Time to Dig Out the Walkin' Shoes!    

The Animal Welfare Society
West Kennebunk, Maine
July, 2012
It's time to put your team together!


Join us for the
18th Annual Strut Your Mutt

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2012

REGISTRATION IS AT 10AM

  










Special thanks to our underwriter:





Our Thanks to Top Dog Sponsors:








Big Thanks to
Best Buddy Sponsors:

Amica Insurance 

Kennebunk Veterinary Hospital 

Patriot Subaru 

 

 

Announcing the Junior Strut!
  
This year we've added two new categories of registration to the Strut Your Mutt: Junior Family and Junior Team.

Just because you're little, doesn't mean you can't help! You can help to raise money for the AWS medical fund. Because pets come to us in various stages of their life with a wide assortment of health care needs, we must spend more than $150,000 with local veterinarians each year to get them ready for adoption. The two mile walk on the Kennebunk Beaches is a fun way for YOU to support this important fund...and help the animals find their new homes that much more quickly! 

 
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Here's how it works:

Get a team of family and friends together and bring your favorite furry friend or a stuffed animal mascot to walk the route! Every walker helps raise money to give the animals medicine, surgery and check ups. 

 



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Here are some easy ways to raise money for your team:

·  Get together with some friends and have a lemonade stand or a bake sale.

·  Have an old jar or coffee can? Start collecting your spare change (Look under couch cushions and under the seats in Mom & Dad's car!)



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· Ask Mom & Dad to take your pledge sheet to work and ask their coworkers to sponsor you and your furry friend in the Junior Strut Your Mutt walk.

·  Best of all - make your own fundraising web page. That way your family and friends that live near or far can make donations in support of you and the animals!

 
Just by completing the Junior Strut Walk you will earn a medal and if you raise more money than your registration fee, you get a super special goody bag filled with a t-shirt and prizes. If your team raises the most money, the whole team wins a pizza party at the shelter with games, crafts and a behind-the-scenes tour of AWS!


  We hope to see you, your team and your 4-legged friends on Sunday September 9th at Strut Your Mutt!


Don't Leave a Dog in a Car on a Hot Day
It might seem like common sense. 

It might seem like the kind of person who takes his/her dog with them everywhere would "know better," but every year dogs suffer in hot cars.

Luckily, Maine has some of the best animal protection laws in the country.*

Last year, bill LD 850
was passed in Maine to empower humane agents, and other "peace officers" such as first responders, fire fighters and licensed security guards, to remove a distressed animal from a motor vehicle. 


 
Gail Crowell, AWS Program Coordinator, urges people to keep their eyes open. "It may seem awkward or judgmental, but if you see a pet in a hot car, don't walk away and hope for the best, call the police." Even keeping the windows cracked doesn't allow enough of the hot air to escape.

Nicole Forsyth, from RedRover, a animal advocacy group, lists 5 reasons
why leaving a dog in a hot car can be deadly:
  • Dogs are especially vulnerable to heat-related illness because they can only cool off by panting and through the pads in their feet.
  • Even seemingly mild days are dangerous. In a Stanford University study, when it was 72 degrees outside, a car's internal temperature climbed to 116 degrees within one hour.
  • Enclosed cars heat up quickly. In a study by San Francisco State University, when it was 80 degrees outside, the temperature inside a car rose to 99 degrees in 10 minutes and 109 degrees in 20 minutes.
  • A dog's normal body temperature is between 101 to 102.5 degrees; a dog can only withstand a high body temperature for a short time before suffering nerve damage, heart problems, liver damage, brain damage or even death.
  • Studies show that cracking the windows has little effect on a vehicle's internal temperature.
  
Forsyth advises, "If it's hot outside, leave your dog at home." 
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*Animal Legal Defense Fund, State Animal Protection Laws Rankings.


Did someone say they were looking for a kitten? 

Right now at AWS we have an assortment of kittens available for adoption, including a barn cat and her offspring.

If we don't have the one you are looking for today, check back with us tomorrow because new kittens will be available daily!

Is a Greyhound the right dog for you?


Read this manual that was put together by instructors of the retired Greyhound program at Becker College in Massachusetts.

AWS residents Steam, Hoss and Panama are recent graduates of their program.

 
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Did you know?
If you recycle your bottles through CLYNK, you can make a donation to AWS' CLYNK account from your account on their website.

Since 2009, AWS has raised $1,742.44 one nickel at a time! 

Want to directly donate your bottles to the AWS account, without having to log on? Contact Gail at
207-985-3244 x117 or gail@animalwelfaresociety.org
 and she can set you up with AWS tags for your home or office. 
 

AWS

EVENTS

SAVE THE DATE!

 

 July 21 (Sat)

  The Animal Welfare Society Mobile Adoption Team  

will visit Pet Quarters on  

Route 1 in Wells with adoptable dogs from 11 - 1

plus, 

AWS Humane Educator and a pet at the Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine

on Free Street in Portland

for a program on  

animal care and handling  

from 10:30 -11:30am.

plus,

Alfred Festival in downtown Alfred from 8am-2pm.

Visit the AWS table, take home some handcrafted pet items and meet some available dogs!

plus,

It's the Annual Animal Medical Associates Yard Sale on Rt 1 in Saco from 9am - 2pm

It's a great opportunity to meet people from various rescues in Maine and support their causes. All proceeds are divided between the participating groups.


July 22 (Sun)  

The Colony Hotel, Ocean Avenue, Kennebunkport

welcomes the Animal Welfare Society as the recipient of the $5.00 cover charge of tonight's Summer Concert Series. The feature is selections from the Big Band era, ever-popular tunes from the 1930's & 1940's. Open to the public, 5:00 - 6:00pm.

  

July 28 (Sat)

Dog Gone It Motorcycle Club Memorial Bike Run to benefit the AWS.  In memory/honor of Michael Jones starting at the Massabesic High School in Waterboro at 9am, riding to the summit of Mount Aggamenticus in York, and then riding to Bentley's Saloon. For more information or to order a t-shirt, contact Nick Tardie 207-710-707  

 

August 3 (Fri)

Intro to  

"Provide Healing Using Reiki" or PHUR (pronounced fur)

Join Michele Lowry of Nikoe Natural Therapies for a primer on how shelter pets can benefit from Rieki Therapy 

9 - 10:30am in the AWS Obedience Room.  RSVP with Kathy at 985-3244 x 121. 

 

August 4 (Sat)  

The Animal Welfare Society Mobile Adoption Team

  will visit Pet Quarters

on Payne Road in Scarborough

with adoptable dogs

from 11 - 1.
   

August 4 & 5 (Sat & Sun) Annual Antique Show at Kennebunk High School  

Sat 10-5 and Sun 10-4.

The AWS thanks Goosefare Antiques for allowing us to have a booth at the show and for the generous donation from a portion of the admissions revenue. We are also extremely grateful to volunteers Fran, Debbie and Liz for spending hours and hours organizing and pricing our antiques! Adoptable dogs will be stopping by!

 

August 11 (Sat)  

The Animal Welfare Society Mobile Adoption Team

  will visit Pet Life in the Mill Creek Plaza, South Portland

with adoptable dogs

from 11 - 1.

 

August 17 (Fri)

Walmart on Main Street in Sanford welcomes to the AWS Mobile Adoption Team

from 10am - 1pm

for a donation drive sponsored by Purina and Nestle. 

    

 

August 18 (Sat)   

AWS Humane Educator and a pet at the Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine, Free Street, Portland for a program on animal care and handling from 10:30 -11:30am. 

plus,

The Animal Welfare Society Mobile Adoption Team will visit Pet Quarters on Route 1 in Wells with adoptable dogs from 11 - 1.

 

August 21 (Tues)

Margaritas on St. John Street, Portland

will donate 15% of the evening's sales to the Animal Welfare Society. Guests must say that they are there for the fundraiser.

 

August 25 (Sat)  

Society of Southern Maine Craftsman Craft Fair

on the Green, Ocean Avenue, Kennebunkport. Have a Congdon's Donut or a Shield's hamburger at the AWS table, buy a raffle ticket or some AWS logo wear. All proceeds from the table benefit the shelter. Rain date Sunday, August 26.  

 

September 9 (Sun)  

Strut Your Mutt Walk at Mother's Beach, Kennebunk.  

Walkers Wanted, two-legged and four-legged! This scenic walk on the three Kennebunk Beaches raises money for the AWS Sadie Fund, a medical fund for animals in need. Registration begins at 10:00am and the walk starts at 11:00am.   

New this year, Junior Strut for kids who want to assist with the AWS mission!   

 

October 13 (Sat)  

Haunted Walk through the woods at the Animal Welfare Society

 AWS and Behind the Scenes Charity team up to raise money for animals in need.

 

For more information about AWS events call  

207-985-3244 x117 or email gail@animalwelfaresociety.org