ANIMAL WELFARE SOCIETY INC

The Animal Welfare Society seeks to aid companion animals in need by offering intake services for pets in 21 local municipalities and operating a progressive Adoption Center to find these pets loving new homes. AWS works with out-of-state rescue groups needing assistance placing their animals. The goal is to bring together pets and families.

To combat unwanted animal overpopulation, AWS provides spay and neuter surgery resources and access statewide and provides veterinary and wellness services to underserved pet owners at a reduced rate through our in-house veterinary clinic. AWS seeks to end the unnecessary surrender of owned pets – due to training issues, medical problems or unwanted litters – while remaining a safety net for truly homeless animals.

In addition, AWS seeks to keep beloved family pets and their families together, despite temporarily financial setbacks or limitations. Despite the best of intentions, things can happen, and circumstances can change, impacting family members and their pets. We know this today more than ever considering the havoc wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic. People have experienced work and housing instability and have had to adapt in many ways. We know that before the pandemic many Americans were just an incident away from financial stress or homelessness, and instability is even greater today. If a pet were to have an accident or an illness, many families would be challenged to provide veterinary care because it is so expensive. And in that case, the options are disheartening: either the pet goes untreated and suffers, the pet is humanely euthanized because the treatment is too expensive, or the pet is surrendered over to a shelter who agrees to pay for the treatment and re-home the pet. In today’s society, there ought to be a better option. That's why we started the [email protected] program. [email protected] is a suite of services available to qualified community members who need temporary support caring for their pets. Many clients are seniors, veterans or income-qualified individuals. [email protected] is intended to keep pets in their homes with their families – where they are loved – by providing training resources, food, veterinary services through the AWS Community Veterinary Clinic, temporary boarding and other support as needed.

We believe an individual or family’s financial standing is not necessarily an accurate reflection of their capacity to love and care for pets, and that financial hardship should not be the reason a lifelong commitment is broken. We are – and always will be – a safety net for homeless pets. But now we are also a safety net for people and their pet family members.

AWS, an animal resource for pets and their people, offers:

-Adoption, bringing homeless animals and people together. Each pet is spayed/neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and examined for health.
-Pets and Women to Safety, offering pet care for victims of violence fleeing a dangerous situation.
-Paws in Stripes, pairing puppies with incarcerated individuals for training. Puppies are trained by inmates, and in turn give the inmates purpose.
-Paws Across America, bringing highly adoptable pets to Maine.
-Youth Humane Education, teaching animal care and empathy in AWS’ youth classroom and schools.
-Canine Training classes by a professional staff. Classes are taught for all levels, along with in-home private consults and one-on-one work.
-Spay/Neuter resources, offering vouchers and multi-day clinics, reaching the most underserved.
-In-house, full-service Community Veterinary Clinic serving pet owners in need with reduced fee care, ensuring that pet owners do not lose a pet due to veterinary expenses.
-Re-Homing Services, including working together to find resources for individuals needing behavioral, medical or other services to keep their animal at homes, spay/neuter services for unwanted litters, temporary boarding and animal admissions for pet owners who cannot keep their pet for any reason.
[email protected], providing resources to maintain pet ownership and care, particularly for those facing financial hardship or housing insecurity. Resources include temporarily boarding, pet food pantry, complimentary veterinary care, training lessons and other supplies.

Through fifty years of innovation, work, and problem solving, AWS is well-equipped to meet the today’s animal welfare demands. Our team is composed of more than 40 professionals, including four veterinarians, licensed veterinary technicians, animal care staff, canine behavior staff, education staff, and administrative support staff.

Our work is at a leadership level across the state and the region, and our community of supporters is enthusiastic about our next steps in meeting our mission and serving our community's animal welfare needs.

In January 2018, AWS completed the first phase of a full campus renovation project. With community support, a 5,000 sq. ft. addition and a 9,000 sq. ft. renovation expanded the current in-house spay/neuter clinic to become a full-service Community Veterinary Clinic. The Clinic serves income-qualified pet owners by providing emergency and wellness care they otherwise would be unable to afford. A new canine training room, adoption lobby, and staff spaces rounded out the project. In its first full year, the Clinic saw more than 10,000 patients - providing thousands of surgeries and life-saving procedures, vaccinations and wellness exams.

IN 2019-2020, a remodel of the animal spaces took place. Cat kennels doubled in size, windows were added to the spaces and our cat community rooms received a full face-lift, complete with climbing apparatus. Our dog spaces saw the kennel chain link replaced by tempered glass and stainless steel. Kennel block were repaired, and the kennel floors were upgraded with a sealed epoxy. All animal spaces received streams of natural light and sound mitigating features.

In 2020 and 2021, despite the pandemic, AWS remained open for animal admissions, adoptions and veterinary care, though at a reduced capacity, based on state and federal guidelines and staffing. In 2021, AWS increased its community programs to work with more families in need of assistance to keep their pets happy and at home by formally launching the [email protected] program, including the in-house pet food pantry.

The Board of Directors in early 2022 approved a new mission statement to better reflect AWS' approach to meeting the needs of the community's animals - and the people who love them.