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 30th 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.
