Today, I bring you the next part of the documentary – “Dog People.”  One of the trends now-a-days in the animal shelter movement has been a paradigm shift towards no-kill shelters.  In the vanguard of Chicago’s no-kill shelter movement is the PAWS Animal Shelter.  Founded in 1997, since its inception, PAWS has dropped the number of  euthanization of dogs and cats from its peak of 42,000 a year to just over 15,000 a year.  Their goal is to reduce that to none.  Not only have they done a great job at reducing Chicago’s stray animal population but they are leaders in changing the way a shelter has to be viewed.  While all shelters serve an important purpose, PAWS has reinvented the notion that shelters have to be barren and solely efficient.  The best way to describe PAWS is that their animals are kept in the five star hotel of animal shelters.  Many dogs have a roommate who they have been matched to, to keep them company. Their rooms are gigantic and they’re given opportunities to go on daily walks and have time outside on their rooftop play space.  All in all, if I were going to adopt a dog in Chicago, PAWS would be the first place I would look to get my new family member.  They have awesome people who care about animals who both work and volunteer there!  Thanks again to everyone from PAWS – hopefully you enjoy the images!

Evan