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About Us - Friends of the Palo Alto Animal Shelter

To support, develop, enrich and publicize the public resources and public benefits of Palo Alto Animal Services, and to support its activities in the interest of the community.

Palo Alto Animal Shelter

Friends of the Palo Alto Animal Shelter (FoPAAS) is a volunteer-led nonprofit that formed in mid-2012, in response to the threatened closure of Palo Alto Animal Services. Our original group, Save Our Shelter, was successful in gathering more than 1,700 signatures opposing the department’s closure. Partly due to our efforts, Palo Alto City Council members have indicated they will not close the shelter in 2012, but may instead look for budget cuts ranging from $300,000 to $500,000 per year.

Our goal is to raise money to help augment the important work this department does every year.

Friends of the Palo Alto Animal Shelter is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. We have no paid officers or staff and are a completely volunteer organization. Contributions to FoPAAS are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. The FoPAAS tax ID is 46-2071298.

Meet Our Board of Directors    Contact Us


About Palo Alto Animal Services

PaloAltoAnimalServicesLogoThe Palo Alto Animal Services enforce animal control laws for Palo Alto, Los Alto, and Los Alto Hills. It cares for injured and lost animals and provides education and outreach programs.

Adoptable animals, including cats, dogs, and rabbits, stay in the state-of-the-art “cageless” facility and can be adopted by all Bay Area residents.

The Center is at 3281 E. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, CA, near Highway 101. For more information, contact (650) 496-5971 or visit Palo Alto Animal Services Website  


Animal Policy

How Long Does Palo Alto Animal Shelter Keep Animals? 
That’s the question we are asked most often. The answer is that we have no set time limit at the shelter. Stray animals–those found without their owners–are held for seven days to give owners adequate time to find their pets. If owners do not recover their pets in seven days, most of the animals become available for adoption. Unclaimed strays and owner-surrendered pets may stay here waiting to be adopted for days, weeks, or–in some cases–even months.

How Does Palo Alto Animal Shelter Decide How Long to Keep an Animal?
Our shelter accepts animals only from residents of our jurisdiction: Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills. We don’t usually have a problem with running out of room, so deciding how long an animal stays here depends on the temperament of the animal (friendliness), how the animal adapts to being in a kennel or cage, the animal’s health, and its behavior.

Source: Palo Alto Animal Services