Services
> What services do you offer?
> What groups do you service?
> What animals do you service?
> How do I become a client?
> Does PAWS provide animals to its clients?
> I know someone with cancer who needs help with her pets. Can you help her?
> Does PAWS assist clients outside of San Francisco?
> I am HIV positive and my dog had to undergo expensive surgery. Can PAWS help me pay my vet bills?

Volunteering
> I'm from out of town, how can I help?
> I have an animal that would make a great therapy animal for people in hospitals. Does PAWS want my dog?


HIV/AIDS and pets
> Can't people with AIDS catch diseases from their pets?
> I have a cat that has FIV. Wouldn't she be great with an AIDS patient?
> My dog bit someone with AIDS. Can I get AIDS from my dog now?

More about PAWS
> I want to start a PAWS in my area. Can you help me get started?
> Isn't PAWS the Performing Animal Welfare Society?
> How many people work at PAWS?
> What's your annual budget and what percent goes to client services?
> Where does your funding come from?
> Is PAWS affiliated with the SPCA?

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What services do you offer?

CASS (Client Animal Support Services) Program:
• Animal food and litter
• Subsidized veterinary care
• In-home animal care; dog walking, litter box changing
• Transportation of animal to/from vet or groomer
• Foster care
• Yearly groomings

CAD (Client Advocacy) Program:
•Counseling and advocacy services for disabled pet guardians having housing difficulties as a result of their pet/s.

Educational Services:
•Brochures on Zoonotic diseases (those that can be transmitted from animal to human) to educate our clients and the community about the myths and facts of these diseases
•Information about the variety of support animals can provide to people with disabilities

Other Services: Provided by PAWS Volunteers
• Over 350 volunteers give their time to help PAWS clients
• Direct client services provided by volunteers: dog walking, in-home cat care, animal fostering, food delivery to home clients, staffing of our weekly food bank, transporting animals to vets and groomers, offering veterinary and grooming services.
• Support in our office, special events planning & staffing, producing promotional materials, etc.

What groups do you service?
Low-income San Francisco residents with HIV/AIDS and other disabling illnesses and their animal companions.

What animals do you service?
Dogs, cats, birds, fish and most other domesticated animals. We do not service animals under 9 months old, primates, amphibians or reptiles.

How do I become a client?
Please call our main phone line (415.979.9550) anytime to verify whether or not you are eligible to begin the client intake process. Social Workers, Case Managers, or other representatives may call on behalf of a prospective client. We accept clients throughout the month depending on availability of space. We maintain a waiting list and are able to inform prospective clients of the month that his/her intake process can resume. Once a prospective client is on this waiting list, there is no need to call back. An intake packet will be mailed out as soon as space permits. For more detailed information on how to become a client and what benefits you'll receive as a client, please see our Client Eligibility and Client Benefits sections.

Does PAWS provide animals to its clients?
PAWS does not offer adoption services except if one of its clients passes away and his or her pet needs placement (for a listing of pets available for foster care and adoption, please see our Foster/Adopt a Pet section). What PAWS does do is help people who already have pets keep their pets. Those people who would be eligible but do not have pets may adopt a pet in need of a home at the SPCA, Animal Care and Control, or Pets Unlimited.

I know someone with cancer who needs help with her pets. Can you help her?
Currently PAWS offers services to people living with disabling HIV/AIDS and other disabling illnesses. Any resident of San Francisco living with AIDS or a disability on SSDI would most likely qualify for our services. For more detailed information on how to become a client and what benefits you'll receive as a client, please see our Client Eligibility section.

I'm from out of town, how can I help?
While we do not service clients outside San Francisco we do have many people who volunteer at PAWS from surrounding cities in the Bay Area. If you live further away, there are still many ways you can help:
• Monetary contributions are key in providing our clients the support they need to cover their companions' veterinary care. See our Donate section for more info.
• You may sign up on our mailing list to receive more information.
• Volunteers from around the nation the nation have provided assistance with public relations, writing graphic design and conference planning.

I have an animal that would make a great therapy animal for people in hospitals. Does PAWS want my dog?
We do not offer the 'animal therapy' that is so often publicized on television and in magazines. We do not help people in hospitals or introduce animals to people who are not already animal guardians. We help people keep their pets and in that sense their own animals serve as therapy. The Delta Society would be a good place to contact for animal therapy.

Is PAWS affiliated with the SPCA?
We are not part of the SPCA. We have worked with the SPCA in the past but we are separate organizations.

Does PAWS assist clients outside of San Francisco?
Unfortunately because we have limited resources we are only able to serve clients in San Francisco. Feel free to call the PAWS office at 415.979.9550 and we will try to refer you to a place that may be able to help you. We do have many volunteers from the east bay and often attend events there.

Can't people with AIDS catch diseases from their pets?
Any person with a compromised immune system is more susceptible to zoonoses, diseases spread from animals to humans. The risks, however, are far outweighed by the benefits of animal companionship. PAWS offers several publications on zoonotics, the risks of having pets and how to manage those risks. Our Safe Pet Guidelines and other informational documents are available at our Education section.

I have a cat that has FIV. Wouldn't she be great with an AIDS patient?
Cats with FIV are more susceptible to diseases and therefore are not ideal pets for people with compromised immune systems.

My dog bit someone with AIDS. Can I get AIDS from my dog now?
HIV is a very fragile virus and cannot be spread to animals. Humans are the only known animals to carry HIV. There is no risk of catching HIV or AIDS from a pet.

I want to start a PAWS in my area. Can you help me get started?
On the PAWS website at Start a PAWS Agency you may receive information on starting up PAWS organizations in your area.

Isn't PAWS the Performing Animal Welfare Society?
PAWS, Pets Are Wonderful Support of San Francisco, often gets confused with other organizations. Among the other organizations we get confused with are:
• Performing Animal Welfare Society
• Parks Are Worth Saving
• PAWS Seattle, an animal rights organization.

I am HIV positive and my dog had to undergo expensive surgery. Can you guys help me pay my vet bills?
PAWS offers its services to low income San Franciscans with AIDS and other disabling illnesses. For more detailed information on how to become a client and what benefits you'll receive as a client, please see our Client Eligibility and Client Benefits sections.

How many people work at PAWS?
There are eight full-time and two part-time paid employees at PAWS. We also work with up to four interns each year (2 vet students & 2 public health students), to assist us with research on the health benefits of the human-animal bond and public policy issues. In addition, we work with over 350 volunteers who give their time to PAWS. It is thanks to these community volunteers that PAWS can serve its 530+ clients and their 600+ companion animals and reach hundreds more through our education and advocacy programs.

What's your annual budget and what percent goes to client services?
The 2007 annual budget for PAWS is $1,220,252 which includes $120,000 of in-kind contributions.

Where does your funding come from?
PAWS is entirely privately funded which means we receive all our funding through private donations, fundraising and a select few private grants. 57% of our income covers direct client services and 17.7% covers educational programs.
The following is a breakdown of where our funding comes from:
• 48% individual gifts
• 10% private grants
• 24% corporate gifts
• 15% events and outreach
• 3% merchandise and other
More detailed information on PAWS' budget can be found at our PAWS Financials section.