Pioneers for Animal Welfare Society, Inc.

This program will concentrate on providing support for those senior citizens, either in the community or in a group home environment, who either currently have animals or who would are considering adopting such a companion. We will reach out to and work with long island nursing homes, assisted living facilities, group home environments (“Group Homes”), in order to place senior animals as residents of these Group Homes. Although there are always senior animals who need homes, we will try to place those who have recently lost their human companions due to death or disability. We also will be starting a pet therapy group who will visit seniors both in a Group Home environment, as defined above, and also to those seniors who have remained in their own homes in the community environment. Finally, we would also like to organize a group of volunteers to provide assistance to those seniors who have remained in their own home; assistance meaning anything the senior needs help with in order to maintain the pet in their home. Assistance with pet care tasks such as dog walking/exercise/playing, litter box cleaning, shopping for pet supplies, transportation to veterinarian, as necessary, pet boarding and financial assistance as necessary and if financial thresholds met.

This will be a series of lectures held to educate the general public on various animal issues including raising awareness for issues including but not limited to horse slaughter, shelter pets, puppy mills, breed rescue organizations, NYS cruelty laws, estate planning for your pets; pet theft; pet safety and disaster preparedness for your pets.

This program grants funds to animal guardians who are in need of financial assistance to provide care for their animals. The funds will be available to those who demonstrate financial need.

Humane Education is a subject which is required to be taught in New York schools and was a program which PAWS was actively engaged in for about twenty five years. We have a small group of volunteers who will be trained with by individuals who have devoted their careers to humane education. We will then begin to approach area schools to offer free humane education to elementary school age children.

This program provides free spay/neuter services for people who either have feral cats in their yard or for those individual/groups who provide feral cat trapping. We are working with several long island veterinarians who graciously provide a very low fee which PAWS funds.

PAWS has long time participating veterinarians who provide spay and neuter for a reduced fee to those individuals who seek such assistance from our hotline.