Sold-out Spring Celebration Brings in $300,000 for City’s Largest No Kill Animal Shelter
April 15, 2025 (CHICAGO) Hundreds of pet lovers, many accompanied by their canine companions, enjoyed a memorable evening on the town at the sold-out 18th Annual PAWS Chicago Animal Magnetism event, held Friday, April 4, at the trendy Morgan Manufacturing.
More than 600 guests mingled, generously bid on incredible live and silent auction items, and dined on delectable tasting stations from Chicago’s top restaurants including Gene & Georgetti, The Bandit, Broken Barrel Bar, Formento’s, Professor Pizza, Bombay Eats, and a VIP dinner sponsored by Avli. Canine attendees, including a hugely popular 180-pound Leonberger named Baron (Bear for short) also joined in the festivities, posing for custom portraits, receiving personalized engraved pet tags, unwinding at the doggy daycare, and feasting at the dog buffet sponsored by Kismet.
Presented by Becker’s Healthcare and hosted by PAWS Chicago’s Professional Board, this dog-friendly event offered a spectacular night out to support vital lifesaving programs for Chicago’s homeless animals. The evening was emceed by Jake Hamilton of FOX 32 and Fred from 103.5 KISS FM. This year’s event was led by co-chairs Alyssa Gregory, Danielle Kroloff, and Ritu Shah.
Several adoptable pets made their debut at the event, like Gecko, a playful puppy who came to PAWS battling parasites and an eye condition that necessitated surgery, and Mykonos, a brave young pup who tested positive for parvovirus and needed round-the-clock care and intensive treatment to pull through. While most shelters euthanize for parvo, PAWS Chicago’s Nan & Wayne Kocourek Medical Center offers full-service hospitalization and is the only homeless pet hospital in the city equipped to take in hundreds of dogs and cats with serious medical issues and provide medical care without the risk of spreading contagious disease.
PAWS Chicago presented Animal Welfare Leadership Awards to five extraordinary volunteers, each making a lasting impact on the organization’s mission. Behn Rudo, the first volunteer to reach 10,000 volunteer hours, has been instrumental in transporting pets— including those rescued from disaster relief efforts—and leading training classes. Cyd Kuck has dedicated countless hours driving pets from Chicago Animal Care & Control to PAWS Chicago’s Lurie Clinic for spay/neuter surgeries, helping reduce euthanasia rates at the city pound while also supporting disaster relief efforts. For over a decade, Laura Thomas Bergman has played a vital role in organizing and managing adoption events, ensuring successful matches. Nancy Calderon has expanded PAWS’s community outreach by caring for outdoor cat colonies and assisting with TNR and rescue efforts in under-resourced neighborhoods. Robin Larson, a dedicated marathon runner for TEAM PAWS Chicago, supports dogs with behavioral challenges and advocates for their well-being. Together, these volunteers exemplify compassion, commitment, and an unwavering dedication to improving the lives of animals in need.
The event raised a record-breaking $300,000 to help homeless and at-risk pets. PAWS relies exclusively on the generosity of our community and the success of events like these to continue and further our work.
About PAWS Chicago
PAWS Chicago is one of the largest comprehensive No Kill animal welfare organizations in the nation, building programs to end the killing of homeless pets. More than 24,000 homeless and at-risk cats and dogs pass through PAWS Chicago’s Medical Center each year. PAWS is known for healing and rehabilitating around 4,500 sick, injured, and homeless cats and dogs annually, and finding them loving families through its adoption program. PAWS Chicago also operates the city’s only high-volume spay/neuter clinic, providing more than 17,000 low-or no-cost spay/neuter surgeries each year, reducing pet overpopulation at its source. Since its founding in 1997, when more than 42,000 pets were killed in Chicago, PAWS Chicago has led the reduction in homeless pet euthanasia in Chicago by 89%. PAWS Chicago has earned the highest 4-star ranking by Charity Navigator, the nation’s largest independent evaluator, since 2003. For more information, visit www.pawschicago.org and follow PAWS Chicago on Facebook, X, and Instagram.