Become a Paw Partner
At The Animal Foundation, we believe collaboration saves lives. Our Paw Partners play a vital role in helping us care for the thousands of animals who enter our shelter each year. Whether you’re a rescue organization, sanctuary, or animal welfare group, joining our network means making a life-saving difference for pets in need.
What is a Paw Partner?
Paw Partners are approved animal welfare organizations who collaborate with The Animal Foundation to provide placement for animals who may need more time, resources, or specialized care than we can offer in the shelter environment. We work closely with our Paw Partners to transfer animals who are struggling with medical or behavioral challenges—or who simply need a change of scenery to thrive.
Transfers save lives. Through our Paw Partner program, we support the larger animal welfare community and create more positive outcomes for animals in need of extra help.
Paw Partner Application
Interested in joining our life-saving network? We’d love to hear from you!
How to Contact Us
Already an approved Paw Partner? The best way to reach our transfer team is by emailing us at transfer@animalfoundation.com. Whether you’re inquiring about a specific animal or have space available to help, we’ll get back to you as quickly as possible.
Transfer List
We maintain an up-to-date list of animals in need of transfer. This list includes dogs, cats, and small animals who may benefit from placement with one of our trusted partners.
Quarterly Paw Partner Meetings
Every quarter, we host a Paw Partner meeting to connect with our rescue community, share important updates, and collaborate on ways we can help more animals—together. These meetings are a great way to build relationships, exchange resources, and stay informed about our shared efforts to save lives.
What Does It Mean When a Dog Needs Transfer by 3 PM?
You may notice that some dogs on our website or transfer list are marked as needing placement “by 3 PM.” This indicates that the dog has been assigned a commitment date—a critical point in time by which the animal urgently needs to leave the shelter.
What is a commitment date?
A commitment date is a designated deadline for animals facing significant medical or behavioral challenges that cannot be resolved in the shelter. It serves as an urgent call to action for adopters, fosters, and paw partners. Animals with commitment dates are often suffering and need immediate intervention to have a chance at a better outcome.
While some animals may improve and have their commitment dates extended or removed, many will be humanely euthanized if no placement is found by the deadline. Commitment dates help us rally our community when time is truly running out.