Pioneer Humane Society / PAWS

We are YOUR Pendleton community animal shelter!

Pioneer Humane Society/Pendleton Animal Welfare Shelter is a local, private, non-profit 501(c)3 animal shelter located in Pendleton, Oregon. Founded in 1975 by a group of compassionate citizens, we are dedicated to helping homeless, lost, and at-risk animals in Umatilla County. We operate under the guidance of a volunteer Board of Directors, a small paid staff, and many volunteers who give their time in support of the mission.

Pendleton Animal Welfare Shelter is a no-kill shelter facility for homeless animals. We provide education and outreach programs; encouraging and assisting with spay/neuter; helping low-income pet owners with our pet food assistance program, and much more.

We are supported by volunteers, community partners, donations, and grants.

We have a contract with the City of Pendleton that enables us to care for and find homes for stray dogs after they have been impounded. We receive a nominal fee for this service, however the majority of our support comes from individuals and foundations

We are not affiliated with, nor receive any funding from, the Humane Society of the United States or any other national lobbying organization.

We encourage you to get involved!

Please visit our Services and Programs and Frequently Asked Questions pages for more info on the work we do in our community, and Get Involved for how you can help.

Our Mission Statement

The mission of the Pioneer Humane Society, a non-profit 501(3)c organization, is to promote and provide humane treatment of animals through education and fostering/sheltering/adopting homeless animals.  Its programs and services are administered through PAWS (Pendleton Animal Welfare Shelter).  PAWS serves the community by reducing pet population through spay/neuter programs and maintains a commitment not to euthanize healthy adoptable animals.