360 at CACC | PAWS Chicago

Shop
  1. Home Page
  2. Our Work
  3. Community Engagement
  4. 360 at CACC

Announcing 360@CACC, a public/private partnership serving Chicago's homeless and at-risk dog and cat population.

PAWS Chicago and Chicago Animal Care & Control (CACC) have joined forces to develop a comprehensive public-private program to offer lifesaving resources to Chicago’s homeless and at-risk cats and dogs.  

In the wake of a post-pandemic surge in pet homelessness, the city is experiencing a fast-rising number of cats and dogs entering its facility, without the budget or staffing resources to keep pace with the growing need. 

That’s where PAWS Chicago is stepping in with 360@CACC, a robust suite of prevention and lifesaving programs.   

These programs offer 360-degree support for animals at every stage in their shelter journeys through three key pillars: support CACC adoptions, support fellow rescue groups to transfer CACC pets, and support pet owner to prevent pets from entering the shelter system at all. 

Support CACC adoptions:

Facilitating successful adoptions 
Without budgeted positions for adoptions or volunteer management, CACC is reliant on the support of volunteers for these programs. Previously, potential adopters could wait hours to meet a pet or leave without ever meeting a pet. PAWS Chicago is now providing a full-time PAWS staff member onsite to provide adoption support and matchmaking, ensuring potential adopters get the chance to meet pets and leave with a pet that best matches their home and lifestyle for successful adoptions. 

Getting CACC pets ready for adoption 
By law, all pets must receive spay/neuter before being adopted, but limited medical staffing at CACC means homeless pets wait weeks for the procedure at CACC, even with an interested adopter. 

Through our Big Fix program, PAWS provides weekly transportation, spay/neuter and vetting (microchip, heartworm test and vaccines) for CACC pets who are most at-risk. Following vetting, these animals are adoption-ready, eliminating weeks of waiting and opening more space for new arrivals in need. 

 

Support fellow rescue groups: 

Offering subsidized veterinary services to qualifying rescues 
For local rescue groups without in-house medical capabilities, the cost of basic vetting can prevent them from transferring CACC pets into their own adoption programs. For large breed dogs or cats that these rescue groups are interested in transferring out of CACC, PAWS will provide spay/neuter and vetting (microchip, heartworm test and vaccines) for a highly subsidized cost. 

Learn more about the  Rescue Ready Program.  

 

Support pet owners: 

Keeping pets in their homes with people who love them 
Through our Pet Owner Support program on site at CACC, the 360@CACC team offers medical services such as spay/neuter, vaccinations and treatment for acute illness or injury to help pets stay in their homes with their families. We have found that around 15% of people are able to keep their pets when they have support. 

Keeping pets out of the city impoundment facility 
In situations where pets cannot stay in their homes, PAWS works to divert owner surrenders to CACC into our own adoption program instead. Keeping them from overcrowded facilities like CACC is the best way to ensure their safety from disease transmission, and the resulting risk of euthanasia.  

View 360@CACC Data Tables

 

About CACC 
Chicago Animal Care and Control (CACC) is a municipal agency responsible for the care of over 15,000 animals each year. CACC is committed to increasing live outcomes, improving animal welfare, and strengthening the human-animal bond through education, community outreach, and excellence in animal care. The shelter is open to the public 7 days a week. For more information, please visit our website at www.chicago.gov/CACC. 

About PAWS Chicago 
PAWS Chicago is one of the largest comprehensive No Kill animal welfare organizations in the nation, building programs to end the killing of homeless pets. More than 24,000 homeless and at-risk cats and dogs pass through PAWS Chicago’s Medical Center each year. PAWS is known for healing and rehabilitating around 4,500 sick, injured, and homeless cats and dogs annually, and finding them loving families through its adoption program. PAWS Chicago also operates the city’s only high-volume spay/neuter clinic, providing more than 17,000 low-or no-cost spay/neuter surgeries each year, reducing pet overpopulation at its source. Since its founding in 1997, when more than 42,000 pets were killed in Chicago, PAWS Chicago has led the reduction in homeless pet euthanasia in Chicago by 89%. PAWS Chicago has earned the highest 4-star ranking by Charity Navigator, the nation’s largest independent evaluator, since 2003.