Aiken County Animal Shelter Program Out of Money

Aiken, SC—They are full of curiosity. They are made up of tiny paws…and wagging tails. They are also a problem…

Bobby Arthurs, Chief Enforcement Officer, Aiken County Animal Shelter: “We have a huge problem; the animals are coming in by the numbers.”

Although the “breeding season” can happen throughout the year, springtime brings an overwhelming number of new animals, dropped off here at the Aiken County Animal Shelter.

Joy Howe, reporting: “Right now, this little guy is cute and cuddly. But pretty soon, he’ll be ready to start a family. And the animal shelter needs money to make sure he doesn’t contribute to a growing problem.“

They get more than 400 animals a month here, 5,000 a year…and only about 700 end up going to a good home. So, in order to keep population under control, and reduce the euthanasia rate, Aiken County Council allotted $30,000 of the 2008-2009 budget, to a program that provided spay and neuter vouchers to people who qualified.

Plenty of people did the responsible thing and took advantage of that offer…but too much of a good thing, presents a problem.

Arthurs: “Well, it’s good that they used it, it’s bad that we ran out of money the time we did.“

Nine months in, the money ran out…during their busiest season. In the short time we were at the shelter, four more cats were brought in. Their future owners will have to hang on until next year’s budget passes, and another round of spay and neuter vouchers are up for grabs.

Arthurs: “I feel like the county’s doing there part. I think it’s going to be left up to the citizens, next year, to use the voucher program, which it’s clear that a lot of them did, because we ran out of money in 9 months.”

Arthurs says another $30,000 is included in this year’s proposed budget for the program. He says they would like more, but they will gratefully take any help they can get. However, the money, Arthurs says, probably won’t be available, until July.