In the News
Dog duties take a bite out of Pocono crimefighters' time
How much time do Monroe County taxpayers want their local police to spend chasing down stray or homeless dogs and picking up abandoned dogs when there are criminals to catch and other emergencies to handle?
Area police departments say they have seen an increase in the number of stray and abandoned dogs with the increase in human population. Read Full Story
How much time do Monroe County taxpayers want their local police to spend chasing down stray or homeless dogs and picking up abandoned dogs when there are criminals to catch and other emergencies to handle?
Area police departments say they have seen an increase in the number of stray and abandoned dogs with the increase in human population. Read Full Story
Pocono Record
The AWSOM animal shelter in Stroudsburg could close in a month if more money is not raised immediately. Read Full Story
5/21/10 - "Many people helped find a beloved, lost dog"
Editor, the Record:
A great story is meant to be shared and I have one that rates right up there.
My family and I were, and still are, overwhelmed by the compassion shown to us when we lost our golden retriever to the acres and acres of Glen Park in Stroudsburg on May 5. After being hit by a car, she took off running down the trail.
A flier wasn't even completed when a co-worker took notice and word got out, phone calls were made, search parties were organized, people came out of the woodwork. It is a comfort to know that the hours we are at work are spent with people who are truly your second family.
So, this is a letter of gratitude.
Thank you to all of the family at Pocono Produce Company who came out and searched on four-wheelers, brought their own dogs out, who came and walked the trails for days in search of a dog they didn't know before she had been lost. We are truly blessed to know and work with you all.
Thank you to the AWSOM Animal Shelter for all it has done in the most sincere manner.
Thank you to those who said a prayer and gave a good thought.
Thank you to Dr. Wentz and the staff at Barton Heights Veterinary Hospital who took us in on zero notice.
Last, but not least, thank you to the family who welcomed a well-journeyed retriever into their backyard and called the animal shelter. We are forever grateful to you.
With adventures known only to her, 10 days later and 10 pounds thinner, Hannah is back home. Thank you.
MARY ANNE JOHNSON, Bangor
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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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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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 9, 2009
Keith R. Stevenson/Pocono Record Keith R. Stevenson/Pocono Record Keith R. Stevenson/Pocono Record
Volunteers clean old PSPCA building in Stroudsburg
Animal-rescue group signs lease to reopen shelter
WBRE NewsSTROUDSBURG, 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
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Group to pitch plan for PSPCA property in Monroe County
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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
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