After over a decade of work, Animal Welfare Alliance of Southeast Missouri has a permanent home in the former Hillcrest Animal Hospital.
AWA’s goal of a permanent location felt out of reach for years, according to organizers. No building fit their needs, so the organization eventually bought land and planned to embark on the costly mission of constructing its own headquarters.
Then, Hillcrest Animal Hospital moved and its owners, Dr. Mason Bell and Dr. Kathryn Bell, opened the facility to AWA on an affordable lease-to-own basis.
“God has been good to us,” said Charlotte Craig, AWA board secretary. “I mean, so many of us have been praying for so long and this just sort of fell out of the sky when the Bells built their new clinic, and (they) gave us an opportunity to use this for a shelter.”
Altogether, AWA spent 12 years raising and saving funds for a shelter, while spending over $100,000 per year on spay and neuter aid for low-income pet owners to reduce the number of unwanted pets.
“We feel like a dream has finally come to fruition. We just could not believe it’s finally going to happen,” said board Vice President Wendy Long.
The shelter’s opening date is to be announced at their inaugural Second Chance Fundraiser, held in two parts 2-4 p.m. and 6-10 p.m. Saturday, May 7, at the Westwood Center in Poplar Bluff. In the meantime, they have already taken in several animals from emergency situations and are holding adoptions.
This is the first no-kill shelter in the region’s history and will allow AWA to improve the lives of people and animals throughout Butler, Carter, Ripley and Wayne counties. Craig commented that shelter resources are few and far between in Southeast Missouri.
“People for years and years have had nowhere to turn. And you know, some people don’t care but a lot of people do,” she said.
AWA has spent the past decade-plus funding programs for affordable sterilization surgeries and other endeavors, such as buying puppy vaccinations for Poplar Bluff Animal Control and donating pet oxygen masks to local fire departments. They also served as a limited dog rescue and placement organization, moving up to 25 adoptable dogs per year to shelters or rescues outside of Southeast Missouri. They are under contract with Butler County Heath Department to care for pets of families displaced by natural disasters, a duty they have fulfilled twice — once after a severe ice storm in 2009, and again after historic flooding in 2011. In the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, they also opened a Pet Food Pantry.
Having a shelter opens up more opportunities for collaboration. AWA is cooperating with the Haven House, VA Poplar Bluff Healthcare, United Gospel Rescue Mission and Recycling Grace to provide low-cost, long-term boarding for pets of people in crisis.
Long explained people struggling with addiction and crisis often avoid going to rehab if their pets have nowhere to go.
“So we are babysitting or fostering their animals until they can get clean and sober, or get the help they need,” she said.
AWA members consulted other animal shelters for advice on what they should include. In addition to dog and cat kennels, there are also quarantine rooms for new arrivals, as well as ample outdoor space and separate offices for intake and adoption. Though they are still learning how to transition into operating as a full shelter, Long said people have been supportive.
“We have a lot of kinks to work out, we have a lot of situations to work out. But everybody understands that we’re new and we’re learning as we’re going, we’re writing policy and procedures as we go,” she said.
Volunteers and donations are needed, since the pandemic canceled the annual Howling at the Moon fundraiser and other opportunities. The group’s website, awasemo.org, has a page for donations, and a link to their Amazon WishList was posted April 7 on its Facebook page. The website and Facebook page also display adoptable pets and upcoming events.
More information about donations, events and volunteering is available by contacting info@awasemo.org or calling 573-840-0664.
Craig is excited for the next chapter of AWA, but emphasized they are not replacing Poplar Bluff Animal Control or any other rescue.
“We don’t want to forget the animal control shelter of Poplar Bluff. They’ve got some great animals over there, too... The choices are widening,” she said.
The Animal Welfare Alliance No Kill Shelter is located at 1904 S. Westwood Blvd. Its hours are 11 a.m.-3 p.m. every weekday.