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Paws Across America
 Paws Across America, born in 2002, is a program developed by the Animal Welfare Society to accept dogs and puppies from overcrowded shelters. These dogs, usually transported by van, are brought to Maine for adoption. Due to an overwhelming number of homeless and unwanted dogs, many shelters, particularly in mid-western and southern states, are faced with euthanizing healthy and highly adoptable animals. Spaying and neutering is the solution to eliminating and preventing this overpopulation crisis.
New England shelters do not often have litters of local puppies. While we are thankful not to have a surplus of unwanted puppies, the lack of accessible pups for adoption can lead to an increase in pet shop and internet sales of puppies, as well as in increase in litters bred by unscrupulous hobby breeders.
 The vast majority of puppies found in pet stores originate from puppy mills, large breeding operations where profit is the main priority and there is little to no concern for the welfare or wellbeing of the animals involved. Most puppy mill dogs are kept confined to small cages with many females per male and females are bred at every heat cycle, with no break, to maximize puppy production. Dogs in these commercial breeding facilities often suffer from untreated injuries, skin, eye, and ear infections, parasites, matted fur, poor nutrition, a lack of socialization, and are provided little, if any veterinary care. Puppies often suffer from nutritional deficiencies, internal parasites, social and behavioral disorders, and congenital defects that can effect the dog for its lifetime.
 It is our goal to satisfy the adoption demands for puppies and “family friendly” adult dogs while literally saving dogs’ lives. It is not uncommon to have waiting lines on the days that Paws Across America dogs are available.
To qualify as a partnering shelter for this program the originating agency must meet certain criteria including non-profit 501c3 status, and they must have an active spay/neuter program to target the overpopulation they are facing.
 All dogs and puppies meet Maine’s strict importation requirements including a vaccination protocol and quarantine period and we spay or neuter all animals before they go home. Thanks to support from our communities we have saved nearly 1,100 dogs and puppies through this mission-based program!
The increased foot-traffic through our shelter and has impacted the adoption program for local animals in a positive way. On several occasions potential puppy adopters came here and after browsing pups, chose a local dog instead. Cats aren’t left out either, several individual cats and a bonded pair, have been adopted by transfer dog visitors who ultimately opted for a feline companion.
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