About
NWAS Board of Directors:
President & Treasurer: Sara Tomlinson, Vice-President & Secretary: Jean O'Sullivan, Directors: Wayne Couture, Tara Holmes
What is the North West Animal Shelter Society? We are a registered charity run by an elected Board of Directors. Our mandate is to operate an animal shelter to serve the Bulkley Valley. Also to advocate, rescue and rehome as many unwanted animals as we are able and to provide programs to the community regarding animal welfare education. For example, our successful SNAP (spay and neuter assistance program) began when we realized that the costs of spaying and neutering were prohibiting many people from getting the procedures for their cats and dogs. This program really is a win-win. It ultimately helps the animal (from reproducing), the owner (from financial burden and unwanted kittens and puppies to deal with) and the community (from the social issues and costs surrounding rampant overpopulation).
What areas do you serve? Currently we are concentrated in the Smithers area but we do provide services from Houston to Kitwanga and help people who choose to rescue on their own with spay and neuter assistance and postings on our website.
Where is your shelter? As a volunteer run organization, all visits to the shelter are by appointment only. We do not maintain regular hours where you can drop in and meet the animals, or drop off donations, etc. Please respect this and contact us through email at info@nwas.ca.
What do you actually do for animals?
We work with the Town of Smithers to rehome their unclaimed impounded dogs.
We rescue at risk cats and dogs
We foster and adopt rescue dogs and cats both locally and throughout BC.
We fund raise to make sure our programs are funded and money is available to cover the operating costs of the shelter.
We provide outreach to the community by visiting schools and providing education about animal welfare.
We offer spay and neutering assistance program to those who would otherwise not be able to afford the full cost.
We have formed relationships with other rescue groups who post available animals on their web sites, and/or take them into their programs, or connect us directly to adoptive families.
We help to assess, exercise, train, and bathe rescued dogs to ensure they are ready for adoption.
If I donate, where does my money actually go? Can I request that it be used for a specific purpose? Every little bit helps. Did you know that most of the funds raised through our donation boxes around town are used to operate our spay and neuter assistance program? That's thousands of dollars a year that we are able to funnel into this very important program - because a few pennies add up over time.+
You can also request that your donations go to a specific purpose; SNAP Program, Rescue (rescue funds help us cover the costs of revolution, deworming and vaccinations) and Medical (to help offset the veterinary costs we invest in each animal in our care)
General donations that are not specified will be used where we determine they are most needed.
We offer tax receipts for all donations as requested.
We welcome anyone who can assist us with moving this project forward. First and foremost we need people with a love for animals and dedication to community. If you have experience in construction, accounting, law, volunteer management, lobbying, event management or previous animal welfare experience great! We need more expertise in those areas.
If you can help out in some small way, please e-mail info@nwas.ca
We are sorry but we do not have a dedicated phone number at this time.
If you would like to make a donation to assist us with our goals, it can be made at any
Bulkley Valley Credit Union, deposited directly into the account of theNorth West Animal Shelter Society.
Donations can also be made through Canada Helps, by mail, or etransfer to info@nwas.ca