Paws in the City

We are committed to ending the overpopulation, abuse, and neglect of dogs and cats in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. As an all-volunteer, no-kill 501(c)(3) organization, our commitment extends beyond rescue and adoption—we are devoted to every animal we save for the rest of its life. Our mission is to ensure each adoptable dog and cat finds a permanent, loving home.

In June 2005, our mission was to rescue dogs and cats from the Dallas Animal Shelter and surrounding areas, where they were being euthanized at a rate of almost 30,000 per year. In September 2005, Paws began hosting adoption events around the city. Then, a natural disaster sidetracked our mission: Hurricane Katrina. We helped evacuate 22 dogs and 40 cats from a no-kill shelter in New Orleans. We then decided to head to Louisiana to work at an animal intake station and found a private plane to rescue dogs from an overloaded Mississippi shelter. Within weeks, we had nearly 35 dogs and 12 cats in our care.

The first month incubated what would become the Paws philosophy:

• We are willing to share our resources with like-minded groups.
• We stand ready to assist in a crisis.
• We will not abandon animals that need help the most—we work harder for hard-to-place pets and find ways to raise additional funds for animals that have nowhere else to turn.