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There are many ways to save a life!
PAWS was founded in 2006 as a small volunteer group with a dream to make Philadelphia a no-kill city where every healthy and treatable pet is guaranteed a home. We have made incredible strides thanks to caring supporters who get involved however they can, whether adopting, fostering, making contributions of time or funds, and so much more. Join our mission and start saving lives!
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When you adopt a new best friend from PAWS, you are saving a life that might not have had a chance without your kindness.
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Our online community helps save lives and celebrate successes. Keep up to date on ways to help the animals and tag us in your happy adoption updates: you may see your story here!
#phillypaws
Looking for holiday cheer in a handsome package? Kratos is ready to bring some joy to your world with booty wiggles, goofy smiles, and all the good boy energy you could ask for! He’s the kind of dog who believes everyone is on the nice list and can’t wait to make you his new best friend.
Kratos can be adorably clumsy due to a bit of vision impairment, but he catches on quick and doesn’t let it stop him from his favorite activities: chasing toys, soaking up attention, and spending time with his favorite people (aka you, your friends, and probably your mailman, too). Plus, he’s got fabulous manners, and get along great with dog friends, too!
Kratos is 2 years old, 50 pounds, and ready to trade kennel life for couches, cuddles, and cheer. If you can help make his holiday wish come true by adopting or even fostering Kratos, please email foster@phillypaws.org or adoptions@phillypaws.org! ❤️
🐾 Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society
📍 2900 Grays Ferry Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19146 (by appointment only)
🗳️ PA License #06172
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This season reminds us how much home, comfort, and connection matter. For the people and pets relying on PAWS, those essentials are still out of reach — but with your help, they don’t have to be. Right now, a group of committed supporters will match every gift made to PAWS through December 31, up to $75,000! That means your gift will go twice as far to provide vulnerable animals like Carrot with the care and protection they need.
This affectionate former stray was suffering from a painful eye condition and severe dental disease when he was found fending for himself outside. Thanks to friends like you, we were ready to offer him care, safety, and a pathway to a better life. Today, Carrot is thriving — cherished by his new family and enjoying endless lap time. “He has become my best friend,” shares his adopter, “He’s all kinds of goofy and the sweetest....He’s helped me out a lot through this rough year and I adore him”
Every day, PAWS meets animals like Carrot — who urgently need medical care, safety, or a fresh start — as well as pet owners facing unthinkable hardship. Whether it’s a fragile kitten fending for himself, a family facing eviction and tearfully surrendering their dog, or a cat whose owner became too ill to care for her, they all seem to wonder: “Will I find relief here?” Your generosity can ensure the answer is a resounding yes.
All that we do depends on generous and compassionate people like you. There is great need, but also great hope. As joy fills your home this holiday season, please share what you can with the pets and families who are depending on all of us. Double your impact today via Instagram, Venmo (username @phillypaws), or at our #linkinbio!
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What better way to kick off the week than with some lifesaving time alongside Philly’s own @bran_flakezz?!
Brandon Edelman is a Philly native and lifestyle content creator who uses his platform to spotlight the people, places, and small businesses that make our city special — plus, he’s hilarious!
You may know him from his podcast @betweenusgirliespod, have spotted him at this year’s 6ABC’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, or recognize his name from Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2026. But beyond all that, Bran loves uplifting local businesses across our city and just so happens to be an animal lover. We were thrilled to welcome him to PAWS for a visit this morning!
Bran hung out with several dogs and cats currently in need of foster and adoptive homes, and even helped us name one of our new pups...say hello to Flakezz! (Sorry folks, he’s not available for adoption just yet, but he is looking for a foster home.) We were also excited to introduce Bran to a very special two-year-old cat named Halley Cate Core, who is currently looking for a foster home or adopter. (If you know, you know 😅)
We’re so grateful to Bran for using his platform to support animals in need, encourage folks to support our mission, and celebrate the special bond so many Philadelphians share with their pets 🩷🐾
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Celebrate the season in style with brand new PAWS swag! Our latest Threadless fundraising collection is live, featuring festive “holiday sweater” artwork by designer Gina Zito, plus all your favorite designs from years past. With a wide range of colors and styles to choose from, it’s the perfect way to show your support for PAWS. Best of all, every purchase helps fuel our lifesaving work! Order today to get yours in time for the holiday at our #linkinbio! ...
Looking for someone to keep your lap warm during the colder months? Eli is your girl! This distinguished 14 year old is all about cozy snuggles, slow mornings, and quality couch time.
Eli’s perfect day includes sleeping in, enjoying her kidney-friendly meals, batting around her beloved toy mice, solving her penguin puzzle feeder (brains and beauty!), and ending the night curled up with you while you watch TV—any genre is fine, as long as there’s lap space.
Eli does have kidney disease, but it doesn’t slow her down. She has a great appetite, takes her supplements like a champ, and handles her routine fluids beautifully. She’s friendly, affectionate, and would thrive in a calm home where she can enjoy plenty of naps, cuddles, and catnip breaks.
If you’re ready for a sweet, gentle companion who will happily warm your lap and your heart, Eli can’t wait to meet you ♥️
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This tiny fighter is Cricket, and she`s here today because of you! This little one and her sisters were rescued by PAWS after being found outside with severe kitten colds. We placed them in a foster home to recover, but grew concerned about Cricket when she remained frail after weeks of attentive care.
Diagnostics with our medical team revealed the heartbreaking reason: she`d developed feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a disease that can stem from a common virus and is almost always fatal in kittens. Yet even then, Cricket was curious, affectionate, and determined to live.
Just two years ago, Cricket`s prospects would have been grim, but recently, a promising new antiviral drug was approved. It is costly and requires months of treatment and monitoring, but thanks to your support of our Medical Relief Fund — and care from her devoted foster parents — our doctors were able to prescribe it.
Through a summer and fall filled with medication schedules, tests, and rechecks, Cricket’s tiny frame grew stronger, and the quirky, confident cat she was meant to be started to emerge.
Now, after everything she has overcome, Cricket is finally enjoying the wonderful life she worked so hard to reach. She`s been adopted alongside her favorite sister, Crinkle, and the two are settling into a loving home together where they’ll safe, warm, and cherished for the rest of their days ❤️ Thank you for making their happy beginning possible!
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Are you looking for a pup who will love you with her whole heart — preferably while sitting directly on top of you? Spotty Dotty is your girl! This cuddly sweetheart absolutely lives for closeness, and is ready to snuggle her way into your lap the moment you sit down.
At 8 months old, Dotty is still learning the ropes with some of her house manners, but she’s taken lots of cues from the other pup in her foster home and has already mastered some impressive basics — including “sit,” “stay,” and waiting for an “okay” before starting her meals. She’s eager, bright, and so excited to keep learning with a patient and loving family by her side!
Her foster sums it up best, “I can’t emphasize enough how sweet and loving she is. I hope she can find the most loving home, and it’s going to break my (and my dog’s) heart to part with her.”
Dotty is ready to bring joy, affection, and endless cuddles to a home that can give her the love and patience she deserves. If you’re looking for a loyal companion who will adore you unconditionally, apply to adopt Spotty Dotty today!
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Ready to celebrate the season while helping pets in need? Join us for complimentary pet portraits with Santa — plus a festive pet food drive to support Philly pets in need — all happening Sunday, December 21 from 2–5 PM at @philadelphiadistilling’s heated & enclosed patio.
Bring your furry friends, snap the perfect holiday photo, and enjoy an afternoon with fellow animal lovers. Adoptable pets will also be onsite looking for their new families.
We’re collecting items from the PAWS Wish List: wet kitten food, soft dog treats, paper towels, and dry cat/dog food. Every donation gets you entered into our holiday raffle basket giveaway!
Come for the portraits, stay for the cheer, and help local pets this season 🐶🐱✨
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Say hello to Melo! This friendly little man is looking for a foster home since he just can’t seem to catch a break. Not only is he underweight from his time on the street, but he also suffered a severe leg injury that will require surgery with one of our specialty partners — which he won’t be able to get just yet, because now he has a kitty cold, too!
Melo is a really affectionate little guy who would be so grateful to get some much-needed TLC in foster care with someone who can transport him to his appointments as needed (and give him lots of head scritches, of course). He’ll need several weeks of crate rest to help his leg heal before and after his surgery, and we’ll be happy to provide you with any supplies you’ll need, including a crate or playpen.
We’d love to tell you all about this 4 year old sweetheart, so reach out to foster@phillypaws.org to learn more about Melo today!
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Hosting family for the holidays? Draining. Hosting a PAWS pet? Delightful! These are just a few of the pets who’ve found foster homes for the holidays recently, and we have many more who’d be thrilled to celebrate the season at your place.
We often see a dip in foster sign-ups at the shelter due to the busy holiday season, just as many of our current fosters find themselves in need of temporary sitters for their foster pets due to holiday travel plans. If you’ll be staying local for the holidays, you can help us save lives while brightening your home with a furry friend who needs you!
You can help by:
Committing to fostering a pet until they find their forever home (a few weeks to a few months) if you won’t need a sitter during the holidays!
OR, Pet sitting (usually for 3-7 days) for other PAWS foster parents who are traveling.
Email foster@phillypaws.org to learn more, or sign up today at our #linkinbio!
In order of appearance:
1. Santa’s Little Helper left as a foster, but will be permanently joining the family with Katie aka @katie.mcmenamin.photography, who’s volunteered her services as our official PAWS Mutt Strut photographer for over a decade!
2. Merry Paws has been nervous and shut down since arriving on Wednesday, but he changed into a whole new dog when foster mom Ann introduced him to his new foster sister, PAWS alum Ruthie!
3. Nona Pine, a sweet senior who’s had a hard time at the shelter while healing from dental surgery, will be able to rest and recover at home with foster mom Vanessa!
4. Ashlee Simpson has been down in the dumps after coming down with kennel cough, and is going to love getting spoiled by her foster dad Devon!
5. Sweet felvie boy Andy arrived at the shelter in very poor condition after being found as an emaciated stray, and will be getting all the TLC he needs in foster care with Jacqueline!
6. Ray is a very scared boy with a lot of senior health ailments, so we were very grateful to foster mom Holleh for giving him a soft place to land!
7. Fresca is going to be getting extensive dental work with us and will need lots of love during her recovery, so she’s going to have a wonderful time in foster care with Stephanie!
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Staying local for the holidays? Lady Mistolene would love to spend them with you! ✨
This sweet girl needs a sitter while her foster is away 12/20–1/4/26. She’s scheduled for some dental work before then, and should be mostly recovered by the time she needs a holiday home — she may just need some easy pain meds for part of her stay.
Mistolene is a total dreamboat who had everyone at our clinic wrapped around her dainty paws. She can be a bit nervous when settling into a new space, but with a calm, quiet room and a little patience, she blossoms into an affectionate, gentle companion.
🎄 If you’d like to give Lady Mistolene a warm, cozy holiday retreat, email foster@phillypaws.org to learn more!
Ps. If she’s not the one, we have several other friendly cats also looking for holiday sitters while their fosters travel.
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Looking for some piggy pals to join you for your next 30 Rock rewatch? Meet Grizz and Dot Com! From lounging to snacking to hanging out on your lap, these adorable boys are happiest doing life together ❤️
Dot Com is the more outgoing of the pair. He’ll come up to greet you or hang out at the entrance of his house so he can see what’s going on. Grizz is more timid, but lots of treats and attention are helping him come out of his shell. Though they’re both on the quiet side, they love veggies and herbs of all types (dill and carrots are favorites) and will definitely let you know when it’s snack time!
If there’s one thing Dot Com and Grizz excel at, it’s relaxing! Both piggies love to have soft pillows and hideaways in their shared cage to stretch out and nap on. They’re more than happy to snuggle up and soak up the pets—and will probably give you piggy kisses in return—but they also appreciate just doing their own thing with their humans nearby. If a calm, sweet pair of guinea pigs is what you’re looking for, Grizz and Dot com will be just the duo for you!
Check them out at our adoptions page, and be sure to follow their exploits in foster care at @guineapigfosteradventure!
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Meet Kratos, certified good boy who’s looking for a foster home! This handsome gentleman is a total sweetheart with a very goofy, lovable personality. He’s a big cuddle bug who adores full-body pets, already knows “sit,” and loves walks, car rides, and being close to his people!
Kratos may have some vision impairment, so he can be a bit clumsy at times. But with patience and consistency, he quickly learns his way around. And once he catches the scent of a treat, he’s all ears and ready to listen!
Kratos also seems to enjoy the company of other dogs and could do well with a friendly canine companion. Overall, he is a happy, playful guy who would thrive in a patient, loving home that can offer plenty of comfort, confidence-building, and endless belly rubs! If you’re able to foster Kratos and help this very good boy live his very best life from foster care, please email us at foster@phillypaws.org!
🐾 Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society📍 2900 Grays Ferry Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19146 (by appointment only) 🗳️ PA License # 06172
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Don’t look now, but there’s a new Franklin in Old City — at PAWS’ adoption center, that is! And while this chonky casanova would never tell you to go fly a kite, he is almost definitely the key to adding a little more electricity to your life ⚡️
This chatty, loveable, and affable 9 year old has a colorful personality and an unstoppable desire to be around — or in the laps of — the people he loves. He’s a total cuddlebug, and he isn’t afraid to show it! Franklin got a little stressed in his last home due to the number of pets and small kiddos, so this time around he’d love to join an adult household where he’ll have no more than 1 (mellow) feline roomie.
We’ve got tons of fab felines waiting to meet you at our Old City Adoption Center in addition to sweet Franklin, so stop by this week and fall in love!
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If you love a chatty grandpa, Bo is about to become your new best friend (and hopefully your next foster)! This sweet senior gentleman is at least 17 years old — his microchip says he was first adopted way back in 2008! Since then, life has taken him on a few twists and turns, including a rehoming or two and being declawed somewhere along the way. It’s been a journey for our boy, and he’s ready for a soft place to land.
Bo has stolen quite a few hearts with his old man meows, (you’ll see what we mean in the video 😻), and has been a friendly and affectionate guy in spite of all the recent upheaval he’s been through. He developed some litter box issues in his last home, which could be due to an underlying medical condition (we’re waiting to hear back on his senior diagnostics), or simple stress, which is not uncommon in cats who’ve been declawed (if you lost your fingertips, you might be sensitive too)!
Bo is seeking a loving foster who’s willing to give him a comfy, pet-free space to relax, keep an eye on his habits while we finish his senior checkup, and help us figure out what makes him feel most at ease. In return, you’ll get to enjoy a gentle, goofy, super-senior roomie with the voice of a loud and crackly angel. If you have room at home for this elder-hunk, email foster@phillypaws.org to learn more about Bo today!
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If you believe every pet deserves safety and love, become a PAWS Constant Companion today! When we save an animal, we commit to their care no matter how long their journey or what surprises we encounter along the way. Your monthly support ensures we can keep saying “yes” to pets like Delilah and her baby Ziggy — those who urgently need love, medical care, and a safe place to land.
This mother and son were found huddled on a porch in freezing weather, but are now safe and warm in a PAWS foster home. Once Ziggy is old enough to be weaned, Delilah will be spayed and receive the dental surgery she desperately needs. Until then, we’re ensuring they have all the care and comfort they need as they heal and prepare for the loving homes they deserve.
If you wish you could save them all, start with just one: a $29 monthly commitment over the course of a year covers our average cost of rescuing one homeless pet. Learn more and join at phillypaws.org/monthly!
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Everyone loves a good throwback and a good comeback — and Ashlee Simpson is so ready for both! This sweet and sensitive potato just arrived at the shelter, and is really hoping to find a foster home where she can get her bearings and regroup after a tough gig. She’s under the weather with kennel cough and an upset tummy, so she’s been easing through with meds and a simple chicken-and-rice diet while she recovers.
Right now, she’s more “Invisible” than she wants to be — tucked away, quiet, and not feeling her best — but with a little care, she’ll be ready to step back into the spotlight. What she needs most is a quiet, comforting place to land where she can exhale, rest up, and remember she is the superstar. A soft bed, gentle reassurance, and a little time to heal will help her get back on her feet and ready for her next big “La La” chapter!
If you have room in your home and heart for a gentle soul who just needs a safe place to regroup, Ashlee Simpson would be forever grateful. She’s hoping her comeback starts with you!
🐾 Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society📍 2900 Grays Ferry Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19146 (by appointment only) ⭐️ PA License # 06172
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Looking for a stocking stuffer that saves lives? PAWS’ 2026 calendar has you covered! Featuring portraits of rescued shelter pets, the PAWS calendar offers a year of inspiration and raises vital funds for our rescue, adoption, and clinic programs.
100% of proceeds from each sale go to PAWS, so get yours now and help us save and serve more of the city`s most vulnerable pets in the year to come! Calendars are available at all PAWS locations, at our online store (link in bio), and at the following participating local PAWS partners:
@anima_pet_supplies
@blokesbarbershop
@centralbarkphiladelphia
@crashbangboomphilly
@gleanerscafe
@wholeanimalgym
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Prepare to be roasted, judged, and completely charmed! Libby is an elder diva with a heart of gold and 17 years of sass 💅 She’s got boundaries, she’s got opinions, and she’s got a crackly meow that says “I smoke a pack a day and will outlive you all.”
Libby struts around like she owns the place, but she’s also a secret softy who loves being near her people. Overt affection? You’ve gotta earn it, but the second you do, she transforms into a surprisingly loyal little shadow. She’s also shockingly tolerant of baths, meds, and general fussing (as long as you respect her “me-time” afterward).
Libby prefers a quiet household without other pets, mostly because she believes she provides all the personality a home could possibly require. She is correct. If you’re looking for a tiny senior queen to dish out love and side eye in equal measure, reach out about Libby today!
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Over 140 families were served at yesterday’s community pet pantry! Thank you to everyone who made this event possible, including our partners at Citizens for a No-Kill Philadelphia, our incredible volunteers, and every supporter who donated supplies!
The event was such a success that our pantry is now completely depleted, and the need for assistance is the highest we’ve seen yet. Please help us support our neighbors and their pets for the holidays by sending more supplies if you can — even one bag of food makes an enormous impact!
Visit our #linkinbio to send supplies through our wishlists or donate to our pantry pantry fund 🐾
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