PAWS in the Community

Since its founding in 1982 by the late Esther Pratt Nowell, PAWS has been an important part of Wakefield and the surrounding communities. What began as a small group of people dedicated to protecting the rights and welfare of all wildlife and domestic animals, has grown into an organization with over 100 volunteers. This includes pet foster parents, response line workers, office staff, financial advisors, record keepers, stray cat trappers, social media coordinators, and many others.

You may think of PAWS as an animal welfare group that only rescues felines in need. Although it is true that, this year alone, we rescued 126 cats and found homes for 104 (so far), there are many other ways we help all pets and their people. 

Read on to learn more about the important and far-reaching role PAWS plays in the community.

Responding to your questio
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Food pantry donationOne of the most valuable ways PAWS serves the community is through its Response Line (RL). The RL is staffed by dedicated volunteers who strive to answer your questions in a timely manner. From routine questions about how to adopt a cat or the status of an application, to concerns about injured wildlife, pet behavior problems, or surrendering a pet, our RL volunteers are trained to help with a variety of animal-related issues.

You can reach PAWS at 551-800-PAWS (7297). Please leave a message, and one of our volunteers will get back to you as soon as possible. Our team picks up messages every day, throughout the day, and can usually respond within 24 hours.

Helping animals find their way home

Doug's intake

Often, our RL team fields calls about cats or other pets seen roaming the neighborhood. These messages are referred to our intake coordinator, who gathers as much information as available and then determines the appropriate course of action.

When a stray cat is taken into our care, we do an initial health check and then try to find its owner. This may be an easy task if the cat has been microchipped. Otherwise, the found cat is advertised on social media by our excellent social media team. We also check all phone and email logs to see if anyone has inquired about a missing cat that could be a match. These efforts have proved to be quite fruitful: this year, eight cats and one dog were returned to their owners.

Promoting animal welfare

KINDnewsEducation is a key component of our mission. Esther Pratt Nowell strongly believed in humane education, especially for young people. Each year, PAWS provides Wakefield students in grades 1-6 with subscriptions to KIND News, a monthly newspaper from the Humane Society of the United States that teaches children to understand and respect animals and treat them with kindness. Although this program was not available over the last year or so due to the COVID-19 crisis, we expect to resume the program as soon as possible.


Ensuring all pets have food

During the COVID-19 crisis, businesses were shut down and jobs were lost, leaving many pet owners unable to afford food for their animals. To ensure no pet goes5th grader project hungry, PAWS joined the Massachusetts Pet Food Task Force, a coalition of shelters and rescue groups working to address the growing problem of pet food insecurity. Now known as Pawsitive Pantry MA, with a 501c3 nonprofit status, this team works with pet and people food pantries across the Commonwealth to provide pet food for those in need.

Because the food pantries in Wakefield and some of the surrounding communities do not stock pet food, PAWS launched a pet food pantry in our office. Since opening, clients have picked up an average of 252 pounds of cat and dog food each month. This translates into approximately 1,296 cat meals and 304 dog meals monthly!

The PAWS Pet Food Pantry is clearly a community effort. Managed by our dedicated, energetic volunteer, Becky, it is open every Tuesday between 1:00 and 5:00 pm. Generous individuals help us keep the pantry well stocked with pet food and litter, and local businesses continue to make both financial and in-kind donations. Several schools and local families have initiated special projects to collect supplies for the food pantry. Some of our conscientious youth have requested donations in lieu of birthday presents, and others have organized pet food drives as a community service project. We are grateful to everyone who has contributed to the success of the PAWS Pet Food Pantry, ensuring that pet owners can keep their cats and dogs healthy and well-fed during these challenging times.


By serving as a resource for your pet-related questions, raising awareness of animal welfare, helping to reunite lost pets with their owners, providing pet food and supplies to those in need, and many other efforts, PAWS continues to play a vital role in our communities.