In 1985, 3 auxiliary members of the RSPCA became disillusioned with the society that they had been working so hard to support. All 3 lived in Maesteg but had seen little or no improvement in animal welfare at local level. The ‘3’ Maureen Edwards, Coun Danny Davies and the late Coun Jennie Gibbs discussed all the red tape involved with the society and decided they could do better. MAWS was born!

This fund that they decided to set up for local animal welfare, was to enable money to be allocated where the need was greatest. Many nights trudging around pubs and clubs collecting money began. Raffles and jumble sales were organised and there was an excellent response from the community.

Other people offered their help and support. Dafydd Davies who became the society’s secretary, had heard of the plight of stray dogs taken to a local kennel. The group visited the kennel where they found the stalls numbered 1 to 7. The dogs and pups were allocated a new kennel daily according to the number of days they had been there. After kennel no 7, if not claimed the dogs/pups were put down.

A meeting was immediately called to discuss future strategy for saving these dogs and organising a rehomimg scheme. MAWS also obtained charitable status that put its activities on an official footing.

The society now uses Glyn Y Glowr Kennels in Llangeinor where the dogs are happy. Mike Standing has been extremely co-operative in helping to rehome the dogs. Up to 20 strays at a time can be taken, plus volunteers fostering dogs in their own homes. Some dogs are taken by charities in England organised by Mike where they might have a better chance of being homed. Transport of these dogs are funded by MAWS as the society operates a non-destruction policy.

The society’s next move was to help with the number of stray and feral cats in the area and also finding homes for unwanted litters. Volunteers helped to foster these animals in their homes. The next step forward was to house all the cats/kittens in one place where they could be visited and rehomed. Jan Brady at Court Colman looks after the cats and kittens. On average we rehome 400 cats/kittens per year. We have now opened a second cattery in Coity run by Kathryn Lawless .

The society’s other main development is to help people on low income with veterinary fees, because the PDSA excludes the valleys. We also have a policy of helping to pay towards the cost of neutering animals, thus trying to reduce the number of unwanted litters.

Keeping the animals at the kennels and cattery and veterinary fees etc. cost money. None of this work could be carried out without a substantial income. We run fund raising events as much as possible, but a lot of our income comes from our charity shops run entirely by volunteers. We have a shop located at Maesteg (our Flagship), also in the Ogmore Valley. We also rely heavily on donations.

MAWS co-ordinator Maureen Edwards says it is her dream to see branches all over Wales – each running themselves, and taking care of the animals in their area. The workload undertaken by MAWS has increased drastically, as have fund-raising activities – more volunteers are needed to get involved with all aspects of the work.

Anyone able to help can contact us by calling one of the following :

Jan Brady (for cats only) 01656 721496 (also Kathryn Lawless on 01656 653456)

Mike Standing (for dogs only) 01656 871760

Maureen Edwards (for general enquiries) 01656 737827

or filling in our form by clicking here