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Online Dog Foster Live Orientation: Thursday, June 13

The PAWS Foster Challenge is running all month long and we need your help to send 150 pets into foster homes this Jun! Our recorded orientations are always available online, but in a live Zoo session, you can ask questions in real time, meet animals looking for foster homes, and connect with fellow animal lovers! Join us on Thursday, June 13 at 6pm to start saving lives.

RSVP NOW

Online Cat & Kitten Foster Live Orientation: Wednesday, June 12

The PAWS Foster Challenge is running all month long and we need your help to send 150 pets into foster homes this June! Our recorded orientations are always available online, but in a live Zoom session, you can ask questions in real time, meet animals looking for foster homes, and connect with fellow animal lovers! Join us on Wednesday, June 12 at 6pm to start saving lives.

RSVP NOW

Adopt Cody

This sweet senior couch potato dreams of spending his golden years snuggled up with you! At 10 and a half years old, Cody loves slow walks and the occasional trot, making the hustle and bustle of city life a bit too much for him. Cody’s perfect day involves playing outside, followed by some cozy couch time — are you the perfect match for this dapper gentleman?

Meet Cody

Fosters needed: help save lives

Foster homes are at the heart of PAWS’ ability to save lives. We currently have more animals than we have capacity for, and when you foster one animal we rescue the life of another. With a brief commitment, you can be a hero for dogs, cats, and small pets. We provide supplies and support; you provide love and care!

Learn More

Adopt Shae

We’ve rescued a lot of pets over the years, and this sweet soul is one of the most gentle, affectionate cats to come through our doors. Four-year-old Shae may have some special needs, but what really sets her apart is her endless capacity for lap cuddles and love.

Meet Shae

Meet your new best friend!

Icy

Foster Care

I'm a true social butterfly who loves to soak up affection and befriend people of all ages!

Meet Me >

Choco Taco

Foster Care

I'm a sweet treat who just wants to relax, befriend everyone I meet, and be near my people where I'm happiest!

Meet Me >

Lita Ford

Foster Care

I'm a sweet and sensitive 7 month old who enjoys dog friends and loves to play!

Meet Me >

Kira

Foster Care

I'm a mellow and friendly house panther who is equally happy enjoying affection or doing my own thing!

Meet Me >

Lisa

Foster Care

I'm a sassy lovebug who is introverted with new friends, but a silly sweetheart once I get to know you!

Meet Me >

Flapjack

Foster Care

I'm a gentle cuddlebug who loves napping on your chest and making biscuits to show you how happy I am!

Meet Me >

All Available Dogs

All Available Cats

PAWS is the city's largest rescue partner.

We are working to make Philadelphia a place where every healthy and treatable pet is guaranteed a home. We do so through rescue, foster care, adoption, and preventing pet homelessness in the first place by offering low-cost spay/neuter and basic vet care.

Support Our Lifesaving Efforts

Donate Today

Make a one-time gift or commit to monthly support. Give in honor or memory of someone special.

Donate

Create a Fundraiser

Raise support from family and friends for your birthday, in honor of your pet, or for any occasion.

Get Started

More ways to give

Donate needed supplies, provide for the animals in your planned giving, plan an event, and more.

Learn More

Spay/Neuter and Wellness Clinics

Keeping pets and families together through low-cost basic veterinary services. Our clinics in Grays Ferry and the Northeast serve tens of thousands of pets every year whose caretakers may not afford care elsewhere.

Get Care

Recent News

05.23.24

Sarah and Polly: a match made in the stars

Pets have a way of finding us exactly when we most need them. For adopter Sarah, a professional witch, medium, and tarot reader, her meeting with Polly was nothing short of magical! “I adopted Polly a little over nine years ago from PAWS and it felt truly cosmic that we found each other,” shares Sarah, […]

04.05.24

It’s Kitten Week at PAWS!

As spring arrives, kitten season begins, bringing an influx of orphaned kittens and new mothers to the city’s shelters. PAWS’ nursery is quickly filling up with litters, and we’re seeking your assistance to support them — and many more who will follow — throughout the warmer months ahead! Help us welcome the little ones by […]

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39,758 animals saved to date

We rescue animals, primarily from the city shelter, almost daily with a focus on the most vulnerable: adult dogs, kittens, cats recovering from illnesses, and small animals. Once safe at PAWS, they receive everything they need to become ready for adoption, then are matched with loving homes.

178,607 volunteer hours served

PAWS’ dedicated and caring volunteers are essential in every aspect of our lifesaving efforts.

363,338 clinic patients served

Our low-cost Spay/Neuter and Wellness Clinics prevent pet homelessness and provide a needed resource in our community, enabling loving pet owners to care for and keep their dogs and cats as family.

146,749 spay/neuters performed

PAWS provides low-cost spay/neuter surgery for owned pets, rescues and community cats to prevent the birth of unwanted litters. Our efforts are working: since our clinics opened their doors, the number of homeless animals entering Philadelphia’s city shelter has declined year over year.

PAWS Partners

Our lifesaving work is possible with the meaningful support of business and community partners.

See our Partners

Current Partners

PAWS' impact grows as our services expand & progress continues

By rescuing, rehabilitating, and finding loving adopters for homeless animals with nowhere else to go, and providing affordable vet care and other services so pets can stay in their homes where they are loved, PAWS provides a vital and growing safety net for Philadelphia's most vulnerable cats and dogs. The pandemic has prompted a shift toward more intensive, individualized care for more complex needs.

2010

7154

2012

16160

2014

26188

2016

36510

2018

40455

2020

33840

2021

34528

2023

34801

More Shelter Statistics

Join us on social media

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Jun 10

Open

Talk about talent! 🤩 We`re profoundly touched by the artistry, warmth, and compassion displayed by the middle school students at @mccall_elementary. Students recently completed an animal advocacy project where they selected a PAWS animal up for adoption, designed and drew on a crown to elevate the importance of adopting animals, and learned drawing and painting techniques to show texture and value. Not only are we impressed by their artistic prowess, but many of these portraits perfectly capture the very essence of these deserving animals. The student artworks in order of appearance are:

🐾 Shae
💙 Shae
🐾 Shae
💙 Shae
🐾 Choco Taco
💙 Choco Taco
🐾 Cody
💙 Cody
🐾 Scraps
💙 Carol

Special thanks to art teacher Erica Mandell, M.A., for her leadership and creative vision, to the McCall School, and to the brilliant students who captured PAWS` animals so beautifully! To learn more about the adoptable animals featured in these portraits, please visit phillypaws.org/adopt (link in bio). Check out the rest of the student portraits on our Facebook page at facebook.com/PhilaAnimalWelfareSociety! ...

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Jun 10

Open

Pet pantry supplies needed: help provide meals and more to pets in our community! We are looking for all brands of kitty litter, as well as unopened bags of dry cat food and dry food. There are a few ways to donate!

🐾 Send through our Chewy or Amazon wishlists (link in bio)
🐾 Drop off at any PAWS location during regular hours (found at phillypaws.org/locations).
🐾 Ship through the retailer of your choice to: PAWS
2900 Grays Ferry Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19146

As community members and neighbors continue to face financial hardship, the need for pet pantry assistance remains as strong as ever. By providing food for our pantry, you`ll be ensuring that cherished family pets remain where they belong: at home with the people who love them most ❤

PS. If you can`t send food at the moment, you can still help by sharing this post! ...

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Jun 9

Open

Meet snuggly Skye the sweetie pie! ✨

Her life goal? Cuddling up to her human all day, every day.

Looking for a WFH companion to join your Zoom meetings? Keep you company on the couch? Slumber immediately next to your pillow? Skye will happily oblige!

When she’s not chasing wand toys and climbing the nearest cat tower, Skye may be found initiating cuddles by climbing the back of your chair and nuzzling your head while purring up a storm 😭

Skype ended up at PAWS when her human became too ill to care for her 💔 But this gentle and affectionate lady is ready to bring love to your life!

This sweetheart has early-stage kidney disease, a common condition in senior cats that doesn`t require any treatment at the moment.

Are you the right match for this expert snuggle bug?

Learn more about Skye at the link in our bio!

#phillypawsfoster #fosteringsaveslives #sheltercats #fostercat #phillycats #catsofıg ...

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Jun 9

Open

34 animals have left the shelter for the #PAWSFosterChallenge! It’s been one week since the challenge began, and we’re already off to an amazing start thanks to the foster heroes who’ve opened their homes 👏

We’re 116 away from our goal of sending 150 animals into foster care by the end of June, and with the shelter full to capacity, we need your help more than ever. By opening your home temporarily, you can give a homeless pet (or pets!) love and safety, and open critical shelter space to help us save more lives. Please join us!

If you`re new to fostering and want to learn more, we`re hosting 2 live online foster orientations next week:

🐱 Cats and Kittens: Wednesday, June 12, 6-7pm
🐶 Dogs: Thursday, June 13, 6-7pm

Sign up to become a foster or attend our orientations through our bio link! ...

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Together, we will make Philadelphia a no-kill city.

Get Involved

Online Dog Foster Live Orientation: Thursday, June 13

Online Cat & Kitten Foster Live Orientation: Wednesday, June 12

Adopt Cody

Fosters needed: help save lives

Adopt Shae

Meet your new best friend!

Icy

Foster Care

Choco Taco

Foster Care

Lita Ford

Foster Care

Kira

Foster Care

Lisa

Foster Care

Flapjack

Foster Care

PAWS is the city's largest rescue partner.

Support Our Lifesaving Efforts

Donate Today

Create a Fundraiser

More ways to give

Spay/Neuter and Wellness Clinics

Recent News

Sarah and Polly: a match made in the stars

It’s Kitten Week at PAWS!

39,758 animals saved to date

178,607 volunteer hours served

363,338 clinic patients served

146,749 spay/neuters performed

PAWS Partners

Our lifesaving work is possible with the meaningful support of business and community partners.

Current Partners

PAWS' impact grows as our services expand & progress continues

Join us on social media

Stay up-to-date on lives saved and happy beginnings or maybe even find your new best friend!

#phillypaws

Together, we will make Philadelphia a no-kill city.