48-Hour Matching Challenge: Help Animals in Urgent Need through PAWS' MEDICAL RELIEF FUND
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Medical Relief Fund match in effect: Give now, save 2X the lives!

PAWS’ Medical Relief Fund provides critical veterinary care to dogs & cats with nowhere else to turn. Starting Tuesday, June 3, your gift can go twice as far to save lives — but only for 48 hours! Thanks to a record breaking $60,000 match from the Foxwynd Foundation and several generous anonymous donors, every dollar you give to the Medical Relief Fund by midnight on Wednesday, June 4 will be doubled. Make a gift now!

MAKE YOUR GIFT

Fosters needed: help save lives!

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

Start fostering

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

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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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!
Humble
Grays Ferry Clinic

I'm a sweet and spicy gremlin who will always keep you laughing with my hilarious antics!
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!
Hustle
Foster Care

I'm a a seasoned snuggler and couch connoisseur who loves getting pets and belly rubs, sharing kisses, and playing with my favorite toys!
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!
Andre
Foster Care

I'm a gentle and mellow senior who loves to rock a bow tie and gets along with dogs and cats!
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

05.30.25

PAWS Medical Relief Fund Expands Access to Lifesaving Veterinary Care for Homeless Pets


Since 2006, the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) has played a leading role in transforming animal welfare in Philadelphia, helping to drive a nearly 50% decrease in animals entering the city shelter and increasing the survival rate for those who do. But as Philadelphia has made great lifesaving progress, the animals currently most at-risk in […]
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05.30.25

PAWS Named a 2025 Philly Favorite by the Philadelphia Inquirer!


We are thrilled to share that PAWS has been recognized as a 2025 Philly Favorite by the Philadelphia Inquirer! Thanks to the overwhelming support of our community—and more than 339,000 votes cast—PAWS earned Silver in the Favorite Veterinarian category and Bronze in the Favorite Nonprofit Organization category. This recognition is meaningful to us because it […]
Read More
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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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458 7

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

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