tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32016707865501916422023-11-16T04:03:16.283-08:00PAWS 4 No KillPAWS devotes its energy to passionately advocating for the abandoned animals of the Aiken County area. Our two fold founding purpose is unwanted animal prevention and well-homed animal retention.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-9173830528738462982014-07-24T11:35:00.000-07:002014-08-07T12:40:46.547-07:00One Animal Advocate: A Love Story <h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">THE VOICE OF PAWS</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Joya DiStefano</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;">This Aiken County Animal Advocates Columns was posted in the Aiken Standard on 07/24/2014</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>“Compassion for animals is intimately connected with goodness of character…” - Schopenhauer</i> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I opened the door just a crack to keep my golden retriever Sunny from bounding through, and peered at the man on my doorstep. He wore a navy blue hoody that had “Coach” embroidered above his name, jeans with leather piping down the seams, and Doc Martin oxfords. He sported a burgundy Phillies ball cap, and an Errol Flynn mustache under thick large lenses in wireless frames. He held a video cassette of highlights from his little league championship football team in his right hand. He had advertised himself as “Financially and emotionally secure,” traits, as it turned out, that have come in very handy over the ensuing 21 years, especially the last five. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6b-1KRQRwit8Cj5Kka2Nmstgpxb3yfhWWPrkUcjsWKWI8jb8b_O19AUpUEfkuQDh9je4JZbXwWYmdPGHN7EJVh-rzJDHEi3AjfXn0nXOXIEF1NR_Q-5zevO3kiNbK2OByNsh8F7F8iwkm/s1600/Ziggy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6b-1KRQRwit8Cj5Kka2Nmstgpxb3yfhWWPrkUcjsWKWI8jb8b_O19AUpUEfkuQDh9je4JZbXwWYmdPGHN7EJVh-rzJDHEi3AjfXn0nXOXIEF1NR_Q-5zevO3kiNbK2OByNsh8F7F8iwkm/s1600/Ziggy.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Michael took me and Sunny to a park along the Potomac, and I took note that he did not complain about all the blond fur that coated the inside of his van, or the muddy paws on the seat. By the time we combined households a couple of months later, I had heard enough tales of Stokely, the Black Lab who learned to wait at the curb for permission to cross the street even if a ball was tossed, and whose passing at 14 had left a hole in Michael’s heart too big to fill. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I had always had at least two dogs and, as Sunny happened to be a lonely only at the time, it took a mere impulse to send me to the local pound looking for a Lab, preferably black. Owing more to pity than passion, I came home with a dog we fittingly named Che, after the Argentinian revolutionary, a dog who would never wait for permission to cross the street or little else. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHyf-_DwjL2ax8NyeUdD0SZhPOpbXA5ieeoVxGzuKDKXZPfDksg-ICaurLLZIyXCdy-GCNkv2ZUp1jrkjX3c-ZbSW24amDvsq17lgf0xxrt3hKZ_qDofTbsPU8hcRNuTs-jqO0tSa-G9_h/s1600/Michael_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHyf-_DwjL2ax8NyeUdD0SZhPOpbXA5ieeoVxGzuKDKXZPfDksg-ICaurLLZIyXCdy-GCNkv2ZUp1jrkjX3c-ZbSW24amDvsq17lgf0xxrt3hKZ_qDofTbsPU8hcRNuTs-jqO0tSa-G9_h/s1600/Michael_1.jpg" height="221" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Michael worked patiently with the six-month-old maniac until he would sit-and-stay, vibrating with the effort, then explode into motion once released. Nine years later we cut a Caribbean holiday short to fly home to a dying Che. It was the only time I ever saw my husband cry.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlgC1UN4vRdbdmDGu51k-w6tzrD1EiMlR4aPMwHlYVeZEOcM-q_uuvfGVobjKWJQsERw-OIkwuuLdsI5UptD8ADlQ6E1eo-afSDOIlwGgSRrE8jfoQ3E1kkwLOn7nPtQCWUMsZP88LV9t1/s1600/Michael_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlgC1UN4vRdbdmDGu51k-w6tzrD1EiMlR4aPMwHlYVeZEOcM-q_uuvfGVobjKWJQsERw-OIkwuuLdsI5UptD8ADlQ6E1eo-afSDOIlwGgSRrE8jfoQ3E1kkwLOn7nPtQCWUMsZP88LV9t1/s1600/Michael_4.jpg" height="270" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ziggy Marley was my gift to Michael our first Christmas in Aiken eleven years ago. Ziggy, the runt of an undersized litter retained the nickname “Tiny Boy,” in spite of the black giant he eventually became. Not long after Ziggy’s arrival, we lost Sunny and I filled the vacancy with a yellow Lab puppy. Then the rescues began. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ5N7ZeVsoiFZvwoLLEVsRNlLl3M0yw7hMrkV4A6Ob1LuS31On-Aj5XmginSIzdvpEXYPs9P3OTZFipDqZ2vpFRabO2mfFwaTuWIbmuqXzvv3zRCgLmFd9195EOtzt3oDDk-G-6U8_fQtv/s1600/Michael_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ5N7ZeVsoiFZvwoLLEVsRNlLl3M0yw7hMrkV4A6Ob1LuS31On-Aj5XmginSIzdvpEXYPs9P3OTZFipDqZ2vpFRabO2mfFwaTuWIbmuqXzvv3zRCgLmFd9195EOtzt3oDDk-G-6U8_fQtv/s1600/Michael_3.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Our first I pulled from a pen where he’d been abandoned for months by the death of his owners. “Don’t ask,” was all I said when I brought Walter home, and Michael didn’t. When Walter’s new home only lasted 30 minutes, we kept him. He’d run off in the Woods, occasionally attacking submissive dogs, and we kept him. Michael would stroke the kooky old black dog and croon, “Walter found a family.”</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The summer of 2009, when we founded FOTAS, I held the titles of Treasurer and Secretary, but it was my husband Michael who entered and organized every financial transaction for the organization that would grow from a $2,700 fund-raiser to instigating, inspiring, and ultimately investing roughly half a million dollars in our new Aiken County Animal Shelter. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The books were always balanced, the bills always paid. Trained as an accountant, working as an auditor and project manager, moving over a thirty-five year career from paper ledgers to computerized personnel and accounting systems, Michael worked behind the scenes to lay the foundation of the organization without which today’s county shelter would not exist nor could it function.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Over the last ten years I have brought many more animals into the house: foster dogs, foster puppies, foster cats and kittens, baby rabbits, baby birds, baby possums and baby deer. Most have moved on, but many dogs have come in frightful condition, been healed and loved and stayed. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We have had cancer surgeries, a hip replacement, amputation, unrelenting pneumonia, two knee surgeries and another hip. We have probably fostered 75 animals and only failed to save four. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">With each successive rescue effort, I knew that my mate much preferred a simple life without pens in the foyer and the constant odor of scented candles barely disguising the stink. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Cj0xJ6poNoTbcNRhkSENor4uYEXNkBqGdiAfWsL6YQR9HCPWEqfOGhYVS1lrgvcLuQN_4QHkGbhlrZeclDzkvc4ZwfrPCf57AfxiezkoSMBD9qhXoXYFS_r0JMSk70wJzQG7nN6fnqsW/s1600/Michael_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Cj0xJ6poNoTbcNRhkSENor4uYEXNkBqGdiAfWsL6YQR9HCPWEqfOGhYVS1lrgvcLuQN_4QHkGbhlrZeclDzkvc4ZwfrPCf57AfxiezkoSMBD9qhXoXYFS_r0JMSk70wJzQG7nN6fnqsW/s1600/Michael_5.jpg" height="320" width="282" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Yet, late last winter we were driving a bully terrier to the transport van. Dolly Mama was supposed to have spent one night, but had ended up staying almost 7 weeks. Heading into town, Michael was fretting and I was crying, when he said, “You want to keep her?” I pulled the car over, made the call, and we did.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Dolly joined our over-sized family at about the same time that we incorporated PAWS, Palmetto Animal Welfare Services. The PAWS mission is to get and keep animals out of shelters, primarily through SNYP, accessible affordable Spay/Neuter in partnership with the SPCA. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">But we also incorporated the programs Heartbeats and LEASH Squad that rescue last-chance county cases. All of these programs have considerable expenses spread all over the map and, therefore, considerable fundraising requirements.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Michael consented to be the official PAWS treasurer. As such, he is on a first-name basis with veterinary clinics and boarding facilities across the state. He is learning to work with people who can only think of the life in their hands, often overlooking the billing gaps, double billings, fees and transaction records. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Without flinching he loaned the organization the start-up funds it needed. He balances the books and reminds me that we need to promote this essential cause.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">That first night over 21 years ago, Michael J. DiStefano asked me what it would take to win my heart. I had never even wondered. “I think it would be just the right combination of romance and adventure,” I replied. Now, each time I pull up our driveway I see the wooden sign he had made for me a couple of Christmases ago. “Welcome to Bedlam,” it says, and I read, “I love you.” </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">This spring for our 20th anniversary, I ordered the one below it. “Must Love Dogs,” it warns, but in Bedlam it means, “I love you, too.”</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">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</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">www.PAWS4NoKill.org</span></a> </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="mailto:info@paws4nokill.org" style="font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">info@paws4nokill.org</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://twitter.com/Paws4NoKill" target="_blank">twitter.com/Paws4NoKill</a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /><a href="http://pinterest.com/paws4nokill" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">pinterest.com/paws4nokill</span></a><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b><a href="http://instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP</span></a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0Aiken, SC, USA33.5604168 -81.7195533000000333.4545268 -81.880914800000028 33.6663068 -81.558191800000031tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-38448235237091679032014-07-23T08:32:00.001-07:002014-07-23T08:40:42.456-07:00Leading Each Animal Safely Home (L.E.A.S.H.)<h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">THE VOICE OF PAWS</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Joya DiStefano</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;">This Aiken County Animal Advocates Columns was posted in the Wagener Monthly in July 2014</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Last month we presented Lars as a “wild
man,” and, although that is not a complete mischaracterization, as even Lars
himself would admit, it is not the full picture either. You can be sure that Mayor Mike saw it, too,
when he offered to set Lars, his wife Jess, their three-year-old daughter,
Savannah, and the rescue they had founded on property he owned. The audacity of
Lars comes complete with its own magic, major and minor miracles, a lot of
heart, and a whole lot of “likes” on Facebook (5,722, to be exact). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">So perhaps before we ask the local
community to get involved, we should offer some background for the most recent cause
that beckons.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">L.E.A.S.H. is an acronym that stands for
Leading Each Animal Safely Home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Swearingens founded the rescue two years ago this month on the notion that they
were going to rescue straight at the source, the streets, and that their
search-and-rescue missions would, in fact, result in lost dogs being returned
to their loving homes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lucky beneficiary
of their first day on the job was a turtle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pictures were taken, and the lucky reptile returned to Mama Nature.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSELsB8u_FDK6_BATHK2iMXh8Z1L7MwI_D4-QQO0TW0awzfvJpr-BpCHrp53ql77jeIhOHHVrDlYG_ic0VKz8RkeA42E0BLITFs9EYvB06w7EPlj815I7iJ7bEWVufy2z9ugky_ZfMHYk/s1600/LEASH_7_23_2014.jpg" height="640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/leashsquad" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/leashsquad</a></span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It did not take long, however, for the
calls to start coming in, but the need was not entirely what the young couple
had imagined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were dogs full of
puncture wounds, with rope burns on their neck, with mange covering their
bodies, and dogs that looked like badly upholstered skeletons. Search and
rescue was not about homes looking for their dogs, it was neglected, mistreated
and abandoned animals looking for safety, security and eventually the home all
dogs deserve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Within a couple of months L.E.A.S.H.
incorporated as LEASH Squad and a few months later this newly minted rescue was
called upon in for a mission it could not have imagined in the couple of months
it had dedicated to even the worst cases from the “the streets.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It began with the notice of a “Death Row
Album,” 48 dogs with a literal deadline at a county facility two and a half
hours east.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lars knew that he could not
accommodate 48 dogs, but he put out the call and the morning of the rescue operation
Lars had 5 cars, 7 people and 17 crates. They would do what they could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he got a call from someone willing to
donate a barn full of box stalls. God must have been smiling on the plan, such
as it was.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">“What I didn’t realize at the time,” Lars
recalls, “Is that the litters did not count as individual dogs. The moms
counted; the puppies were extra.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
were actually 64 dogs.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Off they went
and then the call came from Danny & Ron’s Rescue in Camden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were sending their “dog bus” full of
empty crates and complete with a driver. There was a reciprocal angel at the
other end when the party arrived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had
done everything he could to save as many dogs as he could and Lars honored the
effort with the decision to take the lot, all of them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The dog called Pat was a bite case on a
ten-day hold. He could not go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lars does
not know how Jess managed to lock herself in the kennel with Pat, who then
proceeded to lick her face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We take them
all, or we take none,” he said. By yet another miracle, they took all 67 dogs
out of that facility that day, and named the outrageous adventure “Operation
Phoenix Rising.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The number of enabling
miracles did not end there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There was a Paws for Freedom Rescue
Convention the same day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The caravan
showed up at the convention and, and with the help of organizations like STAR, and
Molly’s Militia 40 dogs went straight into foster homes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other 27 went to the farm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seven who are the hardest cases are still
with Lars at L.E.A.S.H.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It has been two very challenging years.
Many, many more desperately needy dogs have come since the “Phoenix 67.” In the
ensuing months Lars and Jess have demonstrated their gratitude to God and their
commitment to this cause.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have also
learned a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lars admits that he is
much better at playing well with others. He will be a great asset to the
Wagener area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>L.E.A.S.H. needs and is
worthy of your help.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">PAWS, Inc. has incorporated LEASH as a
program into is mission to “get and keep animals out of shelters.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>PAWS is a 501(c)(3) public charity and, as
such we are asking for money, materials and manpower from vendors and members
of the local community to help the LEASH Rescue get more effectively
established.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lars has a plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A concrete pad is most urgent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mayor Mike has Quonset tents that can be
erected to keep the dogs dry now and then warm come winter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need perimeter fencing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Wagener can be proud of the steps it is
taking to join our local no-kill movement. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It leads the way in the county for spay/neuter
assistance and Trap-Neuter-Return for the free-roaming cats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please help any of the following causes with
your time or money:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">·<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black;"> L.E.A.S.H. - </span>(646-6204) <a href="mailto:LEASH@paws4nokill.org" target="_blank">LEASH@paws4nokill.org</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> PAWS at <a href="mailto:info@paws4nokill.org">info@paws4nokill.org</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lenny’s
Brigade: Call Vicki: 640-0750 or Dottie:
564-5231</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">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</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
</div>
</h2>
<h2>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">www.PAWS4NoKill.org</span></a> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: bold; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="mailto:info@paws4nokill.org" style="font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">info@paws4nokill.org</a></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<div>
<br /></div>
<a href="http://facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org</span></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://twitter.com/Paws4NoKill" target="_blank">twitter.com/Paws4NoKill</a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /><a href="http://pinterest.com/paws4nokill" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">pinterest.com/paws4nokill</span></a><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b><a href="http://instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP</span></a></span></div>
</div>
</h2>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-58868942445369547792014-07-11T13:23:00.000-07:002014-07-11T13:23:32.404-07:00Messages in Six Months of May <h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">THE VOICE OF PAWS</span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
<h2>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Joya DiStefano</span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;">This Aiken County Animal Advocates Columns was posted in the Aiken Standard on 07/10/2014</span></div>
</h2>
<h2>
</h2>
<h2>
<div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Let’s face it; there is nothing sexy about preventing a
problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can’t look in the face of
the kitten or puppy that was never born and heave a sigh of relief that you don’t
have to be concerned about an unwanted life that never happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are no heartrending pictures of the
consequent neglect, or abandonment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are no pleading fur faces peering through cage wire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know this is true, because I watch the
money roll in for the PAWS rescue programs that can press that emotion button
over and over again and have people from all over the county, state, and
country pressing PAWS donate buttons to save another lucky puppy or dog from
certain death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They deserve it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It feels good to do something that essential
to life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">PAWS offers another way to feel good that can be illustrated
in six months of May, May being the beginning of the “summer surge months” in national
shelters and Aiken County Animal Shelter is no exception. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">There are three ways for
an animal to be impounded: an officer picks it up, a citizen brings it in, or
an owner gives it up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are three
ways for an animal to get out alive: an owner picks it up (RTO), someone adopts
it, or it is transferred to a 501(c)(3) rescue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Everything else dies in the shelter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">As reflected in the chart below, the numbers are coming down
and it is very likely because PAWS and the SPCA are spaying or neutering
everything we can get our hands on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Since April alone, PAWS SNYP Program (Spay/Neuter Your Pet) has referred
over 170 animals to the SPCA for surgery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Since we began our joint effort, 136 surgeries have been funded meaning
literally thousands of unwanted litters that will not happen in six more
Mays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we can only continue with your
help. Please contribute to PAWS-SNYP and here’s why:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">According to county
shelter data, this May there appears to be a huge change. Although live release
has remained relatively steady for four consecutive years, since May of last year,
the number of animals killed is down 63%.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Owner surrenders are down 30%, officer pick-ups are down 30% and total
animals received is down 15%.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even
citizen drop-offs are down 10%. This is all in the first of the summer high
intake months.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Five years ago this month, I had the privilege to incorporate Friends of the Animal Shelter, now well-known as FOTAS, and 2009 was also the year that I started accumulating data. Aiken County Animal Services and the miserably inadequate pound it operated was a huge problem. Well over five-thousand cats and dogs were impounded annually and more than 9 out of 10 left in big black garbage bags. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Once founded, FOTAS immediately went to work on the shelter population with volunteer recruitment, foster programs for puppies and kittens and a transfer program that sent many fortunate candidates north. For the first three years all available energy went towards saving animals and raising money to help the county build an adequate county animal shelter. It wasn’t until the spring of 2012 that a big shelter fundraiser in Columbia offered a way for area rescues to earn spay/neuter funds. FOTAS jumped on it. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">That summer a pilot program was launched in Wagener, logistically the best place from which to send animals to Columbia. Wagener also was blessed with a committed mayor and great volunteers. When the Columbia funds were gone, the new SPCA’s high-volume clinic stepped in to help and the spay/neuter assistance program began to expand. A year later FOTAS and I parted company and Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc. (PAWS) was created to permanently eliminate the need for area shelters to kill companion animals because there are too many of them to accommodate. Unwanted litter prevention is the heart of PAWS mission.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">February 2014 the beautiful Aiken County Animal Shelter opened its doors. It is a facility in which we can all finally take pride. It was designed to accommodate the problem the previous facility was inadequate to address; not to expand its intake capacity, nor its holding capacity. Out of concern that the numbers might explode with the perception that the county was now in the animal warehousing business, I continued to track the data. It was a delightful surprise to discover that the situation is actually beginning to improve. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We are very proud of what we are accomplishing, and we cannot do it without your help. We have no heart-wrenching photos of the absence of homeless pets for our SNYP Program. What we can offer are the thousands of animals who will not have to die for lack of homes and lack of space. Please help us by sending a check to PAWS – SNYP, P.O. Box 392 Aiken, 29802 or go to our website paws4nokill.org. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit registered in South Carolina. Give what you can so we can do what we do. God bless you for caring.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">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</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">www.PAWS4NoKill.org</span></a> </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="mailto:info@paws4nokill.org" style="font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">info@paws4nokill.org</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://twitter.com/Paws4NoKill" target="_blank">twitter.com/Paws4NoKill</a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/paws4nokill" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">pinterest.com/paws4nokill</span></a><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP" target="_blank">instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">P.S. Hows this for heartwrenching?</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdBXzAP6A_LZDBec-0knyDcp0O8m5577iBD_e9hfODpyk38XDV1ZZuYMMjHBKpc0WAkFjq8koNMHw0-0GLvwcQXmJ_hzD9eDyJDHkaA9HgGf0A73UbK_LsDt6oDE3KigtbzbwOnGnx-ya/s1600/Momma+Dog+7_7-2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdBXzAP6A_LZDBec-0knyDcp0O8m5577iBD_e9hfODpyk38XDV1ZZuYMMjHBKpc0WAkFjq8koNMHw0-0GLvwcQXmJ_hzD9eDyJDHkaA9HgGf0A73UbK_LsDt6oDE3KigtbzbwOnGnx-ya/s1600/Momma+Dog+7_7-2014.jpg" height="427" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Not Another Litter!!</b></td></tr>
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Please help stop this! </div>
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DONATE NOW:</div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/7mQsc/ab/73T1dd" target="_blank">PAWS fundrazr Spay/Neuter Campaign</a></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-17290362736719262732014-06-26T12:39:00.000-07:002014-07-07T12:47:35.891-07:00How Relevant We Are is Key <h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">THE VOICE OF PAWS</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Joya DiStefano</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;">This Aiken County Animal Advocates Columns was posted in the Aiken Standard on 6/26/2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“The great progress that we have made… to reduce the shelter death toll has mostly come from reducing shelter intake rates.” – Peter Marsh, author of Getting to Zero</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Snoop looks like a vanilla border collie with a swooping curl of a tail over her rump like a Spitz. When I enter the large education room in the SPCA Albrecht Center, she approaches to give me a cursory sniff before returning to her people and matters at hand. Ann Kinney, head of Phideaux University at the SPCA is doing a consult with Snoop and her parents, who had brought Snoop to P.U. because she lunges at other dogs on leash walks. Snoop, a Molly’s Militia save, was clearly devoted to her humans, looking and returning to her “mister” again and again. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">The subject in progress was why the pinch collar is contrary to current behavior management theory with dogs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I was there because my husband and I were into 4 digits with the vet bills for damage, done by a recent adoption, to other dogs in our large canine family. After the 4 days our beagle-cross had to spend in the clinic with tubes in her wounds, our vet had referred us to Melissa Hartley at Sindar Kennels. Melissa is another canine behavior consultant. Thanks to Melissa’s clear concrete guidance, our family is intact and will remain so. There is no doubt that had we surrendered Dolly-Mama to a shelter, she would have died there, another statistic. Dolly’s trigger is arousal; who doesn’t get aroused in a pound?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Typically when people hear the term “No-Kill” they think of a safe-haven shelter for animals that would otherwise be victims of the alternative: open-admission, high-kill shelters run by public animal control departments like we have here in the cities of North Augusta and Aiken, and the Aiken County Shelter. This is a misconception. Actually, a “no-kill” shelter that does not have the programs in place to move its inhabitants quickly and effectively into good permanent homes will be just another inhumane alternative for homeless pets, and a costly one at that.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“No-Kill” is a widely tested nation-wide movement that may come under other names, like “Getting to Zero,” or “Empty Cages.” It begins with a premise: rounding up cats and dogs and then killing them for lack of space or interest is like treating malaria with quinine instead of eradicating mosquitoes. To support a no-kill agenda means that priority-one is to keep animals out of shelters in the first place by tackling the “unwanted” part of the equation.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Accessible low-cost spay/neuter, and publicly supported trap-neuter-return (TNR) for free-roaming cats, are the foundation to all no-kill efforts. Through the SNYP program (Spay/Neuter Your Pet) in partnership with the SPCA, PAWS (Palmetto Animal Welfare Services), the new No-Kill animal advocacy organization in town, does the outreach for clients and funds toward eliminating companion animal overpopulation. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Following aggressive spay/neuter programs, No-Kill initiatives take on more unique characteristics depending on the communities involved, but all no-kill efforts will tackle pet retention next. It is not enough to have people want to have a pet dog or cat; they have to have the resources and skills to keep them safe at home. For poor households, this may mean help with food or enclosures, vaccines and heartworm prevention. For others it may mean referrals to pet-friendly housing, or affordable boarding or pet-care alternatives. But after preventing unwanted and unnecessary litters, help with basic behavior management is the single most important pet-retention tool.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There are a number of reasons that dogs are surrendered to a shelter by their owners. Far and away the most common one is behavior: messing, chewing, barking, digging, aggression, to name just a few, and all of which are highly remediable, especially with the help of a behavior consultant.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“Most traditional behavior shaping approaches use escaping pressure or avoiding punishment,” Ann Kinney explains to Snoop’s folks. “It does work, but it is not necessary, and the attitude of the dog is different.” She hunches to demonstrate how a dog cowers when it fears punishment.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ann disabuses her clients of the notion that dogs are in any way like wolves, just as Melissa Hartley had done with us over Dolly’s aggression. It is not about who gets to dominate; it is about how relevant we are and how much our dogs will accept our influence whenever we need to assert it. Both professionals can provide a spot-on diagnostic assessment of the issue and customized, user-friendly ways to develop relationship enhancing alternatives. “You are training all the time,” Ann says. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“We are more like counselors or psychologists than trainers,” Melissa says of her profession. Although the two women have distinct styles, I cannot say enough good things about them as a resource.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In addition to her work with families who have already adopted a dog, Ann Kinney works with the residents and volunteers at the SPCA. The result is that the dogs’ mental health is supported and enhanced in this temporary environment; hence, they are more adoptable and more likely to adjust to their new home. A P.U. graduate is virtually guaranteed to be a great companion. Can you say the same about your half of the relationship? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">If you are reading this column, you are likely an animal lover. If you are, there are so many ways you can help Aiken County join the no-Kill movement. If you can’t give money, give time. If you can’t give time, please give money. Spay/Neuter requests are averaging 20 a day! Volunteers are needed. Foster homes are needed. If not now, when? If not you, who?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>PAWS: info@paws4nokill.org or: (803) 634-0564 </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Phideaux University at the SPCA Albrecht Center: </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> info@letlovelive.org or (803) 648-6863</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sindar Kennel: Melissa@sindarkennel.com or (803) 467-7548</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Aiken County Animal Shelter: (803) 642-1537 option 1</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">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</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/" target="_blank">www.PAWS4NoKill.org</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="mailto:info@paws4nokill.org" target="_blank">info@paws4nokill.org</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://twitter.com/Paws4NoKill">twitter.com/Paws4NoKill</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/paws4nokill" target="_blank">pinterest.com/paws4nokill</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP" target="_blank">instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP</a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0Aiken, SC, USA33.5604168 -81.7195533000000333.4545268 -81.880914800000028 33.6663068 -81.558191800000031tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-87939236940143360302014-06-13T17:47:00.002-07:002014-07-07T12:31:00.104-07:00Why Phideaux’s Flea Market Matters<h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">THE VOICE OF PAWS</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Joya DiStefano</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;">This Aiken County Animal Advocates Columns was posted in the Aiken Standard on 06/13/2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>“The continued use of euthanasia
to control the size of its cat and dog populations is a choice a community
makes, not a necessity.”</i> – Peter Marsh, author of <i>Getting to Zero<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">What is the cosmic connection
between the routine killing of dogs and cats to a Saturday flea market? The answer lies in an illustrative tale.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzbtHfh2W_8ymEfdKlp4fDPXRkKx3KhMw4X9k7g_2iN_pDsg1FsTrG-bA5ap7Iu_ULvYon4rwkbJ3yQWL_bDtEKHu948dyJQyK97DblriJZYZ1NmoePXY2OU7xCq0VPmFc999EsBVE51eX/s1600/Fela+market+Info.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzbtHfh2W_8ymEfdKlp4fDPXRkKx3KhMw4X9k7g_2iN_pDsg1FsTrG-bA5ap7Iu_ULvYon4rwkbJ3yQWL_bDtEKHu948dyJQyK97DblriJZYZ1NmoePXY2OU7xCq0VPmFc999EsBVE51eX/s1600/Fela+market+Info.JPG" height="300" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Palmetto Animal Welfare Services,
more commonly known as PAWS, has a program called SNYP (Spay Neuter Your
Pet).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In partnership with the Aiken
SPCA, SNYP offers “free” spay/neuter surgeries throughout Aiken County for
qualifying households.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Humans call SNYP
volunteers on behalf of their companion cats and dogs and SNYP volunteers work to
assure the pets get fixed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The co-pay is
$20 and includes rabies vaccine and a micro-chip. No one is turned away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Some get referred to one of the voucher
programs, or Lenny’s Brigade for cats, but everyone who calls can get a deal on
preventing unwanted litters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The conversations
are warm, supportive and take a positive problem-solving approach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most applicants prefer to self-schedule directly with the SPCA Clinic, but PAWS will transport if necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">SNYP costs money, but begging and
pleading wears on relationships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when
the SPCA offered PAWS a spot to raise funds at their monthly Phideaux Flea
Market and Dog Wash, we figured that we would give it a try.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">What could be so hard about getting all that
stuff out of closets, attics, storage, garages, and selling it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, the answer is if it was that easy it
wouldn’t be accumulating in all those handy spaces.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Flash to North Augusta where Todd
and Jeannie thought that it was going to take six or eight months to sell their
house while their new house was being built. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, the real estate market is soft, so who
would have predicted that their house would sell in 29 days and they would be
in a crunch to get rid of all that “stuff?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Voila!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We start our maiden voyage
as flea marketeers with a horse trailer full of yummy stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have to see the nearly new Mongoose stunt
bicycle, and “Clemson-opoly?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Truly, a
find.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">But the synchronicity of the
last-minute need to empty a house under contract, and an inaugural attempt to
turn cast-offs to cash, symbolizes more than the affirmation of one
effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Palmetto Animal Welfare Services
exists to insist that if we work together, we can save them all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I personally believe that if the first
step you take is the right one, the road will rise to meet you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">PAWS was founded to address chronic and
counter-productive gaps and rifts among a broad array of stakeholders in animal
welfare issues in our county and the surrounding region.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As our Facebook page and website claim, “<span class="fblongblurb">PAWS is a vocal advocate to assist any and all animal welfare
efforts in and around Aiken County to end the unnecessary killing of shelter
animals.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We began by forming PAWS as an
“umbrella” 501(c)(3) non-profit by uniting a consortium of animal welfare
efforts within the corporation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also
constituted PAWS governing body with people who were already doing the work to
which PAWS committed: getting and keeping animals out of shelters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Affordable and accessible spay/neuter through
SNYP (Spay/Neuter Your Pet) serves the entire county.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>SNYP is PAWS core program. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then Shelter Animal Advocates Aiken Foster
Network provides short-term foster care bridging the time between the county
shelter and private rescue groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Heartbeats raises the funds (averaging $600) to treat dogs who test
positive for heartworm while impounded, so that they can be pulled for a
partnering rescue. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>LEASH Squad in
Wagener rescues and rehabilitates dogs that have been victims of cruelty and
who need the kind of care few places are equipped to give.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">All animal welfare efforts need
the support of their communities to function.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Achieving tax-exempt status with the IRS by becoming a 501(c)(3)
nonprofit corporation, an expensive and time-consuming process, encourages and
expands the essential support by validating the mission of the public charity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The PAWS group received a letter from the IRS
recently informing PAWS that its tax-exempt status should be official by the
end of August.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps it represents
another sign we are on the right road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Tomorrow PAWS will join other flea-marketeers
and crafters at the SPCA’s Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare from 8 am until 2 pm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should you care to stop by and shop, or
deliver some prized item for us to sell, or browse and chat you may find
yourself inspired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Join the No-kill
movement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Help us “get to zero” with
unwanted pet prevention, well-homed pet retention, and pro-active rescue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">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</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/" target="_blank">www.PAWS4NoKill.org</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="mailto:info@paws4nokill.org" target="_blank">info@paws4nokill.org</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://twitter.com/Paws4NoKill">twitter.com/Paws4NoKill</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/paws4nokill" target="_blank">pinterest.com/paws4nokill</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP" target="_blank">instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP</a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC 29801, USA33.5626521 -81.69261133.5626006 -81.69269 33.5627036 -81.692532tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-39725962960847373492014-05-29T12:16:00.000-07:002014-07-07T12:31:54.996-07:00P.A.W.S. for Fun, Funds and to Feel Good<h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">THE VOICE OF PAWS</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
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<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Joya DiStefano</span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
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</h2>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;">This Aiken County Animal Advocates Columns was posted in the Aiken Standard on 05/29/2014</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When you think of chicken soup
what are some of the first things that come to mind? You are feeling puny and someone cares to
make you feel better? Or do you think of a book about and by almost
any marketing demographic in the nation: couples, teenagers, those grieving, addicts,
spiritual groups, techies, gardeners and, of course, every kind of animal-lover
in God’s creation. Chicken Soup for
Human Life’s Soul series, who has not read, or at least heard of them? They are translated and sold all over the
world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Chicken soup is the national metaphor
for helping one to feel better. On June
28, 1993, the Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing Company was born from a
small book idea that no major publisher would touch. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen were the
original authors, and after building the Chicken-Soup-for-the-Soul brand into a
major corporation, they sold off the company in 2008. Since then, the brand has
continued to flourish.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nationally known celebrity veterinarian,
Dr. Marty Becker is a best-selling author of many Chicken Soup for the Animal
Lover’s Soul books: Cats, horses, dogs.
He has other titles, too, branching out into the relationship between
humans and their pets, and their curiosity about pets. Why do horses sleep standing up? Why do cats always land on their feet? Why are people with pets happier and healthier? What can we learn about grieving from our
relationship with our animal friends?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Are you totally fascinated
yet? How can you not be? I had purchased my tickets to tonight’s (May
30<sup>th</sup>) event: “Chicken Soup
for the Aiken Horse Lover’s Soul” when I started doing a little more research into
the headliner for the event, Dr. Marty Becker, DVM. If I hadn’t had the tickets already, I would
have gone straight to the Equine Rescue of Aiken Facebook page, or its website (<a href="http://www.aikenequinerescue.com/">www.aikenequinerescue.com</a>) and
ordered them. It is at the Aiken Center for
the Arts on Laurens Street. You can buy
tickets for the same price at the door. This is an event not-to-be-missed; here’s
why…</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The topic has to be fascinating
to area residents. Animals? Are we not terrifically special because of our
relationship with animals? Dr. Becker is
an entertaining, walking encyclopedia on most of the animals we care about:
horses, dogs and cats, and probably others, too.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The $20 ticket price includes
wine, beer, tons of hors d’oeuvres, the speaker and the opportunity to invest
in the self-enhanced chance to go home with some truly valuable items: a $6,500
diamond tennis bracelet, original art by real artists, and some other expensive
stuff you might never have the chance to own were you not to participate. You buy
all the tickets you want in lots of 4, then you weight your chance to be
selected to go home with the rare gift of your choice. All of the food, drinks and gifts are
donated, so you can walk through the door at 6pm for $20. Admit it; you cannot afford not to go.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The best reason to turn up
tonight is Equine Rescue of Aiken. It is
a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in which we can all take pride. Jim and Debbie Rhodes love and passion for homeless
animals show up in everything they do for and with this amazing facility. They,
their volunteers, and supporters have built a rescue and re-homing enterprise for
horses and dogs that represents our greater Aiken Community so well. We can all be thankful that Aiken County is Equine
Rescue’s home.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the unfortunate event that you
are not available for this evening’s festivities, let me tell you about some
other opportunities to have fun, raise some funds, and feel good about being
involved.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This month (May) The SPCA began a
new summer series, “Phideaux’s Flea Market (8am-2pm) and Dog Wash (10am-2pm).” If you want to make a little extra cash, you
can buy a spot and have your own “garage sale” at the site for $50 plus whatever
you don’t sell. Your leftovers will go
to raise funds for the SPCA at their Treasure Chest locations throughout the
area. The next Phideaux’s Flea Market is
on Saturday, June 14<sup>th</sup>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">PAWS (Palmetto Animal Welfare Services,
Inc.) would like to offer you another alternative to do a really good
thing. If you can’t be bothered to sell all
that stuff taking up storage space, give it to us. We will sell it at the Phideaux’s Flea Market
and use the funds to continue to promote our Spay/Neuter Your Pet (SNYP) program
throughout the county. We currently have
sites operating in the valley through the Burnettown Hall, Windsor at the Shell
Station and Jackson at Town Hall. In Jackson
alone, we have helped the SPCA fix over 50 animals since April 1, 2014. All our
subsidized surgeries are done at the SPCA.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The SNYP program, through
referrals to the county voucher program, FOTAS in Wagener, Lenny’s Brigade for
stray cats and the SPCA is making a significant contribution towards keeping animals
out of our local shelters. That is the
PAWS Mission: Unwanted pet prevention and well-homed pet retention. SNYP is the heart of our efforts. Check your sheds, garages and closets for
items to donate then call: (803) 634-0564 or 226-9479. We will make it easy for you to get your
stuff to us.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We hope to see you tonight for
some figurative chicken soup and a lot of real goodies. We also encourage you to plan for Saturday,
June 14 at the SPCA Albrecht Center, 101 Willow Run Road. In between think about how to participate:
give your goods to PAWS for SNYP, have your own table and give the rest to the
SPCA, or just come and shop. It will
make you feel good, like chicken soup.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">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</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/" target="_blank">www.PAWS4NoKill.org</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="mailto:info@paws4nokill.org" target="_blank">info@paws4nokill.org</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://twitter.com/Paws4NoKill">twitter.com/Paws4NoKill</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/paws4nokill" target="_blank">pinterest.com/paws4nokill</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP" target="_blank">instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP</a></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0Aiken, SC, USA33.5604168 -81.7195533000000333.4545268 -81.880914800000028 33.6663068 -81.558191800000031tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-24691715275232151542014-05-19T15:54:00.000-07:002014-07-07T14:04:32.789-07:00P.A.W.S. to Listen and Learn <h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">THE VOICE OF PAWS</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
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<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Joya DiStefano</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;">This Aiken County Animal Advocates Columns was posted in the Wagner Monthly on 5/19/2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Folks, what we are about to do together is to make sure that no adoptable or treatable companion animal has to die impounded. Watch for our banner: NKAC! It stands for No Kill Aiken County. In order to realize this rather lofty vision for our county (already accomplished by Spartanburg city) we have a new venture.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">P.A.W.S. stands for Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc. Its mission is, “Unwanted pet prevention and Well-homed pet retention.” Wagener’s own Dottie Gantt is on the governing board of this county-wide 501(c)(3) animal advocacy non-profit. PAWS, Inc. promotes low-cost accessible spay/neuter services, and coordinates existing animal welfare resources so that the needs of Aiken County animals can be effectively addressed by their humans.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">This month, we would like to offer the Wagener Monthly readership some information to help begin the process with companion animals we already know; dogs and cats that already depend on us, God’s creatures doomed by our ignorance or apathy unless we learn how to take care of them.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">For instance, did you know that heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes? Or are you aware that you can prevent most common intestinal parasites by protecting your dogs from heartworm? For less than it costs for a burger and a beer, once a month, you can keep your pets safe from a potentially fatal disease. It is also worth considering that if you surrender your dog or it is picked up by the county and it tests positive for heartworm that, too, is a death sentence. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Heartworm prevention begins with a licensed veterinarian who will test your dog. If the test is positive, the professional can tell you about your options. We hope the test is negative and you will be able to begin a simple prevention protocol. The heartworm prevention medications are available by prescription, but all you are required to get from a veterinarian is the test and the prescription. Once you have a prescription there are low cost on-line sources competing for your business. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRST4vksYYuZReZfUd1pO2tcocuy7hfEtLbwkzoCQCMAj-J_EtVNbqsNm7Rbn9MN0_IQU6tpx20OMyDsDVtAQuurnoHmlvIYCPMcag2hg8FViVsl-BHAaSOpvNNevBX1S_CGqWDsmDTo3/s1600/Chase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRST4vksYYuZReZfUd1pO2tcocuy7hfEtLbwkzoCQCMAj-J_EtVNbqsNm7Rbn9MN0_IQU6tpx20OMyDsDVtAQuurnoHmlvIYCPMcag2hg8FViVsl-BHAaSOpvNNevBX1S_CGqWDsmDTo3/s1600/Chase.jpg" height="320" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heartworm Positive Dog</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There are some very cost-effective ways to begin to protect your dogs from heartworm. One is Pet Med Mobile (1-800-228-6007 or www.petmedmobile.com) which swings through Wagener about monthly. They charge $35 for the test, but you have the local convenience. Pawmetto Lifeline’s Care-a-Van program may come to Wagener, too. They charge $20 for the test and can be queried at info@careavansc.com. Or you can go to the SPCA Albrecht Center in Aiken. They only charge $18, but you have to drive. All three organizations offer the full range of vaccines for dogs and cats at very affordable prices, and probably sell the prevention products you need for added convenience.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In our area, Heartworm treatment should be done year round due to the warmer weather we experience in the south.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Sure, dogs and cats can do fine living outdoors, provided that they have plenty of water, good food, shade and shelter, but that does not mean that they don’t need additional protection from ticks and fleas. Beyond the misery of allergies, potentially lethal anemia if left untreated too long, the host animals (including humans) can get tapeworms from fleas. If your environment is infested, it is not enough to slap on a flea collar, or even give the “top-spot” medications and pills, but it is not that hard, or expensive, to address the problem of a yard infestation.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“You can find an insecticide that is already set up to attach to your hose at the Feed Store, Wal-Mart or Lowes,” Dottie says, “then when you use that up, you can just get the stuff and mix it yourself.” You can ask Dottie for her well-tested secrets, like when to spray and how much, when you call her about the easy and highly affordable spay/neuter services sponsored by Friends of the Animal Shelter (FOTAS).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Thanks to organizations like the SPCA, FOTAS, Lenny’s Brigade, Pawmetto Lifeline, PAWS and programs like the Aiken County Voucher Program, there really is no excuse for any more unwanted litters of puppies or kittens. The surgery is as good as free at the brand new SPCA Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare in Aiken, and with the $20 co-pay you get a rabies vaccine and a micro-chip. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Here are some options:</span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Self-transport your pet to and from the Aiken SPCA, call or text: (803) 645-4021 or 564-5231. Either Colleen Timmerman or Dottie Gantt will get back to you on how to proceed.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Sign up for the (monthly) transport at Wagener Town Hall. Cost is the same but you have to wait. Colleen or Dottie can fill you in on the pros and cons to consider.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">If you are struggling with a free-roaming cat colony, call: (803) 507-6315 or 564-5231. Cats can be trapped-neutered and returned to their habitat. This service is free and cages are provided.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A newly revised Animal Control Ordinance has finally been adopted by the City Council of Wagener that sets forth regulations for its citizens to assure that the health and safety of persons and animals are protected. Wagener can take pride in the guidelines adopted, and any residents, or their neighbors, who are unsure of the current quality of care for any animal, would be well served to consult the Mayor’s Office for the new rules.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We mentioned a case last month where an ailing mother and her severely disabled son had a pack of dogs that were breeding and wandering out of control. The desire to help a handicapped young man who loved (and needed) his dogs, set our animal-loving mayor into action. The beautiful and secure fence is in. The next phase of the project, to build the dogs some shelter inside their new perimeter, is likely to be taken on by the young man’s pastor and his congregation. Of course, Dottie Gantt instigated the initiative, but, Wagener, you are certainly raising the bar for community support! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Of course, temporary foster care is always needed. All you have to do is provide the space and the love. Food, medicine and support are provided. If you have space on your property and in your heart to help with animals needing care and guidance on their way to their forever, loving home, please contact Dottie (564-5231) or PAWS at info@paws4nokill.org. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Now, PAWS for No-Kill and ask yourself: Are you part of the solution or part of the problem?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">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</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/" target="_blank">www.PAWS4NoKill.org</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="mailto:info@paws4nokill.org">info@paws4nokill.org</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org" target="_blank">facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://twitter.com/Paws4NoKill" target="_blank">twitter.com/Paws4NoKill</a> <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><br />
</b><a href="http://instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP" target="_blank">instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP</a></span><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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</h2>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0Wagener, SC 29164, USA33.6523712 -81.361214233.6259362 -81.4015547 33.6788062 -81.3208737tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-37884156216925036032014-05-14T13:18:00.002-07:002014-07-07T12:32:22.433-07:00Changing the World Begins with a Dog <h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">THE VOICE OF PAWS</span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Joya DiStefano</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;">This Aiken County Animal Advocates Columns was posted in the Aiken Standard on 05/17/2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Rescuing a dog will not change the world, but it will
change the dog’s world.” The significance of this slogan from the Weimaraner
Rescue of South Carolina, located in Aiken County, is clear to all of us
involved with rescue. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg75u4q_aPRElA_gSgq3Tzl0sP0-zoU13FnVvhSaiKhvM6DGDZ-nOz7YXH1B8tKCQbz56ramPGVSNPJ_a44vgqhVRPbg0Ue9_5-GAPnNBiqaT9vItBF3lIMM_09W1DQr_h-W_rmM-Up6uYT/s1600/Weimaraner+Rescue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg75u4q_aPRElA_gSgq3Tzl0sP0-zoU13FnVvhSaiKhvM6DGDZ-nOz7YXH1B8tKCQbz56ramPGVSNPJ_a44vgqhVRPbg0Ue9_5-GAPnNBiqaT9vItBF3lIMM_09W1DQr_h-W_rmM-Up6uYT/s1600/Weimaraner+Rescue.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ask any of the
local shelter staff and volunteers with the SPCA Albrecht Center or the new
Aiken County Animal Shelter who see thousands of homeless pets every year. Or
talk to Shelter Animal Advocates, Molly’s Militia, Happy Tails, L.E.A.S.H.
Squad, and Home for Good Dog Rescue, or “breed” rescues like Weimaraners, they
may tell you that, if done right, the change only starts with the rescued
animal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am a romantic and an idealist. I like to insert “pragmatic” as a modifier,
just to suggest that I have evolved, but I will admit to the belief that
whatever my current occupation, and there have been quite a few, I am always
changing the world. So when I saw the
slogan about rescuing and world changing, it got me wondering. I think the process can, and should, be
bigger than that. I also think Weimaraner Rescue and other local rescue
organizations are making it happen. I’ll
give you the guided tour through my reasoning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">P.A.W.S. (<a href="http://paws4nokill.org/" target="_blank">Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.</a>) gets many,
many calls from residents throughout our very large county who are responding
to our offer of low-cost spay/neuter for their pets. In the course of these conversations, we hear
about the many previous or current litters.
I always ask, “What did you (or will you) do with the puppies (or
kittens)?” Answers vary, but they say
that they find (most of them) homes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of
course no one says, I just take them to the county, or dump them, or call the
county and say that they were dumped.
Those folks probably don’t bother to call PAWS. In short, free dogs or cats are very easy to
come by. And we all know where many of
them end up, and then some of the “lucky” ones get their world changed by being
rescued. This is the world as we know it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now go to the SPCA website (<a href="http://letlovelive.org/">letlovelive.org</a>) or Home for
Good Dog Rescue (<a href="http://homeforgooddogs.org/" target="_blank">homeforgooddogs.org</a>), or Weimaraner Rescue (<a href="http://weimrescuesc.org/">weimrescuesc.org</a>) and
look at their adoption guidelines and processes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The SPCA specifically tells people about the
considerations and cost related to owning (read: providing a good home for) a
pet. No Christmas puppies, no
indulge-your-kid’s-whim. They address the
costs for routine vet visits, vaccines, heartworm prevention, food and
supplies. That’s monetary costs; then
there is the time to train, exercise, and be a good companion to your companion
animal. Then there is the adoption process itself; you would think that a child
was being placed in a home. Actually,
for many of us, that is exactly what it is like. And that is where our world begins to change.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you look closely at the adoption criteria for these
rescue groups, you will find basically the same ethic running through the
process. They want to know what kind of
family and home the applicants are prepared to provide. They are not charging a lot of money, as if
they are dispensing some rare commodity, they are stewarding a precious life,
for which a great responsibility is felt.
They want to know about lifestyle and living arrangements and habits and
temperaments. They are prepared to do
everything in their power to assure a good fit for the animal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Home for Good, screens, checks references, arranges
meet-and-greets for the prospective families and their dog-interest. SPCA follows similar protocols. And with
their “Phideaux University,” they have prepared their charges to be ready for a
well-prepared and discerning human. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Weimaraner Rescue, knowing the propensities of their breed, goes out of
the way to make sure that appropriate education and training are part of the
mix. Even Aiken County Animal Services,
with their new shelter and their passionate and highly experienced adoption
coordinator, has begun basic prescreening for animal adoptions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, you ask, how does this change the world? Here’s where being a little bit of a pragmatic
idealist and romantic helps. Imagine a
world where, life by life, home by home, family and community by family and
community, we begin to think about how we need to treat those who have a right
to depend on us. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Imagine if we learn to
tune in to the simple and simply magnificent needs and talents of our dogs and
cats, and then we commit to providing for them with love and compassion, what
we might also commit to for our children, our elderly, our poor and needy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The devotion to love, compassion AND responsibility that our
rescues bring to the world, not only will change the world, it already is. Onward!</span></div>
</div>
</h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">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.</span><br />
<br />
<h2>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/" target="_blank">www.PAWS4NoKill.org</a></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="mailto:info@paws4nokill.org" target="_blank">info@paws4nokill.org</a></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://twitter.com/Paws4NoKill">twitter.com/Paws4NoKill</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/paws4nokill" target="_blank">pinterest.com/paws4nokill</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP" target="_blank">instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP</a></span></div>
</h2>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0Aiken County, SC, USA33.6005783 -81.6035061999999732.7535413 -82.894399699999965 34.4476153 -80.312612699999974tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-46219880536286303762014-04-22T15:52:00.003-07:002014-07-07T12:32:48.565-07:00It Took a Town, a Mayor and Many Angels <h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>THE VOICE OF PAWS </b></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
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<!--StartFragment--><!--EndFragment--><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Aiken County Animal
Advocates as posted in the AIken Standard on April 25, 2014</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">By Joya DiStefano</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another Pit Bull Terrier has been found tied and starved to a skeletal shadow of its natural magnificence, and Mayor Michael Miller and his City Council are taking steps to intervene and, hopefully prevent, the abuse of any animal within their jurisdiction. By a newly revised Animal Control Ordinance, the City Council of Wagener shall set forth regulations for its citizens to assure that the health and safety of persons and animals are protected. Wagener can take pride in the guidelines to be adopted, and any residents, or their neighbors, who are unsure of the current quality of care for any animal, would be well served to consult the Mayor’s Office.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is it about Pit Bull Terriers that make them so frequently the victims of ignorance, neglect and cruelty? For more than a hundred years, the American Pit Bull Terrier was the standard of the all-American dog. Think of RCA Victor, Buster Brown Shoes, and the Little Rascals. The United Kennel Club describes the essential characteristics of the American Pit Bull Terrier as “strength, confidence, and zest for life. This breed is eager to please and brimming over with enthusiasm. APBTs make excellent family companions and have always been noted for their love of children.” If there is an inclination towards aggression, it is to other dogs, a potential problem that training and supervision can avoid.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then there are those times when the neglect of animals is no accurate reflection of the owners’ devotion to their animals. We mentioned a case last month where an ailing mother and her severely disabled son had a pack of dogs that were breeding and wandering out of control. The neighbors were up in arms. County Animal Control was torn between the obligation to enforce county ordinance and the desire to help a handicapped young man who loved (and needed) his dogs, all of them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dottie Gantt, a life-long Wagener resident has her finger on the pulse of her community, and not many needs that come to her attention go unaddressed. Dottie recruited Dr. Timmerman and his wife to step in with FOTAS funding for the spay/neuter surgeries necessary to get the pack under control. She then brought the need for adequate fencing to the attention of Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc. (PAWS), a newly formed 501(c)(3) public charity whose mission is to help homes, and communities, keep animals out of shelters. Then Mayor Mike stepped in and what follows is the rest of the story.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>BEFORE</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The fence is completed, except for the concrete at the entrances and running a water line inside the pen. Licking tips on the existing water spigot provide on-demand water, and all the dogs love it. (Confined to a wheelchair, the owner was having difficulty making sure the dogs had adequate water.) I want to thank a couple people who volunteered to help, and who turned out to be much more than helpful. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>AFTER</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Years ago, when the Ostrich farming fad hit, I already had a pair of Ostriches that I‘d bought through an ad in The Progressive Farmer. At the time, they were considered "exotic animals," regulated by the DNR, which required an escape-proof enclosure and on-site 24-hour supervision. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While at work one day, a surgeon buddy ask me if I knew of any farmers around Pelion that would provide temporary home for a kid who had suffered traumatic injuries in a motorcycle accident and had nowhere to go. I happened to know a farmer who had a vacant mobile home on his property who might take him in, so I called him. He preferred to sell me the trailer for $200, and move it to my farm; thereby solving the 24-hour-supervision requirement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The “very-secure-enclosure” I intended to solve with 300'x100' chain link pen, quoted by a fence company at $6000.00. I was going to swallow the cost, but an old high school friend, Tim Buchner, decided he, too, wanted to get into the Ostrich business. When I told him about the costs, he said that we could do the fencing ourselves and save hundreds of dollars.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the first mile or so of fencing, we got pretty good at it; with my inclination to get the fence up ASAP and Tim's determination to do it right the first time, it turned out quite well. So when I set my mind to do the dog pen, I called Tim to ask what we used to do to "get it right." He didn’t try to explain the process very long before he realized it would be much easier and time-efficient to just come out and do it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heartfelt thanks go out to: Tim Buchner and Grady Rhodes from Wagener for the (accurate) site work and construction; Mr. Tony Harmon, owner/operator of his own concrete business in Lexington. Tony is an expert at concrete finishing and an artist at stamped concrete; Mr. Dean Gooding at Sox Fence & Supply Co, 1500 Lake Dogwood Dr. West Columbia, SC 29170; and, certainly Dottie Gantt for recognizing the need and caring enough to get something done.”</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Dottie's Fosters</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is not the only service Dottie Gantt has performed on behalf of the Wagener community, its mayor and its animals. Dottie is the coordinator of the affordable and accessible spay/neuter project run out of Town Hall and currently funded by FOTAS. If you have a cat or dog that needs to be fixed, please go sign up. Outdoor living cats are also being trapped-fixed and returned by volunteers that Dottie oversees.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Another of Dottie's Fosters</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But right now, your own Dottie Gantt needs you. She took on a bunch of (6 or 7) desperate, lovely loving dogs and she now needs help fostering and finding them homes. (See them on her Facebook page or our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org" target="_blank">PAWS</a> facebook page.) Also, if you can find it in your heart to help with temporary foster-care for animals needing guidance and support on their way to their forever, loving home please contact Dottie. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let’s help her out, before we use her up! You, too, can be a Wagener Angel!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />A
retired organizational problem-solver and radical educator, Joya
Jiménez DiStefano is an artist, Servant Leader, and co-founder of FOTAS,
Inc.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/" target="_blank">www.PAWS4NoKill.org</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="mailto:info@paws4nokill.org" target="_blank">info@paws4nokill.org</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://twitter.com/Paws4NoKill">twitter.com/Paws4NoKill</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/paws4nokill" target="_blank">pinterest.com/paws4nokill</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP" target="_blank">instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0Wagener, SC 29164, USA33.6523712 -81.361214233.6259362 -81.4015547 33.6788062 -81.3208737tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-26830332090251548772014-04-16T15:38:00.000-07:002014-07-07T12:34:42.609-07:00Acting as if the God in All Life Matters <h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">THE VOICE OF PAWS</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Joya DiStefano</span></div>
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<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;">This Aiken County Animal Advocates Columns was posted in the Aiken Standard on 4/17/2014</span></div>
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“Why spend $600 (or more) on one sick dog, when there are so
many healthy ones who need homes?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
common query is aired far less often than it is pondered when addressing the
overwhelming problem of unwanted dogs and cats in our community shelters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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The fact is that if a heartworm positive dog is picked up or
surrendered to animal control, Aiken County policy says that it cannot be
adopted out to a private citizen; it may only be transferred to a reputable
rescue organization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such organizations
will only accept the heartworm positive dogs if the money for treatment
accompanies the dog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Treatment and
transportation runs between $600 to $700 dollars; hence the opening question.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snoopy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Just before Thanksgiving of 2011, an elderly rat terrier
named Snoopy came to our home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
many weeks languishing in a shelter cage, Snoopy had been adopted by an elderly
friend who had loved a rat terrier long gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The widow thought to share her twilight years with the little old dog
who reminded her of another past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
Because
Snoopy had not been neutered he could not go home with our friend for
Thanksgiving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As an approved foster home,
we opted to provide short-term foster care over the holiday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then our friend had second thoughts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My husband fell in love with Snoopy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Snoopy stayed.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSi2q-7BudSkXWeAv8b7PLg_LQQjDaM3j29aoqH1h8bqVdpxab0NkDPBem-pRzBbJArjY-1byfdouSKUNR0fxrAc1IUKSy4JGilc9ejV1KMhsC6KdyB9hh7rGXSpBJhBH9YRlXGnqdTK6r/s1600/Snoopy+and+his+dad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSi2q-7BudSkXWeAv8b7PLg_LQQjDaM3j29aoqH1h8bqVdpxab0NkDPBem-pRzBbJArjY-1byfdouSKUNR0fxrAc1IUKSy4JGilc9ejV1KMhsC6KdyB9hh7rGXSpBJhBH9YRlXGnqdTK6r/s1600/Snoopy+and+his+dad.jpg" height="262" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snoopy and his Dad</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First, Snoopy had neck spasms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then Snoopy was attacked by two large dogs
and spent post-surgical time with drainage tubes in his neck wounds (we refer
to it as the “extreme chiropractic” as the neck spasms never returned).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snoopy hitching a rid ein Hitchcock Woods</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Snoopy’s extreme enthusiasm for food would cause
his head to pop into view over the kitchen island while multiple food dishes
were prepared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He rapped the
“Gimme-the-Food!” song as back-up rhythm for the hops, “RUFF! Ruff-RUFF! RUFF-ruff-ruff-RUFF!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
Snoopy required a private dining room (the
kitchen lavatory) and a soup can in his dish to slow his chowing down. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We called him “Snooper-G,” the rapper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He got a bit too fat because the upward tilt
of his adorable head trained my husband to give him just one more treat. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A few weeks ago, the dogs were tumbling out of their car, as
they do most mornings when we arrive at the back side of Hitchcock Woods for
our daily hike. Snoopy was asserting a
personal fantasy about his canine prowess by buzzing PeeDee, our 60-pound “shar-pitt,”
from behind. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>PeeDee suddenly whirled and
snapped a growl that caused Snoopy to haul up short and wrench to the
side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One yelp and Snoopy’s hind legs
were gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rest of the pack must
have sensed the urgency as I scooped the tiny paraplegic up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They piled back in the car and we went
straight to the vet who made a quick referral.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Snoopy had back surgery in Columbia that afternoon.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why spend all that money on one elderly dog who wasn’t even
supposed to be ours?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are far from
rich, when it comes to money anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
have way too many dogs, by any sane reckoning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why not just “put him to sleep,” or euthanize him?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s face it, the pretty language makes
killing for the sake of convenience or economics tidier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Snoopy was not ready to die; therefore, we
were not ready to let him go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saving him
was an option.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We took it.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snoopy in Rehab</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, I had to carry Snoopy out to express his bladder and
help him poop if he hadn’t already soiled his bed, and, yes, I had to do a lot
more laundry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I think I know the
answer to that opening question, “Why spend $600…?” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Love calls; we hear the call, and either we answer or we
turn away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is Love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Life is Love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The heartworm positive dog is Love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The motherless puppies and kittens are Love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The abandoned animal along the road is
Love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Money is not love; it can only
provide the means to express Love.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you hear Love call from a treatable dog in our County
Shelter, you can make a tax deductible contribution to “<a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/donate.html" target="_blank">PAWS4Heartbeat</a>” at
<a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/" target="_blank">www.paws4nokill.org</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you would like to
reduce the number of unwanted puppies and kittens arriving at the Aiken County
Animal Shelter, you can make a donation to <a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/snyp.html" target="_blank">SNYP</a> at <a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/donate.html" target="_blank">www.paws4nokill.org</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sixty of us at $10 each can save a treatable
dog; ten of us can spay a large female dog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> When you donate your amount, just click on Make This Recurring in the paypal box. Credit cards accepted or set up a paypal account and have it deducted from your checking account each month.</span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">It's easy to do, just <a href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9DTW33T6X7EAC" target="_blank">CLICK HERE to DONATE NOW</a>!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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Money is not Love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
you have a couple of weeks to show Love to a needy dog in transit, call Mary
Lou at the Aiken Foster Network hotline: (803) 275-0841or email her at <a href="mailto:MaryLou@paws4nokill.org" target="_blank">MaryLou@paws4nokill.org</a>. </div>
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There are so many ways
to act as if the God in all Life matters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Together we can stop the unnecessary killing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Act now. Please.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">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</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/" target="_blank">www.PAWS4NoKill.org</a></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0Aiken County, SC, USA33.6005783 -81.6035061999999732.7535413 -82.894399699999965 34.4476153 -80.312612699999974tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-71329136303593496942014-03-07T12:05:00.000-08:002014-07-10T12:20:43.533-07:00Good-Bye Herbie Brown <h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">THE VOICE OF PAWS</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Joya DiStefano</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;">This Aiken County Animal Advocates Columns was posted in the Aiken Standard on 03/07/2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I took the Camp Rawls-Cooks Bridge route back from Wagener and a leisurely conversation about rescue and spay/neuter. Passing the brand spanking new Aiken County Animal Shelter on the corner of May Royal and Wire Road, I decided to stop, say hello to my friends, and have a look around. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The adoptable cats building (C.A.T.S. – Cats at the Shelter) in its new place looked real good. It fits.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The activity on the front walk involved the new county adoption coordinator, Annette, finalizing an adoption photo-op, as I stepped into the spacious foyer with its long reception desk and gorgeous graphics. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">My footsteps echoed in the new emptiness. I made my way down the hall to find the staff multi-tasking, doing their jobs and settling into the new digs. Chief Bobby Arthurs, aided by his wife, was finishing up a day’s work organizing his new office.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Our conversation moved from the miracle of the new facility to our continuing partnership in community outreach and support for responsible pet ownership. We talked of food donations and humane enclosures for low-income pet owners. We revisited our awareness of the needs in the farthest reaches of the county and the challenges of the many organizations attempting to address them. At some point the subject of Herbie Brown came up.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“FOTAS sold Herbie Brown,” Chief Arthurs said, and made a face like he was trying on shoes that were too small. I was stunned. Sold? Yes, quietly and out of state. And I was thinking how fortunate the shelter had been to have Herbie’s marvelous generator while they went a week without power after the storm. Who is Herbie Brown, you ask? Allow me to explain.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Before there was a FOTAS, there was a transfer program that saved shelter dogs by shipping them north. The transfer program was the inspiration (and perspiration) of the FOTAS president and it relied entirely on the generosity of one man and his horse transport business up and down the east coast. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> As FOTAS grew so did the desire to contribute, and one very large early donation was tagged for the transfer program. The decision was made to secure a means for transporting shelter animals without having to rely solely on the kindness and schedule of the horse business.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The idea for refitting an old Air Stream RV came from a fantasy that my husband and I had shared for a means to travel with our overly large family of dogs. The Air Streams are easy to tow, register, and insure and can be pulled with almost any vehicle. The way we found the 1979 Land Yacht model that became FOTAS’ Herbie Brown began the fairy tale. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">My husband and I were travelling in Europe when a friend notified me about the ’69 Air Stream in Harlem, GA for $3,500. We could have it for $3,000 if we paid cash. So to find a ’79 in better shape for $2,500 in Lexington, SC; and have it serviced and delivered by the seller, was justification enough to name the trailer after the man’s deceased uncle and original owner, Herb Brown. “My uncle liked to help people,” the seller said, feeling his uncle would be pleased with the RV’s fate.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The transformation of Herbie Brown into the signature “Rescue Waggin’” that it became symbolizes animal welfare efforts in recent years. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">One volunteer assembled the team that gutted the RV and rewired it. A young man, unemployed and soon to be a new father banged out the dents, sealed the leaks, and laid the subfloor. Moore's Discount Carpet’s provided the vinyl flooring and the best floor man to lay it. The king of handy-men designed and built Herbie’s pens in Windsor. FOTAS' unemployed database manager did the painting from the materials donated by <a href="http://www.sherwin-williams.com/store-locator/paint-store/aiken/sc/2008" target="_blank">Sherwin Williams</a>. The housing for the generator was done by Eric at Premier metals. The finishing touch was the artwork done by Sign Works. </span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzn4uGZ1PVXcSLeznqBA1Aq-ZhefuGJ369ZEe3kYe0_xXOCz_Rpsh7QOa3WBPkYJl7YDBOC_dUi4vJd7v24pQm5973RTt68SC-9UrRiS-enzNLLA7pEeWvhtFLzIFcnolrKyOdtNSclHWQ/s1600/Herbie_Brown+2012-04-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzn4uGZ1PVXcSLeznqBA1Aq-ZhefuGJ369ZEe3kYe0_xXOCz_Rpsh7QOa3WBPkYJl7YDBOC_dUi4vJd7v24pQm5973RTt68SC-9UrRiS-enzNLLA7pEeWvhtFLzIFcnolrKyOdtNSclHWQ/s1600/Herbie_Brown+2012-04-13.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Herbie Brown</b> <b>FOTAS Former Transport Vehicle</b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Herbie was a star and the gift of a team of craftsmen stretching from Lexington to Wagener to Windsor to Aiken and into the Valley. Each contributor gave what he could and put his whole heart into the project, knowing it was Good. Herbie sported the thank you to the list of these contributors on both rear corners.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In his brief career with FOTAS, Herbie Brown made the spay/neuter transport program an event in Wagener and the Valley; he paraded with the Veterans on Memorial Day and in the Wagener Christmas parades; and, he was a star attraction at Steeplechase and Woofstock. By his very presence, Herbie Brown signified a community rallying behind a worthy cause: an adequate appropriate public shelter, at the very least.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">That he will not stand beside the new facility, the creation of which he helped inspire; that he will not await the grateful participants in low-cost spay/neuter programs; that he will not proudly proclaim the signature success of a public/private partnership in the many ways we gather, is unfortunate and very sad. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Herbie Brown and what he represented will be missed no less than he was celebrated…and cherished. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Update July 2014:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Herbie Brown was recently replaced by FOTAS</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTH3Y3DSNywWI2K9yEqJrYTVUjmwFC4YItuf-4Z2U4I7wGsn3k0dEgN5BezUWJvLXIroqksXIHpTFS5MNXIfkxZQ69-f-61AmKIAdKNr7gTWb2HLwD3smLS0ZcSzqBWeLXudbcvoCfw8D/s1600/2014-07-FOTAS_transport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTH3Y3DSNywWI2K9yEqJrYTVUjmwFC4YItuf-4Z2U4I7wGsn3k0dEgN5BezUWJvLXIroqksXIHpTFS5MNXIfkxZQ69-f-61AmKIAdKNr7gTWb2HLwD3smLS0ZcSzqBWeLXudbcvoCfw8D/s1600/2014-07-FOTAS_transport.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>FOTAS New Transport Vehicle</b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">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</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">www.PAWS4NoKill.org</span></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b><a href="http://instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP</span></a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0Aiken, SC, USA33.5604168 -81.7195533000000333.4545268 -81.880914800000028 33.6663068 -81.558191800000031tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-59912626871538256802013-12-18T15:06:00.000-08:002014-07-07T12:35:11.446-07:00Becoming a no-kill county one foster home at a time<h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">THE VOICE OF PAWS</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Joya DiStefano</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;">This Aiken County Animal Advocates Columns was posted in the Aiken Standard on 12/20/2013</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">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!”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>You merely need go to Annette's Facebook page or the page for <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shelter-Animals-Advocates-Aiken-Foster-Network/149433245225136" target="_blank">Shelter Animal Advocates Aiken Foster Network</a> 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. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">As the weeks passed,
December and Kenny Clark, owners of <a href="http://www.barkmart.com/" target="_blank">BarkMart</a> 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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />“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.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />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.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />Last month 333 animals came into our Aiken County Animal Shelter; 63 percent
died there, 23 percent were dogs and 40 percent were cats.<br />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. </span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />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.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />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 (<span style="color: #163f68;">nokilladvocacycenter.org</span>). </span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />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.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">How, you ask? The </span>“10 Points of the No-Kill Equation” <span style="font-weight: normal;">does a good job of summing up the
road to success:
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> 1. Feral Cat Trap/Neuter/Release (TNR) Program </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> 2. High-Volume, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Low-Cost Spay/Neuter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /> 3. Rescue Group's Transfers<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> 4. Foster Care
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> 5. Comprehensive Adoption Programs </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> (including off-site adoptions) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> 6. Pet Retention Programs
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> 7. Medical and Behavior Prevention/</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Rehabilitation Programs </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> 8. Public Relations/Community Involvement</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /> 9. Volunteers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /> 10. Proactive Redemptions
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">With the efforts Aiken County Animal Services has begun in recent years, primarily through
their partnership with Friends of the Animal Shelter Inc. (<a href="http://www.fotasaiken.org/" target="_blank">FOTAS</a>), 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.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">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.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">“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.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">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.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Shelter Animal Advocates are leading the way for Aiken County to join Spartanburg and
Greenville county shelters in the No Kill Nation. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">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 <a href="mailto:MaryLou@paws4nokill.org" target="_blank">MaryLou@paws4nokill.org</a>. You will be on the right side of history. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">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</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/" target="_blank">www.PAWS4NoKill.org</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="mailto:info@paws4nokill.org" target="_blank">info@paws4nokill.org</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/PAWS4nokill.org</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://twitter.com/Paws4NoKill">twitter.com/Paws4NoKill</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/paws4nokill" target="_blank">pinterest.com/paws4nokill</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP" target="_blank">instagram.com/PAWS4SNYP</a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0Aiken County, SC, USA33.6005783 -81.6035061999999732.7535413 -82.894399699999965 34.4476153 -80.312612699999974tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-14823288720065634042013-12-04T15:33:00.000-08:002014-04-18T15:41:19.436-07:00Never Say We Can’t Save Them All<h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>THE VOICE OF PAWS </b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">By Joya DiStefano</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once upon a time in far away Zambia lived a girl immersed in the torrent of living things enveloping and invading the family farm.<br /><br />Her childhood memories are of weaver birds nesting along the Zambezi River, her mother tending to the strange animals that appeared in her house and cheetah, monkeys, deer and always dogs.<br /><br />The girl entered womanhood aware of, and bonded with, animals in ways few humans understand, much less experience.Her 20s found her in South Africa, where she studied, met Piers, her husband of 30 years, and where she became a dedicated animal advocate.<br /><br />From circus animals working hot summers, to the cruelties of product testing, or to cleaning 15,000 oil-drenched penguins, the plight of animals consumed her.<br /><br />She joined many volunteer rescue groups as she and her husband moved from South Africa to the Caribbean and ultimately to Aiken County, where the challenges of a public animal shelter that killed nine of every 10 animals that came through its doors defined her life.<br /><br />“I feel I was born to be a rescuer,” Annette said in her soft pleasing accent that actually improves on the British. She was. No one can have 12 dogs of their own and still be pulling dogs and networking to find a ride to the nearest transport to save one more.<br /><br />My husband and I met Annette Vanderwalt at her then rented farm beyond I-20 on Wire Road four years ago. We had been recruited to take a dog or two to Greenville to meet a transport going north the next day. It was on our way.<br /><br />Annette mostly relied on Facebook to develop her network of supporters and opportunities for Aiken County Shelter animals. One only has to go to her Facebook page to see how she did it.Beware, if you are busy, the focus and passion can pull you in to the drama and trials of the rescue world she portrays. She takes stunningly beautiful photos of animals to improve the chances of survival for those in need.<br /><br />You may find yourself with a new cat or dog, or networking your own connections to save another. And why not? What could be more rewarding?<br /><br />Annette’s results were astounding. With one rescue out of New Hampshire she saved 500 dogs in two years plus another 100 to other rescues up north. Never say to Annette Vanderwalt, “We can’t save them all.” Her wrath is instantaneous. She does not think we can; she knows it. She can tell you place after place that is already doing it and a bunch more that are trying. That is her goal; these compatriots are her network.<br /><br />Then a year ago tragedy struck. Annette had said her routine goodbye to Piers on Nov. 16.<br /><br />He was a merchant marine, and she had grown used to his long absences. It was Piers’ job that made her rescue work possible.The phone call came on Christmas Eve. Piers died at sea off the coast of Indonesia. They had just bought their own farm.Annette is still working her way back through the searing grief and the shattered life.<br /><br />She has help, like Maks the foundling pointer. Re-homed to New Hampshire to take some of the pressure off, Maks disappeared, only to be captured when Annette flew up to search for him.But it was Maks who knew exactly what kind of support Annette needed to get through Piers’s memorial service.<br /><br />And it is her closest friends who knew what she needed to get through the rest of the days after his death, one by one: <br />Rescue.<br /><br />They bugged Annette relentlessly when she dropped off the radar. They needed her energy. They needed her pictures. Annette needed rescuing and who better to do it?<br /><br />It is a long way back and it has been rocky. Almost to the day, a year after Piers left home for the last time, their first “home dog,” as she calls her rescue clients, Chess passed away at 13. Chess had come off a dock in the Dominican Republic. Another piece of life with Piers was gone.<br /><br />So what does Annette do to go on? She saves the heartworm-positive dogs at the shelter, the ones with zero chance at the adoption floor. She and her partners push social media to raise the money for treatment.<br /><br />She rescues the black pit bulls. She puts the dogs whose time is running out in front of as many people who might care as she can and she saves them, one after another, again and again.If you want to know how it feels to be part of a community of love and hope, go to Annette Vanderwalt or “<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shelter-Animals-Advocates-Aiken-Foster-Network/149433245225136" target="_blank">CSRA Shelter Animal Advocates: Aiken Foster Network</a>” on Facebook, and find living proof of lives saved, and that sometimes even the rescuer is rescued.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />A retired organizational problem-solver and radical educator, Joya Jiménez DiStefano is an artist, Servant Leader, and co-founder of FOTAS, Inc.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">www.PAWS4NoKill.org</span></span></span></span></a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="mailto:info@paws4nokill.org" target="_blank">info@paws4nokill.org</a> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-20443864013697143032013-11-20T15:08:00.000-08:002014-04-18T15:28:22.973-07:00The County Vet Tech’s View<h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>THE VOICE OF PAWS </b></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">By Joya DiStefano</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“The one thing about this job,” she began, “is that you can never get up thinking you are going to the same old job.”</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sandy Larsen is a senior vet tech at the Aiken County Animal Shelter.</span></span><br />
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</aside><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">She may arrive at the gate early in the morning and find a box full of kittens or puppies or a dog tied to the fence.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The gate is on heavily trafficked Wire Road, where
the speed limit is 55 mph. Sometimes the box is empty, or the leash
chewed in half. Maybe the temperature dipped into the 20s that night.
This is how a workday may begin.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sandy remembers when the shelter was built and meant to hold 100 animals.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The number impounded at the shelter this October was 467; the previous October was 485, and the October before that was 491.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the last 10 years, only October 2007 saw the intake number under 400 at 362.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Otherwise, the average for Octobers is <b>450 animals</b>, the last three years being the highest of four in 10 years.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Intake is much higher from April to August.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What does a veterinary technician do in this environment? Nearly everything, except bring the animals to the County Shelter.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If Sandy’s week starts on Monday, she is up at
o’dark-thirty to come and get the been-here-too-long-pet-of-the-week and
take it on television.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">She has not missed a Monday in years. Her spot airs at 6 a.m.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“Sometimes I have even brought that box of abandoned puppies or kittens to show what some people will do.”</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkP5fh8uhrxFAh90CF6iJ24LiADvjuvVymNegUcmkowuLAMYpLzPLgFMXbW_xkOHkLBQl-bN0lMzYbMuuI9lAD5THdrj_a_DqEks-WK2uYVLVRtmwPfbi5XNQsfSUXXxX7wc8Bu7r-78yx/s1600/Sandy+Larsen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkP5fh8uhrxFAh90CF6iJ24LiADvjuvVymNegUcmkowuLAMYpLzPLgFMXbW_xkOHkLBQl-bN0lMzYbMuuI9lAD5THdrj_a_DqEks-WK2uYVLVRtmwPfbi5XNQsfSUXXxX7wc8Bu7r-78yx/s1600/Sandy+Larsen.jpg" height="320" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">SANDY LARSEN</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At the shelter, first task daily is to check the
dogs on “the adoption floor;” the current shelter does not actually have
a separate wing like the new shelter will provide.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There is a wire gate separating the “5-day holds”
from the adoptable animals, all sharing the same air, the same open
drainage trenches, the same smells and sounds.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“We check the floor for kennel cough and diarrhea, and medicate accordingly,” said Sandy.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Next, the 5-day holds are reviewed so see who
might be eligible to move up to the adoption floor on a space-available
basis. These candidates will be checked for heartworm.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If positive, they are not eligible for adoption and will be euthanized if a rescue cannot be located who will take them.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If negative, they get wormed and shots and another chance at a good home.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The strays with mange, the cats with upper
respiratory infections (URIs), the dogs disabled by age or injury find
their final rest in the compassionate hands of a vet tech like Sandy.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The two county vet techs field calls from the foster families calling with health concerns for puppies or kittens in their care.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And before the county added a custodian position a
year ago, they supervised the county inmates who work cleaning and
feeding and dong the routine maintenance, if anything can be called
routine in such an overcrowded, understaffed facility.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Three days a week, people who’ve adopted puppies and kittens bring their pets back to be spayed and neutered.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The vet techs assist the county vet with
surgeries Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. They order and maintain
records on all medications, for the sick, surgery and those being
fostered.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">They do paperwork for intake, adoptions,
transfers and disposal. They help volunteers keep the Petfinder website
up to date. And for 6.5 hours a day the doors are open to the public.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The dog-walker volunteers arrive and want to know who got adopted since they were last there.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“What happened to Jake, or Millie, this one, or that one? They know all the dogs so well,” Sandy said with appreciation.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Things have changed in Sandy Larsen’s world since
Friends of the Animal Shelter helped establish the volunteer, foster
and transfer programs beginning in 2009.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Referring to the recent adoption special for November, “Back-in-Black really helped with adoptions,” Sandy said.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A lot has changed for a shelter staff that saw only <b>265 animals re-homed out of 5,717 impounded in FY04</b>.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In FY13, 1,581 animals were either adopted or
transferred out of 4,794 impounded. Or put another way, in 2004 less
than 5 percent of the impounded animals were saved; last year it was 33
percent.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tired after another long day in another busy week, Sandy turned to a particular heartbreak.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hard to bear that people will abandon helpless
pets, unwanted and unnecessary puppies and kittens, but worst of all for
Sandy are those who sacrifice their elderly pets saying, “I don’t like
this dog anymore.” “I just don’t want it,” because it can’t do what it
once could, because it doesn’t suit their needs.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“We live in a world where everything is so
disposable,” Sandy says sadly thinking that, if she retires, she may
give one or two of these seniors a very loving home.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Aiken County and our animals are blessed to have public servants like Sandy Larsen.</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A retired organizational problem-solver and
radical educator, Joya Jiménez DiStefano is an artist, Servant Leader,
and co-founder of FOTAS, Inc.</span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0Aiken County, SC, USA33.6005783 -81.6035061999999732.7535413 -82.894399699999965 34.4476153 -80.312612699999974tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-49749822423676117912013-11-06T15:56:00.000-08:002014-04-28T16:07:35.133-07:00How Wagener Led the County in Targeted Spay/Neuter<h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>THE VOICE OF PAWS </b></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">By Joya DiStefano</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, Wagener area residents, you have no idea how proud you
can be of what you have started here in Aiken County.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let me tell you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the spring of 2012, a bunch of animal advocates got
together and took advantage of an opportunity to compete to raise the most
money of any other rescue group participating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The contest was sponsored by an outfit called Pawmetto Lifeline in
Columbia that had just opened a high-volume clinic, and it was out to spay or
neuter any animal they could get their little scalpel on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Aiken County group won the contest and
was rewarded with nearly $5,000 credit at the Pawmetto Lifeline clinic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That money served to begin a targeted
spay/neuter project that is gradually establishing itself in local communities
throughout Aiken County.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wagener was chosen
to be the pilot project, and, with the tireless cooperation of Town Hall and local
resident, Dottie Gantt, Wagener remains the most successful community-based
spay/neuter assistance program going.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<h1>
Why Spay or Neuter your pets?<o:p></o:p></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps you don’t care all that much what happens to all the
unwanted dogs and cats in your area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
long as they don’t bother you, it should be someone else’s responsibility,
right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then they are in your yard, in
front of your truck, dying along the roads, converging on your bitch-in-heat,
fighting with your male dog, howling through the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not a problem one can shoot his way
out of.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most people who have pets care about their welfare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Your animals will be healthier, happier pets if they are spayed or
neutered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will be content to remain
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will have way fewer
incidences of cancer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will mark
less, fight less, and mess in your house less.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You will find they are more loving, because they are less
frustrated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A male dog can sense a
female in heat within a mile in every direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unaltered, the poor animal has to function
with a message screaming in their brain, I NEED TO BREED! By altering them, we
eliminate that message and all the physical complications that go with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are a bunch of old-wives tales about the negative
effect of spaying or neutering your animals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is not true that your female will get fat and lazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fat and lazy is due to too much bad food and
not enough exercise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your dog hunts,
it will still hunt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your dog is
protective, it will still guard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And,
no, breeding your beloved pet will not give you a replacement copy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Breeding your pet will put more breeding
animals into an already over-populated environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And they can start young; dogs by 6 months
and cats by four months.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<h1>
How to Get ‘r Done!<o:p></o:p></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The local Spay/Neuter Assistance Program has made it so easy
to get your pets fixed, you just can’t put it off any longer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s how it works:</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<h2>
For Household Pets<o:p></o:p></h2>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">You go to the Wagener Town Hall and ask for an
enrollment form.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Fill it out your contact information and
identify the dogs or cats you want to have fixed.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Provide information regarding your income
status/ number of animals you own.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Leave the completed form at Town Hall</span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Based on the number of animals in the applications, a
surgery date will be scheduled at the SPCA Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare
in Aiken. If you want your animal(s)
transported from Wagener, you will be told what day to bring it/them to the
Wagener Gazebo on the morning of surgery.
The animals will be returned the following morning. Arrangements can also be made for you to
self-transport in either or both directions. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The cost is $20 for each animal and includes rabies vaccine and a
microchip. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more information call:
(803) 634-0564</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h2>
Lenny’s Brigade for “Community Cats”<o:p></o:p></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A community cat is an
unowned cat that calls the outdoors home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Community cat colonies develop where there is shelter and a food
source.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without assistance, they can
often get out of control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People, who
like cats, take pity on the strays and feed them, often find themselves facing the
painful situation of being overrun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lenny’s
Brigade offers a humane approach; one that does not promote killing healthy
cats; one that can help bring the situation back under control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you or someone you know is in such a
plight, call the Lenny’s Brigade Hotline: (803) 507-6315.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone will get back to you and tell you how
to proceed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People of the Aiken County East, you have led the way!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s not stop now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have a solid core of animal advocates among
you who can help you continue to show Aiken County the way!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spay and Neuter your pets. Let’s put an end
to unwanted litters, and the cost and heartbreak they bring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s do it together!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A
retired organizational problem-solver and radical educator, Joya
Jiménez DiStefano is an artist, writer, local Servant Leader, and co-founder of FOTAS,
Inc. who lives with eleven dogs, one amazing cat and a husband who is a saint.</span><br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/">www.PAWS4NoKill.org</a></span></span></span></span></span></h3>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="mailto:info@paws4nokill.org">info@paws4nokill.org</a></span></span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0Wagener, SC 29164, USA33.6523712 -81.361214233.6259362 -81.4015547 33.6788062 -81.3208737tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-68806068621552264192013-11-06T13:21:00.000-08:002014-05-14T13:32:25.123-07:00Change Happens in Small Bites<h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">THE VOICE OF PAWS</span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
<h2>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Joya DiStefano</span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;">This Aiken County Animal Advocates Columns was posted in the Aiken Standard on XXXX</span></div>
</h2>
<h2>
</h2>
<h2>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">When she first heard the plaintive cry she thought it might be a cat in distress. The location in Hitchcock Woods made it seem unlikely, but the woman stopped. The dogs did not seem to notice the cry. It may have been far enough off to be a bird in one of the tall pines in the distance. She walked on.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Two days later, travelling the same path behind her dogs, the cry came again, closer this time. The dogs found him first, backed up against a small tree maybe twenty feet off the trail and hundreds of yards from any houses. The black and white kitten was electrified with terror at the dogs’ curiosity; every hair was erect. Little white paws flared with claws extended, the feeble hiss was as ferocious as the tiny creature could make it. The woman scooped the flailing kitten up. Half way to her chest he gave up the fight and curled his emaciated body into her protective arms. Days later he had a new home.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Same week, in another part of town, a lovely young bull terrier mix named Pandora had become such a nuisance to her owners that when a teenage youth went to return her to the yard where she easily and often cleared the fence, the owners said he could have her; they didn’t want her anymore. The boy was delighted and took her back down the street to the modest rental where he lived. His mom and big sister were terrified of the dog, but said that he could keep her. He set Pandora up with a bed in the shed behind the house. Their fence was no better at confining Pandora than where she’d come from. The very next day she cleared it and got into a fracas with a dog being leash-walked past the house. The owner walking her dog got nicked attempting to break up the fight and called Public Safety. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Pandora arrived at the Aiken County Shelter in the trunk, the boy’s mother being too afraid to have the dog inside the car while she drove. The youth carried the dog to the office wrapping his arms around her chest; her long body suspended nearly the length of his own. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It was Saturday. Two inmates and two employees were handling the calls, the public, and the volunteers. A family with two young boys was delivering the mountain of dog food, blankets and toys, the older son had received from well-wishers for his seventh birthday. They were accompanied by their neighbor who noticed that the delight of the two children, on their proud adventure, stood in sharp contrast to the youth, his worried mom, and little sister, waiting for the Animal Control Officer to arrive from the scene of the dogfight in their neighborhood. The birthday boy’s neighbor asked the youth about the dog, now on a leash, which stood quietly beside him with intelligent interest cocking her head side to side.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He explained how he had come by the dog the day before and added shyly, “People afraid of pitt bulls because they say they mean, but they not. I like them.” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The woman stooped down and Pandora gave her a couple of “Howdy!” licks on the face. She decided right there to help the boy keep his dog if circumstances allowed. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">They did. The complainant did not press charges. DHEC said Pandora could be quarantined at the home for ten days. All that was needed was a no-slip collar and a tie-out. When the woman brought a box of training treats to go with the confinement provisions the young man’s face lit up. “That’s what I wanted!” he said with notable enthusiasm. Why? He wants to learn how to train his new friend. Pandora may just have a chance at a bright future and she may help take her young master with her.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Pandora and the Hitchcock Woods kitten got lucky. But Pandora being a bull terrier, and the kitten being a kitten, had they been impounded would have stood almost zero chance of surviving, 98% for stray cats and not much better for pit bulls. The problem of unwanted and poorly managed animals is enormous. But we are a growing community dedicated to tackling it. It is like they say; the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time! </span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">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</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.paws4nokill.org/"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">www.PAWS4NoKill.org</span></span></a></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">info@paws4nokill.org</span></span></div>
</h2>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0333 Wire Road, Aiken, SC 29801, USA33.583768 -81.68235190000001533.5837165 -81.682430900000014 33.5838195 -81.682272900000015tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-78633307450440072352013-10-23T14:46:00.000-07:002014-04-18T15:31:17.390-07:00County Officer Gets the Message<h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>THE VOICE OF PAWS </b></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">By Joya DiStefano</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">His first assignment involved picking up a half-dozen
cats. The area around the single-wide
mobile home indicated young children in residence. A small white dog barked in one window; a
black and white cat sat looking out another.
A young man came out and helped load three adolescent cats and three
kittens, all black and white, into the cages.
The one that got away was not that hard to catch.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“He says they were dropped off on his property,” Officer
Miller said as he climbed into the truck.
Next calls were pick-ups: a cat in a county trap, then a puppy on a
porch, both north of I-20. Almost as an
aside he said, “I brought in 33 animals last week,” adding, “That was just me.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Officer Miller is one of four animal control officers
working for Aiken County Animal Services.
These men, along with Chief Bobby Arthurs, cover all of nearly
eleven-hundred square miles, including acting as occasional auxiliaries to the
cities of North Augusta and Aiken. Their
primary responsibility is public safety, but as the public-private partnership
between county government and Friends of the Animal Shelter, Inc. (FOTAS)
developed, bringing more resources to an overextended staff, the role of the animal control officer and
shelter staff has been broadened while still upholding the public trust.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“You can be a dogcatcher or you can be an animal control
officer,” Bobby Arthurs says he told the new officer last year during the
ride-along as part of his training. And
Officer Patrick Miller must have gotten the message.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Last spring Officer Miller was instrumental in arranging private
help for a family who had moved and needed a fence to confine their dogs, all
spayed and neutered with current rabies vaccines. On another case, a couple in very hard times,
upgraded the care of their five dogs, got the rabies vaccines, and needed help
getting dogs’ weight up. Officer Miller
arranged temporary food donations. And
that is not the only case. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There were the six dogs in the Valley. They were so thin that when the elderly woman,
receiving her warning, took them to the vet for the rabies shot, the vet called
Officer Miller to have him investigate the case. “I try to work with people,” he said, and has
been assisting with donated food to help fatten up the dogs. He remained quiet a moment then said, “Where
is the cut-off point?” He meant the line
between compassion and fostering an unsustainable dependency, a boundary that an
animal advocate as public servant must confront, or anybody, for that matter. He will find it, rest assured.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As we rode along the county roads, Patrick Miller talked
about the job more than himself. We
picked up the big beautiful gray cat in the trap. He talked about the emaciated horse that was
in the road and no owner was ever found.
There was the Billy goat that kept getting out while the owner was out
of town. He and another officer caught
the butting creature that, once captured, went meekly back to his pen,
again. When we came to the puppy on the
porch, I asked if I could ride her on my lap.
He offered me a pad to separate me from the fleas. I could feel her bones through the filthy
fur.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Riding the animals back to the shelter, Patrick confides
that sometimes he lets an obviously good dog, one whose owners can’t be
located, ride shotgun with him for company before taking it to the
shelter. Patrick ruminates over a case
involving multiple pit bulls. Throughout his involvement, the number and color
of the dogs keeps changing. Maybe the
guy is selling them. Yes, dog fighting
is illegal in South Carolina, “But like everything else, you have to have
proof,” he added. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At least the conditions provided those dogs have significantly
improved. In fact, Patrick makes routine
rounds to places he calls “trouble spots.”
They have all improved. And, in
the month of September, 436 animals came into the county shelter; 252 were cats
and 182 were dogs; 236 cats were euthanized (93%) and 87 dogs (48%). Obviously, we need more animal advocates.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0Aiken, SC, USA33.5604168 -81.7195533000000333.4545268 -81.880914800000028 33.6663068 -81.558191800000031tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-15563630317148065652013-10-06T07:00:00.000-07:002014-04-18T15:30:37.759-07:00Lenny’s Brigade: a Better Way for Community Cats<h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>THE VOICE OF PAWS </b></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">By Joya DiStefano</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />She found the skeletal white and brown tabby kitten in the middle of a four-lane highway in Lancaster County. An upper respiratory infection had clotted his eyes, blinding him. He let her lift him. She wiped his eyes, cleared his nose, and stopped at a Dollar General for a can of cat food and a small bowl. He ate, groomed his face and paws, and lay down on the dashboard for a nap while she drove back to Aiken. He rallied for about two days in the care of this retired cat veterinarian, and then he crashed. When it looked hopeless, she put him to sleep as he lay in her lap. His name was Lenny.<br /><br />Lenny inspired Dr. Kathy Bissell to yield to the urging of a colleague and do something about the plight of community cats in South Carolina, her new home. That initiative became Lenny’s Brigade, a small dedicated advocacy group helping residents of Aiken County take more effective, humane approaches to unowned, outdoor-living felines, AKA “community cats.” <br /><br />Shelter intake and euthanasia represent two of the ugliest numbers faced by animal advocates in Aiken County. One of the largest contributors to these relentless demoralizing statistics are unowned cats. Across the country you will find the same problem, shelter euthanasia rates have fallen dramatically, but the gains are almost entirely on the dog side of the equation. Look at the vision FOTAS has brought to our new County Animal Shelter – to never have to euthanize an adoptable pet. Yet even the FOTAS in Jackson County, Oregon (the original model for our Aiken FOTAS), who claim to have achieved that goal, will admit, “That is, if you don’t count cats.” Perhaps, when it comes to cats, the term “adoptable” is the heart of the problem. Community cats are already “home.”<br /><br />Here are some little known facts related to our feline friends and neighbors when it comes to shelter programs:<br />· More than 75% percent of Americans believe that only sick or dangerous animals should be euthanized at shelters;<br />· In most US communities there is no legal mandate to impound every unowned cat;<br />· The population of unowned cats exceeds that of those with homes;<br />· More than 50% of all cats have to be euthanized and 75% have to be altered to impact the overall population;<br />· Cats are more likely to be returned to owners or adopted to new homes by means other than a shelter;<br />· The vast majority of stray and unowned cats are healthy; AND,<br />· Cats are the only species for which it is routinely argued that in the cat’s interest a certain death today is preferable to a possible future hazard.<br /><br />Cats are amazing, resourceful creatures that have evolved to be able to straddle nature’s challenges and man’s ingenuity. They make delightful and endearing pets, and can thrive in the wild where they find shelter and a food source. Picking them up and killing them serves no useful purpose, and that is where our Lenny’s Brigade enters the picture.<br /><br />Lenny’s Brigade is a public charity initiative. Lenny’s Brigade addresses county resident concerns with community cat colonies, like the one at the Wagener Feed Store, or the one behind the New Ellenton Post Office, on a small farm in Windsor, and behind Kalmia Plaza. Lenny’s Brigade volunteers help “colony sponsors,” (citizens providing food, shelter, or even spay/neuter surgeries to unowned cats) bring colony numbers under control. Through a national policy initiative called TNR (trap-neuter-return), cats are treated and returned to their “home” colony. In barely one year, under the passionate leadership of Dr. Kathy Bissell, Lenny’s Brigade has altered 160 community cats. With public awareness, and support for leading edge public policy regarding these cats, our county can lower our shelter euthanasia rate, and elevate our humanity. Lenny’s Brigade hotline: (803) 507-6315. Dr. Kathy Bissell is a Servant Leader.<br /><br /><br />Joya DiStefano is a retired organizational problem-solver and radical educator, Joya DiStefano is a local Servant Leader, writer, and artist who lives with eleven dogs, one amazing cat, and a husband who is a saint.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0Aiken County, SC, USA33.6005783 -81.6035061999999732.7535413 -82.894399699999965 34.4476153 -80.312612699999974tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3201670786550191642.post-78851472344967504012013-09-27T21:00:00.000-07:002014-04-18T15:30:08.991-07:00County Rescues Address Animal Issues Through Teamwork<h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aiken County Animal Advocates</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>THE VOICE OF PAWS </b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Palmetto Animal Welfare Services, Inc.)</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">By Joya DiStefano</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.aikenequinerescue.org/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://AGweb.epp.dc.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=AG&Date=20130927&Category=AIK0403&ArtNo=130929556&Ref=EP&NewTbl=1&item=3&MaxH=120" /></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There is a horse standing in a kill pen with a thousand
other horses; he is destined for a slaughter house. The abrasion and
swelling on his hind leg indicate an infection.
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“He’d probably have ended up on someone’s dinner plate anyway,” said Jim Rhodes, executive director of Equine Rescue of Aiken.</span></span></div>
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</aside><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This thoroughbred race horse got lucky, and he is on his way to Haven Hills Farm, home of Equine Rescue.</span></span><div class="p-3">
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<a href="http://spca-albrecht.org/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://AGweb.epp.dc.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=AG&Date=20130927&Category=AIK0403&ArtNo=130929556&Ref=EP&NewTbl=1&item=1&MaxH=120" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Last week the SPCA Albrecht Center held the inaugural
fundraiser, “Lana-PAW-looza.” It featured a candlelit twilight walk,
themed party booths with drinks and food competing for
best-in-something; the air filled with live music, and a silent auction
was safely housed under-roof. The rain started at walk-registration and
dampened the grounds but not the spirit of the walkers. Then the skies
opened up right when the party was about to begin. The attendance at
this fabulous event had to have taken a hit.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A woman rescues five stray cats, has them all fixed, and
five more show up, two obviously pregnant. The woman is on Social
Security and is caring for her 94-year-old mother. She is happy to help
homeless cats, but they all need to be spayed and neutered before the
cat colony is out of control. She calls the Lenny’s Brigade hotline,
sponsored by Friends of the Animal Shelter Spay/Neuter Assistance
Program (FOTAS/SNAP). A volunteer helps trap the cats and get them fixed
at the Albrecht Center’s clinic.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://fotasaiken.org/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://AGweb.epp.dc.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=AG&Date=20130927&Category=AIK0403&ArtNo=130929556&Ref=EP&NewTbl=1&item=2&MaxH=120" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Aiken County, in a public/private partnership with FOTAS,
is well on its way to providing the county communities with a true
community animal shelter. It is due to open in the next few months as a
temporary haven for adoptable animals and a destination for all animal
lovers. The drive to move as many dogs and cats out of the current
tragically inadequate facility grows ever more urgent as the intake
numbers continue to overwhelm adoptions and transfers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So? Where is the teamwork and why might you care?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Equine Rescue of Aiken has committed to providing two
large animal paddocks at the new county shelter. The project is
estimated to cost about $15,000; of which Jim has raised $11,000. The
paddocks will be girded with no-climb fence so they can serve double
duty as dog play yards when unoccupied. But they will also allow the
county to impound large animal cruelty cases. Currently there is no
facility for the abandoned, starving horses some county residents have
to see every day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Equine Rescue also rescues dogs and cats and gets them
fixed at the SPCA Albrecht Center. SPCA Albrecht Center Executive
Director Barbara Nelson donated 500 bales of hay to Equine Rescue.
Rhodes’ feed and hay bill runs about $2,200 per week. Help covering that
expense frees up cash for the new paddocks.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">FOTAS is leading an impassioned fundraising drive to
fit, furnish and finish the new county shelter, but they also recognize
that there is no facility alone that will ever be able to accommodate
current intake numbers of unwanted animals. Spay/neuter is the ultimate
answer. Thank God, the SPCA is rapidly growing into its capacity to do
12,000 surgeries a year. This, too, takes money, lots of it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">FOTAS/SNAP agreed to help with the Lana-PAW-looza
fundraiser on the condition that those funds SNAP raised go to the
spay/neuter clinic as a credit. The Albrecht Center agreed, and there is
now more than $3,000 in that account. SNAP in Wagener and the Valley
are up and running, Windsor is ready to launch, and there is something
blossoming in new Ellenton. Go SNAP!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Animal Advocacy is a community project. The major
shelters and rescues are leading the way, but success still depends on
each and every one of us concerned about animal welfare in our
communities. Here are a buffet of ways to help right now:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">• If you did not attend Lana-PAW-looza, send $25 to the SPCA Albrecht Center: www.letlovelive.org.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">• Join Equine Rescue’s Hay & Feed Drive right now for $10 per month: www.aikenequinerescue.com.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">• Buy an honoree paver for the new county shelter: www.fotasaiken.org.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">• Send a check for FOTAS/SNAP to P.O. Box 2207, Aiken, SC 29802.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Aiken County is enriched by our domestic animals:
horses, dogs and cats. We are their stewards; they depend on us, serve
us and teach us about love. There are so many avenues to show them you
care. Please choose at least one.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Retired organizational problem-solver and radical educator, Joya Jiménez DiStefano is an artist and servant leader.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930040065064448809noreply@blogger.com0Aiken County, SC, USA33.6005783 -81.6035061999999732.7535413 -82.894399699999965 34.4476153 -80.312612699999974