Aiken County Animal Advocates
THE VOICE OF PAWS
(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)
By Joya DiStefano
This Aiken County Animal Advocates Columns was posted in the Aiken Standard on 12/20/2013
The artistry of an Annette Van Der Walt animal photo makes the subject so lovely, so real, so
compelling that you can almost feel its presence in your home. One of those portraits can
save an animal's life and has many, many times. Annette does not subscribe to the pity-me
approach in her pictures, oh no; she captures an image that sings, “I am special! Adopt me
and I will make your life special, too!”
You merely need go to Annette's Facebook page or the page for Shelter Animal Advocates Aiken Foster Network and see a fiercely focused endeavor. Two friends and cohorts
reorganized their rescue efforts last spring to save Annette after she lost her husband of
more than 30 years and was buried in an avalanche of grief.
As the weeks passed,
December and Kenny Clark, owners of BarkMart in Graniteville, and Mary Lou Seymour, a
passionate career rescuer, advocate and community organizer, needed their friend, Annette, back on the team. And back Annette came, born to rescue; and the team got to work.
“Dogs were dying in my county,” recalls December. “Too many
dogs, dogs that people overlook. We wanted to give them a
voice.” The team gives them more than a voice; they give them
back to life, whole, healthy and ready for that precious second
chance because of the foster-care network that they are building
for no-kill rescues that pull county dogs.
Shelter Animal Advocates Aiken Foster Network builds life-saving
bridges between animals in the Aiken County shelter who are
unable or less likely to be adopted than the lucky few who find
their way to the county shelter's “Adoption Floor,” and a network of
rescue organizations dedicated to saving the tough cases.
These animals (mostly dogs) have either tested heartworm
positive, have health or behavioral issues, are too old or too black
(yes, there is a nationwide bias against black dogs and they are,
therefore harder to place and die more often) and are more likely
to be routinely euthanized or else their time has just run out in a
high-kill shelter.
Last month 333 animals came into our Aiken County Animal Shelter; 63 percent
died there, 23 percent were dogs and 40 percent were cats.
In November 2003, 316 animals came in and only 23 of them were adopted. In November 2008, 404 were received, 69
adopted and 361 were euthanized. In November 2012, 306 came in, and 229 (75 percent)
were destroyed.
What this tells us is that little has changed regarding intake in the past 11
Novembers, but a growing array of rescue efforts have made a big dent in what ought to be a
shameful and unnecessary statistic.
Annette, December and Mary Lou are not only Shelter Animal Advocates, they are disciples
of a movement that is quietly transforming shelter practices across the country, sponsored by
the No Kill Advocacy Center (nokilladvocacycenter.org).
At first glance, given traditional
practices in “open” high-kill shelters typically run as a component of community “animal
control,” the no-kill movement can appear radically idealistic; that is, until you look at the case
facts across the country.
We even have some shining examples here in South Carolina, most notably in Spartanburg
County where they have a “save rate” of 90 percent. That means they have virtually
eliminated the routine killing of healthy dogs and cats in their county shelter.
How, you ask? The “10 Points of the No-Kill Equation” does a good job of summing up the
road to success:
This Aiken County Animal Advocates Columns was posted in the Aiken Standard on 12/20/2013
The artistry of an Annette Van Der Walt animal photo makes the subject so lovely, so real, so compelling that you can almost feel its presence in your home. One of those portraits can save an animal's life and has many, many times. Annette does not subscribe to the pity-me approach in her pictures, oh no; she captures an image that sings, “I am special! Adopt me and I will make your life special, too!”
You merely need go to Annette's Facebook page or the page for Shelter Animal Advocates Aiken Foster Network and see a fiercely focused endeavor. Two friends and cohorts reorganized their rescue efforts last spring to save Annette after she lost her husband of more than 30 years and was buried in an avalanche of grief.
As the weeks passed,
December and Kenny Clark, owners of BarkMart in Graniteville, and Mary Lou Seymour, a
passionate career rescuer, advocate and community organizer, needed their friend, Annette, back on the team. And back Annette came, born to rescue; and the team got to work.
“Dogs were dying in my county,” recalls December. “Too many dogs, dogs that people overlook. We wanted to give them a voice.” The team gives them more than a voice; they give them back to life, whole, healthy and ready for that precious second chance because of the foster-care network that they are building for no-kill rescues that pull county dogs.
Shelter Animal Advocates Aiken Foster Network builds life-saving bridges between animals in the Aiken County shelter who are unable or less likely to be adopted than the lucky few who find their way to the county shelter's “Adoption Floor,” and a network of rescue organizations dedicated to saving the tough cases.
These animals (mostly dogs) have either tested heartworm positive, have health or behavioral issues, are too old or too black (yes, there is a nationwide bias against black dogs and they are, therefore harder to place and die more often) and are more likely to be routinely euthanized or else their time has just run out in a high-kill shelter.
Last month 333 animals came into our Aiken County Animal Shelter; 63 percent died there, 23 percent were dogs and 40 percent were cats.
In November 2003, 316 animals came in and only 23 of them were adopted. In November 2008, 404 were received, 69 adopted and 361 were euthanized. In November 2012, 306 came in, and 229 (75 percent) were destroyed.
What this tells us is that little has changed regarding intake in the past 11 Novembers, but a growing array of rescue efforts have made a big dent in what ought to be a shameful and unnecessary statistic.
Annette, December and Mary Lou are not only Shelter Animal Advocates, they are disciples of a movement that is quietly transforming shelter practices across the country, sponsored by the No Kill Advocacy Center (nokilladvocacycenter.org).
At first glance, given traditional practices in “open” high-kill shelters typically run as a component of community “animal control,” the no-kill movement can appear radically idealistic; that is, until you look at the case facts across the country.
We even have some shining examples here in South Carolina, most notably in Spartanburg County where they have a “save rate” of 90 percent. That means they have virtually eliminated the routine killing of healthy dogs and cats in their county shelter.
How, you ask? The “10 Points of the No-Kill Equation” does a good job of summing up the road to success:
1. Feral Cat Trap/Neuter/Release (TNR) Program
2. High-Volume, Low-Cost Spay/Neuter
3. Rescue Group's Transfers
4. Foster Care
5. Comprehensive Adoption Programs
(including off-site adoptions)
6. Pet Retention Programs
7. Medical and Behavior Prevention/
Rehabilitation Programs
8. Public Relations/Community Involvement
9. Volunteers
10. Proactive Redemptions
With the efforts Aiken County Animal Services has begun in recent years, primarily through
their partnership with Friends of the Animal Shelter Inc. (FOTAS), and the opening of the new
County Animal Shelter next month, the time has never been better for the county to rally to
the No-Kill challenge.
The team from Shelter Animal Advocates is doing their part and invites animal enthusiasts,
and animal novices throughout the county to get involved. The support this group offers to
those willing to provide guaranteed short-term (roughly two weeks) foster care is amazing.
“Our goal is to deliver healthy, socialized, highly adoptable dogs to our rescue partners. We
follow ‘our dogs' closely when they leave our care, and only work with partner rescues who
will update us on the dog's progress towards final adoption,” said Mary Lou.
The group provides everything you could think of to achieve the goal of matching great dogs
with great homes: good quality food, vaccines and medicine, toys, leashes and collars, all
treatments for parasites, training, 24/7 support, veterinary care, transportation and a support
network. The foster volunteers get to choose the dog they will foster and become the
guardian angel that stewards the lucky candidate to its new life.
Shelter Animal Advocates are leading the way for Aiken County to join Spartanburg and
Greenville county shelters in the No Kill Nation.
If you are an animal-lover, and you want a
dose of real purpose in your life, they have made it very easy to become part of the
transformation. For more information, call Mary Lou at the Aiken Foster Network hotline: 803-
275-0841 or email her at MaryLou@paws4nokill.org. You will be on the right side of history.
A retired organizational problem-solver and radical educator, Joya Jiménez DiStefano is an artist, Servant Leader, co-founder of FOTAS, and founder of PAWS, Inc.
1. Feral Cat Trap/Neuter/Release (TNR) Program
2. High-Volume, Low-Cost Spay/Neuter
3. Rescue Group's Transfers
4. Foster Care
5. Comprehensive Adoption Programs
(including off-site adoptions)
6. Pet Retention Programs
7. Medical and Behavior Prevention/
Rehabilitation Programs
8. Public Relations/Community Involvement
9. Volunteers
10. Proactive Redemptions
With the efforts Aiken County Animal Services has begun in recent years, primarily through their partnership with Friends of the Animal Shelter Inc. (FOTAS), and the opening of the new County Animal Shelter next month, the time has never been better for the county to rally to the No-Kill challenge.
The team from Shelter Animal Advocates is doing their part and invites animal enthusiasts, and animal novices throughout the county to get involved. The support this group offers to those willing to provide guaranteed short-term (roughly two weeks) foster care is amazing.
“Our goal is to deliver healthy, socialized, highly adoptable dogs to our rescue partners. We follow ‘our dogs' closely when they leave our care, and only work with partner rescues who will update us on the dog's progress towards final adoption,” said Mary Lou.
The group provides everything you could think of to achieve the goal of matching great dogs with great homes: good quality food, vaccines and medicine, toys, leashes and collars, all treatments for parasites, training, 24/7 support, veterinary care, transportation and a support network. The foster volunteers get to choose the dog they will foster and become the guardian angel that stewards the lucky candidate to its new life.
Shelter Animal Advocates are leading the way for Aiken County to join Spartanburg and Greenville county shelters in the No Kill Nation.
If you are an animal-lover, and you want a dose of real purpose in your life, they have made it very easy to become part of the transformation. For more information, call Mary Lou at the Aiken Foster Network hotline: 803- 275-0841 or email her at MaryLou@paws4nokill.org. You will be on the right side of history.
Rehabilitation Programs
8. Public Relations/Community Involvement
9. Volunteers
10. Proactive Redemptions
With the efforts Aiken County Animal Services has begun in recent years, primarily through their partnership with Friends of the Animal Shelter Inc. (FOTAS), and the opening of the new County Animal Shelter next month, the time has never been better for the county to rally to the No-Kill challenge.
The team from Shelter Animal Advocates is doing their part and invites animal enthusiasts, and animal novices throughout the county to get involved. The support this group offers to those willing to provide guaranteed short-term (roughly two weeks) foster care is amazing.
“Our goal is to deliver healthy, socialized, highly adoptable dogs to our rescue partners. We follow ‘our dogs' closely when they leave our care, and only work with partner rescues who will update us on the dog's progress towards final adoption,” said Mary Lou.
The group provides everything you could think of to achieve the goal of matching great dogs with great homes: good quality food, vaccines and medicine, toys, leashes and collars, all treatments for parasites, training, 24/7 support, veterinary care, transportation and a support network. The foster volunteers get to choose the dog they will foster and become the guardian angel that stewards the lucky candidate to its new life.
Shelter Animal Advocates are leading the way for Aiken County to join Spartanburg and Greenville county shelters in the No Kill Nation.
If you are an animal-lover, and you want a dose of real purpose in your life, they have made it very easy to become part of the transformation. For more information, call Mary Lou at the Aiken Foster Network hotline: 803- 275-0841 or email her at MaryLou@paws4nokill.org. You will be on the right side of history.
A retired organizational problem-solver and radical educator, Joya Jiménez DiStefano is an artist, Servant Leader, co-founder of FOTAS, and founder of PAWS, Inc.
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