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Kick off summer, save a life: Fee waived adoptions

Start your summer on a high note by adding a feline friend to the family! Starting Friday, May 29, we’re waiving adoption fees for all adult cats (aged 6 months and older) at our Old City Adoption Center. This promotion is available exclusively at our Old City Adoption Center (100 N. 2nd Street) and runs through Monday, June 1.

MEET YOUR NEW BFF

Be their bridge to a brighter future: foster with PAWS

When you open your home to a PAWS foster, you’re giving a pet a safe place to land when they need it most. With more animals arriving every day, even a short foster stay can be truly life-changing — offering comfort, healing, and hope while making space for another pet in need. We’ll provide everything you need…all you have to bring is the love!

SIGN UP TO FOSTER

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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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.

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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
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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

May 29

Open post by phillypaws with ID 17925621969122656
It’s #FosterFriday: Let’s talk about bottle feeders! The most vulnerable animals at the city shelter are orphaned kittens who are too young to eat on their own, as well as nursing kittens whose mothers aren’t producing milk. Because they need immediate rescue and round-the-clock bottle feeding, foster homes are absolutely vital to their survival. It’s a challenging job — they need to be fed every 3 hours for about 4 weeks — but also an incredibly rewarding one! In order to ensure we’re ready to act quickly when these tiny babies arrive at the shelter, we need your help! We’re recruiting full time bottle feeding fosters who are ready to take on litters until they’re weaned, as well as part time helpers who can babysit when needed. Want to learn more? Email foster@phillypaws.org, or visit our #linkinbio to sign up today!

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View Instagram post by phillypaws

May 29

Open post by phillypaws with ID 18360336547209889
Start your summer on a high note by adding a feline friend to the family! Starting Friday, May 29, we’re waiving adoption fees for all adult cats (aged 6 months and older) at our Old City Adoption Center ☀️ Our busiest season is in full swing, with dozens of wonderful cats and kittens entering our care each week. Each adoption saves two lives: the one you bring home, and the one we’re able to rescue in their place! This promotion is available exclusively at our Old City Adoption Center (100 N. 2nd Street) and runs through Monday, June 1. To help ensure the best experience — and give you the best chance of meeting your future furry family member — we recommend completing an adoption application in advance. Our experienced staff looks forward to helping you find the perfect match! Browse our adoptable cats and apply today at our adoptions page (link in bio)!

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View Instagram post by phillypaws

May 29

Open post by phillypaws with ID 18103447300963277
A muppet come to life? Nope, that’s our sweet granny Guinevere! Her #1 hobby is melting hearts, and she’s ready to get back into a home with a foster or adopter who enjoys quiet moments as much as she does ♥️ A gentle companion who truly enjoys being near her people, Guin has a calm presence and a heart full of affection. According to her last fosters, she’ll greet you at the door, follow you around the home, and happily sit nearby while you study, cook, or relax. She doesn’t demand attention – she just simply loves to be with and around you. At around 14 years old, we like to think Guin is aging gracefully. She has arthritis and allergies that are well-managed with daily medication and a monthly injection, and is in a great place healthwise in her golden years. If you’re looking for a kind, loving companion who will bring warmth and comfort into your home, Guin is truly a special cat who can’t wait to meet you! Email foster@phillypaws.org or adoptions@phillypaws.org to learn more today.

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View Instagram post by phillypaws

May 28

Open post by phillypaws with ID 18090026768169980
Update: foster found (Jazz is still looking for an adopter though)! SOS: Jazz urgently needs a foster home to heal in! This kind hearted pup was supposed to leave for foster care today after undergoing orthopedic surgery, but her placement fell through due to unforeseen circumstances. Even though she’s receiving great pain meds and incredible care with our team, she’s a very sad girl in our kennels, and she desperately needs a home where she can rest and recover ASAP! Jazz is around 4 years old, friendly with dogs and cats (she was besties with the cat in her last home), and has received rave reviews from her previous fosters (they would have loved to keep her during recovery if their schedule and setup had allowed for it)! She’s looking for a calm home where she won’t have to navigate too many steps to go outside, and has potty spots within a close distance to her front or back door. Despite all of the transition and medical care that she’s been through, Jazz remains incredibly loving, affectionate, and adaptable — happy to be curled up beside you while you work, or snuggled in your lap while you relax. If you’d like to welcome this sweet girl while she heals, or even adopt her as permanent part of the family, please email foster@phillypaws.org to learn more about Jazz today! 🐾 Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society📍 2900 Grays Ferry Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19146 (by appointment only) ⭐️ PA License # 06172

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

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