Paws Animal Shelter

First and foremost PAWS is a safe haven for any orphaned animal. Safe is the operative word as they are a strict NO KILL animal shelter. \r \r My first experience with PAWS was when I was dealing with a mouse problem in my home. I had caught a large mouse in a live trap. While the mouse was waiting transport to a forest far away. The mouse gave birth to eight tiny pink babies. I decided not to toss the new mother into Whoknowswheresville just yet and figured I would release the little family in a couple weeks when they could care for themselves. Four nights later the mother escaped by gnawing a chunk of the plastic container into a hole big enough for her to squeeze through, leaving her helpless babies behind. After waiting twelve hours for the mama to come get her infants, I understood she had abandoned them. My heart ached thinking these new babies would starve to death, cold and hungry before they even got a moment to open their eyes and see the world. Desperate for a solution I called PAWS and Sharon had me bring them to the shelter.\r \r Upon entering the shelter Sharon fetched a warmed hot water bottle and clean towels and fixed some milk for them to drink. We were all ecstatic that the babies drank from the dropper and with a couple tiny sips all their bellies were filled and they drifted off to sleep in a warm and loving environment. Sadly the infant mice were to too little and one by one each died. The point of this tale is not that the little mice perished for they would have died anyway. The point is that PAWS is willing to give even the smallest orphans with the least amount of hope a chance. \r \r Reading some of the outdated negative reviews at the bottom of this page I believe them to be quickly written angry reviews based upon misunderstandings and uninformed judgments. People upset about having to take their new pet to a vet and the underling price that comes with it should not be adopting any pet. Pets can be expensive and people need to understand that. I was fortunate to foster a group of mixed little kittens until they could be adopted. A few had a cold and we treated them for worms (this is nothing different then any other creature that needs help,) When something needs help, you help them. What would the reviewer have PAWS do with some of the sick animals they care for? Not take them at all?\r \r PAWS spays and neuters all kittens who come of age in their shelter and vaccinates and gives their orphaned animals vet treatment while under the care of PAWS. If you adopt a kitten or any other orphan you can expect to fulfill an agreement to fix your pet. The beauty of PAWS is that Sharon is like the Mother Theresa of the furry world she is not afraid to care for weak, dirty, sick and broken animals and she really gives them all a chance. Most shelters turn down and or kill the ones with little hope, not Sharon. She will take in everything and there is a awesome teem of volunteers that aid her. These volunteers put themselves on the line by bottle feeding through the night and privately foster parenting larger hard to place animals. It is appalling that a reviewer walked into this amazing place of hope and wrote that its filled with sick cats, it's not. There may be some cats fighting illness but they are getting better and their lives are vastly more hopeful under the protection of PAWS. Some animals are very healthy, some are not, some have a long road to recovery and very few will never recover and that is life. All the orphaned animals are welcome at PAWS and I for one am a person who is eternally grateful for the service PAWS brings to the helpless animals it cares for and I support PAWS wholeheartedly. more

Paws took in three tiny kittens, eyes barely open, from a Harrisburg barn. The mother would not care for them, being sick and having had too many litters. The bottle babes Paws takes in have no chance, no other options and come from terrible situations. Kudos to this shelter for trying to save so many tiny lives and thank you to Paws for giving those Harrisburg babies a chance they otherwise would never have seen. It is not easy to care for bottle babies. Not easy at all and often they do not survive, which is tough on those who try. more

PAWS has THE best window display in all of West Linn. Happy and well-cared for cats in their cubbies are being tended to by the most devoted volunteers I have ever seen. Under the direction of Sharon Murphy, these tireless crusaders scoop litter, wash bedding, bottle-feed kittens and keep the facility scrupulously clean. Our cat Lucy, now 5 years old was foster-parented by Julie, one of these volunteers and I would not consider adopting a cat from any other facility after the experience we had with PAWS. \r Our community is indeed blessed to have such a facility caring for our furry friends. more

PAWS is a very rare organization, in that it is 150% no-kill and never refuses an animal in need. It is 100% non-profit and donation-funded, yet does more for the needy animals of NW Oregon than several other shelters combined. \r \r It has the most gifted and loving Baby Bottle Brigade of volunteers ever, and though more volunteers are always needed, Sharon Murphy works miracles with those she has.\r \r I was fortunate enough to volunteer at PAWS when I lived in Oregon, and still miss the time I spent with the precious kitties there. If a shelter ever deserved a grant or positive publicity, PAWS most definitely does! more

PAW's is truly a gift! \r \r Granted sick animals don't show well to viewers or impress an adopter but who knows what goes on behind closed doors at larger better funded shelters, cheaper to euthanize I guess.\r \r PAW's is small and does its best for their size and funding. Some of these negative comments might not be here if PAW'’s just refused more animals and left them to the uncertainty of the animal shelters. \r \r PAW's takes in critter's regardless! Most all of the volunteers have fulltime jobs, yet devote at least a 1/2 day and more every week! EVERY animals is given a chance, equally loved and shown!\r more

My family loves this place. We can't seem to go anywhere in that part of town without my 3yo begging to go to ""da aminal helter"". We've been going ever since he was a baby. It's the perfect activity on a rainy day too when the kids need out of the house. They play in the kitten room, peek at the bottle babies during kitten season, and my oldest says he wants to be a volunteer this summer. I wish we had room for more cats in our house. I fall in love with a different one every time I go there. I can't think of a better way to teach my kids love and compassion then to expose them to people who care so much for helpless animals. I've been to shelters before, where they didn't allow young kids, unless you were adopting, and all you really got to do was walk an aisle of noisy cages and look at the sad faces. At PAWS I feel like we are really welcome and appreciated, even if it's just to play with and love on the cats. The cats all seem well adjusted and happy too. We are lucky to have something like this in our community. more

Wow, what an amazing place!! I was having lunch nearby and could not resist going in after seeing the kittens in the window. There was a volunteer in the front room busy bottle feeding a litter of kittens but they were happy to take time to answer all my questions about the place. There were a couple other volunteers there too, busy also, cleaning and answering the phone that kept ringing. I was concerned that one of the cats looked sick, but when I asked about him, I learned that he had an injury to his eyes as a kitten that caused his tearducts not to work right anymore. Poor thing had a bad start in life apparently, but he was so sweet when I went to pet him. All the cats were so friendly!! The volunteers were quick to give me special instructions on a few of the cats that I tried to pet, letting me know a specific way that bothered them, to make sure that I didn't get scratched and the cat wasn't scared or made uncomfortable. Seemed like they knew the personalities and stories of each of the animals there. The place was really clean considering just how many animals they are taking care of there on a regular basis. I am definitely impressed. My house is full right now, but I will tell anyone I meet who is looking for a pet to go to PAWS Animal Shelter. more

The people who work and volunteer at PAWS Animal Shelter are incredible. I am impressed with the care and compassion they provide for vulnerable animals that are not able to take care of themselves. Thanks for being there PAWS. Your work is not a job, it's a ministry! more

This tiny building with the biggest of hearts receives the smallest and most fragile orphan baby cats, dogs, etc. and\r cares for them with awe inspiring compassion and dedication. The volunteers, tirelessly working behind the scenes, provide a safe haven for the abandoned, cruelly abused, ill, injured and elderly animals. This work is both heart rending and heart warming and takes very special and loving persons to accomplish. Funded entirely by contributions, it accomplishes the impossible, every month.\r I adopted all of my cats and one of my dogs from PAWS and continued to be amazed by their dedication. more

This shelter CARES. It's a small shelter and it's very hard caring for as many animals as they care for but they still continue to help. I don't understand the negative comments on this page. Please, please don't bad mouth the business when you have no idea what goes on behind the scenes. Foster parents who care for abandoned kittens and injured kitties 24/7. I got my elderly cat there and she had been there for years and cared for when someone dumped her. I'm glad I was able to take her home and she had not one problem with her besides being loved by a place when no one else would. I know they have a group of volunteers that work very hard to keep things clean and kudos to them because they all have jobs and go to school and yet they are helping rather than visiting once in a blue moon and creating an opinion. I am going to continue to get my cats from PAWS. At least they are a no-kill and vow to care for animals that will probably never find homes. Instead of judging, help out and show some compassion by adopting and taking care of one of these poor homeless cats. Everytime I swing by (which is on a regular basis) all I see are smiles and happy kitties. I have referred PAWS to all my friends because of what I see and I will continue to show my support. PAWS truly cares and does what others won't do. Thank you PAWS! I love my little girl!! more

....I LOVE PAWS Animal Shelter.\r more

Great little shelter, the only one in the Portland metro area (and one of only a few in all of OR) to take orphaned neonates. That shows they care deeply about animals. The people who have commented about sick kitties haven't spent enough time there to know what's going on. There kitties might appear ""sick"" but if you take the time to ask, you'd find out that George, a cat that a vet had suggested they euthanize, actually has a form of cerebral palsy and so he can't control his muscles well, but he is the sweetest, most affectionate boy, who visibly lights up when someone pays attention to him. There's another kitty whose tear ducts are damaged so he has weepy eyes all the time... he looks like he has an upper respiratory infection but he is perfectly healthy. And if there IS an infection going around, the ones affected are either isolated in condos or sent out to foster care. They get the best care and advice from some of the best vets in the area. And all the volunteers who tirelessly scrub the shelter top to bottom each morning and night are also very dedicated. So please, take the time to learn before judging. more

Actually the owner of PAWS cares for the cats because what you don't see is the medication in the back room or the hours she spends on caring for them so before you knock someone from doing a job that they love and has been very helpful for the four legged animal you might want to step back and really take a good long look. Don't judge the book by its cover, Read it first and you may just end up knowing something you didn't know. I would love to see all the people that bad mouth this little shop do what they do there, but they can't they would get tired fast from it. The reason why the cats cost some money is because they make sure the people that are getting the cat really wants the cat so why not pay the price for something you really want. Cats want food and it cost. Cats need a bathroom only they use litter not toilet paper. All the money that cat shelter gets in goes for all the cats. So why would you not want the cats to have the things they need the most to survive? Would you go with out shelter, food or even a bathroom? The answer is NO! I give the people that work at PAWS a thumps up because I know I could not do it. more

the cats are SICK. you can just look at them and tell and with cats, illness is highly contagious so since they dont seperate the horribly sick ones, its very likely that they all are sick. they dont spay and neuter before they adopt them out to you. and they charge $110 for a kitten that has NOT been altered and has clearly NOT had needed medical attention. i walked in there with the intent to take one home that day and walked right back out when i saw the condition of the center AND the condition of the cats. someone needs to report this place, it is SO sad. Cons: too many to count more

While the young kittens might tempt you to enter and maybe adopt one: BUYER BEWARE.\r \r We adopted a young kitten from Paws that turned out had both cat leukemia and ring worm. So, not only did we have to put down a new pet, we exposed our other pet cat to both these infectious diseases. When asked where we adopted the pet from the staff at the vets office shook their heads and shared with us that they have seen this same sad story play out dozens of times. The vet who treated our kitten was furious with the ignorance of the owner of Paws. Apparently the veterinary community has confronted the owner in the past on the lack of proper vaccination, leukemia screening and poor health conditions of the Paws facility to no avail. With ringworm, customers themselves can contract the fungus easily from simply walking into their unclean store front and petting the cats or kittens.\r \r We will never return and strongly recommend avoiding Paws Animal Shelter.\r Cons: sick animals and poor customer service more

PAWS is as great shelter. All the kittens are ""hand raised"" from less than three weeks old (the shelter takes in orphans who no longer have a mother to nurse them, so they come to think that humans are mom and dad). The older cats in the shelter are also easy to choose from; since they are not caged the director and staff know their personalities and can help you find someone who is perfect for your family. The entire place is run on volunteerism and donations from the community. PAWS is absolutely no-kill and extra love! more

My mother recently adopted a pair of kitties from Paws. Of course, after adopting them, and paying the full fee for adoption, mom brought them to the vet. She was aware the kitties were recovering from a respiratory infection at the time, but the vet also told her that it's common with cats from Paws to have respiratory, intestinal, and fungal infestations, and it turns out that her kitties have all three! A week and a half after the kitties came home, the kitties have erupted with ringworm, have exposed the entire family including my two children to it, and my two healthy adult cats in turn. Lots of vet visits, expensive medication, a month of dips and expensive oral medication, quarantining the kittens during treatment, steam cleaning all soft surfaces and bleaching all hard surfaces is what she has to look forward to in the next month. UGH! If these people are charing full price adoption fees they have a obligation to do what it takes to eradicate these infestations and infections from their population and offer some kind of minimum health guarantee of their kittens. I can never ever ever recommend this place after seeing what my mom has gone through in just the first two weeks following her adoption. more

I was pretty disappointed with this shelter. The kitty I adopted was supposedly healthy as her records state, but as soon as we brought her home, we noticed her sneezing and lots of fluid in the eyes. When I took her for her first exam, discovered she never had her rabies shot or feline HIV testing (a MUST for shelter cats as they can easily contract in such small quarters, another $175 at the vet) this was partially my fault for simply assuming as every other shelter I have adopted cats from had these simple procedures done. The vet was astonished about this. The kitty also spread a respiratory infection she had at the shelter weeks ago and supposedly healed from, to my other cat, which cost me another $200 in vet bills. Oh, and she had many fleas when we first brought her home but a bath took care of that.\r All in all we love our kitty but this shelter needs to fork out the money and effort to have these cats taken care of properly with initial shots and testing to protect the other cats. Or prepare to spend a shiny penny on vet bills. more