“Every sunrise is an invitation for us to arise and brighten someone’s day.”
― Richelle E. Goodrich, Smile Anyway
Every so often in life, we are privileged to know someone whose kindness knows no limits and whose patience is bottomless. Someone whose humanity is so deep, they dedicate their life to helping the lost, the hopeless, and the forgotten. Someone who gives so much and asks for nothing in return.
That someone for us was Nanci Santos, a long-time FOTAS volunteer and supporter, who died on July 22nd after a long and brave battle with cancer.
Nanci was a constant and reliable presence at the Aiken County Animal Shelter. She walked dogs, helped with new programs, and assisted with FOTAS fundraisers like Woofstock. She helped develop the orientation process for coordinating and training new volunteers, sharing her own experience and knowledge with warmth and humor.
She had a lot to share, too. Typically, she arrived at the shelter before the other volunteers had finished their daily walks and visits with the animals. She visited every kennel on the adoption floor, performing a last-minute check for the afternoon, doing an occasional clean-up and distributing toys to the dogs—one, maybe two toys, even though we tried to persuade her that one was sufficient. Nanci wasn’t buying it, and we gave up trying to convince her.
She also made certain that every dog had a blanket (at least every dog that wasn’t a known blanket-eater).
“She had a very high standard for putting down blankets,” says Ellie Joos, FOTAS Secretary. “She didn’t just toss them down. She placed the blankets on the pallets and tucked them in at the corners so they were smooth, sometimes adding a second blanket if she thought this dog or that dog needed some extra cushioning or warmth. That was the thing about Nanci—no matter how many dogs were on the adoption floor, she knew them all and figured out their individual needs.”
On any given afternoon, Nanci could be found sitting on a bench in the shade with a dog beside her.
“It was usually a dog that only an hour before had been so scared and shutdown, it would tremble in the corner of its kennel and not make eye contact,” says Kathy Jacobs, FOTAS Program Director. “She’d be working her magic, stroking the dog and talking in soft tones, and the dog would be lying beside her, head in her lap, totally relaxed and content.”
She had a gift for bringing the hard cases back to life, which in turn made them attractive adoption prospects. Without her intervention, many of those dogs might have shut down completely, spent more time on the adoption floor, and had a harder time adjusting to a new family. She made a real difference in their lives.
The animals made a difference in her life, too.
“As Nanci struggled with the long, ugly battle with cancer, her time at the shelter gave her solace, a reason to get up every day—even on the bad days,” says her husband, Steve. “She loved going to the shelter.”
The truth is, Nanci made a difference in all of our lives. The world will be a slightly dimmer place without her.
Godspeed, dear friend. You will be missed.
–– By Jennifer Miller, FOTAS President
and Joanna Samson, FOTAS Vice-President
