P.A.W.S. (Pauls Valley Animal Welfare Society)

09/05/2026

Vader may still look a little silly, but we cannot get over how far this little guy has come. 🥹 He’s putting on so much weight, finally hitting the growth spurt his body needed, and day by day his ringworm continues to improve!

But we have to give a HUGE amount of credit to the person behind the scenes making all of this possible: his foster. ❤️

Ringworm fostering takes a little extra work. There are medications, cleaning, laundry, keeping up with treatments, watching for changes—and, of course, making sure a growing kitten still gets all the love and attention he deserves. Vader’s foster has absolutely knocked it out of the park. The difference we’re seeing in him is exactly why foster homes are such an important part of what we do.

And that’s also why we want people to know: don’t be scared to foster a ringworm kitty!

We don’t just hand you a kitten and wish you luck. We set our fosters up for success. We provide the treatment plan, supplies, guidance and support to help you safely care for them while they heal. Ringworm is treatable, and having a foster home can make an enormous difference for a kitten’s recovery.

Vader is living proof. 💚

A great foster home + a little medicine + a whole lot of love = one happy, growing kitten.

Thank you to Vader’s foster for giving him exactly what he needed when he needed it most. 🐱❤️

09/04/2026

Well… we’re pretty sure Boondock picked his person. 😂🐱

He came in looking for a home and apparently decided the best way to seal the deal was to climb right up on his adopter’s shoulder. How do you say no to that?!

Boondock is ADOPTED! 🎉❤️

This is what we love to see—animals getting to choose their people, families finding the pet they didn’t know they were missing, and another shelter kid heading HOME.

Have the best life, Boondock! Judging by this picture, we think you’ve already got your new human wrapped around your paw. 🐾🏡

09/04/2026

🚨 Y’ALL… WE HAVE A PROBLEM. 🚨

Four days into PAWS in Motion and we are sitting at a whopping…

4.17% of our 60-mile goal. 😭😂

At this rate, the dogs have started questioning whether that Pup Cup Party was ever real.

We need WALKERS! 🐕👟

Our goal is 60 combined miles during September, and absolutely anyone can help. Come grab a shelter dog, take them around the block, through the park, or out for an adventure, and log those miles!

Even a short walk matters. Not just for our thermometer, but for a shelter dog who gets time outside their kennel, exercise, enrichment, one-on-one attention, and another chance to be seen.

We have 57.5 miles left to go… 😬

So, Pauls Valley: who’s helping us move that thermometer this weekend?! 🐾

Because we refuse to be the ones who have to tell the dogs their Pup Cup Party was canceled. 😂💙

09/04/2026

Sometimes animal welfare breaks your heart in a different way.

This is Wilford Brimley. He’s 12 years old.

Wilford wasn’t found abandoned on the side of the road. He wasn’t discovered tied to a fence or dumped somewhere.

He was discovered during a welfare check on both the people and the animals in his home.

And sometimes, that’s harder.

Sometimes people love their animals deeply, but life gets away from them. Their own health or circumstances deteriorate until, little by little, they can no longer provide the care their best friend needs. There doesn’t always have to be a villain in the story for an animal to suffer.

And Wilford has been hurting for a while.

His mouth is in terrible condition, with severely swollen gums and dental disease that will require significant treatment. His hips are painful, and we suspect hip dysplasia—we’ll be taking X-rays soon to find out just how bad things are. He arrived covered in fleas. Both ears are infected, and he has an ear hematoma.

Underneath all of that is a sweet, friendly old dog who just seems tired.

Today, we started undoing what we can.

We washed away the fleas and grime. We started treating his ears. We’re beginning supplements, pain management and supportive care. Soon will come X-rays, dental work, neutering when medically appropriate, and whatever else this old man needs.

You’ll notice Wilford is wearing a muzzle during his bath. He isn’t aggressive. His hips hurt. When an old body hurts, even a friendly dog can react to being moved the wrong way. The muzzle simply allowed our staff to safely help him without asking him to tolerate more than he could handle.

What Wilford needs now, more than anything, is comfort.

At 12 years old, we don’t want his days spent lying on a shelter floor while we work through a long list of medical problems.

We desperately want a foster home for him.

A quiet place. A soft bed. Someone who doesn’t mind an old man moving a little slower. Someone willing to let him sleep as much as he wants and remind him that, even at 12 years old, his life still matters.

And we need help paying for the care ahead.

His X-rays, medications, dental procedure, diagnostics and ongoing senior care will not be inexpensive. If you’ve ever loved an old dog, please consider making a donation for Wilford. Even $5 or $10 becomes part of giving him relief he may not have felt in a very long time.

We can’t give Wilford back the years already behind him.

But we can make sure the ones—or months, or days—still ahead of him are comfortable, safe and full of love.

That’s the promise we’re making to Wilford Brimley. ❤️

Please donate. Please share. And if you have room in your home for a sweet senior who needs somewhere soft to land, please reach out about fostering Wilford.

09/04/2026

💙 Fear Free medicine can start with something as simple as a paper plate and a little snack.

Giving medication doesn’t always have to mean restraint, stress, or a wrestling match. When it’s safe and appropriate, we look for ways to make necessary medical care as positive and low-stress as possible.

For these little ones, that meant mixing their medication into a small amount of something tasty and letting them eat it willingly. No scruffing. No forcing a syringe into their mouths. Just kittens happily cleaning their plates while getting the medicine they need.

That’s what Fear Free care is about: considering not only what treatment an animal needs, but how we deliver it.

Every positive interaction matters—especially for young animals learning whether people, handling, and the shelter environment are safe. 🐾

Good medicine treats the patient. Great shelter medicine also protects their emotional wellbeing. ❤️

09/03/2026

We are SO thankful for the opportunity to make another big investment in the comfort and care of the dogs at our shelter! 🐾💙

Our new Bone Beds have arrived! And while they definitely look cool, what we’re most excited about is what they mean for our day-to-day shelter operations.

These beds are built specifically with shelters and kennels in mind. Their solid, durable design gives our dogs a comfortable place to get up and off the kennel floor while also making life easier for our staff. They’re easy to clean and sanitize, designed to allow water and waste to drain away during cleaning, and don’t have fabric, stuffing, or hard-to-reach areas that can harbor germs.

They’re also made to take a beating. 😂 With the number of dogs that come through our doors every year, durability matters. These beds are designed for long-term use and backed by a warranty, meaning this isn’t something we should have to continually replace as dogs chew, scratch, dig, and do all the other things shelter dogs do.

Better sanitation. Better drainage. More durability. Less waste. And, most importantly, a comfortable resting place for every dog in our care. 🐶

Investments like this may not always be the flashiest part of animal welfare, but they make a HUGE difference behind the scenes. We’re incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to continue improving our shelter and the standard of care we can provide. 💙🐾

09/03/2026

09/02/2026

🐾 DAY 2 — 2.5 MILES DOWN! 🐾

We’re only two days into September and our shelter dogs already have 2.5 miles toward our 60-mile Paws in Motion goal! 👟🐕

And trust us… the dogs are PUMPED. 😂 They don’t care if it’s half a mile, a mile, or just a good stroll around the park—they’re just happy to get out, stretch their legs, sniff everything, and spend some time with you.

But 60 miles isn’t going to walk itself! We’ve got 57.5 miles to go, so let’s keep those paws moving and stay on track. 💙

Come grab a shelter dog, take a walk, and help add some miles to the board!

2.5 / 60 MILES 🐾
Who’s helping us knock out the next few?

09/02/2026

It’s now official as a drive is underway to raise the money needed to someday build a brand new animal shelter in Pauls Valley.