PAWS Chicago

PAWS Chicago PAWS Chicago is focused on implementing solutions to end the killing of homeless pets.

Hey PAWS community! We’ve compiled a year-in-review of all the important work that, together, we accomplished for homele...
10/02/2025

Hey PAWS community! We’ve compiled a year-in-review of all the important work that, together, we accomplished for homeless and at-risk pets last year. We’re excited to share how you’ve helped save lives because it’s your support that make this lifesaving possible.

In 2024, we focused on expanding and innovating lifesaving programs to address the growing crisis of pet homelessness and abandonment. Chicago Animal Care and Control (CACC), the city pound, took in over 15,200 pets — 2,295 more than the previous year. Despite this surge in homeless pets, PAWS worked hand-in-hand with CACC to implement innovative solutions and save countless lives.��Chicago is more than just our home base — it’s the heart of everything we do. This city is our community, our lifeline, and our focus. While the number of homeless pets across the nation and in Chicago continues to climb, there is good news: we’re making a difference.

Thank you for standing with us, for believing in our mission, and for giving hope to the pets who need it most.

See the report: https://www.pawschicago.org/2024-impact-report

Another Meow Mixer is just around the corner - a virtual adoption event to meet cats in foster homes and chat with their...
07/02/2025

Another Meow Mixer is just around the corner - a virtual adoption event to meet cats in foster homes and chat with their foster families!

You’ll get to know all about what life looks like with these spectacular cats that you won’t typically find at our Adoption Center. Looking for a chill, independent companion? Dancing Lady, Kaia, Carissa, Skittles, or Muffin could be your perfect match!

Or missing a little more excitement in your life? Alvaro or Fairy will keep you endlessly entertained as they pounce and chase after wand toys and faux mice. The toy section was made with these guys in mind!

Join us Tuesday, February 11, from 6-7:30pm to meet your new best friend. Learn more and register at pawschicago.org/meowmixer

In order of appearance: Kaia, Dancing Lady, Skittles, Fairy, Carissa, Alvaro, Muffin

We met Wanda at CACC after she’d been found as a stray. She was extremely matted, weak, running a high fever, and had sy...
05/02/2025

We met Wanda at CACC after she’d been found as a stray. She was extremely matted, weak, running a high fever, and had symptoms of pyometra, a life-threatening infection of the uterus that requires immediate treatment.

It was the end of the day, and our surgeon was on her way home, but Wanda didn’t have time to wait. While Wanda was rushed over to our Medical Center, our surgeon rushed back to perform her emergency surgery that evening.

Once in surgery, we discovered Wanda was septic, meaning the infection had entered her bloodstream and was now circulating through her whole body. Getting through surgery was only half the battle - she was also dehydrated, hypoglycemic, had a respiratory infection, a heart arrhythmia, and cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), all while still having to overcome sepsis.

It took a week in critical care to get Wanda back on her feet. Antibiotics fought off the infection, her blood sugar levels balanced, and her respiratory infection cleared up - then our focus turned to her heart. Our hope was that the arrhythmia and cardiomegaly were reactions to the sepsis, and could clear up with time and TLC.

After a break in foster care, we brought in a cardiologist who confirmed - Wanda’s heart was back in great shape! It had been a long battle for this little survivor, and just hours after she arrived at our Adoption Center, Wanda found a family to catch her up on a lifetime of spoiling ❤️ Welcome home, Wanda!

Craisin and her sideburns are brand new to PAWS, but she’s already got us all wrapped around her littlest toe bean! We’r...
05/02/2025

Craisin and her sideburns are brand new to PAWS, but she’s already got us all wrapped around her littlest toe bean!

We’re not sure if Craisin is naturally hairless or if this is temporary for her - she’s the only one of her litter who arrived in her birthday suit, but they’re all in great health and getting ready for adoption now!

Last night was Biscuit and her babies’ first night at Chicago Animal Care & Control. It was also their last - this famil...
02/02/2025

Last night was Biscuit and her babies’ first night at Chicago Animal Care & Control. It was also their last - this family became PAWS pets today!�

Biscuit and her 3-week-old puppies were surrendered to CACC on Saturday, and with fragile immune systems, needed to get out right away. They’ve now moved into a quiet suite at our Medical Center while we find a foster home for them to be spoiled in for the next month.

Welcome to PAWS, Biscuit, Barley, Brownie, Biscotti, Brioche, Bagel, and Baguette 💛

Summer internships are now open!Gain valuable experience in animal welfare and non-profit work with Chicago’s largest No...
01/02/2025

Summer internships are now open!

Gain valuable experience in animal welfare and non-profit work with Chicago’s largest No Kill organization. PAWS Chicago offers a variety of internships for college students seeking career experience, academic credit, and training by industry professionals!

Applications close March 15, view open opportunities at https://www.pawschicago.org/how-to-help/internships

We really felt the love in January, and this Red Bandana Round-Up is packed with familiar faces - like social media star...
31/01/2025

We really felt the love in January, and this Red Bandana Round-Up is packed with familiar faces - like social media stars Oswald, Basil, Caramelo, Darby, Miracle, and Ruby, longterm pups Rincy, Bodie, Pokey, and Lydia, and every new alum in between who hit the jackpot this month.

What a special way to start 2025 with you all, thank you for loving these PAWS pets ❤️

Isaiah is picking out his Dog Threads outfit, which do you think is his color?We’re partial to seeing Isaiah in red, esp...
23/01/2025

Isaiah is picking out his Dog Threads outfit, which do you think is his color?

We’re partial to seeing Isaiah in red, especially PAWS alum bandana red! Are you the lucky family to scoop him up?

Isaiah came to us from Chicago Animal Care and Control in need of help recovering from pneumonia, and we were honored to help him recover and get ready to find a family!

Isaiah’s foster reports share similar themes: his love of belly rubs, his signature sploot (check out his profile photos!), mastery of sit and shake, and ability to make the most of any lap real estate. Sounds like your kind of guy? Come in and meet him!

Isaiah would like to be the only pet at home, and will thrive in a low traffic neighborhood and a home with older kiddos. He’ll also thrive being your best friend - find his full profile at https://www.pawschicago.org/pet-available-for-adoption/showdog/82152

ADOPTION EVENT: Pozole, Salsa, Bluebell, and Gumbo are headed to Mariano’s Bucktown tomorrow in hopes of finding a home!...
10/01/2025

ADOPTION EVENT: Pozole, Salsa, Bluebell, and Gumbo are headed to Mariano’s Bucktown tomorrow in hopes of finding a home!

We’re joining the Mariano’s Bucktown Grand Re-opening event, and these adoptable pups will be there from 12-3pm. Come by and shake paws with them all!

Find more info on each pup flagged “Offsite Event” at pawschicago.org/adopt

📆Saturday, January 11, 12-3pm
📍2112 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL

The pizza that saves pets is back!!!“Slice to Meet You” has returned for its 3rd year in a row, but Piece Pizzeria & Bre...
09/01/2025

The pizza that saves pets is back!!!

“Slice to Meet You” has returned for its 3rd year in a row, but Piece Pizzeria & Brewery is going bigger than ever before.

Now through April 9, grab the exclusive chef collab pizza of the month for $35, and $70 will be donated to PAWS pets thanks to six matching donors!

The specialty pie for January -
Bill and Doug’s Excellent Adventure (by Bill Jacobs and Doug Sohn): A white pizza with thinly sliced Yukon potatoes, Hungarian sausage and roasted garlic. Finished with horseradish cream sauce, pecorino cheese and topped with scallions.

Grab yours today - your lunch plans could be lifesaving!

Coming up on his 15th birthday, Skittles has found himself in the shelter, so let’s get him into a home! Our fabulous fo...
08/01/2025

Coming up on his 15th birthday, Skittles has found himself in the shelter, so let’s get him into a home!

Our fabulous foster network came through for him so he can do his adoption search from a cozy home, but that means he misses out on the daily traffic of interested adopters at our Adoption Center. We’re hoping to find them here - maybe it’s you!

According to his fosters, Skittles will take the first few days to get the lay of the land in his new space. But soon he’ll be politely tapping your leg to request a lift up to your lap. He’s got years of experience being a good roommate, which means he’s there when you need a weighted blanket, and happily doing his own thing when you’re busy.

Skittles has some chronic senior health issues that are well-managed through daily medication and a prescription diet. Don’t let any of that spur you from meeting him! Skittles will pay you back in dividends with his love and companionship.

An ideal life for Skittles will be a quieter home with routine, and only adults or older kids in the family. He’ll do best as the only cat in the home, but could do well with a calm canine friend! Find his full profile and set up a meet and greet here: https://www.pawschicago.org/pet-available-for-adoption/showcat/8164

We’re starting 2025 with so much gratitude, hope, and excitement for the pets we’ll get to help this year!THANK YOU for ...
01/01/2025

We’re starting 2025 with so much gratitude, hope, and excitement for the pets we’ll get to help this year!

THANK YOU for helping us reach all of our donation matches this holiday season 🎉 In the coming days and weeks, we’ll be introducing you to the lives you’ve already transformed, and many more we have yet to meet in need of help.

These are a few of many recent PAWS alums starting the new year in the best way - with a family. Congratulations to Pebbles, Ember, Benny, Debbie, Meatloaf, Kashi, Wiggles, Pumpkin, Einstein, Lucille, and all 4,382 PAWS alums who went home in 2024.

Happy New Year, PAWS Community! We love saving lives with you ❤️

Today is the last day of our end of year donation match! Your gift before midnight will go twice as far for pets like Mi...
31/12/2024

Today is the last day of our end of year donation match! Your gift before midnight will go twice as far for pets like Miracle ❤️

Thin, dehydrated, and severely sick with vomiting and diarrhea at CACC, we met this 2-month-old clinging to a stuffie and hoping for a miracle of her own.

These are all signs of deadly parvovirus, so we rushed her back to our Medical Center for care. The miracle here is that she was negative for parvo, and the severe intestinal parasites wreaking havoc on her little body would be no match for the fluids and medication she received over the following days.

Feeling much better now, Miracle is at our Adoption Center preparing for a big, full life!

Help us unlock the full $25,000 donation match for more lifesaving in 2025 - https://donate.pawschicago.org/campaign/629081/donate?c_src=social&c_src2=eoy

DONATION MATCH: Our spay/neuter clinic was closed to the public on December 24, but it was far from empty. Early that mo...
29/12/2024

DONATION MATCH: Our spay/neuter clinic was closed to the public on December 24, but it was far from empty. Early that morning, we picked up 56 cats from Chicago Animal Care & Control (CACC) for spay/neuter surgery, so they could go home with waiting adopters.

By law, pets can’t be adopted without spay/neuter surgery. However, limited staff and resources at CACC, plus a consistently overcrowded population, means the waitlist for the procedure there can be weeks long. Those kennels stay full, even with ready and willing adopters. The two problems feed each other, and CACC can’t fix it alone.

But PAWS can help. Our Lurie Clinic can spay/neuter these 56 cats in one day, plus give them microchips, heartworm tests, flea preventative, and vaccinations to get them adoption ready. Two of the cats we helped that day also had pyometra, a deadly bacterial infection of the uterus, meaning their spay surgery was a lifesaving one!

We’ve been doing this all year as part of our 360@CACC program, and its success has helped increase adoptions at CACC by 30% this year! This expands our lifesaving beyond the thousands of pets we’re already transferring out of CACC into our own adoption program.

We’re seeing our solutions to a deadly problem work in real time, and we need your support to keep doing more.

Make a donation today and your gift will be matched, doubling the funding for lifesaving programs like this one: https://donate.pawschicago.org/campaign/629081/donate?c_src=social&c_src2=eoy

DONATION MATCH: Caramelo literally had to fight to survive, but everything has changed now. Our Community Outreach team...
28/12/2024

DONATION MATCH: Caramelo literally had to fight to survive, but everything has changed now.

Our Community Outreach team picked up this tomcat when he needed immediate care for an injured eye, and it was reported to us that Caramelo had been in fights with other cats during his time outdoors. His numerous scabs and scars, crumpled ears, and swollen face all tell the story of his past.

But for all he’s lost, he’s about to gain so much in this new life!

With support , our Medical Center is uniquely suited to provide emergency care to relieve Caramelo of his pain. While he recovers from surgery, he’s quick to lean into a pet, and if you listen closely, you’ll hear an unexpected chirpy purr coming from this boy who is so, so grateful for love.

Through the end of the year, we have a $25,000 donation match to unlock, which means your donation will be matched to do twice the lifesaving for cats and dogs who deserve a chance. Please consider a gift for pets like Caramelo here: https://donate.pawschicago.org/campaign/629081/donate?c_src=social&c_src2=eoy

DONATION MATCH: 6-year-old Daphne was pregnant when she arrived at a shelter in Texas. Not only did she spend her pregna...
26/12/2024

DONATION MATCH: 6-year-old Daphne was pregnant when she arrived at a shelter in Texas. Not only did she spend her pregnancy there, but she also gave birth to 5 babies there, and the shelter is no place for a new mom and puppies with fragile immune systems.

A transfer partner of ours was making a trip to Chicago and asked if we could help this vulnerable new family. We got to work securing a foster home that could take them in the same day they arrived - because a quiet, safe, stress-free space for a mother and her babies is crucial to the whole family’s health. (Just another way that foster homes are magic 🥰)

Two months later, Daphne and her kiddos are strong, healthy, and adoption ready! Daphne will never have to go through the stress of pregnancy and birth again, and her babies are set up for bright futures.

We just received a $25,000 end-of-year donation match, which means your gift will do twice as much for homeless pets like Daphne and thousands more! We need your help to unlock the full match here: https://donate.pawschicago.org/campaign/629081/donate?c_src=social&c_src2=eoy

*all pups are available to meet now at our Adoption Center!

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Wanda in recovery

Wanda with the cardiologist

We pulled cutie Reggie from Chicago Animal Care and Control with a cough that turned out to be pneumonia, but we quickly learned nothing can put a dent in this guy’s good mood. The next month of recovery we would credit to antibiotics and oxygen therapy, he would credit to daily snuggles and a plethora of friends to smoosh his whole face into. We feel both are equally important parts of the healing process ❤️ Now that he’s feeling better, we get to help him find a home!! Reggie is an open book - he’s here for a good time. When he’s not loving all over you, he’s making his own fun, and vice versa. Add a little walking sunshine to your life and meet Reggie perfection at pawschicago.org/adopt

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