It’s that time again—the end of one year and the promise of a new one. Most of us (myself included) resolve to be better—to exercise more, lose weight, spend less time on our cell phones—and although our resolve is genuine, our willpower and attention span are, shall we say, less than perfect.
My own New Year’s resolutions fail because they are “self” centered, involving changes to my own behavior. When my resolve wavers, so what? Do those extra five pounds matter to anyone but me?
My theory is this: resolutions to take action for the greater good—to help make a life a bit better, happier, easier—are easier to keep and harder to abandon.
There are so many worthy ways to spend your time, but if you happen to love animals the way we do at FOTAS, then we can resolve, collectively, to do better by the thousands of homeless animals in Aiken County.
Let’s resolve to spay or neuter our animals … all of them.
If our own animals are fixed, then let’s lobby our friends, relatives, and neighbors to fix their animals.
Imagine … a spring and summer at the Aiken County Animal Shelter when staff and volunteers are not inundated with, literally, hundreds of unwanted puppies and kittens.
Imagine the Shelter with empty kennels because no new unwanted babies were born to fill them up.
Imagine a world where every home has a pet, and every animal has a home.
It is possible to do; it’s been done in many other communities. Why do you think our sister rescue agencies in other parts of the country have the space to take our unwanted animals? Because everyone fixes their pet as a matter of course.
It’s the right thing to do.
Let’s resolve to volunteer our time at the Shelter.
There are so many ways to help—greeting visitors, walking and socializing dogs, loving-up the cats, fostering animals approved for transfer or providing a safe, healthy home for mamas and their babies, working off-site adoptions, social media, and fundraisers.
The list is endless. Tell FOTAS what you want to do, and we’ll find a place for you. Volunteering at the Shelter is a great way to spend your free time and make friends, and at the end of the day, you will have made a difference in the life of some unfortunate animal.
Let’s resolve to vaccinate our animals and make certain they are protected from fleas, ticks and worst of all, heartworms. Too many animals suffer needlessly, particularly when treatment options are so affordable.
Let’s resolve to adopt all of our pets from the Shelter.
The Shelter takes in over 4600 animals every year—they all need homes. Other rescue agencies can close their doors when they are full, but the County shelter cannot; it is obligated by law to take all comers.
FOTAS and Shelter staff go the extra mile with attention, exercise, training and medical care to make every adoptable animal happy and more sociable, because we know those animals will be better pets and family members when they go home with you.
No other rescue organization in the County saves more lives than FOTAS … none.
These are resolutions worth keeping. Let’s do them together.
Their lives are in our hands.
By Joanna D. Samson, FOTAS Vice President
Some Recent Happy Adoptions at the Aiken County Animal Shelter
