JAN. 2016 NEWSLETTER        

 

Happy New Year! We are happy to share our successes of the past year!
ADOPTIONS
Pets come to us for a variety of reasons, but the most important thing is that they have safe place with us for as long as it takes for their new family to come along. Sometimes they are available for adoption for mere minutes, sometimes weeks or in a few cases, even a year.  But for however long their stay is, they have nutritious food, a safe and comfortable shelter, veterinary care, enrichment activities, and lots of love from our staff and volunteers.

We are proud to announce that in 2015,  2,827  pets went home!













 

RETURNS TO OWNER
We contract with 21 towns in Southern Maine to provide a shelter for animal control officers to bring stray or abandoned pets. We keep a log of lost dogs and cats, and we encourage folks to call us as soon as their pet goes missing.  Every time a pet comes in, we review our lost pets logs. We look for a phone number on the pet's tag and we scan for a microchip so we can quickly call the owners to come claim their pet. With this diligence, we were able to facilitate  341  family reunions last year. 


TRANSFER PARTNERS
We work closely with other local animal welfare groups to place some animals. If a pet has been at AWS for a while, a change of scenery can spur an adoption. We will sometimes send our long-term residents to another shelter. They likewise, send some our way. More often than not, adoptions take place very quickly!

We will also work with breed-specific rescue groups for placing certain pets as it opens up the pets to a different pool of potential adopters.  For example, Mainely Rat Rescue often takes the domestic rats we have at the shelter. With their network of rat enthusiasts, it doesn't take long for the little critters to be adopted. 

In 2015,  205  pets were transferred to other organizations for adoption.
SPAY/NEUTER SERVICES
We are committed to reducing pet overpopulation in Maine. Dogs, cats and rabbits that have been altered are happier and healthier. They exhibit fewer undesirable behaviors, such as spraying and aggression. Thus, all shelter pets are spayed or neutered prior to adoption. The Cleo Fund, the spay/neuter arm of AWS, helps pet owners with resources to have their own pets altered. 
In 2015, the Shelter Spay/Neuter Clinic conducted 1,332 surgeries for the pets of income-qualified individuals in York County.

The Cleo Fund's spay/neuter voucher program provides financial assistance  to income-qualified pet owners throughout the state.  In 2015,   1,274 vouchers were issued and redeemed for spay/neuter surgeries on dogs and cats.

The Cleo Fund also coordinated several spay/neuter clinics throughout the state, assisting with a total of  57 surgeries.
FERAL CAT SERVICES
In March 2015, the AWS Cleo Fund started a pilot program to help feral cats in Southern Maine.  Using the trap-neuter-return approach, our Feral Cat Specialist works with feral cat caretakers to assure they have the resources needed to care for the feral cats. She assesses each feral colony to identity how many cats are present. She then very patiently and humanely traps each cat. She transports them to AWS, where they are altered and given a rabies vaccine at the Shelter Clinic. After a short recovery period, they are returned to their colonies where they can live out their lives without producing additional offspring.

Since the program began, 90 have been trapped, neutered and returned!

COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
We have several outreach programs, including our confidential PAWS (Pets and Women to Safety) program, to assist community members in need. In 2015, our outreach programs assisted 280 qualified pet owners with temporary fostering, veterinary care and parasite control for their pets. 

We also organized several free or low-cost rabies vaccine clinics in York County in the spring and fall.  Veterinarians from the Shelter Spay/Neuter Clinic administered vaccines to 200 pets at these events!  

OBEDIENCE TRAINING
We regularly offer a full training schedule including  Basic Obedience
Puppy Kindergarten , and  Agility.  This year, our obedience team added several fun new classes, including  Outdoor Adventure  and  Nose Works for pets that have already graduated from our regular classes. Over the course of 2015, our obedience trainers worked with many pets and their families with a total of  435  canines graduating from our classes!

SO WHAT'S THE GRAND TOTAL?
HOW MANY PETS DID WE HELP IN 2015?!?

7,041
AVAILABLE PETS
Please visit our website for pictures and bios of all our available pets!
10 months, Male, Am. Shelter Dog
JOEY
5 years old, Male, Pit Bull Mix
13 years old, Female, Short Hair
SILVER
7 years old, Female, Long Hair
Adult, Female, Lionhead Mix
BEAN
Adult, Male, Guinea Pig
OBEDIENCE SCHEDULE
The New Year is a perfect time to enroll you and your pet in a canine training program.

We have a number of great classes starting soon.

Saturdays
Jan 16th - Feb 20th ~ 4:30 - 5:30 PM
  Jan 23rd - Feb 27th ~ 9:00 - 10:00 AM
Mondays
Jan 11th - Feb. 15th ~ 7:00 - 8:00 PM

Thursdays
Jan 21st - Feb 25th ~ 7:00 - 8:00 PM


Classes fill up very quickly, so register today.  

Questions? 
Contact Kim Van Sickle at 207-985-3244 x111.


HUMANE EDUCATION
FURRY TALES
Our story and adventure hour for preschoolers resumes  Jan. 7th at 10am in the Humane Education room. Children hear stories, interact with shelter pets and make animal-related crafts. Furry Tales runs each Thursday school is in session* 
* We follow the RSU 21 school calendar

HUMANE ACTION LEAGUE
This weekly after-school program runs for 7 week sessions throughout the school year. 

For 12-14 year olds
Tuesdays

For 9-11 year olds
Thursdays
*does not meet during Feb. school vacation

Feb. 16th - Feb 19th
Children ages 7-12 have the opportunity to spend time with shelter pets, make craft and learn in a hands on way. Topics include animal care & handling, kindness towards animals and other animal-welfare related issues. 

Questions?
Contact Megan Cross, Humane Educator, at 207-985-3244 x109.
AWS CLEO FUND

   KEEP IN TOUCH   

Mailing Address: PO Box 43, West Kennebunk, ME 04094
Physical Address: 46 Holland Road, Kennebunk

Open for adoptions and visits
Monday & Tuesday:  11 - 4:30
   Thursday & Friday:  11 - 4:30
   Saturday & Sunday:  11 - 4:30
   Closed Wednesdays