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Last year animal shelters in Pima County received almost 37,000 companion animals. Of course we all agree that's
too many. As individual organizations and caring animal lovers we all do what we can, even though it never feels
like enough. But just think of what we can do collectively!
AWASA, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2001, is an alliance of organizations and caring individuals
that have come together to address the atrocious problem of animal overpopulation in our community. And, we are
really proud of the progress we've made.
· Working with AWASA in September of 2001, Tucson's Mayor and City Council made an official Proclamation that Tucson
would become a city with "no more homeless pets," and presented the Proclamation to AWASA.
· In July of 2002, with tight budgets for both the City of Tucson and Pima County, it became apparent that the budget
for Pima Animal Control Center (since renamed Pima Animal Care Center) was going to be cut by 10%. This was
unacceptable, since PACC was already under-funded. AWASA members went into action and, working together, were able
to get the PACC budget reinstated.
· Tucson's City Council then solicited input from AWASA regarding the Intergovernmental Agreement they have with
the County for Animal Control.
· In an ongoing effort to keep community officials aware of the Animal Welfare issues in their wards and districts,
representatives of AWASA have met with almost every City Council Member and most of the Board of Supervisors.
We will continue to remind them that there are a lot of animal people in our community - and that animal people
vote.
· Moving quickly to action, AWASA - literally at the last hour - mustered enough support from the City Council
to prevent an ordinance that the Fourth Avenue Merchants Association was trying to sneak through that would
have banned dogs from their street fairs.
· Our friends from the PETCO Foundation and The ASPCA provided AWASA with a grant that allowed us to post ten
Spay/Neuter billboards throughout the community. (See "The AWASA 2003 Spay/Neuter Billboard" link in the left margin for photos!)
· In July of 2003, AWASA's signature educational event, the first annual Southwest Conference on Animal
Welfare, was a huge success thanks to over 100 eager participants and the cooperation of several corporate
sponsors (Petfinder.com, PETCO Foundation, and The ASPCA). Numerous nationally renowned speakers offered their
insights and expertise to help animal welfare professionals and volunteers in our region increase our effectiveness.
(See "Southwest Conference on Animal Welfare" link in the left margin).
Tucson joined many communities in the nation, by officially participating in National Feral Cat Day
(as sponsored by Alley Cat Allies on October, 16, 2003). City Council member Fred Ronstadt, on behalf of
Mayor Walkup, read a Proclamation to a crowd assembled at The Hermitage No-Kill Cat Shelter, on
October, 15, 2003. This event will begin a process by which the AWASA TNR Committee will work to
consolidate the community effort for optimal feral cat colony management using the principles of TNR.
Many thanks to Mary Phelan, of Feline Uprising, for the original idea and to all of the members of
the TNR Committee for their work to make this happen. (See the separate "National Feral Cat Day Proclamation"
page, from the link to the left, for the actual Proclamation and some photos of the event.)
AWASA was the beneficiary of an unexpected windfall of $20,000 from the Pima County Board of Supervisors
during one of their April, 2004 meetings. The money was earmarked for spay and neuter surgeries on companion
animals for underserved residents of Pima County. See the linked pages for: 1) photos
from Pet Fix mobile clinics; and 2) reports about the program (PDF files.)
Most of all we are grateful for the spirit of collaboration that now exists in our community. Thanks to all of our
wonderful members, we are provided with this wonderful opportunity to meet one another, network, and have some fun
while doing our best for the animals.
With your participation, we can do even more.
If you aren't already a member of AWASA, please join us today.
Annual dues are just $20 for groups and individuals and $50 for businesses.
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