Saint Lucia: HelpAWS congratulates members, volunteers on New Year 2023

Saint Lucia: The animal welfare organisation HelpAWS, wrote a celebratory post on the day of New Year. The post by the organisation stated that each New Year’s Eve, people make promises or resolutions to better themselves in the coming year. Here at HelpAWS, the resolutions are made daily, sometimes even hourly, as the volunteers ebb and flow with the ever-changing circumstances presented before the organisation.

“Working in animal welfare is a process of constant readjustment and adaptation, all while little lives hang in the balance. We start each day committed to being stronger, better, smarter, more organized, etc. There is an unspoken promise we make to ourselves, each other, our adoptive & foster families, and our followers that we will do our best each day. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we fail, but we always try!” the post read.

HelpAWS celebrated the one-year anniversary of the shelter being open this year; they were able to complete the volunteer living quarters, cat quarters, storage area, outside landscaping, and runs for the pups. Pens were officially named, and the wall of recognition was painted to recognize the amazing donors who helped make the shelter dream come true.

The post noted, “We were also finally able to resume our high volume spay/neuter clinics, providing free services to local residents’ pets, as well as a bunch of strays we rounded up. We were blessed to have a great team of volunteer vets come to perform the surgeries, and not only that, this year alone, we were able to spay/neuter over 650 animals! Statistics show that one female dog and her offspring (and their offspring) can produce upward of 54,000 dogs over a five-year period. Altering these animals will have a staggering positive future impact on the island.”

More than 350 animals came through the shelter this year; some were desperately ill when they arrived, and others were simply neglected and in need of TLC. It is so amazing to see these tiny babies, whose beginnings were so horrid, now living full, loved lives with their forever families in the US and Canada!

HelpAWS’ social media post further informed, “Tonight, as we celebrate the accomplishments of 2022, we thank each and every person who has been involved in this journey, regardless of how great or small your role was. Without you, this wouldn’t be possible, and words cannot express our gratitude for the love, support, and generosity you have provided along the way!”