Pets & 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.
Pets and Families Thriving Together
Animal Welfare Society (AWS) is a private 501(c)(3) non-profit located in Kennebunk, Maine.
Home for the Holidays
Warm nights by the fireplace, snow-filled adventures, cozy lap naps, now is the time to adopt your new best friend. Let’s get our resident pets – like River seen here – home for the holidays!
Home for the Holidays
Warm nights by the fireplace, snow-filled adventures, cozy lap naps, now is the time to adopt your new best friend. Let’s get our resident pets home for the holidays!
Home for the Holidays
Warm nights by the fireplace, snow-filled adventures, cozy lap naps, now is the time to adopt your new best friend. Let’s get our residents pets – like River seen here – home for the holidays!
Home for the Holidays
Warm nights by the fireplace, snow-filled adventures, cozy lap naps, now is the time to adopt your new best friend. Let’s get our residents pets home for the holidays!
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?
Community Events & Appearances
Join us!
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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Heidi Marston Named Executive Director of Animal Welfare Society
After a nationwide search, the Board of Directors of Animal Welfare Society (AWS) is pleased to announce that Heidi Marston will serve as the organization’s next Executive Director.
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Keeping Your Pets Safe in Cold Temps
Whether we’re ready for it or not, winter is HERE! In addition to the snow, it’s cold, Cold, COLD! Exposure to extreme temperatures, dry air, sleet, snow and much more […]
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Angel’s Love for Belly Rubs
Hello everyone! My name is Angel and it is so lovely to meet you all. I’m a fun-loving young gal waiting to find the perfect home that’s full of belly […]
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Daisy’s Holiday Safety Tips
Hi everyone, it’s Daisy here, your holiday safety advisor! With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I thought it would be the perfect time to share some holiday safety tips with […]
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Holiday Hours
Thank you so much for visiting Animal Welfare Society this holiday season. Whether you are here adopting, utilizing our programs and services, taking a class or making a donation, we […]
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Kimber Wants To Be Your Loyal Sidekick
Hey everyone, my name is Kimber and it is lovely to meet you all! I’ve been at AWS for some time now with a wonderful foster, and while I have […]
Happy Homes
Whether you adopted from us, visited our Clinic, took a Canine Training class or utilized the Stay@Home program, we want to hear from you. Share your Happy Homes story with us today.
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Chowder now Chester
Chester, formally Chowder is a sweet love bug kitty boy. He enjoys all the pets, snacks and napping in his cat tree. He's a good companion after saying goodbye to […]
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Killian now Nigel Thornberry
Nigel Thornberry is loving his new life! He loves to run around chasing crinkle balls & his motorized mouse ball and takes naps in his cat tree or cuddled with […]
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Valerie & Harmony now Julien & Lucy
We adopted these two sweet girls from AWS in August 2025. My partner and I were still grieving the loss of our sweet cat Amie over the summer and knew […]
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Renn now Presley
We adopted Presley in the winter of 2018 as a brother to our dog, Elvis. He was so shy when my brother and I went to visit the AWS but […]
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. Above all, we offer assistance and support in the absence of judgement.
Community Focused
As an organization and as individuals, ware 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.