe you could donate some beds, blankets or toys?
Their lives are in our hands.
by Kathy Cagle, FOTAS Programs Coordinator