Help Make Philadelphia a No-Kill City.

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Meet your new best friend!

Samantha
Foster Care

I'm a snuggly 9 year old lap cat whose favorite place in the world is wherever you happen to be!
Coffee Cake
Grays Ferry Clinic

I'm a goofy gal full of zoomies and kisses!
Eustace
Foster Care

I'm a mischievous and affectionate 6 year old looking for a forever family to spoil me with lots of attention, love, and playtime!
Denny
Foster Care

I'm a sensitive and affectionate goofball who loves people and can't wait to bond with my future adopter!
Flowerpot
Foster Care

I'm an affectionate lovebug looking for belly rubs!
Tilly
Foster Care

I'm a cuddly senior will follow my favorite person to the ends of the earth!
All Available Dogs
All Available Cats

Support Our Lifesaving Efforts

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

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

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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.

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

04.26.23

Esmerelda: from abandoned and alone to safe in a home!


These days, Esmerelda enjoys soft beds, warm snuggles, and ear scratches on demand. It’s a far cry from when we first found her, abandoned and confused, outside of our Grays Ferry clinic. She’d been tied up at the bottom of a stairwell, and while we had no way of knowing her history, her body told […]
Read More
04.20.23

Dock Street Brewery and PAWS Team Up to Save Lives!


Beer drinkers and animal lovers rejoice! You can soon enjoy a flavorful hazy IPA that benefits the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society. Dock Street Found Friends, their newest brew, is 6.5% ABV with 65 IBU and hopped with Idaho 7 and Motueka. For every 4-pack sold, $1 will be donated to support PAWS’ mission of making […]
Read More
View All

37,170 animals saved to date


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

152,309 volunteer hours served


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

332,603 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.

132,162 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
2022
36682
Pets Served 100 100
More Shelter Statistics

Join us on social media

Mother`s Day is just around the corner: celebrate a mom in your life with our Gifts of Hope virtual catalog! In her honor, you`ll enable PAWS to provide second chances, medical care, comfort, and everything else rescued pets need until we find them loving homes.

Donate a Mama Cat Care Package, Newborn Kitten Kit, or another lifesaving gift option! You can notify Mom of the generosity she`s inspired with a greeting card from PAWS, a customized e-card, or a printable card of your choice. Give today at gifts.phillypaws.org (link in bio)!
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Over the river and through the woods and onto your couch we go! Clementine wants to join you for dreamy walks in the forest and cozy snuggles at home.

This sensitive sweetheart prefers quiet moments over a lot of noise and excitement, but she’s not shy at all when it comes to affection! Clementine adores people and is a full-on wigglebutt with her human and dog friends. She’ll follow you around like a shadow, climb into your arms as soon as you invite her, and greet you with lots of happy hops when you come home at the end of the day.

Clem can get nervous outside of the home when confusing activity or loud noises come into play, and would love to find a home in a quieter neighborhood or outside of the city. She’d be equally happy flying solo or with a dog friend at home, and will make an amazing companion if you’re a fellow nature lover who also enjoys their peace and quiet!

Learn more about sweet Clementine at our adoptions page (link in bio)!
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This wiggly stringbean is Lahloo! As our newest rescue from @acctphilly, she’s had a whirlwind few days and is looking for a foster home where she can unwind and enjoy some pampering. She was scooped up by a Good Samaritan who found her sheltering under an outdoor tub, then rescued by PAWS after spending 48 hours at the city shelter.

Even though she’s still getting her bearings, Lahloo is a very friendly young pup who looks to the humans around her for comfort and reassurance. At 1-2 years old, this cutie also seems to have a silly side waiting to come out, and would love to find a foster home where she can open up and share more of her sweet personality! If you’d like to help Lahloo, please email foster@phillypaws.org.
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Be more than their friend: be their Constant Companion! When you commit to a monthly gift to PAWS, you help us ensure we can say yes to pets who urgently need our help — all year long.

Stella and Luna are two of them: these little ones were found outside without their mother, but now their safe, happy, and cherished in a forever home together! Learn more and join today at phillypaws.org/monthly (link in bio).
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With dozens of businesses joining us on #PhillyLovesPAWS Day, there`s something for everyone! On May 17, a portion of what you spend will be donated to PAWS when you treat yourself to shopping, dining, or services at a participating Philly Loves PAWS business. So many wonderful partners are supporting PAWS` lifesaving efforts for this daylong, city-wide fundraiser, including:

🐾 @anovelideaphilly
🐾 @bean2beancoffeeco
🐾 @dockstreetbeer
🐾 @gleanerscafe
🐾 @goodbuysupply.co
🐾 @gracetavernphilly
🐾 @hamandbone
🐾 @lumosyogaandbarre
🐾 @moderneyephilly
🐾 @thenewwavecafe
🐾 @opbarks
🐾 @restaurant_associates
🐾 @pechinatowntattoo
🐾 @philadelphia_independents
🐾 @phillytypewriter
🐾 @racestreetcafe
🐾 @saltypawsrittenhousesquare
🐾 @squirreldogtraining
🐾 @vmarkstheshop
🐾 @wholeanimalgym
🐾 @woolly_mammoth_philly

....and MANY more!
Check out the full list and stay tuned as new businesses are added at phillylovespaws.org (link in bio)!

We’d also like to extend a very big thank you to our fantastic sponsors at @titosvodka!
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These fragile babies were scooped up just in the nick of time! They were brought to PAWS by a Good Samaritan who suspected that their mother had died after being struck by a car. At only a couple days old, they needed immediate round-the-clock care to survive. They were desperately hungry, and their body temperatures were dangerously low.

PAWS’ medical team jumped into action to stabilize them and get their empty tummies full. Kittens under 4 weeks old can’t regulate their own body temperatures, so without mom to keep them warm, our neonatal incubator was critical to get them to a safe temperature.

To ensure they received nourishment as quickly as possible, the team skipped over bottle feeding and went straight to tube feeding, a common alternative for kittens who may not reliably latch on their own.

Frantic cries soon turned into happy gurgles, and after being stimulated to go to the bathroom, these tiny ones were returned to their incubator where they could finally rest easy with full tummies and plenty of warmth.

PAWS’ medical team got them through their first day at the shelter, and our amazing bottle feeding foster parents took it from there. Now safe, stable, and receiving the ongoing care they need, these babies have a bright future ahead of them thanks to supporters like you!

Tiny, Little, and Small still have a long journey ahead of them, and many more orphaned kittens just like them will need our help in the coming weeks and months. If you’d like to ensure we’re ready, make a gift of any amount for #FiveDollarFriday!

You can give via Instagram, Venmo (username @phillypaws) or through our bio link 🐾
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We have a very special boy looking for a very special foster home! Kibi has a condition called cerebellar hypoplasia (CH), which means he’s very wobbly when he walks and falls down a lot (but he’s very determined and gets right back up)!

He might be less graceful than other cats, but what he lacks in balance he makes up for with SO much love – he’ll wobble over and flops into your lap for snuggles as soon as you sit down with him!

The shelter is especially hard for cats with CH, and though Kibi has his own room that’s specially set up for him, what he really needs is one-on-one love and attention with a patient foster who is committed to meeting him where he is. Every CH cat is different, and it usually takes some troubleshooting to figure out what their unique needs are to set them up for long term success!

In Kibi’s case, that will mean having an easy-to-clean space of his own where he can safely fall over as much as he wants, even if it means some accidental litter box messes while he figures out how to navigate – he’s potty trained, but without the right setup it’s easy for a wobbly kitty to miss!

If you’d like to learn more about this incredibly sweet little guy, email foster@phillypaws.org!
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Poor Peyton is about to lose his leg and really needs a foster home where he can recover! This sweet boy is in a great deal of discomfort from an old injury that never healed right, and it’s causing him a lot of extra stress at the shelter. He’d love to find a foster home with a quiet, pet-free space where he can decompress and recuperate from his surgery. If you can help, please email foster@phillypaws.org! ...

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@dockstreetbeer’s Found Friends IPA has arrived! $1 from every 4 pack sold will be donated to PAWS, and we want YOU to join us for the official launch party this Thursday 🐾🍻 Bring your dog and be among the first to try Dock Street Found Friends on May 4 from 5-7 at @dockstreetsouth!

The launch party will feature a raffle for cans of Dock Street Found Friends with Dock Street and PAWS merchandise, information on how to get involved with PAWS, and a brewery tour with Head Brewer and PAWS foster, Mark Russell. We hope to see you there!
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Together, we will make Philadelphia a no-kill city.

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