Be Their Voice program teaches local students how to help homeless pets

One thing that we truly love is the opportunity to visit schools and speak to young people about the work that is done at the Aiken County Animal Shelter and with FOTAS. We want to teach them how they can help.

In January, second grade teacher Jordan Barrett invited me to bring a dog to Graniteville Elementary to meet second grade students who were given the assignment of writing a persuasive essay to try and encourage people to adopt the pets from the shelter. This is reflective of our FOTAS Be Their Voice program that we have introduced as an opportunity for older students to earn service hours.

These second graders were incredibly respectful, eager to learn and truly special kids! The Aiken Standard met us there along with Channel 12 reporter Will Volk.

I brought an adoptable dog named Nova with me and pictures of all the adoptable pets from the shelter to pass along to the students.

The following week I returned to the school, this time with puppies! The students were so patient the week before and didn’t get much hands-on time with the dog I brought, so as a reward all the students were able to meet and love on two little puppies. They had their writing assignments ready for pick up and they blew my mind! These second graders wrote better than some middle schoolers! They were so kind, loving and encouraging in their descriptions of why each pet was special in their own way and why they should get adopted. They were beautiful!

These fabulous second grade educators are doing something really important with their students. They open their eyes as to how they can help others, those without voices.

Miss Barrett reached out to me again and asked if I could bring puppies to their school as an incentive for students to reach their goals. I told her that I would LOVE to!

Last week I brought two female puppies to meet the students and the puppies were in absolute heaven! The children were gentle. They not only wanted to pet the pups, but they wanted to show them their reading books as they giggled and socialized with them.

The funniest part was when Miss Barrett fell for the one puppy. The sweet little black and white baby crawled onto her lap and wouldn’t leave. The pup was in love! Another teacher came to visit and had the same experience with the other puppy.

Later that day, both teachers contacted me that they chose to adopt. Both puppies are now truly the teacher’s pets!

Thank you to educators that bring us into their schools and let us partner with them. We want students in Aiken County to grow up knowing us. Young people need to recognize us as community helpers and understand the work we do.

If we ever want a solution for animal overpopulation and the countless stray animals wandering our roads, it is vital for this generation to learn about pet responsibility and caring for those that need help

Their lives are in our hands.
By Kathy Cagle, FOTAS Programs Coordinator