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Your Mission: Foster a Pet. Be a Hero.

Our biggest foster event of the year is back — with a heroic new twist! The Everyday Heroes: PAWS Foster Challenge is a citywide call to action to help place 150 pets into foster homes by July 20. Whether you’re a seasoned foster or thinking of getting started, now’s your moment to swoop in and save the day. Fostering is one of the most direct ways to make an impact, and it just might be your new superpower!

JOIN THE FOSTER CHALLENGE

Pours for PAWS: Sip, Snack, & Save Lives!

Hosted by the Young Friends of PAWS, Pours for PAWS is back for its third year at Positano Coast on Wednesday, June 25! Enjoy an open bar, tasty bites, and a silent auction—all while supporting PAWS’ mission to make Philly a place where savable pet is guaranteed a home. Purchase your ticket today and be part of this exciting summer evening!

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Vote PAWS for Metro Philly’s Best Animal Rescue & Animal Shelter

We’ve been nominated for Metro Philly’s Best Animal Rescue and Animal Shelter — and your vote can help us win! It’s an honor to be recognized, and we hope this exposure will help even more pet lovers discover and utilize PAWS’ services. Vote once per day now through August 8 at metrophillysbest.com to show your support — every vote makes a difference!

VOTE FOR PAWS

Adopt Kona

Kona is a 7-year-old sweetheart who’s fully house-trained—even during big transitions—and one smart cookie! She lives for attention, loves being the ultimate wing-woman, and is always ready for a good cuddle. She lived with another dog before, but she’s looking for a cat-free home—and while she’s been thriving in a loving foster home, she’s ready to find her future family. Could it be you?

Meet Kona

PAWS is Hiring: Join our team!

Join PAWS for a meaningful career in animal welfare! Work alongside passionate animal lovers and help us fulfill our mission of saving lives and building a better future for Philadelphia’s pets and people.

VIEW JOBS

Adopt Cardi

How can you say no to this face?! Cardi is a 13-year-old lovebug who’s happiest when she’s on your lap or gently head-butting you for attention. She’s not big on playtime but adores her scratching board and will chat to remind you it’s time for cuddles. She takes a daily steroid and GI diet to keep her tummy happy—and she’ll go home with a three-month care package to get you started!

Meet Cardi

Meet your new best friend!

Johnny Cash
Foster Care
"Hey there, I'm Johnny Cash" — a sweet, squishy homebody. If you need a relaxation coach for naps, toy time, and guilt-free TV binges, I’m your guy!
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 >
Zero to Hero
Foster Care
I'm a goofy, snuggly, tush-wiggling champ who’s overcome some tough breaks with a big heart and an even bigger appetite for love, zoomies, and treats!
Meet Me >
Quartz
Foster Care
At 12 years young, I'm the definition of peaceful companionship. I dare you not to fall in love when I gaze into your eyes!
Meet Me >
Andre
Foster Care
I'm a gentle and mellow senior who loves to rock a bow tie and gets along with dogs and cats!
Meet Me >
Kona
Foster Care
I'm a loving, smart, and snuggly 6-year-old pup looking for a cat-free home where I can be your BFF and maybe share life with another dog!
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.

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More ways to give

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

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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.

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Recent News

06.19.25

PAWS Launches “Everyday Heroes: Foster Challenge” to Spotlight the Lifesaving Power of Fostering Pets

As the summer season heats up, animal shelters across Philadelphia are feeling the strain of overcrowding. With the number of homeless pets steadily increasing, the need for foster caregivers is more urgent than ever. Summer brings a surge in shelter intakes as animals are found as strays or surrendered, but it also brings opportunity: more […]
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06.18.25

Join the Young Friends of PAWS for the return of their signature event, Pours for PAWS!

Join the Young Friends of PAWS for the return of their signature event, Pours for PAWS, taking place on Wednesday, June 25, to benefit the lifesaving work of the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). Hosted at Positano Coast and building on the success of the last two years’ events, Pours for PAWS will feature a […]
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42,146 animals saved

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.

391,874 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.

158,882 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
Pets Served 100 100
More Shelter Statistics

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

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