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 and pet owners in our town and surrounding areas.

Annual Animal Statistics 2019 
Dog intake 322
Cat intake 864
Lifesaving percentage
2019 99.9%

We do our work by operating a no-kill shelter facility for homeless animals; through 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 to take in impounded stray dogs from the city of Pendleton, however this contract accounts for only a small amount of our budget. We are not affiliated with, nor receive any funding from, the Humane Society of the United States or any other national lobbying organization.

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.