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PAWS 20th Birthday Celebration: Tickets available now!

Join us on Thursday, November 5 at FringeArts as we celebrate 20 extraordinary years of lifesaving and the community that has made it all possible! Enjoy an unforgettable evening featuring delicious vegetarian and vegan bites, festive cocktails, music and dancing, a silent auction, adoptable PAWS dogs dressed to impress, and more! Purchase your tickets today.

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Affordable vet care: PAWS is here to support you

PAWS’ two wellness clinics in Grays Ferry and Northeast Philadelphia are open to the public by appointment to provide accessible spay/neuter and veterinary care for pet owners, rescue organizations, and community cat caretakers. Whether your pet needs preventative care, treatment for an illness or injury, or spay/neuter surgery, PAWS is here to help!

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Shop our wishlist to support pets in PAWS' care

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

09.18.26

PAWS TO HOST 20TH ANNUAL MUTT STRUT – DOG WALK AND FALL FESTIVAL

Join PAWS for the 20th Annual Mutt Strut on Saturday, October 3! This year’s event marks an extra-special milestone, as PAWS celebrates two decades of saving and improving the lives of Philadelphia’s pets and the people who love them. Dogs and their humans will enjoy a fun-filled fall festival and a scenic walk through the […]
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08.10.26

Dog owner support survey

Philadelphia dog owners, we want to hear from you! PAWS is exploring new ways to support dogs and the people who love them — and your input can help us understand what resources would make the biggest difference. Whether it’s help with veterinary care, training, pet supplies, or something else entirely, we want to know […]
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44,869 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.

423,825 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.

172,396 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

Oct 3

Open post by phillypaws with ID 17891914278615171
The 20th Annual PAWS Mutt Strut is TODAY, and we’re ready to celebrate 20 years of strutting, saving lives, and bringing animal lovers together. Join us at the Navy Yard from 11am to 2pm for a scenic walk, live music, food trucks, a beer garden, costume contests, games and activities for pups and their people, adoptable dogs, amazing vendors, and so much more. The Strut steps off at noon! While today is going to be a whole lot of fun, it’s all for an important reason: every step we take helps PAWS rescue and care for Philadelphia’s most at-risk pets and provide vital resources that keep pets and families together. Online registration is closed, but you can still join the fun! Day-of registration opens at 11am at the Navy Yard. Kids 12 and under are free, and you don’t need a dog to Strut with us! So grab your pup, your friends, your family, or just yourself, and come join the fun. #PAWSMuttStrut

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View Instagram post by phillypaws

Oct 2

Open post by phillypaws with ID 17949677490053756
The 20th Annual PAWS Mutt Strut is TOMORROW — we hope you’ll join the fun! Grab your pup, your friends, your family, or just yourself, and meet us at @navyyardphila for PAWS’ biggest celebration of the year. Plus, all Mutt Strut registrations are being matched right now by an anonymous donor, up to $2,000! Online registration is open until 5pm today at pawsmuttstrut.org, or you can sign up in person tomorrow at the Navy Yard. Check-in opens at 11am, and the Strut kicks off at 12pm! Adults are $25, dogs and kids under 12 are FREE (parking is free too). In addition to the walk, we have amazing activities in store, including: 🐶 Lure Course with @luring101 🍻 @dockstreetbeer Beer Garden 🥨 Food Trucks 🐶 Dog Costume Contest 🎵 Live Music by Anthony Porter 🐕 Dog Adoptions 🐾 Paw Print Painting 🐶 Agility Course with @opbarks 💛 Enrichment Zone with @centralbarkphiladelphia 🦴 Fun Zone with @oggiesdoggiesphl 🗣 Ask the Trainer with @constellationdogacademy 🗣 Ask the Vet with @queenvillageanimalhosp 🔮 Doggy Tarot Reading & Fortune Telling with Young Friends of PAWS 📸 Pet Portraits with @pawtraitpopup 🍦Doggy Ice Cream 🎾 Games ⭐Giveaways, Raffles, Prizes... and more! Plus, dozens of vendors offering handmade goods, pet supplies, pet services, and much more! We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has registered, fundraised, donated, and helped spread the word. Let’s make our 20th Annual Mutt Strut one to remember! Register now and see all the event details at pawsmuttstrut.org (link in bio).

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View Instagram post by phillypaws

Oct 2

Open post by phillypaws with ID 17924419197200341
There’s no denying it...Jesse is a vibe. He’s handsome, hilarious, delightfully orange, and at 8 years old, has more than enough personality to keep you entertained. He’ll come running when you call “Jesseeee!” He’ll greet you by hopping onto the couch or bed and showing off his tummy. He loves wand toys, chasing treats, chatting with people, and burrowing so deeply under blankets that sometimes the only way to find him is to follow the muffled meows. So why has this fabulous guy been waiting for a home since April? Well... Jesse has some opinions about litter boxes. 🥲 After lots of troubleshooting and ruling out medical causes, we’ve learned that Jesse simply doesn’t always want to use one. We know that’s a big ask for an adopter, and we don’t want to sugarcoat it. But we also don’t want this one challenging habit to overshadow everything that makes Jesse such a lovable, entertaining companion. He could be a fit for someone willing to manage his occasional accidents in a traditional indoor home, a safe indoor-outdoor setup, or even a working-cat placement where he can enjoy plenty of human attention without the pressure of perfect litter box manners. Jesse may not be the cat for everyone, but he doesn’t need everyone. He just needs one person willing to give this goofy, sweet, wonderfully weird guy a chance. Email adoptions@phillypaws.org to learn more or stop by our Old City Adoption Center to meet him in person! 🧡

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

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