APAW

The Blessing of the Animals 2024

APAW Donates Adoption Bell to Amelia Animal Shelter

AMELIA COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER ADOPTION BELL DONATED IN TRIBUTE TO BILL AVERETT, CO-FOUNDER OF APAW

Amelia Patrons for Animal Welfare, Inc. (APAW) members presented an adoption bell to the Amelia County Animal shelter on Saturday, December 30^th in honor and memory of Bill Averett, one of the founding members of APAW. The adoption bell is mounted on a plaque engraved with a tribute to Bill and will be wrung with each adoption of an animal from the shelter. The bell will be hung on the shelter’s “adoption wall” with pictures of pets successfully adopted from the shelter into their forever homes.

In 1993, after Bill first saw the Amelia County animal shelter, he was shocked and dismayed at the poor facility. At that time the small cinderblock building located at the former county landfill behind Amelia Lumber Company, Inc. had only 3 small indoor/outdoor runs with no heat or air conditioning, no office or bathroom and a wooden box used as a gas chamber for euthanization. Visibly upset, he stated “Someone should do something about that.” When challenged that HE could do something about it, he took it on as his mission. Bill called and met with county leaders, animal control personnel, local veterinarians and other concerned citizens. As a result, the Board of Supervisors (BOS) appointed a committee consisting of Bill Averett, Susan Schurz and Dr. Edda Eliasson to research plans for a better solution to the current animal shelter. After many visits to other shelters, networking and recommendations by the committee, the BOS chose to build the current animal shelter in 1996. Although the current shelter has now outgrown its needs, at the time it was a huge improvement for the housing of lost and abandoned animals.

The committee of 3 then recruited other interested citizens and formed Amelia Patrons for Animal Welfare, Inc. (APAW) a non-profit 501©3 charity that continues its work for homeless pets. In the almost 30 years of its existence, APAW has saved, fostered and adopted out countless animals, provided spay/neuter assistance to thousands of pet owners, provided over 60,000 pounds of pet food to needy pet owners and supported the animal shelter by purchasing thousands of dollars worth of needed equipment and supplies. For more information about APAW visit www.apawinc.org.       

Effective October 1, 2023, APAW will be offering spay/neuter assistance vouchers to Amelia County residents ONLY!!

Effective October 1, 2023, APAW will be offering spay/neuter assistance vouchers to Amelia County residents ONLY!!

Change Coming for SPAY/NEUTER Assistance

Due to diminishing funds, effective October 1, 2023, APAW will offer spay/neuter vouchers to Amelia County citizens only as well as continuing to provide vouchers for animals adopted from the Amelia County Animal Shelter regardless of adopted pet owner’s residence. Please plan accordingly.

PET FOOD DONATIONS NEEDED

Amelia Patrons for Animal Welfare, Inc. (APAW) saw a need in their community and stepped up to provide pet food for food insecure pet owners beginning in 2008. Since then, APAW has provided over 50,000 pounds (over 25 tons!) of pet food to the local USDA Food Pantry, Amelia County Christmas Mother’s program, the Amelia County Animal Shelter, the Southside SPCA, other food banks and individual citizens.

These donations have been made possible by APAW’s partnership with the Amelia Food Lion (thank you Tammy Banks), the Amelia Dollar General (thank you Cindy Moore), and the many devoted and loyal APAW supporters.

Food Lion and Dollar General donate their broken bags of dog and cat food to APAW. APAW volunteers then repackage the pet food (thanks to Kroger for providing the paper bags) and deliver the food as needed.

APAW and the Amelia County Animal Shelter welcome all donations of pet food, cat litter and monetary donations (please make checks out to APAW) to help keep this program going. Recent improvements in pet food packaging have drasticlly reduced the amounty of broken pet food bags and therefore the amount of pet food that we receive. If you have questions about this program or would like to donate, please contact the Amelia County Animal Shelter at 561-3878 or APAW at apawinc@gmail.com

APAW Spay/Neuter Assistance – Amelia County residents only!!

P.O. Box 725
Amelia, VA 23002
www.apawinc.org
apawinc@gmail.com

Request for Spay/Neuter Assistance

INCLUDE A SELF- ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE
Or email to apawinc@gmail.com
Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.
This request form will not be accepted at your Veterinarian’s clinic.

Name:___________________________________________________________

Address:___________________________________________________________________________

Phone # :___________________ Email address:______________________________

You are requesting spay/neuter assistance for the following:
Enter number below: (Maximum of 3 pets/family)
Male Dog(s) ________ Female Dog(s)_______
Male Cat(s) ________ Female Cat(s)_______
Description of Animal(s):__________________________________________

AMELIA COUNTY RESIDENTS ONLY: Attach Proof of Income for additional assistance:
An acceptance letter from Social Services for government benefits, a bank statement showing Social Security benefits, a tax return for self-employed individuals, or 5 consecutive pay stubs.

Participating Veterinarians:
Dr. Kaski, Countryside Veterinary Center 804-561-5450; Amelia Bovine Clinic 804-265-5958;
Dr. Carr, Blackstone Animal Clinic 434-292-1298; South Central Spay/Neuter Clinic 434-207-2612

Student Raises Money for APAW

Ashley Price, an 11 year old Nottoway Intermediate Student, recently raised $50.00 for APAW by selling handmade pots at the Amelia Community Thrift Store. (pictured with her grandmother Linda Picardi, Thrift Store Manager)

National Pet Month

National Pet Month is a celebration of the benefits that pets bring to people’s lives – and vice versa. It is observed annually in the United States in May and during the month of April in the United Kingdom.

National Pet Month’s aims are to:

• Promote the benefits of pet ownership
• Support pet adoption
• Make people aware of the benefits of pets for people and people for pets
• Increase public awareness of services available from professionals who work with animals
• Raise awareness of the role, value and contribution to society of working animals

Here in Amelia you can celebrate National Pet Month by donating pet food, treats and toys to the Amelia County Animal Shelter through a donation box hosted by Food Lion at their Amelia store. Did you that about 80 million homes in America have an animal family member? And about half of those households have more than one? What a great way to celebrate how important our pets are!

Citizens Bank Donates to APAW

Citizens Bank
The Amelia branch of Citizens Bank donated the proceeds from their company’s May fundraiser to Amelia Patrons for Animal Welfare, Inc. (APAW). The eleven (11) state branches hold a Denim Day once a month and each employee who wishes to wear jeans must donate $5.00 to the fundraiser. Then employees choose a deserving charity to which they donate each month’s funds. Accepting the May donation check from Branch Manager Robin Gough is APAW Vice President Cindy Case.