While young, pretty, fluffy dogs at the Aiken County Animal Shelter typically are adopted in short order, less stunning homeless canines with physical imperfections need time and help to get noticed.
Their positive qualities cannot be captured in a photo. Their stories need to be told and the right adopter has to be reached through social media and word of mouth. This requires close teamwork between FOTAS and the shelter, as well as lots of shares and likes on Facebook and Instagram.
Take Jax for example.
Nine-year-old, brown and white, mixed breed Jax arrived at the County Shelter in bad shape. He was starving and looked like a walking skeleton. He also had an old back leg injury, likely from being hit by a car, which caused him to limp. Fly bites had scarred his ears and he was full of fleas. The senior stray had the saddest eyes, but they brightened when people greeted him.
volunteers and FOTAS friends.
Terrified at the shelter, Jax needed a calmer environment in which to decompress. Thankfully, FOTAS Volunteer Christine Harmel took Jax home to foster him and his sweet personality began to shine as he gained more confidence under her care.
Over the next month, we posted Jax all over our social media. Still, no one came to visit him. Then his luck changed. Debbie Roland, a local realtor, saw Jax online and shared his photo and story with her uncle Dennis in Pennsylvania. His dog had recently passed away and Jax was just the kind of dog he was looking for! FOTAS arranged Jax’s transport to Dennis and the sweet dog is now living his best life.
“This morning was the first day of school up here, so all the kids were at the bus stop during his morning walk,” Dennis said. “Of course, Jax had to greet every kid.”
Another homeless dog who benefited from social media is Crystal. This three-year-old, white 46-pound mixed breed needed a home with a fenced-in yard. A true gem, Crystal loves other dogs and playing in water. Crystal just has one so-called imperfection. She is deaf.
Even after weeks of posting a myriad of videos and photos of Crystal on social media, no one came to visit her. However, just as we were losing hope of adopting her out, the right person saw Crystal on Instagram. Faye Brothers, a woman with a deaf dog in need of a friend, saw a video of Crystal shared by her daughter. When Faye learned Crystal was deaf, she knew she was the dog for her family. FOTAS arranged Crystal’s travel to Faye’s home in upstate New York and now this amazing stray and her new canine sister, Remy, are besties!
There are other homeless pets at the shelter just like these two special dogs – animals that need extra support and promotion to ensure they get good homes. Please follow FOTAS on Facebook and Instagram and share our posts with your friends. With one click, you just might save a homeless pet’s life.
Their lives are in our hands.
By Bob Gordon, FOTAS Communications Director
