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Your summer mission: Become a foster hero!

Our biggest foster event of the year is back with a heroic twist! Our Everyday Heroes Foster Challenge is a citywide call to action to help place 300 pets into foster homes by July 31. Whether you’re a seasoned foster or thinking of just 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

Shop our wishlist to help shelter pets today

With our kennels at capacity, our most-needed items run out quickly. From nutritious wet food to keep pets of all ages nourished, to paper towels and cleaning supplies that help us maintain safe, comfortable spaces, every item makes a direct difference. Shop our most-needed items and make sure pets have the essentials they rely on every day.

SEND SHELTER SUPPLIES

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

Meet your new best friend!

Meet the PAWS animals who are most in need of homes! Whether they have special needs or simply have been waiting longer than others, they need your help to find loving families. Every animal we adopt out creates room in our shelters to save another, so each adoption truly saves a life.

View all adoptable pets

VIEW ALL AVAILABLE CATS

All PAWS pets are spayed/neutered, given age-appropriate vaccines, microchipped, and examined by a veterinarian before adoption. Click the button below to browse cats currently available by location. Our thorough matchmaking process allows us to find the best fit for you and your family.

VIEW CATS

VIEW ALL AVAILABLE DOGS

All PAWS pets are spayed/neutered, given age-appropriate vaccines, microchipped, and examined by a veterinarian before adoption. Click the button below to browse dogs currently available by location. Our thorough matchmaking process allows us to find the best fit for you and your family.

VIEW DOGS

VIEW ALL AVAILABLE SMALL ANIMALS

All PAWS pets are spayed/neutered, given age-appropriate vaccines, microchipped, and examined by a veterinarian before adoption. Click the button below to browse small animals currently available by location. Our thorough matchmaking process allows us to find the best fit for you and your family.

VIEW SMALL ANIMALS

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

05.22.26

Kitty’s journey back home

For many of us, pets are family — offering comfort, companionship, and unconditional love through life’s hardest moments. For one PAWS supporter, Eric, that bond became even more clear during an incredibly difficult chapter of his life. After experiencing epileptic seizures, breaking his collarbone, undergoing multiple surgeries, and becoming temporarily unable to work or care […]
Read More
04.30.26

Philly Loves PAWS Returns: 10th Annual Citywide Fundraiser to Support PAWS’ Lifesaving Efforts

Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), the city’s largest rescue partner and provider of affordable veterinary care, proudly announces the return of Philly Loves PAWS, a full day, citywide fundraiser on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. On this day, a wide array of businesses throughout the region will generously donate at least 10% of their sales to […]
Read More
View All

44,113 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.

415,255 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.

168,853 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

Join us on social media

View Instagram post by phillypaws

Jun 1

Open post by phillypaws with ID 18082715000532469
Doom scrolling: bad idea. Dog scrolling: great idea! We recently added a bunch of canine cuties to our dog adoptions page, and it’s chock-full of adorable pups who can’t wait to start the rest of their lives with you! From sweet and silly young goofballs to gentle senior couch potatoes, there’s a match for most anyone who’s looking to add some extra joy to their lives 🐾✨🥰 Meet your new best friend now at our #linkinbio!

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View Instagram post by phillypaws

May 31

Open post by phillypaws with ID 17890311579511288
Say hello to Tigress, this stunning two year old cat in need of a Safety Net foster home! Tigress has a family who absolutely adores her, however they're currently navigating a temporary housing challenge and need a safe place for her to stay in the meantime. By welcoming Tigress into your home temporarily, you'll help keep a family together while also opening space for pets who truly have nowhere else to go. Tigress was recently spayed and has experience living with children. She's still getting used to shelter life and would much prefer a cozy home where she can relax and settle into a routine while her family gets back on their feet. If you can help, please email foster@phillypaws.org. Our Safety Net Foster Program is especially close to the heart of PAWS Corporate Community Partner Susan Mees. We're deeply grateful for Susan's dedication as both a Safety Net foster and supporter through her marketing firm, helping ensure families facing temporary hardship don't have to lose the pets they love. To join Susan in caring for Safety Net pets like Tigress, sign up today at phillypaws.org/foster. If your business could benefit from an expert data-driven digital marketing strategy, learn more about Susan Mees Consulting at susanmees.com.

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View Instagram post by phillypaws

May 30

Open post by phillypaws with ID 18051127790788036
Capri Sun got the ultimate glow up, but he’s still missing one thing: an adopter who loves snuggles as much as he does! This friendly boy was in rough shape when he arrived, but he’s been a lovey dovey delight from day one 💖 Sweeter than the drink for which he was named, Capri is a kind and gentle soul whose main goal in life is to be as close to you as possible. He greets every person he meets like an old friend, and will climb into your lap the moment he sees an opening. He even gets along great with other cat friends! Capri is around 3 years old and has chronic nasal congestion, which doesn’t require any special treatment or medication — just some face wipes to keep his adorable face clean. If you’re looking for a new bestie who will absolutely adore you, Capri Sun is waiting to meet you in foster care!

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

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