About Us

Serving domestic pets since 1952

Our Heritage – Serving our community continuously since 1952, the Animal Welfare Society of Jefferson County, WV was incorporated in West Virginia on February 7, 1952 as a non-profit corporation. Founding members included Mabel B. Venable, William S. Venable, W.P.C. Perry, Cora I. Chambers and Forrest A. Brown.

Our Misson

The Animal Welfare Society of Jefferson County, WV provides housing and adoption services for abandoned, surrendered, neglected, abused and unwanted dogs, puppies, cats, and kittens until they are adopted, and promotes education about the care of pets to residents in our county and surrounding communities.

Our Organization

  • Provides pet adoption services. All cats available for adoptions are combo tested for leukemia and FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus).  They are given FVRCP and leukemia vaccines.  Dogs are tested for heartworm and given DHPP vaccine against canine distemper.  Both cats and dogs are vaccinated for rabies.  All are treated with a flea preventative, heartworm tested, spayed or neutered, and microchipped  prior to adoption.
  • Sponsors low cost rabies clinics throughout the county.
  • Provides information to the public on animal care, the importance of spaying and neutering, and health risks affecting animals and people (e.g., rabies).
  • Promotes kindness and respect for animals through special events, public service announcements, humane education programs, and dissemination of informational materials and a semi-annual newsletter.
  • Provides financial assistance to the public for spaying/neutering their pets in an effort to reduce the homeless animal population.

AWS History – Compassion and Caring

The Animal Welfare Society has a proud tradition of serving our community and domestic pets in need.  We have served continuously since 1952. AWS was formed to provide care and protection for suffering, homeless and unwanted animals, to educate the public in respect to humane treatment of animals, and to encourage and assist in the enforcement of laws against mistreatment of and cruelty to animals.

During two decades from 1958-1978, the Society passed through a period in which there was little growth and in which rising costs and limited membership income hampered the Society’s activities.  Yet, the founders persevered in their vision and mission. The 72 member AWS was the only organization in the county trying to solve the problem of acute unwanted stray pet explosion.

Among the projects undertaken was a spay/neuter program in cooperation with Friends of Animals and local veterinarians, a cooperative effort with the county on low-cost rabies vaccinations, and a program to increase knowledge of children in proper pet care.  All of these programs continue today!

Proper housing for abandoned cats, kittens, dogs and puppies didn’t exist. The county only housed adult dogs. So in 1985, AWS completed construction of the current animal shelter on Old Leetown Pike. The shelter accommodates 20 dog/puppies and roughly 30 cats/kittens. As a no-kill shelter, we are normally overflowing with pets seeking a second chance for a loving home.

How We Operate – Governance

The Animal Welfare Society is governed by an all volunteer Board of Directors. The Board elects officers from their ranks every two years. The Board oversees all aspects of shelter management and operations. A Shelter Oversight Committee, composed of three Board members, has day-to-day interaction with the shelter staff. The Board is a “working Board”, actively planning and conducting a number of fundraising events throughout the year.

Financials

We pride ourself in the services we provide and operating in a cost-effective manner.

*Note – Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view these files.

*Where a hyperlink is not included, the file is not available in electronic format. Audits may be obtained by written request.

Officers and Board of Directors

Officers and Board members are elected every two years during the annual meeting of members, which is held the 3rd Sunday in November.

Officers – 2022-2024

  • President,  Ann Trumble
  • Vice President,  Jane Tarner
  • Treasurer,  Janet Bailey
  • Recording Secretary, Judith ‘Candy’ Cain
  • Corresponding Secretary, [vacant]

Ex officio Member

>  Adrianne Doering, VMD

Board of Directors

  • Desiree Baker
  • Rich Clawson
  • Dale Manuel
  • Sean Murtagh
  • Jo Shoesmith

Privacy Policy

The Animal Welfare Society of Jefferson County, WV is committed to maintaining your privacy.

Information Collected from Visitors Using the Public Areas of Our Website

The Animal Welfare Society of Jefferson County does not collect any personal information from visitors browsing our website unless they voluntarily submit it through one of our forms requesting information or contacting us with an inquiry. Only aggregate data such as the number of hits per page are collected. We can see the IP address and, in some cases, the host name of your internet providers. But none of this data provides any personal information that tells us your identity.

In no event do we sell or share any e-mail address or identifiable information that may be obtained through our website, or otherwise provided to us through an adoption or inquiry process.  All information we may collect through these means is solely for the use of the Animal Welfare Society of Jefferson County in communicating with individuals who have signed up for e-mail notices from us.

We may provide links within our website to external website resources not under the control of the Animal Welfare Society of Jefferson County.  In this event, we have no control over any information these external websites may collect. These sites may have their own privacy policy that will govern information they collect and the use of that information

What People Say