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AWS Takes in Surrendered Animals
Each year, The Animal Welfare Society receives and cares for almost 4,000 homeless animals. Each of these animals is provided with loving and humane care. Proper housing, a healthy diet, veterinary care, grooming, obedience, socialization and kindness are all part of the care each receives.
Surrendered animals come to the shelter in a variety of ways:
Owner Surrender:
The shelter accepts any domestic and some exotic animals that an owner can no longer care for, as long as the owner resides in one of our 20 contract towns. We are unable to accept large livestock animals. The AWS understands that this can be a stressful and unhappy decision to make. We try to make the process as easy as possible with a secure and private surrender area, clear and concise forms and caring, supportive staff. We do ask for a nominal surrender donation to help care for the animal while at the shelter. The fees are as follows:
Puppies under 3 months- $15.00
Dogs over 3 months- $45.00
Kitten under 3 months- $5.00
Cats over 3 months- $17.00
Small Rodents- $5.00
Guinea Pigs, Birds - $15.00
Rabbits- $20.00
Reptiles, Amphibians - $25.00
Ferrets - $20.00
If you are worried about having to surrender your pet because you are apartment hunting, here are some helpful tips:
DO:
*Spay or neuter your animal.
*Show evidence of your dog's good behavior, either with a Canine Good Citizen certificate or proof that you've taken her to training classes.
*Create a "resume" for your pet that notes his age, some details about his personality and the fact that he's house-trained.
*Get letters of recommendation from past landlords.
*Let your potential landlords meet your animals face to face.
*Make sure that where you are moving is really animal-friendly. Even if the contract states that pets are allowed, try to determine whether the community would be tolerant of occasional barking. Pay attention if the landlord seems really picky about his carpets and you think your cat might do something on them. Keep in mind the community that you're moving into and the personality of your animal.
DON'T
*Give up. It may seem difficult at first - but there will be a place that will accept you AND your animal.
*Violate the terms of your lease. Defying a contract could get you immediately evicted. Even if the landlord is not on-site, neighbors WILL notice and WILL tell a landlord.
Please note: the Animal Welfare Society DOES NOT accept wild birds or other wildlife. Please contact the Center for Wildlife in York, ME for assistance. Contact information: http://www.yorkcenterforwildlife.org/ or by phone at (207) 361-1400
Contract Towns:
We contract with the following towns to provide shelter services to stray and owner-surrendered animals from those towns. If your town is not on this list, call your town hall to see who your town is contracted with.
Acton, Alfred, Arundel, Biddeford, Dayton, Hollis, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Lebanon, Limerick, Limington, Lyman, Newfield, North Berwick, Ogunquit, Saco, Sanford-Springvale, Shapleigh, Waterboro and Wells.
Shelter Contracts:
The shelter contracts with 20 different towns and cities to accept their stray or abandoned animals. Animal Control Officers have 24 hour access to the shelter. Strays are held for a state mandated holding period of 6 days and every effort is made to reunite the animal with it's owner. Reports of lost and found animals are kept on file. If a stray animal's owner is not found or the animal is not claimed by its owner, every effort is made to place the animal in a new home.
Cruelty/Neglect Cases:
The shelter works closely with state humane officials from the Animal Welfare Program and local animal control officers to provide housing and veterinary care for animals confiscated due to neglect or abuse. The staff actively assists these officers by providing care for the animals and sworn testimony on the animal's condition in court if necessary.
If you need to give up your animal or have an animal that you have found, please contact us at (207) 985-3244 for specific details.
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