How is AWA's money raised?AWA raises money through membership dues, regular donations, memorial and honorary gifts, and of course, fund raisers {Pet Follies, Wags & Whiskers, Rabies Clinics, Concessions Sales at Belwood and a FEW other places, and an occasional attic sale} with the three most profitable at this point being honorary gifts, and Rabies Clinics)

How is my money used?Our programs include a spay/neuter program which targets financially needy pet owners and eases the financial burden of having a pet spayed or neutered, as well as vaccinated; emergency vet care for special animals and circumstances; and, at times, our own sponsorship of the rabies clinics. We have NO PAID EMPLOYEES. ALL of our work is done by volunteers.

How old is the organization?AWA's non-profit status (501C3) was obtained in December of 1999.

What are your goals as an organization?We will continue to implement an education program which will offer informaiton on proper pet care to the public as soon as funds allow and our volunteer staff has grown sufficiently to handle the task. As soon as funds allow, we will hire a full-time, trained Animal Cruelty Investigator. As we continue to work toward these goals, we will nurture our currently active and successful spay/neuter program promoting its growth as much as possible.

We also will take as much legal action as possible with current cases of abuse or neglect here in our local court system, lending support the best that we can. <see Coco's Story>

It is our opinion that if pets are spayed or neutered as they should be, the result will be a dramatic decrease in abuse and neglect due to the dramatic decrease in the numbers of unwanted litters being born. This in turn will decrease the need for places such as the pound or animal adoption agencies. We would love to see results like this, but know that they are so far in the future that we may not. Even so, we will perservere, knowing that in time, the result will be relief for all.

Where do you operate?Currently most of our activity is in Cleveland, Gaston, and Rutherford Counties in NC. We do not however limit ourselves geographically...only financially! We do what we can, wherever we can!