×
  • Search

Match Madness adoption aromotion: meet your perfect match!

This March, excitement isn’t just for the basketball court — there’s an adoptable pet waiting to be your MVP! From March 13 through April 6, adopters can name their fee for participating cats and dogs in PAWS’ Match Madness adoption promotion, including pets with longer stays or special needs. Are you ready to score a new furry family member?

MEET YOUR MATCH

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.

VIEW JOBS

Meet your new best friend!

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

03.15.26

20 years of lifesaving with PAWS: share your story!

Nearly twenty years ago, a small group of volunteers had a big dream for Philadelphia’s animals and the people who love them. Thanks to your support, PAWS has been changing lives — and transforming our city — ever since. This fall, PAWS will celebrate its 20th birthday! We have exciting plans in the works to […]
Read More
03.12.26

PAWS Announces ‘Match Madness’ Adoption Promotion

This March, excitement isn’t just for the basketball court—there’s an adoptable pet waiting to be your MVP! PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society) is excited to announce Match Madness, an adoption promotion running from Saturday, March 14 through Monday, April 6. PAWS’ shelters are full, and with so many pets waiting for a home, adopters can […]
Read More
View All

43,727 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.

411,301 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.

166,081 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

Mar 16

Open post by phillypaws with ID 18037111085669962
9/10 doctors agree that hanging with Barney makes you happier and hotter (it’s just science)🧬 This adorable low rider has been spreading joy and lowering blood pressure since he arrived, and he can’t wait to find a foster or adopter so he can keep the lovefest going! At 5 years old, Barney is past his naughty puppy years but still enthusiastic, playful, and brimming with goofy affection. A social butterfly who’s always eager to greet new friends, Barney loves getting out for walks, playing with his toys, and spending time with his favorite people (aka literally everyone he meets). Barney is 29 pounds, neutered, and friendly with other pups — though he does best with super tolerant/goofy friends, since his enthusiasm can be a *lot*! If you’re ready to bring some extra cheer and charm into your life, Barney is ready to waddle home with you today! Email foster@phillypaws.org or adoptions@phillypaws.org to learn more, or find him on our adoptions page. 🐾 Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society📍 2900 Grays Ferry Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19146 (by appointment only) ⭐️ PA License # 06172

...

155 3
View Instagram post by phillypaws

Mar 15

Open post by phillypaws with ID 18308297665275508
Nearly twenty years ago, a small group of volunteers had a big dream for Philadelphia’s animals and the people who love them. Thanks to your support, PAWS has been changing lives — and transforming our city — ever since. This fall, PAWS will celebrate its 20th birthday! We have exciting plans in the works to celebrate this extraordinary milestone, so please stay tuned! But first, throughout the year, we’ll be sharing some of the remarkable stories that the PAWS community has made possible over the last two decades, and we’d love to include yours. However PAWS has touched your life — whether through adoption, fostering, volunteering, affordable veterinary care, pet owner support, rescue partnerships, or another way — please share your story and photos by visiting phillypaws.org/20yearsofpaws (link in bio). In our special series, PAWS: 20 Years of Changing Lives, we’ll spotlight people and pets who have been part of this incredible journey. It belongs to all of us, so we hope to hear from you!

...

62 0
View Instagram post by phillypaws

Mar 15

Open post by phillypaws with ID 18000143120881196
Phillipe is such a gentle soul! This sweet boy is recovering from some big-time dental surgery, and would love to find a foster home to snuggle up in. He was brought to the shelter by a Good Samaritan who found him fending for himself near an abandoned home, and we suspect he was a family pet in his past life. Even though he’s not feeling his best, he’s been SUCH a flirty little dreamboat since arriving, and will ask for petting and affection from everyone he meets. If you’d like to help 5 year old Phillipe heal and get back to feeling his best, email foster@phillypaws.org to learn more

...

633 12
View Instagram post by phillypaws

Mar 14

Open post by phillypaws with ID 17857741416620295
This March, excitement isn’t just for the basketball court — there’s an adoptable pet waiting to be your MVP! 🏀 🐾 During PAWS’ Match Madness adoption promotion, adopters can name their own adoption fee for participating cats and dogs, including those with longer stays or special needs, such as senior conditions or preferences for being the only pet. Running from Saturday, March 14 through Monday, April 6, this promotion celebrates these special pets, matches them with the right adopters, and opens space for PAWS to rescue more animals who are waiting for the same chance 🐱 🐶 Visit phillypaws.org/adopt to view all available pets who qualify (marked with a Match Madness logo) and complete an application. Our knowledgeable team is ready to help you make a slam dunk of a match!

...

66 0

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

Get Involved