PAWS Mission Statement: 
To advocate for animals through education, legislation and direct care.

About the Progressive Animal Welfare Society 

The Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) is a Lynnwood, Washington-based animal advocacy organization. PAWS advocates for animals through the operation of a companion animal shelter, a wildlife center with two locations, and an advocacy department. PAWS is not affiliated with any of the several dozen other groups in the United States that are also known as PAWS.

PAWS is a member-based non-profit organization. PAWS is entirely dependent on public financial support for its 3 million dollar annual budget. PAWS is overseen by a board of directors, who serve three-year terms. PAWS has a paid staff of around 70.

Wildlife Center 

The PAWS Wildlife Center is a world renowned wildlife rehabilitation facility. Formerly known as HOWL, the PAWS Wildlife Center receives over 5,000 injured or displaced wild animals every year. The center houses and rehabilitates wild animals, and prepares them for eventual release back into the wild. The Wildlife Center has cared for bears, coyotes, opossums, seals, starlings, bobcats, squirrels, and many other species of wild animals that populate the Pacific Northwest.

The Wildlife Center has two facilities located in Lynnwood and McCleary, Washington. The facilities include modern veterinary examination offices, large areas for bears and other large mammals, and cages for small wildlife. On the grounds next to the Lynnwood facility are large bird aviaries, as well as tanks for aquatic birds and aquatic wildlife. Behind both facilities are large aviaries for owls, eagles, and other large birds. Large pens housing coyotes, opossums, deer and elk can also be found in both Lynnwood and McCleary.

PAWS Wildlife is staffed by a dedicated crew of veterinarians and wildlife rehabilitation experts. During the busy summer months as many as 200 volunteers work in the Wildlife Centers helping to maintain the almost round-the-clock feeding schedules of the birds, clean cages, and help with wildlife releases.

As residents of the Pacific Northwest encroach more on the habitat of wildlife, the Wildlife Center's facilities routinely fill to capacity. During the summer and fall of 1998 the Lynnwood facility was home to over 10 black bear cubs--normally the center is home to only one or two cubs. The Wildlife Center is currently developing a large mammal and raptor facility to be housed in a more rural setting than the relatively urban environment of the Lynnwood Wildlife Center. The large mammal and raptor facility will allow bears, deer, elk, eagles, and other large animals to be rehabilitated without the interfering sounds and smells of cars, dogs, and humans.

Wildlife Internship Information

PAWS has been caring for orphaned and injured wild animals since 1981. Our rehabilitation permits are issued by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Since 1981, PAWS has grown to be one of the largest and busiest wildlife rehabilitation facilities in the Pacific Northwest. We receive between 5,000-7,000 animals each year and our release rate of 51%-54% is slightly higher than the national average. The PAWS Wildlife Department consists of two centers: the Lynnwood facility (about 15 miles north of Seattle) that serves the North Puget Sound area and the McCleary facility (about 15 miles west of Olympia) that serves the South Puget Sound area. Our hospital includes surgery and x-ray facilities, a fully equipped nursery, flight cages for birds, outdoor caging for large mammals and pools for aquatic animals.

The PAWS Wildlife Department functions on philosophies that support our mission. We treat all Washington wildlife, which includes native species and non-native species that have established populations within the state of Washington. Some examples of our patients are American Black Bears, Virginia Opossums, Red-Tailed Hawks, European Starlings, Townsend's Chipmunks and Bald Eagles, along with 150+ other species. Our main goal is to release our patients back into the wild, which means that we behave in a way that allows our patients to remain wild. We want to keep their natural fear of humans intact during their stay with us. Infant animals that are hand-reared at PAWS are not cuddled, played with, named or talked to. They spend their time with conspecifics if possible and receive minimal human contact. All animals treated in the PAWS Wildlife Centers are treated as candidates for release. If an animal is deemed un-releasable, PAWS does not house the animal in captivity, but rather chooses humane euthanasia as the animal's final disposition.

Our internship program began in 1988 with one intern. Since then, the program has expanded and we are now able to accept 12 or more interns each summer. Interns have become an integral part of the operation of the PAWS Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers. Most interns are students who are studying biology, ornithology, wildlife sciences, environmental studies or pre-veterinary medicine. Some people receive college credit for their internship while others may complete an internship for the experience alone. Past interns report that they find their time at PAWS well spent, extremely valuable and rewarding. Through the years, some interns have gone on to pursue a career in the field of wildlife rehabilitation

 Details of donation, membership, volunteer and internship schemes are available on-line.