A typical day at the SPCA and the words 'We are Full'

By the time I wake up at 5 a.m. to start a new day at the SPCA, the little green light on my phone is ringing and there are new e-mails waiting to be read.

The first one I come across this day is from a supporter and volunteer who found a stray male lab mix running down the road in Barnwell County with the pads of his paws bleeding due to too much time spent running on hot pavement. He's very underweight, too. Can I make room for him? We do.

Another person in rural Aiken County has some mixed breed puppies they want to "get rid of" because they hadn't found the time to get their dog spayed.

Later that morning, a small Ford Ranger pulls up from Batesburg with the largest female Great Dane I've ever seen in the back. They decided to get her spayed, but she's so pregnant now that she's going to have her puppies any day. This will be the second litter of Dane-mixed (with what they have no idea) puppies she's had in 2010!

They want to keep her, but can't take care of the puppies. We agree to take them in, once weaned from mom, only if she agrees to have her spayed then.

We find a low-cost program for them and they take the big dog back home again, in the back of a hot pickup truck, until the puppies are old enough to come back.

Another volunteer just found seven mixed breed puppies about 7 weeks old in the county and brings them to us in a crate. We don't have space, but he begs us to keep them and we squeeze them in somewhere.

By the time I come back from lunch, there are about 10 more little dogs that are personal surrenders from several people who can't or won't keep them anymore that we are talked into "squeezing in."

Another woman borrows a truck from Williston to transport her own dog that she doesn't want anymore. She took it to the Aiken county shelter but didn't have the $15 surrender fee they charge to help care for the animal while it is in their shelter. She brings it to us and, unfortunately, we are well beyond capacity and can't help her.

She proceeds to yell and scream in the lobby that this isn't fair and that she is going to dump the dog in the woods because she shouldn't have to pay anyone to take her own dog.

I finally just pull $15 out of my own wallet and send her next door with it, as there is no way of getting through to her that she took on the responsibility of pet ownership when she took in the dog in the first place.

Our shelter was designed to hold about 75 dogs and 50 cats at any one time.

As of this afternoon, we have 105 dogs and 76 cats in the shelter. Add to that total 24 dogs and puppies and 44 cats and kittens at the city annex waiting their turn for a chance, and you can see our dilemma.

Two hundred and forty-nine hungry mouths to feed and care for on our property is a lot, even for our experienced staff.

This doesn't include several more animals in foster care waiting for their spot in the adoption area.

What is the solution to this overcrowding problem? We may sound like a broken record, but affordable spay and neuter services and education are the keys to breaking the cycle of litters of kittens and puppies dropped off at shelters.

The other, and it may be the toughest, is for people to take responsibility for their actions and treat animals humanely. They are not objects to have around the house and then dispose of like a worn out toy.

If you know someone with an unaltered pet, please encourage them to get it altered.

There are many programs available at very good prices.

Also, if you or someone is looking for a pet and understand that it is a responsibility that should be taken seriously, encourage them to adopt from a local shelter, breed rescue or foster-home animal welfare agency.

For more information about adoption or spaying and neutering, call 648-6863.