2024 President's Letter
Dear Friend of Animal Welfare Society, Inc.,
On behalf of the staff, volunteers, and board members at Animal Welfare Society, Inc., I would like to extend a heartfelt “Thank You” to all our donors and supporters. Your generosity allows us to fulfill our mission of offering refuge to homeless and abandoned dogs and cats and place them in loving, responsible homes. As we begin to wrap up 2024 and look forward to 2025, I am eternally grateful for the support each of you continually provide to AWS. I enjoyed being out at community events and meeting many of you. Listening to your loving stories of adopting pets from our shelter always brings a warm smile and sense of hope for the rest of the pets in our care that they will soon find their furever homes.
This year has been another extremely challenging year for us. The shelter has been near or at full capacity for the last three years, and there’s no end in sight. While Connecticut continues to navigate a shelter crisis, AWS is committed to doing our part by focusing on helping with local needs. We continue to work closely with local and state animal control officers to assist with abuse and neglect cases, and we receive multiple calls each day from residents across the state who need to relinquish their pets for a variety of reasons. Many calls are due to rental properties having breed-specific policies or weight limits on pets. Some are due to financial hardships, an owner in declining health, or due to eviction. We are doing everything we can to help as many pets as possible, and we need your help. Medical expenses and operational expenses (such as electricity, water, gas, pet food, and kennel supplies) are at an all-time high and continue to rise. This year, our medical expenses alone are projected to total approximately $100,000.00 - one of the highest medical expenses in a single fiscal year for us. The pets that have been relinquished to AWS, along with the ones found abandoned or as strays, are requiring more medical care than what is typically needed.
Please help the pets in our care and make a tax-deductible gift today by clicking here. Animal Welfare Society, Inc. does not receive any funding from local or state governments; we rely on the generosity of our supporters.
Your contribution will positively impact the physical, mental, and emotional health of the pets at AWS by helping to provide vital resources such as medical care, quality food, and behavioral training.
Thank you for your continued support of Animal Welfare Society, Inc. As for all of us at AWS, we wish you and your family a wonderful, healthy, and safe holiday season.
We look forward to seeing you in 2025 – our 60th year of serving the community!
With Gratitude,
