Whom do I call regarding concerns about animals in City and County?

Our phones ring off the hook each day with a variety of questions.

As a 74-year-old animal welfare organization that is well-known by many residents of the CSRA, the Aiken SPCA is usually the first point of contact when an animal question arises.

People call to report their dog or cat missing or that one wandered in their yard or was found in a parking lot or on the side of the road.

There is a network of people who help get the word out to reunite pets.

We take the information and post it at the shelter, as does Aiken County Animal Control. We inform City of Aiken Animal Control, as well.

At the new website, http://aikenpetsreunited.org, information and photos are posted there, as well as on www.twitter.com.

Local veterinarians also usually have space in their offices to post lost pet reports.

Local vets and shelters can also scan these found pets for microchips, which, if they have one, will greatly speed up the reuniting process.

The other types of calls we frequently receive are reports by people who are concerned for the well being of an animal.

It may be a thin horse in a pasture, a dog left outside without shelter, a potential fighting ring or a potential hoarder, someone who may have vastly more animals than they can properly care for.

These issues need to be investigated by the animal control department that has jurisdiction in the area.

In Aiken County, for example, there are three main animal control departments.

The cities of North Augusta and Aiken each have their own departments that oversee animal welfare issues in the City limits.

Aiken County Animal Control has responsibility elsewhere, sometimes alone, sometimes contracting with towns like Jackson and Wagener to partner with them to help animals in distress in these communities.

People also call to surrender animals.

Depending on a variety of factors, there are different places that the animals may end up.

Each of the animal control departments just mentioned takes in the strays found in its jurisdiction.

The first goal is to reunite the pet with its owner, who hopefully is looking for the dog or cat who went missing.

Each animal control agency has its own method for adopting out strays that are not reclaimed by their owners.

Aiken County Animal Control has its own adoption program at the shelter at 411 Wire Road, right beside the Aiken SPCA.

The City of Aiken, along with the towns of Ridge Spring and Saluda, partners with the Aiken SPCA to adopt out adoptable pets that are not reclaimed by their owners.

The City of North Augusta works with other agencies, as well.

One of the SPCA's favorite calls is from people wanting to spay or neuter their pet.

We will provide nearly 3,000 of these surgeries this year alone to help greatly reduce the pet overpopulation problem in our area.

Information about the various programs we offer can be found at www.aikenspca.org.

Another welcome call that comes to us often is someone looking to adopt a pet.

We adopt out nearly 700 animals each year at our shelter, but we're not the only choice to find that perfect pet.

The County shelter next door gets in a great variety of dogs and cats and other pets that will make a great addition to your family.

There are also breed rescues, such as Equine Rescue of Aiken, and other rescues that exclusively use foster homes for adoptions.

Most of these groups display many of their adoptable pets online at www.petfinder.org.

On the website, you can search by shelter name or by location, and you'll quickly learn a lot about the homeless animals in our area that want to be a part of your family.