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PAWS Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

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PAWS Chicago
1997 N. Clybourne
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 935-7297
adoptions@pawschicago.org
http://www.pawschicago.org 		Dog adoption and cat adoption saves lives. Adopt a dog or adopt a cat and you'll have a friend for life! Contact us, or contact another local humane society, animal shelter or SPCA.
We Serve the Following Cities, Towns, and/or Counties: Paula Fasseas, founder of PAWS Chicago and an executive in a Chicago-based corporation, read a news article in May 1997 about the extent of Chicago's pet overpopulation problem and euthanasia at local shelters. She recruited other business leaders to join her in touring local animal shelters. Collectively, they saw firsthand the magnitude of Chicago's pet overpopulation problem. The group felt that in a city as cultural and resourceful as Chicago, this was a tragic situation that could be changed.

PAWS Chicago was founded to raise awareness about homeless animals in shelters by creating the Angels with Tails events on Michigan Avenue/Oak Street and Armitage Avenue, and later in Chicagoland's finest malls. These creative, highly visible events have helped thousands of wonderful dogs and cats find new homes. In addition, millions of people are now more aware of the plight of pet homelessness.

In the summer of 1998, PAWS Chicago opened an Adoption Center at 2337 North Clark Street in Lincoln Park. This facility was donated by North Community Bank. The PAWS Chicago Cat Adoption Center is open seven days a week and is completely staffed and managed by volunteers. Over 300 cats find new homes each year through the Adoption Center. Our Center has also become a Lincoln Park institution; it is a popular place for people who enjoy stopping by to visit the cats, or draw on our volunteers' expertise for questions about their felines.

While adoptions are an important part of PAWS Chicago's mission, the real solution to ending pet overpopulation is targeted, low-cost spay/neuter, which works to end the continuously increasing supply of unwanted pets. Just one surgery can prevent hundreds of homeless pets in just two years.

In 2001, the PAWS Chicago Lurie Family Spay/Neuter Clinic opened its doors as the first high-volume, low-cost clinic targeting underserved communities, where the majority of Chicago’s unwanted pets originate. Located in the Little Village neighborhood, this state-of-the-art clinic is one of only a few in the nation.
Surgeries are priced at $50 (free for those receiving public assistance). Each surgery includes a basic health exam and free vaccinations. The Clinic is able to perform 10,000 to 12,000 surgeries per year, which will quadruple the number of low-cost spay/neuter procedures being performed in Chicago.

Using the Clinic as a home base, PAWS Chicago is currently building a grassroots humane education program, concentrating on Chicago's inner city populations. Like all PAWS programs, volunteers will be utilized--they will be trained to network in their communities to educate and spread the word about humane treatment of animals.

PAWS Chicago
About Our Shelter
Founded in 1997, PAWS (Pets Are Worth Saving) Chicago is the city's largest non-profit, no-kill humane organization. Our work is focused on alleviating our city's tragic pet overpopulation problem--over 21,000 dogs and cats were euthanized in Chicago in 2005. PAWS Chicago envisions a no-kill Chicago--a city in which no pets are destroyed just because they are homeless.

PAWS Chicago is a solution to pet overpopulation. The only way to reduce pet overpopulation is through targeted spay/neuter. Located in Little Village, our Lurie Family Spay/Neuter Clinic is Chicago's only free and low-cost clinic located in and serving Chicago's most disadvantaged communities. Free spay/neuter is offered for the pets of anyone on public assistance, and our Free Fix program provides surgery for pets living in the ZIP codes that have the highest number of stray animals. Since opening in 2001, over 37,000 pets have been sterilized in our clinic--which translates into thousands of saved lives!

PAWS Chicago is a no-kill adoption agency. We find new homes for pets through our Lincoln Park Cat Adoption Center (completely staffed by volunteers) and our innovative Angels with Tails dogs and cat adoption events held every weekend at local malls, retail stores and banks.

PAWS Chicago is humane education. Guided by a belief that managing pet overpopulation by killing is unacceptable and that humane treatment of pets leads to better lives for everyone, our inner city Humane Education Center teaches families about responsible pet care. We also train volunteers to become advocates of animals by taking action in their own communities. Through partnership with law enforcement, local churches, schools and social service agencies, we are working to improve the lives of dogs and cats in our city.

PAWS Chicago is volunteers. Whether caring for animals, managing adoption events, raising funds or working in our office, these dedicated individuals help PAWS Chicago to minimize staff costs. Together, we are empowered to save thousands of homeless cats and dogs.

Come Meet our Pets
Both suburb dwellers and city residents alike are invited to visit our adoption center to meet these adorable animals! If you are interested in adopting an animal, please visit the PAWS Chicago Adoption Center located at 1997 N Clybourn Avenue in Chicago. The Adoption Center hours are:

Saturday 11am – 5pm
Sunday 11am – 5pm
Monday Noon – 7pm
Tuesday Noon – 7pm
Wednesday/Thursday Closed
Friday Noon - 7pm

Our Adoption Process
Be at least 18 years of age.

Have identification with your current address.

Be able to spend the time and resources necessary to provide the training, medical treatment and proper care for your pet.

Bring along all family members including any resident dogs or children for an introduction to a new dog.

Understand that our adoption fee is $175.00 for adult dogs and $225.00 for puppies (under 6 months). You will have four months from the date of the adoption to complete a basic obedience training class with your new puppy/dog. When you provide proof that your PAWS dog has completed a course, we will reimburse you $75 of the fee you submitted at the time of adoption.

Understand that our adoption fee is $80 per cat/kitten
or $120 for 2 cats/kittens adopted together.

Dog adoption and cat adoption saves lives. Adopt a dog or adopt a cat and you'll have a friend for life! What is the difference between adopting a dog, adopting a cat, adopting a kitten or adopting a puppy versus getting dogs for sale, cats for sale, puppies for sale or kittens for sale from a dog breeder or a cat breeder? When someone is breeding puppies or breeding kittens, they are creating new dogs and cats who need homes. Some people are interested in a very specific breed of dog, cat, puppy or kitten and they think the only way to find that specific breed is to buy a dog for sale or buy a cat for sale from a puppy breeder or a kitten breeder. Yet animal shelters are filled with dogs and cats who must find homes. So rather than buying a dog or puppy for sale from a dog breeder or buying a cat or kitten for sale from a cat breeder, we encourage people to adopt a dog, adopt a cat, adopt a puppy or adopt a kitten at their local animal shelter, SPCA, humane society or pet rescue group.