The Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society is preparing to give South Philadelphia’s homeless animals a bigger place to call home.
The city’s largest rescue partner and provider of affordable veterinary care announced plans for an 18,500-square-foot facility at 2129 Oregon Ave. The new headquarters will triple the organization’s current space and expand its ability to rescue animals, provide veterinary care and help families keep their pets.
The new facility will take the place of an office building and strip mall that has been vacant for several years.
“It was just sitting vacant there for many years and we had been very quietly but steadily looking for a permanent home, whether an existing building or a plot of land to build on,” said Cory Topel, Communications & Grants Manager at PAWS. “And we were keeping it top of mind that is this in a part of the city where our services are needed? Is it accessible by public transit? Is it going to be within a community that welcomes us?”
The answer to all PAWS’ questions came to fruition as it announced the new facility that is due to open in late 2027. PAWS is in the process of raising $15 million through a capital campaign and the organization said it has raised $10.7 million, or 71 percent of its goal at the time of its groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 29.
“We feel really lucky that the neighborhood is embracing us,” Topel said. “We bought the property at the start of the year and it’s been a really exciting time.”
Once the ribbon is cut and doors open on Oregon Avenue next year, PAWS will move its shelter and veterinary services from its Grays Ferry shelter along with its Old City adoption center to the new facility as both are currently rented spaces. Its Northeast Philadelphia clinic on Grant Avenue, which is owned by PAWS, will remain open.
In addition to outgrowing the space, the transporting of animals from Old City to Grays Ferry was tough logistically and put added stress on the animals.
“Both those spaces served us incredibly well over the years,” Topel said. “It’s bittersweet. We loved being in the Grays Ferry and Old City communities. We’ve had folks adopting and volunteering for us at the Old City Adoption Center for over a decade. It’s the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another.”
The new building in South Philly that sits on 1.2 acres calls for expanded veterinary and surgical facilities, more spacious animal housing, adoption and enrichment areas, outdoor play spaces and gathering areas for staff, volunteers and the community. The building will double PAWS’ current capacity for dogs and increase its capacity for cats by 20 percent.
The expanded space also will allow PAWS to provide more assistance to pet owners facing financial hardship, housing instability and other challenges. Services include affordable veterinary care, pet food and supplies, temporary foster care and other programs aimed at keeping animals with their families.
The announcement also coincides with PAWS’ 20th anniversary.
“When PAWS began two decades ago, we were determined to make lifesaving – not euthanasia – the norm for homeless animals in Philadelphia, and make our city a place where people and pets have every chance to thrive together,” Executive Director Melissa Levy said.
Since its founding in 2006 as a small volunteer effort, PAWS has rescued more than 45,000 animals, provided affordable veterinary care to almost half a million pets and helped more than 27,500 pets through programs designed to keep families together.
The organization’s work has helped transform Philadelphia’s animal welfare landscape. According to PAWS, only 11 percent of cats and dogs entering the city’s animal control shelter survived 20 years ago. Today, that rate has climbed to 87 percent, while shelter intake has been cut nearly in half.
“There are still far more people and pets who need our support than we can accommodate, and shelters are still far too crowded,” Levy said. “This new home is about building on everything we’ve accomplished, expanding what is possible, and ensuring we can be there for pets and their people for generations to come.”
Donations to the Our Home, Their Haven capital campaign can be made at www.ourhometheirhaven.org ••
