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The Mission of Centre County PAWS is to Promote Animal Welfare and Safety with compassion through adoption, sheltering, education, and community assistance. We are now accepting applications for assistance through the Dr. John Thomas Veterinary Emergency Treatment (VET) Fund! Volunteers are the heart and soul of Centre County PAWS. We invite you to complete an online application and join the ranks of devoted volunteers committed to helping homeless and needy dogs and cats. PAWS is able to help hundreds of cats and dogs find new homes each year because of the generosity of its foster families.
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For the first 15 years, these volunteer founders worked out of their homes to rehome cats and kittens. PAWS developed relationships with many vet practices to provide free or low-cost medical care for the cats. Fred and Lee Metzger of Metzger Animal Hospital generously provided a 850 square foot building next to his practice for housing small numbers of cats and for showing adoptable fosters on weekends.
Promote Animal Welfare and Safety with compassion through adoption, sheltering, education, and community assistance. Build a compassionate Centre Region where animals thrive. PAWS will lead the way by serving as a premier resource for companion animals and their caregivers. Open Communication - We foster a welcoming environment through clear, respectful communication and teamwork.
Centre County PAWS was established in 1980. For over 40 years our Mission has been to Promote Animal Welfare and Safety with compassion through adoption, sheltering, education, and community assistance. PAWS is leading the way in building a compassionate Centre Region where animals thrive. We enthusiastically embody our four core values, which are compassion, generosity, open communication, and responsible practices.
You are encouraged to check our website before visiting for information about our programs, assistance, and adoptable animals. If you are interested in adoption, we strongly encourage you to submit an online application before visiting.
Reviews (15)
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Saif Ullah
Jun 06, 2022
The staff is very helpful! Once you are approved you can get your pet within minutes.
Stacy Reed
May 30, 2022
As long as you ever owned an animal, have all dates current and precise. Or if you currently have any that are even the slightest bit shy of vaccinations, be prepared to be made to feel like you are the worst pet parent ever!
Shawnee Garbrick
Mar 24, 2022
The building is nice. The employees are really nice. They go out of their way to help me. I got the dog I wanted
Ruben Alicea
Nov 14, 2021
We adopted our little one from paws. Great experience. They are very careful in choosing the adopted family's. They also take great care of the pets. I do recommend adopting from them
David L. Williams
Oct 18, 2021
Centre County PAWS is a fantastic place. Though some people complain about the lack of same-day adoptions, I appreciate the care they show for their animals that they want to make certain that these wonderful pets will have the best life possible. They're friendly and thoughtful people who truly love what they do. Can't recommend enough!
Lilfartydog G.
Aug 03, 2021
Super impolite, very homophobic and ageist. was not willing to help us in our search at all.
Myles Cramer
Jul 19, 2021
I rescued a kitten from a dumpster in the State College area, and Centre County PAWS was an incredibly helpful resource. They rent out Havahart traps, and the one I used was clean and in good condition. They offered me kitten food from their foster cat supplies. Ultimately, the kitten was rescued and is doing fine, and I'm incredibly appreciative of the support that I received from Centre County PAWS throughout that process. They also had $10 cat carriers when I stopped in which I purchased to transport the newly found kitten to and from my apartment.
Brb
Feb 11, 2021
Thought I'd find another kitty to befriend the one I currently own. Walked in to look at the felines and eventually found one a little over a year that would've been perfect! We decided to adopt her! Sounds great right? WRONG, we had to wait about 4 days AFTER we visited and filled out the application to even hear from the shelter. Just to let us know that there are MANY other steps to be approved.

I get you're trying to find a great person to adopt these animals but come on. I've owned cats my ENTIRE and I felt like I was being interrogated and that I wasn't good enough of a pet owner. I wouldn't recommend this place but if you had a good experience then I'm happy for you. But I will never go back. :
Rebecca Jonas
Dec 06, 2020
We adopted our first dog from PAWS about 2 months ago and couldn't be happier with the experience and the outcome. PAWS has a rigorous application process (as did all other reputable shelters we came across in our search) which proved to be very effective in matching us with an ideal companion. Once our application was approved, there was a very quick turnaround time to meet and take home our dog Elliott.

The shelter staff and Elliott's foster answered all of our questions, loaned us any supplies we needed to be able to take him home the same day we met him, and set us up with vouchers for a free bag of food and a free vet appointment. This is such a fantastic shelter that cares so deeply about their animals and the people they adopt to. We are so grateful to them for finding us the perfect dog and highly recommend them to anybody looking to bring a new pet into their family.
J. M.
Aug 28, 2019
We have adopted through PAWS in past and it pains me to write any negative because we always had a great experience. You can tell the staff are truly dedicated to the animals. However, we did not have a good experience while trying to rescue a kitten on deaths door found in Bellefonte. PAWS told us we were fostering the little cutie until he worked through their waiting list, and even said about us bringing him in on some weekends to be shown while advancing through their system.

But we ended up getting stuck with a $900 emergency vet bill for the kitten because they then said we were not considered a foster family. So the good news is it's seems the kitten got fantastic care at a METZGERS Animal Hospital and will be doing well. The good news is there are way more positives about PAWS than what I hope is a one time abnormal practice.

If you are looking to adopt.go to PAWS, if you are looking to surrender or re-home through them, you might want to try another local organization as the practices and policies and staffs knowledge of them seems not up to par.
Tess Crossen
Mar 15, 2019
I am happy to give the strongest review of PAWS from the perspective of a foster, volunteer, and an adopter. PAWS has enabled me to be a part of the solution towards facilitating happy endings for many dogs. As a foster, I get to assess dogs' preferences, training level, and begin training to improve their fit in their new homes. As a volunteer, I get to play with many dogs and help place them in loving homes by being dedicated to best fit and making sure that the families and the dogs are set up for success. Finally, as an adopter, PAWS has helped me fill up my life many times with a new 4-legged family member. Sometimes I needed to be patient and work with the Adoption Counselors to ensure best fit and success in my home. Patience has payed off many times.
Stephanie S.
Jun 15, 2014
I had heard nothing but good things about PAWS, so I really wanted to adopt a dog after I had started volunteering there. I quickly fell in love with a great fit for my family and home situation and was assured that despite the dogs minor health problems we would be suitable candidates for his adoption. We were told this several times after asking specifically about his vision problems.

The following day we were excited to re visit PAWS to see the dog we were hoping to adopt. We were stopped at the door and suddenly the story had changed. We were told because of the dogs vision problems they wanted him to goto a home with another dog. Which we quickly said we were told that it was not a problem by the adoption counselor we saw the previous day.

We felt very lied to by the adoption counselor we had spoken to perilously. Hurt that we could not adopt this dog that seemed very happy with us, and felt like there was some other reason they did not want us to adopt this dog that they were not being upfront about. It would have been very simple if they had just been very clear, consistent with the information they were telling people who were hoping to adopt, and forward when it came time to letting us know why we could or couldn't adopt.

I wanted nothing but the best for the dog even if that meant he would goto another home, and I felt lied to about his situation. I am extremely disappointed and feel very much hurt by their adoption process. I would also like to mention that I feel so strongly about it that I felt the need to post it on Yelp which I had never previously posted on before! If you want consistent information about the animals you want to adopt this is not the place for you.
Jay D.
Jul 15, 2011
A big part of my heart is from PAWS because we adopted one of our Boxers from them. Great organization: well-organized corporation, diligent workers (they called and grilled our adoption references to make sure we were a suitable home for our rescue; they also do follow-up visits/calls), and a great facility for the animals. They do good work in the community.
Raquel S.
Mar 15, 2011
PAWS is a wonderful part of Centre County. They are a no kill shelter that runs primarily on volunteer support and donations. They have a spay and neuter clinic on site and the resources to accept cats with FIV and other diseases. A lot of care goes into making sure germs are not spread between the animals and that each animal gets the proper care. Centre County PAWS is not affiliated with any other PAWS.
Scarlet H.
Jan 27, 2011
These people are wonderful. In 2005 I was a college student with a fiance in another state. I was looking to foster an animal to keep me company while I finished up school. Foster meaning you keep the animal during the week and bring it back on the weekends so people can see, and potentially adopt, them. It keeps them from being stuck in a cage all week, and I loved the idea.

I fostered a few cats, and even though I was a flighty college student, they treated me respectfully and went well out of their way to help me with the cats I fostered. I can't say enough good things about the folks at Centre County Paws. In the end, in my senior year in college, I adopted one of the cats I had fostered. Me and Wilson have been pals ever since and he's doing great.