Our Mission

Parmer Paws is a non-profit corporation whose primary mission is the prevention of cruelty to animals, the relief of suffering among animals, and the extension of humane education and awareness.

Our Commitment to Animals

Parmer County communities have animal control services to remove stray animals and prevent injury to citizens and animals. But those services are to meet immediate public safety or health needs. Animals can only be housed for brief periods after which those unclaimed are euthanized.

Parmer Paws’ purpose goes beyond that immediate need. Volunteers work with animal control and others to rescue and find homes for animals, preventing those deaths. Some Parmer Paws volunteers provide foster homes for abandoned, neglected, or abused animals. Other volunteers transport animals to shelters outside Parmer County that have animal housing space and offer adoption services. Plus others collect donations of money and animal products to support those animals cared for by fosters.

Those volunteers have been recruited by two Parmer County women who joined forces in 2018 to address the need throughout the county for humane animal care. Parmer Paws became an official non-profit organization in May, 2018. By the end of December, 2018 sixty-three animals had been rescued, vaccinated, and placed. In 2019, one hundred thirty-two were cared for, and the number continue to rise. Those rescues have prevented animal deaths and found homes for the rescued animals.

Our Commitment to the Community

The Merrick Pet Care in Hereford presently donates food for our dogs, which we also share with the pounds in both Bovina and Friona, assuring that these communities do not have to spend any money feeding the animals that will eventually come into our care. Volunteers work very closely with both cities improving the conditions at the pounds, walking and feeding animals daily as needed, cleaning when necessary, and generally working to prevent euthanasia in our area.

When an animal is taken in to one of the city pounds, the Animal Control officers call us. The animal is evaluated for adoptability, taking into account its disposition toward people and other animals. If it proves adoptable, a process is set into motion: volunteers administer parvovirus/distemper vaccinations, deworm, and apply flea and tick treatment; animals needing additional medical care see a local veterinarian. If the animal is not claimed within three days, we take photos and videos to network it to rescues in other states such as Colorado, Oregon, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Missouri.

We partner with a wide range of rescue and ancillary organizations. These include pilots who volunteer to fly our animals to states where they can be adopted, animal trainers who work with dogs to break bad habits and/or improve disposition, pet groomers who bathe animals that have been neglected, and a whole host of corporations and local businesses that provide grants and financial or in-kind support to make our efforts a success. Outside of these important professionals, our many volunteers are the heart of this operation. Their commitment to restoring these animals to good health and finding them a forever home is astonishing. They selflessly devote many hours a week and open their homes and hearts to the many animals in Parmer County in need of rescue