It started on a long transport run.
Gabriella McKim had spent years involved in animal rescue — adopting, transporting, and witnessing firsthand the fragmented systems volunteers depend on. On one particular transport run, she found herself thinking about all the people along the route who could have helped, who wanted to help, but simply had no way of knowing they were needed.
The system wasn't broken because people didn't care. It was broken because the tools didn't exist.
That realization became a mission. Throughout 2024, Gabriella spent over a year talking to the people who knew the problem best — more than 50 rescuers, fosters, transporters, and shelter leaders across the region. She didn't start building. She started listening. Every conversation shaped what Paws and Claws Crew would eventually become.
In September 2025, Gabriella brought together a founding board and incorporated as a nonprofit. Since then, the team has been focused on one thing: building the coordination infrastructure the rescue community has been asking for — designed by the community, sustained for the community, and permanently free.
We've spent years listening to the rescue community and building toward something the animal welfare world has never had — purpose-built infrastructure designed to close the gaps that cost animals their lives.