Closed Thanksgiving Day: Thursday, November 28

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?

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. 

2,009

Pets Adopted

20,245

Procedures and Exams

47,495

Volunteers Hours

39,896

Pounds of Food
& Litter Provided

2023 Year in Review

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!

    • Having a Safe Thanksgiving With Your Canine Companions

      Having a Safe Thanksgiving With Your Canine Companions

      Hi everyone, my name is Loui and I’m here with my son Bronx. It’s our pleasure to meet you! We are a bonded pair here at AWS and have a […]

      Read More

    • AWS Shih Tzu Update

      AWS Shih Tzu Update

      As reported this week, AWS is caring for a number of shih tzus taken in by the state’s Animal Welfare Program last month. We are pleased to announce that the […]

      Read More

    • How to Control Counter Surfing

      How to Control Counter Surfing

      We’ve all been there; you’re right in the middle of cooking and you turn your back for just a moment. Suddenly, your half-baked, tasty treat is gone! You glance down […]

      Read More

    • World Kindness Day

      World Kindness Day

      Today, World Kindness Day, we want to give a special shout out to our amazing volunteers and foster families. The kindness and love you show our animals each and every […]

      Read More

    Values That Guide Our Work

    Follow Us!

    @aws.maine

    For Animal Shelter Appreciation Week we encouraged you to share your Happy Homes stories with us, and you delivered! We wanted to share some of your stories that stood out to us.

Polly:
"Polly is a wonderful adult shelter bunny who keeps a neat running area except for her designated demolition cardboard spot! Her cardboard demolition keeps her out of trouble. It really works! Her favorite spot is sitting under the plants and hops up on the couch or chair for petting time. Polly spends the day in a 5 foot by 4 foot enclosure when we are not home to keep her safe. We love our Polly and hope she has many years with us ❤️"

Read Happy Homes and to share your story ➡ https://animalwelfaresociety.org/adoption/adoption-stories/
    A special thank you to @patriotsubaru  for supporting AWS through their 12 Weeks of Giving! Their campaign supports local charities and community non-profits like AWS all year, and we were chosen as their November organization. Thank you for supporting the animals of our community!
    With basic training classes not starting till the new year, you can still get started on your dog’s training journey now by enrolling in Frosty’s Festive Foundations, part of our popular Reindeer Games!
 
In three hour-long weekly sessions, you and your dog will learn how to communicate, practice focusing and how to resist distractions. These foundational skills will give your pup a head start when you sign up for full-fledged training class in January, such as our 6-week Basic Training classes.
 
You’ll be a jolly happy soul when you join us for the Reindeer Games. Thumpety Thump Thump, Thumpety Thump Thump look at your dog go!
 
Visit the link in our bio to enroll today!
    As reported this week, AWS is caring for a number of shih tzus taken in by state's Animal Welfare Program last month. We are pleased to announce that the dogs are receiving much needed veterinary care at our Community Veterinary Clinic and many will ready for adoption very soon. In the meantime, our amazing foster families have opened up their homes to these dogs, showing them love and compassion, teaching them basic skills on how to be a family pet, and giving them a home-like setting liked they've never experienced.

We have received a lot of inquiries into the shih tzus. We are grateful for the interest, and thank you for your support and well wishes. We ask for patience as we get the dogs ready for the next chapter of their lives. Some have significant medical hurdles to overcome and others simply need a little more time to decompress in their foster homes before they are ready to be adopted. All adoptable pets are posted on our website as soon as they become available. Therefore, we encourage those interested in adopting one of the shih tzus to keep an eye on our website ➡➡ https://animalwelfaresociety.org/adoption/dogs/

As with all our adoptable pets, when you see a dog online that you’d like to meet/adopt, please follow the instructions on how to adopt from AWS. All adoptions at AWS are first come, first served, so we will not be taking a list of names or offer "pre-applications" for any of the shih tzus. ➡➡ https://animalwelfaresociety.org/adoption/how-to-adopt/ 

Our Adoption Center is open daily (closed Thanksgiving Day) from 10 am - 3:30 pm and we are located in Kennebunk, Maine. Thank you for helping us, and our fellow Maine shelters, support the state of Maine's Animal Welfare Program when they needed us most. We know these shih tzus have a wonderful future ahead of them!