He arrived at the Aiken County Animal Shelter in mid-June, terrified and confused. Rescued from an abandoned home by a county animal code enforcement officer, the black and white, four-year-old, 45-pound, mixed breed was starving and thirsty. Yet, even in this extremely stressful situation, you could see the sweetness in his eyes.
The shelter staff named him Groot, after the kind and loyal character in the movie, Guardians of the Galaxy. Once Groot realized the staff and volunteers were not going to hurt him, but instead were there to help and comfort him, he became more trusting and sociable.
Group play helps Groot reach his potential
When Groot first joined the shelter’s morning playgroup sessions, he was a bit too sensitive and over assertive with other male dogs. However, within a week, he became comfortable in group play and ultimately became a superstar, greeting newbies and even showing other dogs how to play well with others.
Group play enriches our shelter dogs’ quality of life while they wait to be adopted. It provides them with exercise and interaction they can’t get from a simple leash walk. The vigorous play tires them out and reduces their kennel stress.
FOTAS introduced playgroup sessions to the shelter in 2016, when the Dogs Playing for Life (DPFL) organization, led by founder Aimee Sadler, visited the shelter to train the staff and show employees how to run effective playgroups. DPFL helps ensure dogs engage more positively with potential adopters, transition more easily to a new home, and interact appropriately with people and other dogs in the community.
This was certainly true in Groot’s case. Group play gave him confidence, improved his manners and helped him to bloom into a wonderful canine companion.
Finding his forever home
Trish and Max Wilcher adopted Groot on Nov.9, providing him with a loving home he shares with two cats. The couple renamed him Buddy and now consider him a cherished family member.
“We had lost our dog to cancer and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to adopt again,” Trish said. “I was following posts about him on your Facebook page, and then I had the photo of him in the hat with that smile of his on my computer. I knew I wanted him.”
Trish works half days, so when she gets home in the early afternoon, she says he is ready to get out of the house for some exercise.
“Buddy has been great for me,” she said. “He’s brought me energy. He goes running with me and loves to play fetch. When I get home, he says, ‘Mom, we’ve got to get going,’ and then gets me out the door exercising.”
The Wilcher home has two fenced-in yards, where Buddy can play with his toys, watch the squirrels or just lie in the sun. He also enjoys frequent visits from Trish and Max’s grandkids and their Basset Hound.
“When we left the shelter with Buddy, everyone came up to him and hugged and congratulated him for finding a home,” Trish said. “I tell everyone I know that the County Shelter is the place to get a pet. You can feel the love there from the volunteers and staff. Y’all really care about the animals.”
Their lives are in our hands.
By Bob Gordon, FOTAS Communications Director
By the Numbers
In 2023, Aiken County Animal Shelter received more than 4,600 animals and more than 92% were saved. FOTAS, working with the county shelter, saves more animals than any other 501(c)(3) organization in the CSRA. For the past six years, every adoptable animal at the shelter was saved.
