We rescue dogs and cats from dangerous, unhealthy situations. They come to us from neglectful homes, abuse cases, from being abandoned by owners, to strays and owner surrenders. Occasionally we work with local law enforcement and the court system to get animals to safety. Our volunteer foster families, a critical piece of our puzzle, take care of our animals until we place them into their forever homes.
We’re located in West Branch, Michigan, USA. Because we do home checks on all potential adopters, at this time we are unable to do adoptions out of state.
Please Help 
Broken Leg 
Hit by a Car!
Oh our poor Murrey. This sweet young and very strong foster dog of ours was out for a walk this morning and pulled the leash away from his foster mom and took himself on a very dangerous run right into the street. Murrey was struck by a car and we are counting our blessing that it looks like just a broken leg.
As I say just a broken leg it’s a leg that needs plated by an orthopedic surgeon. With the state of vet care this posed a problem as our local vets either were unable to see him today to properly set the leg or they don’t preform that type of surgery. Kari rushed him to South Shore to see the amazing Dr. Dawson who placed a temporary cast until we could get him into a specialist later today.After many frantic phone calls MSU small animal clinic said that they could take him on today as a client.
We are committed to Murrey and his happy ever after but we sure do need you. The low end estimate is $5,000 and as you can imagine is pretty huge financial undertaking for the rescue. Any and all help is greatly appreciated to help offset this crazy expense. Thank you advance to all of you our dedicated animal lovers.
Together we truly are saving lives. 
We offer Quality of Life
Rescued animals go to a warm, loving foster home with cozy couches and beds instead of a cage with a cement floor in what can be a sterile, unsettling environment.
The difference we make during this transition time affects the quality of life for these animals — and increases the odds of them being adopted because they are not as sad or skittish as they often become in a traditional shelter situation.
Meet Ollie, who came to us as a hospice rescue. He was a sweet and gentle old soul that just wanted to love and be loved. We can only imagine the rough life Ollie lived before we rescued him, but we rest easy knowing that he lived the rest of his life completely loved.
Fosters are the heart of rescue
Kind animal lovers sometime see animals running the roads, pick them up and take them home, only to discover that local animal control officers are not available. Others see animals in a bad situation but are not sure what to do.
Volunteer foster families make their homes available on an on-call basis. They often accept animals into their homes during evening and weekend hours — whenever the need arises. Rescued animals stay in foster homes for a few weeks to several months, depending on the situation.
Oftentimes our fosters take our rescued animals to the groomers and veterinarians who support our mission, so there is no direct cost (other than gas for the trip and time) to the foster.
Every day is MOTHER’S DAY
Meet PIPER.
Piper’s momma Wren and her three 24 hour preemie kittens were found living under a home over in the Houghton Lake area when the owner heard faint little meows. The home owners called the rescue and delivered them to us within hours. All three babies were all under 100grams and struggling to nurse. Momma Wren, we believe to be a first-time mom, had a hard time producing milk leading to around the clock feeding by our foster home.
Our Mission is to Save Lives
Claws and Paws Rescue is an established 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization, that has successfully found homes for over 700 animals.
The rescue is guided by an active board of directors that is committed to the no-kill movement and saving lives.
You can help by fostering or adopting
We take it to social media when the time is right for one of our rescues to be adopted. We also tap into our growing circle of supporters to find loving, permanent homes.
Meet Chance (deaf) and his brother Scout who were adopted together and are living their dream life on the farm.
Please support us in any way you can.
Check out our How You Can Help page for options from donating money and time to delivering presentations on our behalf.