Stay@Home
We believe pets are family, and families should stay together. When hardship happens, we want to be here to help.
Suite of Services
Animal Welfare Society’s Stay@Home program is a suite of services available to qualified community members, including older adults and veterans, who need temporary support caring for their pets.
Stay@Home is intended to keep pets in their homes with their families – where they are loved – by providing resources and support as needed.
Pet Food & Supplies
We can help if you need dog or cat food, or if you need help with basic care supplies (such as bedding, litter, leashes, etc).
Behavioral Assistance
Our certified professional canine trainers can assist with mild behavior cases or provide training advice to dog owners, particularly those without access to training resources.
Veterinary Care (Companion Program)
Through our Community Veterinary Clinic, we offer reduced cost veterinary services for dogs and cats.
Temporary Boarding
AWS’ state-of-the-art animal shelter offers safe and comfortable accommodations for dogs, cats, birds, guinea pigs and other small animals.
Pet Food & Supplies
If you would like assistance feeding your pet, our Stay@Home program can help. Thanks to community support, we have an on-site pet food pantry, which also provides supplies, such as litter, bedding or leashes and collars. We also work with area food pantries, to provide them with pet food for their clients to bring home to their pets. This map shows the locations of area food pantries that can help you with your pet. Please reach out to them directly with inquiries or request pet food and supplies directly from AWS.
Behavioral Assistance
If your dog is exhibiting unusual behaviors that impact your quality of life (and those around you), our Canine Training team may be able to help. We prioritize behavior cases where the pet owner is in jeopardy of losing their housing.
Veterinary Care
Though our Companion Program, we offer reduced prices for most of our veterinary clinic procedures and services. To find out if you qualify, please visit our pricing and scheduling page. Companion Program pricing is 25% below our Community (standard) rates.
Boarding @ AWS
Temporary Hardship
Stay@Home assists pet owners who are temporarily displaced and need a safe place for their pet to stay while they secure permanent housing. Additionally, it helps pet owners who need pet care while they are seeking in-patient medical care or rehab services. Frequent reasons for assistance include house fire, housing insecurity or owner medical emergency. We work directly with pet owners or with case managers. This resource ultimately keeps pets and their families together, even if they are separated temporarily.
Caring Unlimited
Additionally, we work in conjunction with Caring Unlimited, York County’s domestic violence resource. If a pet owner seeks services from Caring Unlimited, AWS will house the animal and provide for it temporarily. Once the pet’s owner finds safety and stability, they are reunited with their pet and go home together. Through this program, both the pet and the individual are able to find the care they needed without sacrificing their loving human-animal bond. If you need help, or know someone who does, call Caring Unlimited directly at (800) 239-7298.
Your kindness may seem simple to you, but it meant everything to me.”
Request Services
As a community resource, AWS’ Stay@Home program aims to reduce local animal shelter admissions by supporting our local community and keeping local pets at home with their families. This keeps our kennels available for truly homeless pets. This also allows for the lifesaving transportation of pets from other shelters in Maine needing relief and from overpopulated portions of the US.
To learn more about Stay@Home or to inquiry about resources to keep you and your pet together, please email our Community Services Manager or call (207) 985-3244 ext 101.
