News

Animal Welfare Society of Monroe

Monroe County's Only Animal Shelter

"Bringing New Hope to Monroe County's Homeless Animals"

Thanks to the generous community donations and support and with the help of

our wonderful volunteers and WNEP TV, WBRE TV and the Pocono Record, AWSOM

has adopted over 215 animals to their forever homes in 14 weeks.

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In the News

1/25/10 - AWSOM makes the front page of today's Pocono Record.

By Beth Brelje

Pocono Record Writer

January 25, 2010

Animals at the AWSOM animal shelter in Stroudsburg don't all answer to the name "Lucky," but they could.

The shelter's life-affirming philosophy has local vets going to extraordinary measures, donating time and medical care, to save injured animals that the previous shelter operator would have deemed unadoptable and put on death row...Read full story

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1/24/10 - Check out AWSOM's photo gallery in The Pocono Record

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January 2010

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Editorial

You, too, can be a hero to stray animals

January 02, 2010

The AWSOM animal shelter in Stroud Township is up and running but still needs your help to fullfill its mission.

You'll recall the former Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter near Godfrey Ridge Drive was closed for most of 2009 before AWSOM reached agreement with PSPCA to reopen and operate it. During the down time — with no Monroe County shelter available to take in abandoned animals — the number of strays skyrocketed. Some were literally starving. Some dogs banded together in packs, presenting a serious safety issue to the public.

Some police officers and community volunteers took strays into their own homes. Some were transported to shelters in other counties, making it more difficult to reunite them with families who had lost them and were seeking reunification.

The reopened shelter has changed all that for the better. But AWSOM needs your help to continue this vital service.

Dog walkers, age 18 and older, are sought. Socializers are needed to visit, play with, pet and talk to the animals. Volunteers also are needed to help staff clean bowls, litter boxes and cages. People are needed to maintain the grounds, office, lobby and parking area.

And volunteers are needed to help with off-site fundraising to pay the bills.

If you don't have the time but want to help, AWSOM will accept donations of dog and cat supplies, cleaning and linen items, pet carriers of all sizes, and accessories for tiny animals. Support items are needed too, such as shelving, shovels, pet-safe rock salt, light bulbs, clipboards, watering cans and bulletin boards.

To volunteer, donate or seek more information call (570) 421-3647 or vist www.awsomanimals.org. The Web site has a full list of needed items.

Taken from The Pocono Record January 2, 2010

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December 2009

Click the link to see the 12 Strays of Christmas as featured on WBRE news!

http://pahomepage.com/content/features/12_strays_of_christmas/

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August 17, 2009

Pocono Record Editorial:

Help helpless pets and other forlorn animals

August 17, 2009 6:00 AM

Animal rescue groups are making steady progress toward their commendable goal of establishing a no-kill shelter in Monroe County.

More than 30 volunteers spent a good part of last Saturday at the shuttered PSPCA shelter in Stroudsburg, cleaning and sprucing up the building to prepare it to reopen under new management....Read Full Story

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August 9, 2009

Keith R. Stevenson/Pocono Record Keith R. Stevenson/Pocono Record Keith R. Stevenson/Pocono Record

Volunteers clean old PSPCA building in Stroudsburg

By Melanie Vanderveer

Pocono Record Writer

August 09, 2009 6:00 AM

Animal lovers unite.

More than 30 volunteers went out to the old PSPCA shelter in Stroudsburg to help get it cleaned and ready for its new tenants, the Animal Welfare Society of Monroe, or AWSOM.

"There is a whole network of people that wanted to help get the shelter up and running," said Marie Grimm, board member for AWSOM. "We just got the keys to the shelter this week and wanted to get it cleaned and ready."

While the group now has a building for the shelter, they still need money before they can start operating...Read Full Story

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August 6, 2009

WNEP
By Wendy McNew
5:21 PM EDT, August 6, 2009

Non-profit Hopes to Reopen Shelter

A new animal shelter could soon become a reality in Monroe County. The old animal shelter has sat empty for the last eight months after the Pennsylvania SPCA suddenly closed it's door last January, leaving no place in the county to surrender animals.

That is until now, according to Bill Hoffman,."We just acquired a lease to the the building for three years for a dollar a year from the PSPCA," he said.

Hoffman is president of the Animal Welfare Society of Monroe County, also known as AWSOM. The group is now leasing the old animal shelter in hopes of reopening it. Workers have been busy cleaning and repairing what needs to be fixed. When finished, AWSOM wants to shelter to be inviting to the entire public...Read Full Story
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August 6, 20095:21 PM EDT, August 6, 2009

Animal-rescue group signs lease to reopen shelter

By Beth Brelje

Pocono Record Writer

August 06, 2009 6:00 AM

STROUDSBURG — A Monroe County pet-rescue group has signed a three-year lease with the Pennsylvania SPCA to operate the Stroudsburg animal shelter, which the PSPCA abruptly closed in January.

But Bill Hoffman, president of the Animal Welfare Society of Monroe (AWSOM), cautions the public against dropping off animals at the shelter.

"We won't be open for 30 days, and that is in a best-case scenario," Hoffman said.

There is work to do and money to raise. A plumber was seen replacing a well pump at the property Wednesday. Cat cages and outdoor kennels must be prepared, and AWSOM does not have a kennel license yet. Hoffman says the license is a simple form that will soon be processed by the state...Read Full Story

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May 30, 2009

WBRE News

Group Locks People in Dog Cage

Reported by: Laurie Monteforte

STROUDSBURG, MONROE COUNTY - People in Stroudsburg gave caged volunteers dollars the way you might give a caged animal a treat.

"We are here to try to raise enough funds to help the poor animals - get them off the streets and out of the woods and to create a safe haven for them," said Cookie Lancia.

She spoke on behalf of the Animal Welfare Society of Monroe, AWSOM for short. The society is raising money for a new shelter. The SPCA abruptly closed the county shelter last winter...Read Full Story

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May 28, 2009

Residents go to the doghouse to help animal group

By David Pierce

Pocono Record Writer

May 28, 2009 6:00 AM

STROUDSBURG — Prominent local residents will become jail birds Friday to press their case for reopening Monroe County's animal shelter.

It's a fund-raiser by the Animal Welfare Society of Monroe (AWSOM) — a coalition of activists, caregivers and government leaders that seeks reestablishment of the shelter at Godfrey Ridge in Stroud Township.

The shelter would take in and offer for adoption stray, neglected or abused animals. The shelter previously operated by the Pennsylvania Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals closed early this year...Read Full Story

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By David Pierce

Pocono Record Writer

May 28, 2009 6:00 AM

The Animal Welfare Society of Monroe (AWSOM) expects to have a hotline soon for residents to report lost, found and abandoned pets.

AWSOM — a coalition of animal rescue groups, caregivers and local governments — is exploring ways to staff a toll-free phone line.

"We still need to figure that out," says Samantha Holbert, a consultant retained by the Monroe County commissioners and the municipal Council of Governments to coordinate efforts to reopen a rescue shelter...Read Full Story

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May 26, 2009

Entering 'the dog house' for your pets' sake

May 26, 2009

Pocono Record Editorial
May 26, 2009 6:00 AM

When it comes to animal welfare, Monroe County residents find themselves in the dog house.

The Pennsylvania SPCA shelter closed earlier this year after months of turmoil, and currently there is nowhere to take stray dogs or cats — and no central clearinghouse for anxious owners of lost pets.

This crisis has galvanized local pet rescue groups, though. And now you can help reopen the shelter, under local management, by supporting the first annual In the Dog House fundraising event this Friday in Stroudsburg...Read Full Story

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April 10, 2009

Group to pitch plan for PSPCA property in Monroe County

Pocono Record
April 10, 2009 6:00 AM

Activists who want to reopen Monroe County's former PSPCA shelter will travel to Philadelphia in a few weeks to present their plans to the agency.

But they're not alone.

The Pennsylvania SPCA has a proposal from another group that wants to use the Stroud Township property. The PSPCA has not revealed the name of the group, according to Samantha Holbert, coordinator of the new Animal Welfare Society of Monroe (AWSOM).

The PSPCA closed the shelter abruptly in January, citing financial problems and lack of community support.

AWSOM is made up of representatives of pet rescue and animal welfare groups who want to open the shelter under local ownership and management...Read Full Story

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March 31, 2009

Monroe County Animal Shelter Planned
WNEP news

After months without an animal shelter, Monroe County could soon have a place to send its strays.

Since the Pennsylvania SPCA suddenly shut down its Monroe County shelter in January, the county has struggled with stray animals.

Rescue groups tried to pick up the slack but without a licensed facility, police have no place to drop off displaced animals.

That could change, thanks to a group called AWSOM...Read Full Story

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March 29, 2009

Reopened Monroe County animal shelter moves closer to reality

By SUSAN KOOMAR

Record Senior Managing Editor

March 29, 2009 6:00 AM

The group that wants to reopen Monroe County's animal shelter has a new name and interim officers.

Next, they hope to get some indication of how willing the Pennsylvania SPCA is to work with them. The PSPCA board will meet Monday and may take up the issue of having a public-private partnership based in Monroe County take over the shelter property in Stroud Township.

The PSPCA closed the shelter abruptly in January, citing financial problems and lack of community support. Controversial PSPCA chief executive Howard Nelson resigned about a month later.

Representatives of local pet rescue and animal welfare groups have agreed to form a coalition focused on opening the shelter under local ownership and management.

A nonprofit corporation to be named Animal Welfare Society of Monroe (AWSOM) will be the governing organization for the future Monroe Animal Shelter, according to Samantha Holbert, hired by the county as a consultant and facilitator for this project...Read Full Story

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March 20, 2009

Monroe County pet rescue groups set their sites on shelter
Pocono Record

By SUSAN KOOMAR

Record Senior Managing Editor

March 20, 2009 6:00 AM

An all-out push is under way to reopen Monroe County's former PSPCA animal shelter thanks to both pet rescue volunteers and public officials.

Representatives of the groups met Wednesday night and agreed to form a coalition focused on opening the shelter under local ownership and management.

Details of how that will happen are being determined by a newly formed board of directors and community organizer Samantha Holbert, hired by the county as a consultant and facilitator for this project.

Attendees signed a letter of intent to the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals pledging to work together. The agency closed the shelter abruptly in January, citing financial problems and lack of community support. Controversial PSPCA chief executive Howard Nelson resigned about a month later...Read Full Story