Saving Lives Through Pet Adoption

When Shawn Moore, from Irmo, was looking for a dog for companionship a friend of hers suggested checking out a local animal shelter before going another route. 

After taking her friend's advice, Moore said she was able to find exactly what she had been looking for in Wilbur.

"Once we met him, we fell in live," Moore said. "Wilbur is my perfect match."

Moore adopted Wilbur last Saturday from Pawmetto Lifeline during a three-day back to school adoption event held at on Harbison Boulevard.

Wilbur is Moore's first dog, having owned cats for many years. Moore said she is glad she decided to look into adopting a pet from a local animal rescue organization and suggest others try their hand when finding a pet. 

"I suggest checking out your local animal shelter because you never know what you will find," Moore said. "I don't know who's more excited, me or Wilbur."

But more importantly, Moore said, is to do your research and determine what's best for you.

Darlene Lynch, Wilbur's "grandma" and Moore's mother, also shares Moore's excitement about bringing Wilbur into the family.

"Getting Wilbur and bringing Wilbur home was like going to a hospital and bringing home a new baby," Lynch said. 

There are many organizations in Irmo and across the state that rescue animals just like Wilbur in an effort to save them from euthanization and find them their forever home.

Whether that's from a local shelter that has to euthanize the animals because there's no space or from a citizen that can no longer afford to keep a pet. 

Colleen Ford, a volunteer with F.I.D.O Dog Rescue, said an animal turned into your local pound only has days to live.

"If you turn an animal into the pound, by owner surrender, they have 24 hours before they are put down whereas a stray comes in, it gets seven days," Ford said.

Ford said you can get almost anything you want at the pound and that there are so many great rescue groups to choose from.

Linda Provence, co-founder of Homeward Bound, a non-profit all volunteer group, echoes Ford's sentiments saying organizations like hers are the only hope for animals who don't have a home and that they are grateful just for a second chance at life. 

"If we don't rescue them, they're going to be put to death," Provence said.

More than 23,000 cats and dogs are taken into shelters in the Columbia area each year, according to Pawmetto Lifeline, a pet organization that has made one of its goals to create a no-kill community in the Midlands. Of those, more than 19,000 are euthanized--more than 50 animals per day.

Rebecca Pierce, adoption counselor with Pawmetto Lifeline, said one way to help our furry friends is to spay or neuter your existing pet to help control the pet population. 

And if you're looking for a pet, Pierce urges one to adopt. 

"You are literally saving a life," Pierce said. "Some are literally being saved from death row." 

Christie Abbott, of Harbison, owns three rescue dogs named Katie, Max and Dixie. 

Abbott has always been around dogs because her parents were breeders and bred dobermans, but when it came time for her to find a dog she remembered her first encounter with homeless dogs when she was a child.

Abbott said she and her family lived in an area where they had to take their trash to a local dumpster. One day, when she and her father were taking the trash out, she heard a noise coming from the dumpster. 

When they went to look for where the sound was coming from, they found a trash bag with eight or nine puppies inside in the trash, with two of them already dead. They took the puppies home and were eventually able to find homes for them.

When Abbott got ready to get a dog, she decided to adopt.
"There are so many dogs that are discarded," Abbott said. "Why not save one?"
"I couldn't ask for betters dogs," she said. 

Abbott also said she has nothing against going with a breeder if you're looking for a specific type of dog or a dog for a specific purpose, but encourages ones who are looking to also stop by a shelter and give them a try.

There are many animal shelters in the Midlands. Here are just a few in the Irmo-Seven Oaks area:

F.I.D.O. Dog Rescue

Adoption Hours: Every Sun, 2pm - 5pm at PetSmart, 246 Harbison Blvd, Columbia

Phone: (803) 796-2390

For more information, visit F.I.D.O.

Homeward Bound

Adoption hours: Sat, 11am - 4pm at PetSmart, 246 Harbison Blvd, Columbia

Phone: (803) 454-9094

For more information, visit Homeward Bound

Pawmetto Lifeline, formerly Project

Adoption Hours: Mon - Fri, 1pm - 5pm at Pawmetto Lifeline, 6880 St. Andrews Rd, Columbia; Sat, 11:30am - 4pm at Harbison PetSmart, 246 Harbison Blvd, Columbia; Sun, 1:30 - 5pm at Lexington PetSmart, 5135U Sunset Blvd., Lexington

Phone: 803-407-0991

For more information, visit Pawmetto Lifeline

The following are links to some helpful resources when choosing a pet:

Before You Adopt

The Right Pet for You