Our Story

Providence Animal Rescue League

The Providence Animal Rescue League (PARL) was founded in 1913 by a group of women with a passion for animal welfare. Since then, PARL has been a haven for hundreds of thousands of animals in need in the Greater Providence, Rhode Island, area and beyond. As an open admission shelter, we practice managed intake and aim to help every community member when they are faced with the difficult decision to surrender their pet. We also take in stray animals in situations where our shelter is the appropriate and only option for that animal. Although PARL is not contractually obligated to assist our state's animal control facilities, we routinely do so because we believe that a strong partnership between animal welfare organizations is vital to our mission. PARL meets the nationally recognized requirements to be considered a “no-kill” organization. We do not euthanize any animal due to age, space, or length of stay. In 2024, PARL helped 1,196 animals be adopted into loving homes; in 2025, that number rose to 1,276. And, while most of our adoptions came from Rhode Island, we also adopted animals to families who live in Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and New York. PARL is an open adoption animal shelter, which means we seek to create a welcoming and barrier-free adoption process that is entirely conversation-based. We believe every person who wants a companion animal deserves one, and through conversation, we seek to find the best match for both adopter and animal. Through this process, we build trusting relationships with adopters, encouraging them to communicate openly and honestly with us if they should need our advice or assistance. We strive to consider each animal's individual needs, addressing their physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing every step of the way from intake to outcome. Specially trained staff and volunteers spend time handling, grooming, socializing, training, and interacting with each animal. Our dedication to enrichment, training, and physical activity helps reduce animal stress and encourages healthy development. Contributions to our LEAP Fund and partnerships with local trainers are vital to the success of these efforts. Our medical service team is dedicated to the health of each shelter guest. All animals receive routine vaccinations, physical exams, and any other required treatments ranging from spay/neuter surgery, to flea and tick preventative, to major surgery while in our care. This commitment to care requires a large, up-front investment on our part, but it is a vital part of our mission. The foundation of PARL is supporting our community, and we do this in a number of ways. At our in-house clinic, we provide low cost spay/neuter services to dogs, cats, and rabbits in the community. If families can provide proof of state or federal assistance, we significantly reduce the costs of these services. Additionally, we run on-site and off-site preventative care vaccine clinics for dogs and cats in our community at a significantly reduced cost. In 2025, our clinics were able to provide 3,162 vaccines to 1,763 pets. We also have an on-site and traveling Pet Food Pantry service. This provides pet food, litter, bedding, and supplies to those in need at no cost. Our on-site Paws n’ Go Pantry is an accessible shed that is open every day, all day, and is stocked each morning with food and litter. Our larger in-house Pet Food Pantry is open twice a month and provides a wider assortment of pet foods and supplies. In addition to this, we host mobile Pet Food Pantry pop-up events at designated community locations. While we are still running the numbers for 2025, in 2024 we provided 143,098 meals for animals in need through our Pet Food Pantry.