When you walk through the kennels at the Aiken County Animal Shelter, it is easy to pick out the owner-surrendered dogs. The stray dogs are more at ease as they are happy to have regular feedings and a safe spot. The owner surrenders, however, are typically in the back of their kennels shaking, vomiting, and sometimes spinning uncontrollably from stress.
They are scared, confused and their chances of finding homes are lower. In fact, due to the anxiety they experience from being left at a shelter, owner surrendered pets often become unadoptable.
Please do not take your pet to the shelter. Instead, rehome them on your own by using our Home to Home program, which features a website that helps you market your pet and adopt them out directly from your residence.
The shelter is designed to help with stray, neglected and otherwise hopeless animals. It is not meant to be a drop off center for unwanted pets. The shelter is a resource, not a destination.
Misconceptions about surrendering pets
Many citizens believe we can find great homes for all the pets we take into the shelter. But we cannot. The shelter takes in more than 4,000 dogs and cats a year. Do the math; it is impossible. While FOTAS and the Aiken County Animal Shelter work tirelessly to find homes for adoptable animals, we also ask people to show compassion and fulfill their responsibility to their own pets.
We are saddened by the number of calls we receive from people wanting to surrender their pets. The reasons given are often problems that can be solved with a little time and dedication.
Here are some of the reasons given:
We have made the tough decision to surrender our dog so he can find a family that has more time and patience to work with his behavioral issues.
If your dog has behavioral issues, please contact a trainer. The shelter is consistently overwhelmed and there is limited time to work on those issues in a facility filled to capacity.
We are moving.
Take your pet with you! Look for a pet friendly rental.
He has become food aggressive towards our other dogs.
Try feeding the dogs separately. Have you considered getting a crate to feed him in? It is extremely difficult for us to adopt out a dog with any kind of aggression and he will be at risk of being euthanized if he comes to us.
She chases cats and runs off because she has a high prey drive.
We cannot adopt out animals with a high prey drive. Imagine the risk in a shelter environment with all the other animals. If she is escaping your yard to run, there are ways to keep pets contained.
What to do if you must rehome your pet
Instead of putting your pet through the trauma of being in a loud, full shelter, try our Home to Home program available free of charge on our website, fotasaiken.org. Or ask your family members, neighbors and friends if they can help.
If you cannot afford to feed your pet due to personal economic challenges, we can help. FOTAS holds a Community Pet Food Drive-Thru once a month for Aiken citizens in need of assistance. Our next Pet Food Drive-Thru event is Saturday morning, Aug. 19.
Their lives are in our hands.
By Kathy Cagle, FOTAS Programs Coordinator
