When I was a junior at Northwestern, my roommates and I decided it would be fun to get a dog together. The 12-pound mixed mutt, Willa, brought us and our friends a welcome break from the strenuousness that is college.

Needless to say, we didn’t do our research and went to a regular pet store, picked Willa up and never thought the wiser.

After meeting my wife, she introduced me to an incredible organization that we’ve supported together for the past ten years. My wife knew some people heavily involved with PAWS Chicago, and upon attending a few events and fundraisers, I saw what incredible work they did.

At the shelter where the co-founder was volunteering in 1996, around 65% of the more than 15,000 pets entering each year were being killed. That’s 10,000 pets being euthanized in one year- in that one shelter.

Later that year, the Chicago Sun Times revealed that over 40,000 pets were being killed every year in Chicago.

In 1997, PAWS Chicago was launched with the message that homeless pets needed to be saved. This would be possible through adoption and through spaying and neutering

Since 1997, PAWS has grown into one of the finest organizations in the world. First came a volunteer-run storefront Adoption Center on Clark Street. Next, they opened of the Lurie Spay/Neuter Clinic. Then, the momentous inauguration of the Pippen Fasseas Adoption Center - and the most recent openings of the Training & Foster Care Center and the Glenn L. Felner North Shore Adoption Center. In addition, they offer free services and have mobile clinics to go into areas of Chicago that need the most support.

Through it all, the growth and evolution of PAWS Chicago has been driven by public awareness and the recognition that every person can take action to help homeless pets. 

This has culminated into a collective action that has had transformative results, with the killing in Chicago declining by more than 80% since PAWS Chicago’s founding.

PAWS has spayed or neutered more than 213,000 pets and helped nearly 50,000 pets get adopted since starting. Incredibly, they have saved 99% of animals that enter PAWS and logged over 130,000 hours of volunteer service last year alone.

To top it all off, and as a lover of data and efficiency, Charity Navigator, the nation’s largest independent evaluator, ranks PAWS Chicago in the top 1 percent of charities in the nation. They’ve rated PAWS Chicago at its highest 4-star ranking for 14 consecutive years—an accomplishment that less than 1% of the charities in the nation have reached.

They also have recognized PAWS Chicago as the highest-rated Animal Rights, Welfare and Services charity in the nation.

Our newest dog, ZuZu started out as a foster - we took her in to bring her back to health with little idea she would join our family. Almost 2 years later, she’s found a soft spot in our hearts and a warm spot to sleep...in our bed.