About

PawPlacer has grown far beyond what I first imagined. I started volunteering at shelters like North Shore Animal League, ASPCA, and Bideawee back in middle and high school, partly to fulfill service hours and partly because I’ve always loved helping animals. That passion stayed with me, but when college and work took over, I couldn’t volunteer as often—and I missed it.

Years later, with a wealth of programming experience, I revisited the shelter software world out of curiosity and realized that not much had changed since my volunteering days. The systems looked and felt outdated. I wasn’t aiming to replace them entirely, but I wanted to give shelters a simpler, more modern (and free!) alternative. What began as a straightforward pet page blossomed into a full shelter management suite—adopters pages, adoption flows, fee tracking, pet statuses, and more.

I tested early versions with a few small foster homes, and word-of-mouth spread quickly. Soon, bigger shelters came aboard, pointing out missing or poorly implemented features. Each new challenge helped shape PawPlacer into the comprehensive, user-friendly app it is today.

While this growth has taken us from a one-person operation to an international team of eight(!), our goal remains the same: to provide fosters and shelters with a free or extremely affordable way to manage their day-to-day operations—intuitively, pleasantly, and without the hassle of outdated tools. We’re also committed to listening and continuing to expand the platform so it always meets your needs. PawPlacer is by no means “done” and will always be evolving.

PawPlacer is completely free for small shelters and remains the most affordable option for larger ones. Sign up today to see if it meets your needs—we think you'll love it! If not, let us know how we can improve.