Pets and families thriving together
Founded in 1967, Animal Welfare Society (AWS) is a private 501(c)(3) non-profit animal welfare organization located in Kennebunk, Maine.
Our mission
Animal Welfare Society exists to serve as the safety net for lost and homeless pets and to provide access to affordable services and resources necessary for long term well-being, so pets and their families stay together and thrive.
Featured Pets
These pets have been waiting the longest for their new families to adopt them. Will one of them become your new best friend?
Events & Programs
Join us!
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December 3 @ 2:00 PM
Puppy Learn & Play- Yuletide Youngsters
Learn & Play for puppies brings together training skills and doggone fun in short weekly sessions. Each session, led by one of our certified professional dog trainers, includes a mix of socialization, obedience training, life skills, play and fun!
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November 30 @ 4:30 PM
Small Breed Learn & Play – Agility and Obstacles
Small Breed Learn & Play is a series of one-time sessions that build upon the training and obedience skills you learned in our Basic Training class. It is a great way to reinforce good behavior, learn new skills, bond with your dog and have fun.
Our 2022 Impact
In a year like no other, we supported our pet community’s needs as families faced inflation, economic uncertainty and housing instability while also adjusting our operations to fit the “post-COVID” era.
From the Blog
Whether it’s a dog who likes to blog, a cat who enjoys a chat, a bird who shares the word, or the occasional funny bunny, you’ll love hearing from our resident animals directly. Our blog also contains news & updates, training tips & tricks and more. Keep up with AWS!
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What are Reindeer Games?
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! We love the holiday season for it’s festivities, fun, and good feelings, but there’s another reason as well. We’re talking, of course, […]
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Congrats to Team #awscat!
This Giving Tuesday competition centered around the question who is the Coziest Companion: Cats or Canines? After a fierce but friendly competition, the winner is… 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 #𝗔𝗪𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗧! Our feline friends […]
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Karhu is Team #awsdog!
Hi there, folks! My name is Karhu (pronounced like kaar·hoo) and I am a new face around here at AWS. Can you guess what my name means?! It’s actually Finnish […]
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A Grateful Daisy
Hi there! My name is Daisy and I’m a 5-year-old pup who has been looking for my happy new home here at AWS. My life’s been a journey but I’m […]
Values That Guide Our Work
Compassion
We demonstrate kindness, understanding, and concern for the animals and people in our community whatever their circumstances. We appreciate others’ perspectives, listen, acknowledge needs, and practice patience. We offer assistance and support in the absence of judgement.
Community Focused
We are dedicated to supporting people and pets in our community through creating progressive, innovative programs and services so that pets can get what they need to thrive. We believe healthy pets make healthy people and healthy people make a healthy community.
Collaboration
We acknowledge it takes all of us working together to successfully promote and protect the human-animal bond. We prioritize teamwork and partnerships in all that we do and commit to building positive relationships with individuals, groups, and organizations in order to further our mission and goals.
Inclusion and Equity
Diverse voices make us stronger. We strive to create an environment where everyone feels welcome, respected, and heard. We seek to build a fair, equitable, honest, and healthy place for our staff to work and for our community to seek support.
