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  5. Alex Doherty

Alex Doherty

“Be it the trainers working with a high-needs dog, the staff fostering an animal who just needs a break, or an email asking for help driving two days to pick up rescues from a disaster. The kinship between everyone at PAWS over a shared passion for animals makes it a special place.”


Soon after moving to Chicago, Alex Doherty started volunteering at the Pippen Fasseas Adoption Center in Kitty City, but they ended up finding their place in Dog Town.  

Alex shares, “A man came in by himself looking for any kind of dog. I found out he was a veteran who’d had a tough time for a long time. The dog he wanted to see first was a little lady who was too scared to leave her bed. After coaxing her out, I carried her trembling to the showing, put her down, and let her sniff. She investigated the man and relaxed immediately, sitting at his feet. Within two minutes he said, smiling, ‘this is my dog.’ It was truly the perfect pairing.”  

At home, Alex has a tuxedo cat named Ace, a 12-year-old dog named Foster, and a guinea pig also named Foster. Both Ace and Foster (the dog) love playing fetch, and Foster (the guinea pig) enjoys watching dog training videos on YouTube with Alex. Ironically, Alex volunteers with PAWS in a number of different ways, but fostering isn’t one of them...yet.  

Alex explains, “I mostly volunteer at the Adoption Center, but I also do offsite events and transports to the Medical Center and other locations. My favorite way to help PAWS is mentoring incoming volunteers as I love welcoming people into the space. I’m proud to represent and introduce them to everyone. It’s also fun to bring people to a room full of puppies waiting for cuddles!” 

Alex sees the No Kill mission in action every day, “Be it the trainers working with a high-needs dog, the staff fostering an animal who just needs a break, or an email asking for help driving two days to pick up rescues from a disaster. The kinship between everyone at PAWS over a shared passion for animals makes it a special place.”  

Interested in becoming a volunteer? “You won’t regret it!” says Alex, “Come for the animals, stay for the people—it’s impossible to not make friends. There are so many ways to help PAWS, from napping with the cats to running the dogs, writing animal bios, taking dog training classes, it’s all available on your schedule.”