We are the Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our mission is to improve animal welfare in Montgomery County, Maryland by operating a no-kill shelter for adoptable cats and promoting responsible pet ownership.
When the AWLMC began in 2005, we were in a small store-front facility in Gaithersburg, MD. In 2010 we moved to our present location in Old Town Gaithersburg at 12 Park Avenue. Our house is designed to feel like home rather than an animal shelter, making it a comfortable and welcoming place for visitors to meet our cats. Our shelter is cage-free with cats transitioning to our shelter by spending their first days in large, walk-in enclosures. After transition, the cats have free run of their assigned rooms where they have toys, cat trees, and feline roommates to stimulate them. We even let a few special cats have free roam of the house!
Over 800,000 homeless dogs and cats are killed annually in America’s shelters. That means nearly 2,200 animals are killed every day. They are being killed simply because they don’t have safe places to call home. No-Kill is a term describing the philosophy of eliminating euthanasia of healthy, adoptable and treatable companion animals.
At AWLMC, and in many animal welfare organizations throughout the country, euthanasia is defined as an act of mercy. Euthanizing a pet is considered only when veterinary or behavioral experts determine that an animal’s condition is untreatable, and the animal has little or no chance of having an acceptable quality of life.
In our effort to help eliminate the killing of adoptable cats and dogs, the AWLMC offers multiple programs aimed to prevent unwanted litters, keep pets from becoming homeless, and finding homes for those who have none.
