Portland Animal Welfare Team (PAW Team)

Our mission: To save lives and alleviate suffering by providing free veterinary care to the pets of people experiencing homelessness or living in extreme poverty.

PAW Team is a unique non-profit organization that impacts two related social issues:homelessness and animal welfare.

Why is this important?

• By directly providing care to the pets of people on the streets, we reduce animal disease and prevent public health crises from infectious diseases such as rabies.
• By partnering with existing spay/neuter organizations, we reduce pet overpopulation through the homeless community, a group that many animal-related groups are unable to reach.
• By treating their pet companions, we provide a way to connect with homeless people and assist them in accessing other social services, including housing and shelter.
• By partnering with community-based groups that serve homeless people, we attempt to reduce the barriers that homeless people face in trying to find temporary shelter and transitional housing with their pet companions and service animals.

Our goal is to help low-income people stay in housing or find shelter without having to make the unbearable choice to give up their four-legged family members.