Every Life, A Promise Kept
How We Save Lives
Our Promise
AAWL is No-Kill
At AAWL, no-kill isn’t just a policy, it’s a promise.
As a limited intake no-kill shelter, we carefully manage how many animals we accept at one time ensuring that every pet in our care receives the individual attention, medical support, and time they need to thrive. That means no animal is ever euthanized because of space or time. And by maintaining a shelter where every animal gets what they need, we’re able to save the lives of at least 90% of the animals who come through our doors, giving each one the best possible chance of finding their family.
Community-Centered Approach
We recognize that animal wellbeing is inseparable from human wellbeing. That’s why we go beyond the shelter walls to address the root causes that lead to animal surrender and family separation by working alongside the communities we serve.
In addition to adoption services, AAWL is a community leader in animal welfare, offering extensive dog training, onsite and mobile low-cost veterinary services, and innovative programs in behavior support, medical care, and community partnership, because keeping families together is just as important as finding new ones.
Our Strategic Priorities
Finding Families for Pets with Higher Needs
Connecting animals from rural and metro areas with loving, lasting families. We give every pet the time and care they need to find their perfect match.
Delivering Accessible Vet Services
Removing barriers to medical care by offering affordable, accessible vet services for pet families who need support, right here in Phoenix.
Keeping Pet Families Together
Providing prevention and intervention services that help animals stay with the families who love them, before a crisis becomes a pet entering a shelter.
Recruiting and Retaining Excellent Talent
Building an inclusive, diverse workplace that reflects the communities we serve. Because when our team thrives, so does every pet family we support.
Wally’s Story
Finding Families for Pets with Higher Needs
Just days after Wally was born, her mother sought refuge inside a car engine, and a series of unexpected events led to their separation, leaving the tiny kitten alone with no way out.
A Good Samaritan heard Wally’s whimpers and brought her to AAWL, where our experienced foster team immediately stepped in to stabilize her. For the next several weeks, her dedicated foster fed Wally every two hours — day and night — until she was strong enough to eat on her own.
Without that community of care around her, Wally’s story could have ended very differently. Today, she is thriving with her family.
Mochito’s Story
Delivering Accessible Vet Services
When Liliana and her husband lost their beloved dog, they didn’t expect to find Mochito, a stray they discovered while visiting family in California. With a little love and a good bath, his true personality blossomed, and their lives felt full again.
They wanted to make sure Mochito stayed happy and healthy, but finding a vet clinic in their neighborhood where language wasn’t a barrier proved difficult. Then they discovered one of AAWL’s monthly mobile clinics, where Mochito received a full wellness exam, vaccinations, and flea and tick treatment, all in an environment where they felt welcomed and understood.
Because of that support, Mochito now has every chance at a long, happy, healthy life with the family who found him.
Tarzan’s Story
Keeping Pet Families Together
The relationship between a pet and their family doesn’t end at adoption, it deepens. That’s why our team stays connected with adopting families throughout their first year together, providing support, guidance, and intervention when it’s needed most. In just three months, that commitment helped prevent more than 120 families navigate challenges that could have led to their pet coming back to the shelter.
Tarzan’s story shows what’s possible when that support is there.
After spending more than four years cycling in and out of our shelter, Tarzan was finally adopted last spring. He struggled with new people and had specific sensitivities that made the transition challenging, even in his new home. But our behavior team stayed close, working with his family through our post-adoption support program to help everyone find their footing together.
This spring, Tarzan celebrated his first Gotcha Day and his 5th birthday surrounded by his family. That’s what keeping families together looks like.
Be Part of the Next Story
Every life saved is made possible by people who choose to show up for animals in need. Adopt, give or get involved — and help write the next chapter.