Room to Grow at Awsom
The Animal Welfare Society of Monroe got the green light to grow. On Sept. 16, according to the Pocono Record, Stroud Township's Zoning Hearing Board unanimously approved a variance and a special exception for an expansion of the shelter at 3129 Godfrey Ridge Drive.
The plans add about 1,800 square feet on the first floor, including a new dog kennel room, a cat room, separate cat and dog quarantine rooms, a feline HIV room, and more office and records space, with a possible second floor for meetings and storage. AWSOM President Rich Homar told the board the shelter has taken in roughly 20,000 animals over the past 16 years, and said the facility was built when the county's population was far smaller and has not grown to match the need.
Not everyone was sold. One neighbor objected to trading her wooded view for a two-story building, while Rep. Tarah Probst spoke in favor, arguing the expansion and a bigger parking lot would ease crowding along Godfrey Ridge. AWSOM also received $50,000 from the same Local Share Account program that funded the Sherman, and hopes to finish the project by the end of 2027.
