PAWS Animal Rescue

PAWS was founded in February 1997 by Deirdre & Gina Hetherington in Sallins Co Kildare. The original concept was to rehome unwanted pets from their current homes and take in dogs from Kildare Dog pound to save them from destruction. At the time, there were 35,000 dogs being killed in Irish Dog Pounds every year, with Kildare being among the top ten and we felt this was no longer acceptable. Soon, word about PAWS spread via the media and Ginas weekly appearances on TV3 and we were assisting animals from the 26 counties and beyond.