GRATEFUL PEOPLE Animal Welfare Alliance thankful for community

Wednesday, November 23, 2022
DAR/Samantha Tucker
AWA Executive Director Jessica West bottle feeds a two-day-old kitten at her desk.

“We are very thankful for our community. They have come out here and they have shown us that they want this shelter to make it by the abundance of donations they brought out here,” said Animal Welfare Alliance Director Jessica West.

This Thanksgiving, the AWA is thankful for the volume of support they have received, which is unusual for a recently-opened shelter, according to West. The enthusiasm seen in the AWA’s service area — Butler, Carter, Wayne and Ripley counties — is usually reserved for bigger shelters in cities like St. Louis and Columbia.

“I was really worried how we were going to be received by the community, and they just shocked us and opened their arms and took us in,” West said, adding requests for specific supplies have people “lining up” to donate them.

The AWA acquired its first building in 2021, after 12 years of operation. It is the first no-kill shelter in the area’s history. Having a headquarters allows the AWA to rescue more animals than they could any other way and provides animal lovers with jobs and a volunteer outlet. It has also led to friendships with workers, the shelter board and the community.

West’s motivation for getting involved is a lifelong passion for rescue.

“I have always been an animal rescuer at heart,” she recalled, saying she often brought home stray animals as a child.

She volunteered with the Poplar Bluff Animal Control shelter and joined the AWA board previously, but stepped back after adopting children. Her family is now at a place where she can get back to rescue and she was excited to be given a leading role.

“I was able to throw my hat in the ring for executive director, and then they called me up and said that they wanted to try me out,” she said.

People can continue to support the shelter by donating items on their Amazon Wish List and volunteering. The Wish List helps the AWA acquire items like paint, fence posts, and supplies for animal upkeep, allowing them to spend cash donations on sterilization and other medical expenses for cats and dogs. Volunteering can be anything, according to West, like cleaning enclosures, grooming and socializing animals.

“We had a gentleman that would come in and read out loud to the dogs. And even that, sitting outside their pen talking to them, is socialization,” she explained.

She went on to say keeping the AWA No-Kill Shelter going will be a community-wide effort. The winter months are particularly difficult because they bring more animals in need and fewer helpers.

However, the best way to support the shelter is for everyone to spay and neuter their pets to prevent more kittens and puppies from being born on the street. Toward this goal, the AWA offers $50 vouchers for spay and neuter surgeries, available in their lobby and accepted by all local veterinarians if approved. Since 2009, they have spent over $100,000 helping to alter area pets.

“My biggest goal for this place is, in 25 years I plan to retire, and I would like us not to be as busy,” West said.

She hopes to see the day when their intake is composed of fewer strays and more surrendered pets in need of new homes.

Giving Tuesday will be recognized this year on Nov. 29, offering a chance for “generosity to change the world,” as it has already done in our community through this organization.

Giving Tuesday was started in 2012 and has since become a global movement to inspire and celebrate generosity, according to supporters of the annual effort.

If you would like to help support the shelter and adoptable pets, as well as opportunities to volunteer, information can be found by calling the AWA at 573-840-0664 or visiting www.awasemo.org. The AWA No-Kill Shelter is located at 1904 S. Westwood Blvd.

Editor's note - This is the third of four articles this week focusing on what we have to be thankful for this year. We hope it inspires you to count the blessings of our region as well.

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