PAWS - WHO WE ARE and WHAT WE DO

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During the mid 1980s some caring people felt sympathy over the plight of the dog cruelty and the stray animal problem in Cyprus and decided to do something to help. They took on the project of searching for a large piece of ground, well away from town, to build a shelter. They did so, and C.A.P.C.A (the Cyprus Association for the Protection and Care of Animals) was founded. This shelter became known as ’PAWS DOG SHELTER’, was located in Yeroskipou and could normally house around 150 dogs at any given time. The aim was to re-home as many dogs as possible, however, some dogs remained at the shelter for years.

Each of the compounds at the original shelter housed around 12-15 dogs. There were also separate smaller kennels for individual dogs, nursing dogs with pups and sick dogs who need some time to rest. Otherwise, the four-legged residents were let out into the compounds with their new friends for the rest of the time. There was, and always will be, the odd fight and dissention amongst the dogs, but these were dealt with by moving the dogs around to other compounds. It is essential that the dogs live in harmony with each other and this we have achieved really well.

Dogs weak from malnutrition are nursed back to health, if at all possible. They are fed with a brand of complete dog food, plus cooked rice, bread and minced chicken. Many are un-recognisable after a couple of weeks stay here, as they respond very quickly to some tender loving care.

In 2001 PAWS DOG SHELTER was informed that the land owner of our original site needed his land back. So we decided to grasp this unique opportunity and build an ideal kennel site to suit the way we look after our dogs. After a lot of fund-raising work, the sum of CYP£400,000 was raised to build and equip new kennels ‐in addition to the CYP£60,000 needed for annual maintenance and running costs. The new shelter opened for business in December 2007 and can house up to 200 dogs. The cleanliness of the shelter is a credit to all our special volunteers who give up their precious time to look after our lovable residents.

Animal cruelty is sadly a huge problem in Cyprus. Dogs are being abandoned on a daily basis and the cases Paws Dog Shelter faces regularly would make any animal lover want to weep. Sadly dogs seem to bear the brunt of human frustration, ignorance and anger. We need your help in turning their lives around. The lucky ones that come to Paws Dog Shelter are given the best care and treatment to bring them back to health. However there are so many dogs being brought to the shelter that we need others re-homed to make space for the new cases.

With the safety, welfare and health of dogs in the shelter being paramount, it is our policy to house new dogs in an individual pen for approximately 10 to 14 days. This allows our Kennel Consultants to ensure that the dog is not suffering from any contagious disease and to assess their general well-being and temperament before moving them to a section containing other dogs. If you find a stray or abandoned dog, in the first instance, please telephone 99683775 before bringing the dog to the shelter. This will allow us to check if we have a suitable single pen available to take the dog on that day and it may also save you a wasted journey. In the event that the shelter is full, we will ask you to keep the dog and phone back in a couple of days time when we may be in a better position to accommodate the dog. It is unfortunate that the number of abandoned and stray dogs continues to be on the increase in the Paphos area and there are many times when, regrettably, the PAWS Dog Shelter is filled to capacity.


Please contact us by telephone to arrange a visit and meet our lovely dogs or contact us with your questions through our ‘Contact Us‘ page on the website, http://www.pawsdogshelter.com . We have a variety of dog breeds here and our Kennel Managers, would love to meet you and show you around the shelter.

There are many ways that you can help us, including making a donation, sponsoring a dog at the shelter or by offering one of our beautiful dogs a new home. For those of you unable to visit the shelter (as you may be located abroad), please have a look at the selection of dogs we have on our ‘Re-homing‘ page. (http://www.pawsdogshelter.com (Sadly it is not possible to show them all).

We offer a shipping service to those who would like to re-home a dog abroad. Many of our “former pupils” now have very happy homes throughout Germany and the UK!