I have a 22 yr old daughter who moved to Aiken about a year ago. She’s an animal lover of course, and has amassed a small collection of ditch dogs and a feral cat. The newest is an emaciated Newfoundland type that has been hanging around her barn for weeks. She doesn’t have a high paying job, and already has a horse to care for, plus another two dogs and a cat. I tell her she can’t keep taking in these strays, but she can’t bear to watch them starve to death either. We are from New England and people here have a completely different attitude about their animals, it’s very hard for her to wrap her brain around, she just can’t bear to see them suffer. Taking them to a shelter is not an option, since the shelters are over-run and the options for anything other than euthanasia are small. Are there any low cost animal clinics in the area willing to help out someone who wants to help out, one dog at a time? He needs to see a vet, is very emaciated, sleeps all the time, drools (maybe the newfie?) and coughs a lot, so he probably has something going on.
Thanks in advance.
Contact Ron Danta and Danny Robertshaw at Danny and Ron’s Rescue. They are in the Camden, SC area. They are great guys who do whatever they can to help critters in need. I’m sure they will be able to help. They are on vacation at the moment, but they can be reached via facebook. Good luck to the critters, and big {{{{{ HUGS }}}}} to you and your daughter for trying to help them.
Heartsong is a low cost spay/neuter clinic on Whiskey Road in Aiken. They do good work there. Not sure if they do the bloodwork for heartworm. He needs to be tested ASAP obviously. Check out Mary’s Dogs in New Hampshire. Not sure what the web address is, but they’re on Facebook too. A great rescue run by Mary Doane near Raymond, NH. Your daughter might be able to work something out with them. They ship dogs up that qualify every two weeks or so from the high kill County shelter in Aiken. Also, McCormick Rescue and the Aiken SPCA do courtesy listings for wonderful people who have taken on animals that need to be placed. Your daughter is a flat out hero. PM me if you can’t find the Mary’s Dogs website and Facebook through Google. A stray that I picked up in Aiken got a fabulous home up there through Mary.
For Richland County/Columbia, about a 40 minute drive up I20 east you can call the Animal Mission for free Spay/Neuter vouchers. Pawmetto Lifeline in Columbia also does income based spay/neuter for free. Pets Inc is a West Columbia shelter that is totally discombobulated and doesn’t have distinct rules for intakes; theyre one of the only major shelters in the state that does intakes from the public.
Hate to be blunt about it but have her call, tell them she found a starving purebred Newfoundland, he’s the worlds delight etc, and be the squeaky wheel and they’ll take him in. Worked there for long enough to know if you call it a purebred, or pester enough you can get a needy animal in. They can always make room.
Sorry its not closer to Aiken but I’m a Cola shelter/vet employee so that’s all I know.
ETA: Coughing in the south on a stray dog = probably heartworms. Which, given the sheer mass of HW positive dogs we have here, isn’t a huge deterrent but definitely means he needs out of the heat. Pets Inc does a 15 dollar HW test, I don’t know of a clinic any closer that does them comparably cheap.
While I think it’s nice that your kind hearted daughter is willing to help these animals… she needs to learn where to draw the line. Giving them a bowl of water, a bowl of food, getting them safe out of traffic and giving them a ride to the pound IS helping… and it sounds like that’s where she should set her limit.
getting too wrapped up in the idea that no other home or place is good enough- even when you don’t have the funds to take on any more animals- or it would be a incredible burden if one of them was to need some serious vet care- it’s the start of a slippery slope of hoarding. Tell her just don’t do it.
Also- don’t assume anything about the local shelters. I live in very rural Indiana with a big stray and neuter problem- and our local shelter is no no-kill- supplying dogs to New England on weekly transport trucks. the animal shelter scene is a very stange thing with some parts of the country actually having a pet deficit and importing the unwanteds from other places.
[QUOTE=Plainandtall;6422587]
getting too wrapped up in the idea that no other home or place is good enough- even when you don’t have the funds to take on any more animals- or it would be a incredible burden if one of them was to need some serious vet care- it’s the start of a slippery slope of hoarding. Tell her just don’t do it.
Also- don’t assume anything about the local shelters. I live in very rural Indiana with a big stray and neuter problem- and our local shelter is no no-kill- supplying dogs to New England on weekly transport trucks. the animal shelter scene is a very stange thing with some parts of the country actually having a pet deficit and importing the unwanteds from other places.[/QUOTE]
Thank you for your concern, but it’s not that “No home is good enough”, it’s that she’s a compassionate person who can’t ignore a suffering animal, and she’s been to the local shelters. I’m not concerned about her becoming a hoarder.
Thank you everyone for your great suggestions, I’ll pass them on to her.
The Aiken County shelter has a 91% euthanasia rate at the moment. HIGH kill obviously. I believe the last numbers I saw were 70 to 80 dogs euthanized PER WEEK. The City SPCA is also high kill for everything not on the adoption floor itself. Kudos to this young woman for having a heart. Some of the breed rescues are terrifc resources. If the dog looks Newfie enough it may be possible that a Newfie rescue will assist.
CSRA Lifesaver has a facility in Graniteville, just off exit 11. They do spay/neuter, vaccination, heartworm testing & hw preventative.
The Aiken County shelter has a 91% euthanasia rate at the moment. HIGH kill obviously. I believe the last numbers I saw were 70 to 80 dogs euthanized PER WEEK.
DIsgusting but true–I have witnessed that many euths in one day here in Richland County. Not typical, but it happens.
With The Animal Mission doing free spay neuter vouchers, our numbers this year went from 17% live turnaround rate (you enter, and exit the shelter living, that is) to 27%. Something like 12,000 intakes at this one shelter in one fiscal year. So the math there’s pretty terrifying.
It is true that new England and other states have a deficit and we do ship many animals up north. But as far as shelter overcrowding, we’re vying for the top spot.
Part of the issue with Aiken County AC is that also receive all stray/unwanted pets from neighboring Edgefield County who doesn’t have their own facility.
I think Edgefield is building its own shelter? Should take some of the pressure off of Aiken County Shelter. SPCA and County do voucher programs. OP, I know you said your daughter is familiar with the shelters. She might call over and see if either is running a voucher program currently. Again, you are such nice people to be helping these dogs!
[QUOTE=irkenequine;6423760]
DIsgusting but true–I have witnessed that many euths in one day here in Richland County. Not typical, but it happens.
With The Animal Mission doing free spay neuter vouchers, our numbers this year went from 17% live turnaround rate (you enter, and exit the shelter living, that is) to 27%. Something like 12,000 intakes at this one shelter in one fiscal year. So the math there’s pretty terrifying.
It is true that new England and other states have a deficit and we do ship many animals up north. But as far as shelter overcrowding, we’re vying for the top spot.[/QUOTE]
If there was a scheduled transport to NE, would it be possible to get this dog on it, or does it have to be a shelter intake? Just brainstorming…
OK…and not to change the subject or anything, but why the heck are there so many homeless animals in SC? Is it just that so few people spay/neuter? I can count the number of intact dogs I’ve seen here in Mass in my 27 years of residency on one hand. Are they considered so disposable down south that if one goes missing they just go get another? Where I live you basically never see a loose dog, and if you do…it’s lost and there is someone out there desperately trying to find it.
[QUOTE=chism;6424688]
If there was a scheduled transport to NE, would it be possible to get this dog on it, or does it have to be a shelter intake? Just brainstorming…[/QUOTE]
I don’t know about other states, but the transport into MA is very difficult due to state regulations. My local shelter works with a shelter down south who fosters the dogs out for at least 30 days. Then they are allowed to come in state, are quarantined for a week, and can be adopted. These regulations just changed within the past couple years…it used to be much easier and they used to place A LOT of “Dixie” dogs. Now they only get a load in every other month or so, it’s a shame.
My two Southern dogs were illegally smuggled across the border with two different COTHers. :lol:
As for the throw-away culture that ALL animals are exposed to down there…I think it’s absolutely disgusting and I have a difficult time mustering up any sort of respect for any human being who can be so cruel/stupid. Not that we don’t have dumped cats/dogs around here, but it’s just on a whole different level.
Chism, the County shelter ships to shelters up north. I believe the dog must be in the system to have a chance at that. Jennifer at FOTAS can tell you more about that program. FOTAS has a Facebook page that should have the contact info. Mary’s Dogs ships about every two weeks. These dogs usually go right into a home as they are adopted off of photo and description and through an application process. These are usually County shelter pulls, but you may be able to get a dog in by contacting Mary Doane at Mary’s Dogs Rescue. They have a Facebook page with the info and are located in New Hampshire. To get a dog in, it must be “adoptable”, i.e. good health, good temperment. Good photos would be needed for the placement process. The dogs go through extensive medical prep here, spay/neuter, HW test, vaccs etc. The Heartsong clinic does a great job and seems to be the least expensive. I had all of the work done there on the stray that I picked up and was very grateful to then be able to send her up to a wonderful home through Mary’s Dogs. You arrange for and pay whatever medical is necessary, document everything and foster until transport day.
Wow 91%!!! Unbelievable. I guess I’m also guilty of thinking of Aiken as a place populated mostly by well to do dog loving horsey set people. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the situation there, I probably don’t have a reasonable picture of the average resident.
The city of Aiken is just a small part of Aiken County which is quite large. It’s over 1000 square miles
[QUOTE=irkenequine;6423760]
With The Animal Mission doing free spay neuter vouchers, our numbers this year went from 17% live turnaround rate (you enter, and exit the shelter living, that is) to 27%. Something like 12,000 intakes at this one shelter in one fiscal year. So the math there’s pretty terrifying.[/QUOTE]
By this do you mean that the spay neuter vouchers resulted in fewer animals even ENTERING the shelter in the first place? Or that more dogs became desirable adoptees after being neutered/spayed?
I do believe there is a trend toward bringing dogs from high kill areas to lower kill areas. One of my fosters (now permanent family member) came to Buffalo from death row in Miami, another foster came from death row in West Virginia, and the third came from death row in North Carolina.
I read in a National Geographic article online that hopefully in 10 years kill shelters will be a thing of the past, with increased neuter/spay programs and a growing trend of shipping animals from places with surplusses to places with shortages. I hope it’s true!!!
Conversely, my friend who breeds and shows chihuahua’s posted an article from the AKC that had an anti-altering theme. (Of course they wouldn’t like fewer numbers of dogs being bred as that hurts their bottom line!) But the AKC seems to be against the mass spaying/neutering of purebred dogs and feel that this is hurting the breeds.
The stance in and of itself is an interesting one, but we all know that there is no shortage of dogs. I for one am totally over the “designer dog” craze and feel that this over-production of mixed breed dogs by BYB who only see dollar signs is a huge part of the problem.
To be completely honest, I have never owned and will never own a mixed breed dog. Don’t get me wrong, there have been plenty of mixed breeds that I’ve met and thought were WONDERFUL dogs but I like being able to make a relatively reliable prediction of energy levels, size, temperament with a purebred dog.
I understand that the occassional “whoops” breeding happens that results in mutts. What really irks me is the people who are out purposely and deliberately breeding mutts. I recently unfriended someone I went to high school with on Facebook because I got so tired of reading her posts about finding a Shepherd or Shepherd/Husky to breed with her Akita/Chow mix. I really was this close to telling her to walk through the shelter and look at how many shepherd mixes fill the kennels. Why produce more dogs that have a higher probability of filling shelters? :no:
All of this has left me wondering, with the change in how society relates to dogs, do we really need to be breeding experimentally to develop new breeds? Most dogs are simply companions. There are fewer working or hunting dogs out there that are solely used for that purpose without consideration to their ability to be a companion.
